You're all carrying your knives backwards!

[Rasmus80]

The idea of a personal "arms race" comes up from time to time. That may be valid when it comes to "good guys carrying guns" but only in that guns as a category are at the top of the food chain. It's worth considering that among guns, a battle rifle is obviously more effective than a pistol, a full-size duty pistol may be more effective than a compact, etc. Most civilians who EDC a gun in America tend to carry things that are more comfortable to lug around all day. For instance, I often carry a lightweight, short-barreled, six-shot revolver.

The reality for bad guys in America is that they could have anything. It could be a gun. It could be a knife. It could be a length of copper pipe. In some cases, it could just be a big, strong, muscular body. The motivations for their violence can be pretty diverse (theft, drugs, revenge, road rage, sexual assault, mental illness, etc.). Meanwhile, the "good guy" or intended victim could be a man, a woman, someone old, someone disabled, etc.

So going to the top of the chain on defensive tools, relative to what you can carry as a civilian, increases effectiveness against the greatest possible breadth of risk. It's also worth noting that many violent crimes are opportunistic. So considering the diversity of tools for violence and the diversity of potential victims, having the top tool can be an incredible equalizer. Knowledge that a "little old lady" might have said equalizer in her purse can itself act as a powerful deterrent to some kinds of violence.

It makes sense, relative to the level of threat.
When the potential risk of aggresion towards you and your loved ones is relatively higher, wanting to protect one self becomes a bigger priority.

Let me ask you this:
Lets say, you were invited to visit Denmark.
How would about feel, walking around Copenhagen, unarmed?

My initial post was never a stab at your choices to be armed. Nor a stab at your 2nd Ammendment.

It was more a reaction to the circumstances, which makes many of you deem it necessary to be armed and carry knives for self defense.

 

[000Robert]

It makes sense, relative to the level of threat.
When the potential risk of aggresion towards you and your loved ones is relatively higher, wanting to protect one self becomes a bigger priority.

Let me ask you this:
Lets say, you were invited to visit Denmark.
How would about feel, walking around Copenhagen, unarmed?

My initial post was never a stab at your choices to be armed. Nor a stab at your 2nd Ammendment.

It was more a reaction to the circumstances, which makes many of you deem it necessary to be armed and carry knives for self defense.

For me personally, I would never go to your country and be at the mercy of your criminals or government.

 

[David Mary]

I am confident enough my 1) situational awareness, 2) understanding of body language, and 3) physical abilities to go wherever I need to go, whether I have a knife on my belt or not (and my government would throw me in jail if I carried a firearm). The fact is, there is nowhere I could possible want to go where anyone would think to deny me my high powered aluminum bodied torch. And the expression "If you won't go there unarmed, don't go there at all" still applies. It's just that there is nowhere - aside from a war zone perhaps - that I wouldn't go unarmed. Besides, my greatest weapon is always with me (my wit, but it's more of a shield than a weapon). And of course I also abide by the "don't go where ne'er-do-wells conglomerate". I know some are used to a slightly different version of that last one, but not from me.

 

[co556guy]

For me personally, I would never go to your country and be at the mercy of your criminals or government.

Yeah, as cool as the history in europe is......traveling there isn't in the cards. If they don't trust me with a pistol and a knife, I don't trust them with my person. That goes for places in the usa too, like new york, kali, etc.

 

[Chronovore]

It makes sense, relative to the level of threat.
When the potential risk of aggresion towards you and your loved ones is relatively higher, wanting to protect one self becomes a bigger priority.

Let me ask you this:
Lets say, you were invited to visit Denmark.
How would about feel, walking around Copenhagen, unarmed?

My initial post was never a stab at your choices to be armed. Nor a stab at your 2nd Ammendment.

It was more a reaction to the circumstances, which makes many of you deem it necessary to be armed and carry knives for self defense.

Like I said, I live in a nice, safe, rural area. Violent crime is close to zero out here. I still carry. While I've never needed to defend life or limb with a firearm, I know a few people who have. Like the fire extinguisher example, they sure were glad to have the tool when they needed it!

BTW, America is not uniform with respect to gun or knife rights. Several American states and cities impose restrictions on the right to carry. For instance, New York, Massachusetts, and California impose heavy restrictions while Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont have virtually none. Coincidentally, Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont also happen to be the states with the lowest rates of violent crime (both as a whole and per person). A bad running joke is that you aren't allowed to carry in some of the cities where you'd most want to.

I've actually put a few suffering animals out of their misery. People on rural roads will occasionally hit an animal and just drive away. Then the poor thing is left to die a slow death. I've been glad that I could help. It's very sad to see an animal suffer like that.

 

[Boombats]

Yeah, as cool as the history in europe is......traveling there isn't in the cards. If they don't trust me with a pistol and a knife, I don't trust them with my person. That goes for places in the usa too, like new york, kali, etc.

While I prefer to carry, I can't see being too afraid to go to an entire state or country unarmed. What are you planning on doing, going to sketchy parts of town for shady purposes? I go into NYC all the time and leave my EDC at home (because the laws there are different than upstate and I don't feel like spending the night in The Tombs), and I never feel like I'm taking that much of a risk.

Several American states and cities impose restrictions on the right to carry. For instance, New York

NY really depends on where you are. I've worn a bayonet around police who said they didn't care as long as I wasn't brandishing or menacing with it. NYC allows knives under 4" in some circumstances, but they can still send you to Rikers Island if they really want to.

I've actually put a few suffering animals out of their misery. People on rural roads will occasionally hit an animal and just drive away. Then the poor thing is left to die a slow death. I've been glad that I could help. It's very sad to see an animal suffer like that.

Good on you, sincerely. That is the noblest reason to carry a weapon, and is why I have a decapitator in my vehicle.


Back on topic, OP is right.

 

[000Robert]

While I prefer to carry, I can't see being too afraid to go to an entire state or country unarmed.

Fear has nothing to do with it. It's called being prepared. If you don't mind putting yourself at the mercy of their criminals and courts, then go right ahead. We choose not to.
The biggest problem with your reasoning is that being wrong could cost you your life. If I am wrong then nothing happened.

 

[Rasmus80]

Fear has nothing to do with it. It's called being prepared. If you don't mind putting yourself at the mercy of their criminals and courts, then go right ahead. We choose not to.
The biggest problem with your reasoning is that being wrong could cost you your life. If I am wrong then nothing happened.

That is some pretty big limits to your own liberty, that you are imposing on your self.

There is a whole world, who will never get to meet you.

 

[jackknife]

Like I said, I live in a nice, safe, rural area.

Theres no such animal.

Google murder on Blood Mountain. I'm sure Meredith Emerson thought she was gong for a nice peaceful walk with her dog.

Google murders on the Appalachian Trail. I'm sure all those backpackers thought they were going on a nice peaceful backpacking trip. They never thought they'd be murdered.

It happens. No matter what kind of peaceful paradise you think your living in, as long as theres people there, odds are theres going to be one or more with thoughts in their heads that you wouldn't believe. For a couple years I lived in Trinidad, Colorado. Nice peaceful little town nestled in the foothills of the Rocky mountains. But after a few years I found out that there was rapes, robberies, assaults, and even a few murders.

I get very tiered of some peoples down their noses look at the U.S. because of their skewed statistics. Take the population of New York city and spread it out over the square miles of Denmark, take away any weapons, and you'll have less homicide. But how many assaults will take place because now the criminals know if they have you outnumbered you're helpless? Or how can a senior citizen defend himself against a much younger bigger, stronger 20 something mugger? or five foot three inch female defend herself against a six foot three rapist? Given a hugely smaller popular spread out over a larger area yes there will be less crime. But they still have crime, but also a government that will not let the subjects defend themselves. It comes down to how much control over your life are you willing to give up for a illusion of never-never land? Like the old saying; God created man, Samuel Colt made them equal.

Your rural little utopia has perverts and criminals just like everywhere else, just less of them because they are spread out.

I will never live in or visit anywhere that does not let me carry damm near anything to defend myself. Man has been killing man since cain bashed in Able's skull with a rock. Feeble laws are not going to change mankind.

 

[Cooter Brown]

For what it's worth, I have a WWII Randall Model 1 Fighter that was ordered for a right hander. The sheath when carried on the right side is set up for edge forward carry. The original owner was a neighbor. He told me it was intentionally set up that way and that's how he carried it in the war (China/Burma Theater).

This is very common in Randall fighters of that era and even later.

 

[co556guy]

While I prefer to carry, I can't see being too afraid to go to an entire state or country unarmed. .

It's not about being too afraid. It's about the mutual respect between the government and the people it exists to serve.

It's a canary in the coal mine. If they don't trust me to be armed and not use those weapons for ignoble purposes, I don't trust them to be just leaders.

 

[Wannabe Rambo Guy]

You sound like my old Sensei back in my martial arts days.

This guy was as deadly a person as I've ever met. Yet his teachings first and foremost dealt with avoiding places, people and situations where violence fomented.

He was big on the saying "Speak softly and carry a big stick", and much of his time was spent advocating the "speak softly" part. I miss that guy.

I got thinking of the comment in the OP mentioning the "iaido-like" aspect of this carry, so I tried with a Cold Steel Magnum Tanto and a Kobun.

The Magnum Tanto is problematic with this style of carry, as you have to manipulate the blade's release from the sheath with a bit of finger/thumb action. And it's a big ol' 9 inch blade that just doesn't seem like it's suited for reverse grip. I am not a practitioner of Iaido, nor a knife duelist so I am probably missing something here that could straighten me out with a bit of instruction and kata work.

The Kobun on the other hand comes out in a reverse grip like a stroke of lightning. It's actually really fun and it feels just fine in reverse grip. It's new enough that the knife is still a bit sticky in the sheath, so a couple of times the knife and sheath came out together off the waist band. But once it wears itself in there I'm sure one could make a very effective opening move with this thing.

David, the one part I'm not recognizing is where you said "I can index my finger on the spine all the way up to the tip without worrying about cutting my finger."

I am apparently missing the point of this, is it for returning the blade to the sheath? Perhaps a bit more explanation, or video maybe would help.

In iaido, you manipulate the saya, as to pull the blade out, and put it back in it's saya. Your belt would become warped eventually.

 

[Gideons]

This thread... is just brutal.

 

[Boombats]

Fear has nothing to do with it. It's called being prepared. If you don't mind putting yourself at the mercy of their criminals and courts, then go right ahead. We choose not to.
The biggest problem with your reasoning is that being wrong could cost you your life. If I am wrong then nothing happened.

Well nothing happened, and nothing's going to happen when I go to Midtown Manhattan to deliver antique furniture. Much worse things are likely to happen to me on Rikers Island if I get stop'n'frisked and have a blade that a cop doesn't like.

I think your perception of NYC must be based on action flicks from the 80s. It's not a scary place, not most of it, and even the bad spots aren't like they were in the past. You should travel more.

It's not about being too afraid. It's about the mutual respect between the government and the people it exists to serve.

It's a canary in the coal mine. If they don't trust me to be armed and not use those weapons for ignoble purposes, I don't trust them to be just leaders.

I thought we were talking about visiting these places, not changing our citizenship. Anyway, you think we have really just leaders here? C'mon, man.

 

[co556guy]

I thought we were talking about visiting these places, not changing our citizenship. Anyway, you think we have really just leaders here? C'mon, man.

Maybe, maybe not. I'm not disarmed though.

You do what you want. I'll do what I want.

 

[David Mary]

This thread... is just brutal.

And what descriptor would you use for vague, dismissive comments that add nothing to the discussion?

 

[David Mary]

The biggest problem with your reasoning is that being wrong could cost you your life. If I am wrong then nothing happened.

Well, not exactly, as there are other ways to die than by interpersonal violence, and other effective ways to deal with (i.e. stop, or avoid) interpersonal violence than weapons. That being said, I respect the decision to not go where being unarmed is a requirement, if it's not a decision I would make.

 

[Chronovore]

Theres no such animal.

Google murder on Blood Mountain. I'm sure Meredith Emerson thought she was gong for a nice peaceful walk with her dog.

Google murders on the Appalachian Trail. I'm sure all those backpackers thought they were going on a nice peaceful backpacking trip. They never thought they'd be murdered.

It happens. No matter what kind of peaceful paradise you think your living in, as long as theres people there, odds are theres going to be one or more with thoughts in their heads that you wouldn't believe. For a couple years I lived in Trinidad, Colorado. Nice peaceful little town nestled in the foothills of the Rocky mountains. But after a few years I found out that there was rapes, robberies, assaults, and even a few murders.

I get very tiered of some peoples down their noses look at the U.S. because of their skewed statistics. Take the population of New York city and spread it out over the square miles of Denmark, take away any weapons, and you'll have less homicide. But how many assaults will take place because now the criminals know if they have you outnumbered you're helpless? Or how can a senior citizen defend himself against a much younger bigger, stronger 20 something mugger? or five foot three inch female defend herself against a six foot three rapist? Given a hugely smaller popular spread out over a larger area yes there will be less crime. But they still have crime, but also a government that will not let the subjects defend themselves. It comes down to how much control over your life are you willing to give up for a illusion of never-never land? Like the old saying; God created man, Samuel Colt made them equal.

Your rural little utopia has perverts and criminals just like everywhere else, just less of them because they are spread out.

I will never live in or visit anywhere that does not let me carry damm near anything to defend myself. Man has been killing man since cain bashed in Able's skull with a rock. Feeble laws are not going to change mankind.

What I said was: "I live in a nice, safe, rural area. Violent crime is close to zero out here. I still carry. While I've never needed to defend life or limb with a firearm, I know a few people who have. Like the fire extinguisher example, they sure were glad to have the tool when they needed it!"

Obviously, there is no such thing as total safety. My comment about violent crime where I live is statistical and historical. That doesn't mean it can't happen. If I thought it did, why would I go to the trouble? For anyone who hasn't tried carrying a concealed firearm around, all day, every day, it's a whole thing. A lot goes into it from managing the EDC footprint to bearing the legal and moral responsibilities.

Really, it's about preparedness. Like the fire extinguisher in the kitchen, it's something that helps you to be prepared versus a thankfully rare but woefully serious set of possible circumstances. If you never ever need it, that's a wonderful thing. We should all pray that it stays that way. We should do what we can to make decent choices and stay out of trouble. Not knowing what tomorrow may bring, or what choices other people will make, I think reasonable preparation is a good idea.

 

[Gideons]

And what descriptor would you use for vague, dismissive comments that add nothing to the discussion?

"A thread that should of been locked a long time ago", or "a lot of pseudo-intellectualism". It's not a stretch to see how this thread breaks rules #2,#3,#4, and #9. https://www.bladeforums.com/help/site-rules/ . These are just some of the polite "descriptors" that I would attach to why this thread is "brutal".

 

[David Mary]

G Gideons , thank you for stating your case more plainly. That is much more productive than the "hit and run" of a vague statement.

Regarding your concerns, I disagree that this thread has spiraled into the type of trolling chaos that the rules prohibit. Miscommunications due to language and culture barriers, on the other hand, are bound to happen on a forum consisting of members from across the globe, and those participating in this thread seem to have managed, despite differing on specific points, to nevertheless arrive at a civil discourse, albeit passionately delivered for some. If anything, I think there is a case for moving the thread, given that it has unsurprisingly veered into Practical Tactical waters.