Displaying knives in public

[santaman2000]

I'm not sure that's true Mary. Most people I speak to think things have gone far too far with these laws - especially because they have been shown to be wholly ineffective. Mad men will do mad things. Ban one type of weapon and they will just get one illegally or use something else. The only people these laws affect are the law abiding. People bent on mayhem don't care about laws...

I agree. I was still stationed over there when the Dunblane incident happened. It was my opinion then (and still is) that all those people did not die besause one man had a gun; they died because none of then had a gun to defend themselves.

Sattistics bear me out over here. In every state that has enacted a mandatory issue for any CCW (concealed weapons permit) application, the violent crime rate has gone down.

 

[Toddy]

I suspect that it might be the company you keep BR

How many people do you see on any regular basis, across the spectrum of society ?
I speak with thousands in a year. Every year; from the youngsters to the elderly, from the unemployed to the employers, right across the country.

I'd rather not derail this thread, and I firmly believe that the opinions we've both expressed are correct, from our point of view, but I agree that this isn't the place for that discussion.

cheers,
M

 

[Toddy]

I agree. I was still stationed over there when the Dunblane incident happened. It was my opinion then (and still is) that all those people did not die besause one man had a gun; they died because none of then had a gun to defend themselves.

Sattistics bear me out over here. In every state that has enacted a mandatory issue for any CCW (concealed weapons permit) application, the violent crime rate has gone down.

Santaman, Dunblane was a massacre of babies in primary school. Thomas Hamilton shot himself before the police could get to him........or do your primary school teachers regularly carry guns in school ? They never have here and there would be ructions should it be suggested.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunblane_school_massacre


This is way off topic.

Mod hat on; please return thread to OP discussion.

Toddy

 

[johnboy]

Mod hat on; please return thread to OP discussion.

Toddy

.................

 

[santaman2000]

Santaman, Dunblane was a massacre of babies in primary school. Thomas Hamilton shot himself before the police could get to him........or do your primary school teachers regularly carry guns in school ? They never have here and there would be ructions should it be suggested.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunblane_school_massacre


This is way off topic.

Mod hat on; please return thread to OP discussion.

Toddy

Sorry Mary. I'm confusing Dunblane with a previous incident where the victims were adults in the late 1980s (cain't remember the exact location ATM.To answer your question about teachers carrying in primary school, no they don't, but the school resource officers DO.

 

[salad]

The german laws here are quite sensible
They define certain knives as weapons ie balisong and the like , you are not allowed to carry them unless in a locked box for transportation (like the uk gun law).

Other than that you can pretty much carry anything with a blade no bigger than 11cm (fixed blade) .
They do get funny about one hand openers that lock , but you can carry lock knives or a one hand opener as long as it does not have both features . In other words you cant carry your locking spyderco but you can carry your bushcraft fixed blade

I was on a train with mates from here when I first moved here and we were on our way to go hiking for a few days , we were eating lunch and my mate gets his fixed blade out his pack to cut up some cold sausage . No one on the train even batted an eyelid , coming from the UK I kept expecting someone to freak out or at least look worried but no one here thinks its strange if a hiker/outdoors person has a fixed blade knife .
Although that said I recon you still might get some strange looks if you were walking through a major city like Berlin or Munich with a belt knife on even though technically its legal

 

[santaman2000]

...Although that said I recon you still might get some strange looks if you were walking through a major city like Berlin or Munich with a belt knife on even though technically its legal

I think that's a big part of the spirit behind many of the responses here. It would look (and probably be) out of place on a city street but why should it seem out of place at a bushcraft show?

 

[Corso]

Sorry Mary. I'm confusing Dunblane with a previous incident where the victims were adults in the late 1980s (cain't remember the exact location ATM.To answer your question about teachers carrying in primary school, no they don't, but the school resource officers DO.

you were thinking of Hungerford

however there have been many shooting on school/college grounds in the US over the years

 

[mountainm]

you were thinking of Hungerford

however there have been many shooting on school/college grounds in the US over the years

I think this thread has run it's course Discussing the relative merits of gun ownership and how they link to various massacres leaves a distinctly bad taste in my mouth.

 

[boatman]

Thre were armed police officers at Hungerford relatively early on and they stayed up on the common.

 

[Corso]

I think this thread has run it's course Discussing the relative merits of gun ownership and how they link to various massacres leaves a distinctly bad taste in my mouth.

it was simply a counter staitment that demonstrated gun ownership is not the answer

I see guns as tools like most outdoorsmen but to suggest they are protection is misinformed and dangerous as many sad tales tell

 

[mountainm]

it was simply a counter staitment that demonstrated gun ownership is not the answer

I see guns as tools like most outdoorsmen but to suggest they are protection is misinformed and dangerous as many sad tales tell

I wasn't singling you out - but if we start arguing guns and gun laws then this thread is destined to be locked.

 

[Pict]

Judging by the craftsmanship and attention to detail I would say it should be a crime to hide many knives seen here in the bottom of a pack. Art should be on display so it can be seen and admired, especially where people are gathered who would appreciate it. I think a bushcraft show or meet would be just the place for it.

The problem is one of public perception. How often is the image of a knife flashed on the screen during news casts? It is a symbol and as such has been attached to the crime of assault as if eliminating the knife would have stopped the crime. That is silly. The most restrictive environment on the planet is the prison system where inmates arm themselves with knives on a regular basis. If someone is intent to arm themselves it is a tall order to ban the use of stone age technology. Both my wife and I have been assaulted by stone age knives here in Brazil in separate incidents. OK in mine it was a hacksaw blade that had been rubbed to a point on a sidewalk, her's was broken glass. I once had to defend myself against a nail studded club while working in a mental facility where everything was bolted to the floor or made of lightweight plastic. This person armed himself in the time it took him to smash apart a dresser drawer. You can take the man out of the stone age but it is hard to take the stone age out of man.

 

[Andy BB]

I think a nanny should be appointed to everyone under the age of 60, armed with an electric shock collar to stop their "wards" misbehaving or taking risks. Employment for the elderly, and social control for everyone. And once they finalise research into thought-reading via computer........................

 

[santaman2000]

you were thinking of Hungerford

however there have been many shooting on school/college grounds in the US over the years

Thank you. Yes it was Hungerford. You're absolutely right , there have been many shootings on campuses over here. Unfortunately my reasoning still stands as guns are prohibitted on campus therefore the only armed persons on campus were the perpertrators.

The statistics still bear me out in that everywhere "shall issue" has been enacted (in regards to carry permits) the violent crime rate has decreased (sometimes dramaticlly)

 

[santaman2000]

...The most restrictive environment on the planet is the prison system where inmates arm themselves with knives on a regular basis. If someone is intent to arm themselves it is a tall order to ban the use of stone age technology. Both my wife and I have been assaulted by stone age knives here in Brazil in separate incidents. OK in mine it was a hacksaw blade that had been rubbed to a point on a sidewalk, her's was broken glass. I once had to defend myself against a nail studded club while working in a mental facility where everything was bolted to the floor or made of lightweight plastic. This person armed himself in the time it took him to smash apart a dresser drawer. You can take the man out of the stone age but it is hard to take the stone age out of man.

You're completey right about prisons. I spent over a decade of my second career inside the prison system. Every day we would confiscate home-made weapons of all types. The most common was the blade removed from a disposable razor and melted into the handle of a toothbrush, but I've even seen 11 inch Japanese sais made from hardened toilet paper and often guns as well. After all that it was estimated that we only intercepted and conficated less than 5%

 

[Scots_Charles_River]

Modertaors - This thread needs locked please.

I don't think talking about the Dunblane Tragedy is appropriate for the Bushcraft forum.

 

[John Fenna]

Modertaors - This thread needs locked please.

Agreed! .

 

[789987]

so did we decide if it was a good idea or not to wear knifes in public?

 

[Vulpes]

so did we decide if it was a good idea or not to wear knifes in public?

The simple answer to a really long, blown out thread being "Common sense applies here". Afterall, there's a time and a place for everything and a bushcraft show would be fine for it. Regardless of whether you're showing off or not actually using it, it seems to be an appropriate place.