Off Topic No such thing as a bad/ "evil" knife , if it works !

[Peter Hartwig]

It's not really been about knives, it's been about the perceptions that should be expected from people based on a combination of behavior and characteristics of the knife chosen for public or social use, and whether we care about projecting perceptions that are nonthreatening or threatening to people in general.

Some people are more considerate, and some people are less. One of these two dispositions is more selfless, the other more selfish. One is more conducive to a peaceful and harmonious society, the other is less. We all know whether we gravitate more towards the one or the other disposition based on how much we care about others' peace of mind, and what steps or actions we take or omit to respect, or disturb it.

You can be a jerk with a SAK or like this guy-a good guy with a knife on the other extreme end of choices. In this case the knife fit the task well. Seat belts are pretty tough . You can choose almost(there may be an exception not coming to mind) any knife and be a good member of the knife society(for better term), or you can be a jerk with almost any knife. IMO this guy showed the world it isn't the knife but the person behind it. He helped the knife community rather than hurt it.
There always have been and will be extremes in choices and those that want something different or have different needs.
We're not going to all carry SAK's and even their very presence can alarm some. Carry what you like, but be aware of it's possible effect on others when using.
If I did carry a karambit(which I doubt I ever would), I would pair it with something more practical and less showy. For many tasks that knife is useless and it certainly will draw attention. I would do the same with a Hinderer XM-24
My local news station has run the clip multiple times, but never shown the knife

 

[22-rimfire]

A karambit is a weapon first. To deny so is ignorant.

I agree with your assertion on the karambit knife. It just is. I can think of few reasons to carry one other than as a weapon or simply because it's "cool". Still a weapon, cool or not.

 

[James Y]

Items used for the commission of evil can be given over to the influence of evil spirits. It's why I choose to "bless, and curse not." I don't want my mouth to be given over to those spirits.

Speculation: A sword used for killing in a just war or rightly condemned criminals against true justice would likely be a different story.

I agree with the first part, but I think that even if a sword was used to kill for what we may consider just causes, it could still become "tainted" with negative energies. Especially considering the violence/trauma around it. I'm not saying it definitely would, but that it certainly could.

Jim

 

[Petunia D. Feeble]

A karambit is a weapon first. To deny so is ignorant. I carry weapons all the time. I don't deploy said weapons unless they need to be used as such (never, thankfully). To cut things I use a knife designed as a cutting tool.

I'd much rather cut a seatbelt with a SAK than a Karambit, but I'm no trained ninja. Perhaps those folks are better at that sort of thing. I've got dedicated seatbelt cutters for seatbelt cutting.

Given the bladeshape of a karambit though, it's probably better at cutting seatbelts than an SAK would be.

I agree that it's weapon first; karambits were designed specifically for combat. Arguing the contrary would be like arguing that a trench trench knife is good for edc.

In the specific context of cutting a seatbelt though, that weapon if his was probably better suited to the task than most "tool" knives would've been. I've always liked a mild recurve for that reason. They just bite into material better.

 

[craytab]

I agree with your assertion on the karambit knife. It just is. I can think of few reasons to carry one other than as a weapon or simply because it's "cool". Still a weapon, cool or not.

And don't get me wrong, I carry and use a hawk bill at times. They are purpose driven tools though, not an edc.

 

[craytab]

Given the bladeshape of a karambit though, it's probably better at cutting seatbelts than an SAK would be.

I agree that it's weapon first; karambits were designed specifically for combat. Arguing the contrary would be like arguing that a trench trench knife is good for edc.

In the specific context of cutting a seatbelt though, that weapon if his was probably better suited to the task than most "tool" knives would've been. I've always liked a mild recurve for that reason. They just bite into material better.

Better at cutting a seatbelt for sure, I'd worry about cutting into what the seatbelt is holding, I'm no ninja though.

For an edc tool that can function as an emergency rescue tool, I prefer a Pacific salt or a rescue hook from benchmade (of which I have a few).

 

[jackknife]

I heard of an evil Case peanut once.

Theres a legend in the Cult Of The Peanut, about a peanut that cut a worker badly on the final polishing stage at the Case factory. It was cleaned off and shipped to an unknowing customer. The knife kept on cutting each owner it was passed on to, until it was tracked down by the Cult Of The Peanut. Under orders from the Grand High Muckba of the peanut cult, it was wrapped in Reynolds aluminum foil and sealed in a special blessed ammo can, only to be taken out at special ceremonies held at the full moon to initiate trusted cult members into the inner circle.

But after it bit the Grand High Muckba, it was cast in to the sea on a moonless night off shore to be gone forever from the sight of man.

Come on people! It's a hunk of metal. Some iron, some nickel, some chromium, some vanadium. It came out of a factory with a zillion others. Just like a handgun, a ball peen hammer, screw driver or baseball bat. Save the hoodoo tales for halloween night. An inanimate object is jus that, a lifeless hunk of material. That Japanese fairy tales are the stuff they tell little kids. I know the Japanese where a little more nuts over their swords than most folks, but in the end it's just a hunk of steel. And even they lost a good deal of value when Commodore Perry sailed into Tokyo bay with modern warships and firearms in 1854.

Next y'll will sayin how Wyatt Earp's revolver killed people by just being points in that direction.

 

[DocJD]

I no longer scoff at things supernatural . Used to be totally rational reductionistic / scientific and prided myself that I had risen above all ignorant "superstitious" believe .

But life experience intruded upon my rational world view . I've personally experienced way too many weird and inexplicable phenomena to any longer deny the "impossible" . (cue spooky music )

 

[DocJD]

This is not an evil karambit weapon . It is a perfectly innocent tool . It did however bite off a tiny bit of my finger for not showing the proper resect . You can see the professional grade wound bandaging .

 

[22-rimfire]

Weeks after my Mother died, I was standing in the bathroom at work looking in the mirror and I saw my Mother standing behind me in the reflection. Explain that. Spooky stuff happens. So, why can't a sword or knife seek blood?

 

[craytab]

This is not an evil karambit weapon . It is a perfectly innocent tool . It did however bite off a tiny bit of my finger for not showing the proper resect . You can see the professional grade wound bandaging .

I've got one as well (an original though). Not something I'd want to cut a squirming kid out of a seatbelt with. But guess you got to do what you have to do ! Imagine if the guy had accidentally ripped that kid open with his weapon ?

 

[Henry Beige]

This is not an evil karambit weapon . It is a perfectly innocent tool . It did however bite off a tiny bit of my finger for not showing the proper resect . You can see the professional grade wound bandaging .

I call BS. A professional would use duct tape.

 

[Henry Beige]

I no longer scoff at things supernatural . Used to be totally rational reductionistic / scientific and prided myself that I had risen above all ignorant "superstitious" believe .

But life experience intruded upon my rational world view . I've personally experienced way too many weird and inexplicable phenomena to any longer deny the "impossible" . (cue spooky music )

“There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy.”

 

[DocJD]

I've got one as well (an original though). Not something I'd want to cut a squirming kid out of a seatbelt with. But guess you got to do what you have to do ! Imagine if the guy had accidentally ripped that kid open with his weapon ?

Yeah . I'm very glad it apparently worked OK but it wouldn't have been my first choice of a rescue / belt cutter .

But he used what he had , did it very well !

I do use an old junky karambit to open packages and it works great , but they don't normally squirm and thrash around .

 

[James Y]

I no longer scoff at things supernatural . Used to be totally rational reductionistic / scientific and prided myself that I had risen above all ignorant "superstitious" believe .

But life experience intruded upon my rational world view . I've personally experienced way too many weird and inexplicable phenomena to any longer deny the "impossible" . (cue spooky music )

Same here. I knew when I posted that, that it would be open to ridicule. I've had things occur on enough occasions throughout my life, over the past 50+ years, including a couple different incidents where other, skeptical persons were present who were "freaked out" by it. They happen infrequently, and they never happen expectedly or "on cue."

Now, have I actually seen a "cursed/haunted" sword or knife? Nope. Well, unless you count the old Randall knife owned by a Vietnam vet who told me the fellow soldier he obtained it from had killed a VC soldier with it, and he said the knife had an unexplainable "spooky energy" about it. I knew the current owner, and he wasn't trying to pull my leg, either. I saw and even handled the knife once, and didn't notice anything special or creepy about it. But that doesn't mean that I entirely discount what he said, because he only showed it to me the one time. So the concept of certain inanimate objects with negative energy attached to them is not limited to "Japanese fairy tales."

And the idea is not limited to weapons. For example, I wouldn't recommend taking any rocks or soil as 'souvenirs' from Hawaii's Volcanoes National Park. If you choose to do so, good luck. I've heard the same about some other sites right here in N. America.

Jim

 

[22-rimfire]

....And the idea is not limited to weapons. For example, I wouldn't recommend taking any rocks or soil as 'souvenirs' from Hawaii's Volcanoes National Park. If you choose to do so, good luck. I've heard the same about some other sites right here in N. America.

Seed.... not in my back yard.

 

[DocJD]

Same here. I knew when I posted that, that it would be open to ridicule. I've had things occur on enough occasions throughout my life, over the past 50+ years, including a couple different incidents where other, skeptical persons were present who were "freaked out" by it. They happen infrequently, and they never happen expectedly or "on cue."

Now, have I actually seen a "cursed/haunted" sword or knife? Nope. Well, unless you count the old Randall knife owned by a Vietnam vet who told me the fellow soldier he obtained it from had killed a VC soldier with it, and he said the knife had an unexplainable "spooky energy" about it. I knew the current owner, and he wasn't trying to pull my leg, either. I saw and even handled the knife once, and didn't notice anything special or creepy about it. But that doesn't mean that I entirely discount what he said, because he only showed it to me the one time. So the concept of certain inanimate objects with negative energy attached to them is not limited to "Japanese fairy tales."

And the idea is not limited to weapons. For example, I wouldn't recommend taking any rocks or soil as 'souvenirs' from Hawaii's Volcanoes National Park. If you choose to do so, good luck. I've heard the same about some other sites right here in N. America.

Jim

My approach to all these unexplainable happenings always starts with deep skepticism / cynicism , especially if someone is selling / making a profit or gaining anything . There are so many cons and our own hopes and fears can alter our perceptions .

But ,I could tell many , MANY stories of incidents that simply were beyond rational explanation . It would be dishonest to deny that .

But this is not the time or place for my testimonials of the weird , because none were directly knife related .

 

[JParanee]

Speaking of 'cursed' (or haunted) katana, I recall back in the early '80s reading an article in one of the martial arts magazines (possibly Black Belt or Karate Illustrated), in which an American Iaido expert, who was a familiar fixture in the traditional forms divisions in the U.S. karate tournament circuit (IIRC, his name was Dale Kirby), mentioned that one day, while practicing alone in his dojo, an antique katana that was displayed on the wall flew across the room, sticking tip-first into another wall. I don't know if the sword had been displayed in its scabbard or not, and if so, if it came out of its scabbard by itself in order to stick into the wall. IIRC, he said that afterwards, he either moved that sword into another, more secure location within the dojo, or maybe even removed it from the building. I do believe he mentioned he had practiced with it in the past, but stopped doing so after that incident.

I had a friend from Japan who told me about a cursed antique katana that was kept on display high up on a wall in a Buddhist temple in Japan, as a way of containing the negativity that had been embedded into the blade. He said that the sword had been tested to cut through condemned criminals' bodies to see how many it could cut through in one stroke, and IIRC, he said it was a "5-body sword." He said he had seen the sword, and that the blade had a bluish tint to it, and gave off an evil vibe. I can't confirm any of this, I'm just sharing what I can recall him saying about it once.

Personally, I wouldn't discount the possibility of some weapons like swords, knives, axes or whatever, that were used to kill, having some negative energy attached to them. But then, I'm sure I've gone way OT for this thread.

Jim

Sounds crazy but ya never know

 

[David Mary]

All these "inexplicable" phenomena fit perfectly with what I believe as a Catholic. There is God, He made angels, some fell by their own free will to rebel. He made us to take the places of those that fell, and he allows a period of time in which we can choose good or evil so that we can merit by striving for good. And the angels that fell - devils. And allowed to try to influence and deceive the world for a time so that we can overcome adversity, and elevate ourselves, by His grace, to a status higher than that in which we were originally constituted. They ultimately have no power, though, except that which we give them by sin.

 

[DocJD]

All these "inexplicable" phenomena fit perfectly with what I believe as a Catholic. There is God, He made angels, some fell by their own free will to rebel. He made us to take the places of those that fell, and he allows a period of time in which we can choose good or evil so that we can merit by striving for good. And the angels that fell - devils. And allowed to influence the world for a time so that we can overcome adversity, and elevate ourselves, by His grace, to a status higher than that in which we were originally constituted. They ultimately have no power, though, except that which we give them by sin.

I'm not offended . But some others on this forum will possibly dump on you for religious talk . Be warned .