If sm1 was googling the topic about knife superstitions and beliefs, here's a collection of best quotes along the thread:
> The practice of giving a coin in return for a knife is practiced in many countries throughout Europe and Asia as well as here in Australia. The knife does not have to be a gift as such - an old friend of mine found a few old butchers knives in the shed which he passed on to me so I had to give him a coin in return so as not to cut the friendship . A similar tradition exists with the giving of a purse of wallet as a gift the giver must include a coin in the purse or wallet to ensure good wealth.
> Another leg of the Chinese superstition is that if the recipient at any point down the line cuts themselves with the knife, they'll think of you, and this seeds bad feelings. This goes for any sharp object given as a gift. By having the recipient give you a coin, it turns it into a financial transaction, even though logically, you wouldn't sell someone a knife for one penny. I adhere loosely to this custom by stringing a penny to the package and having them give it to me.
> As I understand it, superstition states that you should give someone a coin when they give you a knife. I've heard two reasons for this. The first says that it is to ensure that the knife doesn't cut the owner; the second reason, which I've heard more often, is that it is to ensure that the knife does not cut the friendship between the giver and the recipient.
> in the Korean culture (different from Chinese, but close), when i knife is given as a gift, a coin is given by the receiver to the giver, so as not to cut any ties between each other. Mentor has it right, at least for me. i still abide by this custom as do my other Korean friends... usually it's just a penny that is exchanged.
> When I was growing up my dad always made me give him a penny when he gave me a knife. (who was going to argue with an old Guadalcanal Marine). It had to do with "not cutting the bond of friendship". He's gone but the tradition carries on!
I also read about it in an old copy (mid 90's) of Blade magazine. I'll see if I can find it in stack of mags I have.
> In central and eastern Europe you are supposed to give the person who gives you a knife a coin straight away. If you don't (according to my Grand Mother and a couple of my friends Grand Mothers) you are likely to cut your self badly with the knife.
> In Argentina, if you give somebody a knife he has to give you a coin. It's a widely spread tradition that almost everybody follows. We have a few more: If you give somebody a knife holding it by the blade and offering the handle, you are supposed to be showing your good will. On the other hand, if you present the gift holding it by the handle and offering the edge (even if it's sheathed), it's a sign of defiance.
> Dreaming about knives is a bad omen (too bad, this happens to me quite often). If you stab a man to death, and leave his corpse face up, the crime will be speedily solved.
> A man stabbed with a dagger that has no guard (called "cross" in my country), will have no peace in his afterlife. This was taken quite seriously, guard-less daggers were very common "payback" weapons.
> A knife that was lost for some reason, and then appeared out of nowhere would only be used for leather working, and if it had rust it would not be completely cleaned. Even today, mi "soguería" (a kind of traditional leather working) teacher and my older classmates use old knives, which long ago lost their original shape, they all have some kind of story about where they found them.
> As I've heard it, one version descends from the Celtic tradition- a knife's edge severs the friendship unless the edge is blocked by a coin.
> Chinese or Japanese in nature; if a superior gives you a knife, you're supposed to go commit sepuko (sp?) with it... where as the coin in exhange makes it a purchase and perfectly safe to own.
> I know of this custom too. My mother, here in The Netherlands, gave me my grandmothers knife but insisted I gave her a coin back. Not completely in earnest, I think, but the custom is known.
> My wife, who is Japanese, explained it to me as this. By placing a coin on the blade of a knife, it is considered a gift. Whereas if someone were to give you a knife with no coin, you were expected to take your own life with said knife.
> I think the Scandinavians have the right idea: A gift of a knife is the gift of life and protection. There is no need to counter gift for any reason. The giver is giving a most powerful gift possible.
> But here's another one you may not have heard of: A husband and wife (or boyfriend and girlfriend, or fiance and fiance) are never supposed to give each other knives (of any kind) for the same gift-giving occasion - even if done in different years. For example, he gives her a kitchen cleaver for X-mas one year, and she gives him a pocket knife for X-mas the next year -- this is supposed to bring bad luck to the relationship.
> My better half learned this growing up in Romania, and I had never heard it until out anniversary last week (of course, I asked for a knife!) -- but apparently (women remember this stuff, guys generally don't), I gifted her one of her fancy kitchen knives for our anniversary last year, so she did not want to get me a knife for our anniversary this year. One more thing to keep track of!
