# Knives and the public.



## The Tourist (Jun 9, 2016)

As both a consumer and salesman for knives since 1964, I can tell you that when the average citizen hears the word "knife," he begins to wax nostalgically about "Rebel Without a Cause" movies. The villains of such drivel is never the teenager, it's about the knife. Usually a Sicilian stiletto.

I got my first pocketknife like most boomers my age, at the age of eight from my dad at Christmas. I still have it.

However, 'on paper' automatic knives have been illegal inside the USA since 1958 through 2015 (in Wisconsin). It is one of the most ignored felonies of my state. Even the cops I know didn't/don't enforce this law. Our jails cannot hold every guy from 16 to 40 years of age with a four-inch folder.

I own about two dozen folders of which only two are 'manual.' Automatics can be purchased in any shape and size, although I find any folder with more of a four inch blade to be unwieldy and unnecessary.

Below is my current collection, and my supplier has just sent me a new black/black Frank B automatic stiletto, which is one of the finest examples made. You open its package, oil the wear areas and slice with it for around 25 years. Oh, you might have to polish it once or twice.

Notice I use the word 'automatic' and not 'switchblade.' I think the general public's view of an automatic is +50 years behind the times. It's a jackknife, plain and simple.

I usually carry one or two automatics every time I leave the house. I cannot tell you how many years that entails. These are tools like any other item. They just have springs.


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## Slippy (Nov 14, 2013)

Very nice Tourist! 

But I must admit, when I read the Title of this thread I misread it and thought it said Knives and the PUBIC. I was about to offer advise to the youngsters that knives and the pubic are not usually a good combination. lain:


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## The Tourist (Jun 9, 2016)

Thanks, Slippy.

I've just decided to butt heads with this idea that "automatics" are somehow foolhardy and dangerous. They are jackknives. And while I have several jackknives, I usually carry an automatic in my right front pants pocket.

The reasoning is simple. Most often you need a knife to work on a project. And if you're like me, you need "three hands." Many times if you can just hold the item steady you can start a decent cut.

Most of my automatics are simply spring fired versions of your typical four inch jackknife. There is nothing evil about such a knife. If you do research you'll find that the outrage over switchblades began with three teenage exploitation movies. It is important to realize that WWII veterans returning from Sicily and the Italian mainland usually brought home automatic knives--fifteen years before the movies that trashed such folders.


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## bigwheel (Sep 22, 2014)

I sure love my Foshner/Victornox knives. They are made by Yumppin Yimmines in Sweden I think. Or maybe Switzerland. Must be Switzerland since they also mkake Swiss Army knives. Those S countries can run together on the maps. They take an edge easy and give it back up sorta slow. Needs a touch every two butts when deboning. It takes a tinker and his wheel to sharpen those over priced hard kraut knives the yups love so much. I talked to every butcher in town before making a decision. One guy had been using his six inch curved boner Forschner everyday for 20 years and had never seen a grinding wheel. Just a few whacks on a steel could keep it sharp enough to shave with. I have the full set. Not even speaking of my special fighting knives yet. Those are a different brand.


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## The Tourist (Jun 9, 2016)

Well, bigwheel, after having been a fencer for three years I have to go with the stiletto.

For example, even in the movie "Spartacus" the gladiator trainer points out the most vulnerable areas for stabbing. Any slash is just a minor flesh wound. Hitting vitals as soon as possible shortens the fight and saves your life.

And as a fencer I thought the foil was for 'beginners' and the real deal was the epee or the saber. The biggest target for the epee is your opponent's dominant elbow. As for the saber, the best target is the top of your opponent's helmet.

I always wanted to try Italian fencing. Rather than just a 40 foot strip, Italian fencing can be held in a circle. Some matches allow the use of a dagger in their non-dominant hand.


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## hawgrider (Oct 24, 2014)

bigwheel said:


> I sure love my Foshner/Victornox knives. They are made by Yumppin Yimmines in Sweden I think. Or maybe Switzerland. Must be Switzerland since they also mkake Swiss Army knives. Those S countries can run together on the maps. They take an edge easy and give it back up sorta slow. Needs a touch every two butts when deboning. It takes a tinker and his wheel to sharpen those over priced hard kraut knives the yups love so much. I talked to every butcher in town before making a decision. One guy had been using his six inch curved boner Forschner everyday for 20 years and had never seen a grinding wheel. Just a few whacks on a steel could keep it sharp enough to shave with. I have the full set. Not even speaking of my special fighting knives yet. Those are a different brand.


Currently my favorite butcher knife. Recommended by the "Bearded Butchers"


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## KUSA (Apr 21, 2016)

The Tourist said:


> Notice I use the word 'automatic' and not 'switchblade.' I think the general public's view of an automatic is +50 years behind the times. It's a jackknife, plain and simple.


Is it really an automatic? I think an electric knife could be considered automatic. The knives you refer to are semi-automatic. One push of the button results in one blade deployed.


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## The Tourist (Jun 9, 2016)

*@KUSA*, normally I would agree with you. However, I find that it's difficult to carry a electric cord in my jeans, and then find an outlet close to the aggressor.

Yeah, an automatic has its restrictions, for use and by statute, but then again I'm too old to learn a new discipline. Thankfully my state made CCW of just about every knife legal for law abiding citizens.


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## KUSA (Apr 21, 2016)

Problem solved. Just fix one of your polished blades on the end of this and enjoy automatic cordless stabbing.


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## rice paddy daddy (Jul 17, 2012)

I have one auto that I picked up used for $10 at my local gun shops “junk box”.
It has an aluminum body and the only marking is AUS 8 on the blade, which I believe is the grade of steel.
I hesitate to carry it for fear of it going off in my pocket. It has a safety, but that increases deployment time.
Frankly, a flipper blade opens just as quickly.


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## The Tourist (Jun 9, 2016)

rice paddy daddy said:


> Frankly, a flipper blade opens just as quickly.


I have several examples of both automatics and "flipper" folders. Sometimes I carry one model in the right pocket and the other type in my left pocket. There are advantages to both.

As you know, my trips to the mall are getting fewer and fewer. It's just not as much fun as it used to be. The baristas I knew and respected are long gone, and the mall's food court is trouble waiting to explode.

I've been carrying an auto plus an all stainless simple folder called a CRKT 'Pilar' with an edge that defies belief. You need two hands to open the thing, but the slice is worth the wait...


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## bigwheel (Sep 22, 2014)

hawgrider said:


> Currently my favorite butcher knife. Recommended by the "Bearded Butchers"


Nice movie. Thanks. Wood handles are not good for commericial use. The health goons here demand synthetic handles. So my nice Victornox have Fibrox Handles. lol.


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## hawgrider (Oct 24, 2014)

bigwheel said:


> Nice movie. Thanks. Wood handles are not good for commericial use. The health goons here demand synthetic handles. So my nice Victornox have Fibrox Handles. lol.


Yeah they make em in plastic fantastic. I prefer traditional handles for a better grip. I like my guns that way too.... steel and wood.


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## Piratesailor (Nov 9, 2012)

On knives and the public... have you seen this stupidity?

https://www.breitbart.com/europe/20...knives-should-be-illegal-says-church-england/


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## The Tourist (Jun 9, 2016)

Piratesailor said:


> On knives and the public... have you seen this stupidity?


Not that exact article, but I do know that England has been warring against cutlery for years. To show you how ridiculous this is, I never know just exactly how many folders I'm carrying until I dump out my jacket.

Folders come in differing sizes with blade shapes for a myriad of uses. For a country to deprive its entire citizenry of common tools is not only foolhardy but a snub to its very "subjects."

And that's the issue. The USA has citizens, England rules it's subjects...


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## The Tourist (Jun 9, 2016)

We finally bought some decent batteries and now I can take a picture of my CRKT actual Mah Lanny assisted opening folder. It was one heartbreak after another getting the bevel to be as sharp as I like them. To get the edge useful I had to ink the blade to find *all three* of the edge's bevels. I was hoping the folder would be beautiful and sharp. Well, maybe "sharp" with another polishing...


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## jeffh (Apr 6, 2020)

The Tourist said:


> We finally bought some decent batteries and now I can take a picture of my CRKT actual Mah Lanny assisted opening folder. It was one heartbreak after another getting the bevel to be as sharp as I like them. To get the edge useful I had to ink the blade to find *all three* of the edge's bevels. I was hoping the folder would be beautiful and sharp. Well, maybe "sharp" with another polishing...
> 
> View attachment 113654


Nice knife. I have not seen your thread starting post before. Nice collection of Kalashnikov knives.


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## The Tourist (Jun 9, 2016)

*Nice knife. I have not seen your thread starting post before. Nice collection of Kalashnikov knives.*

Well, if I see a knife I like--even if it was made in Poland--I'd give the tool a slick sharpening and eliminate the scratches and dings.

What I would really like to see is a traditional switchblade handle that fires a Bowie Knife shaped blade. I'm getting tired at looking at the traditional stiletto dagger blade. If you guys ever see such an animal, drop me a line...


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