re: What generation did men stop carrying a pocket knife?

Country thing. I have carried a knife since high school. I learned in college that the city guys didn't. Not worse, just different. I don't often fly of have to go other places it isn't allowed, but have had to check it or go back to the car with it a time or two. I feel naked without one.

Current carry is a Case lockback my son gave me. Very light.

I carry one everyday, because I hate when I forget and need it.

quote:

---

I carry a Gerber multi-tool most of the time.

---

Same here. Don’t leave home without it.

I forgot my knife one day working with my grandpa ,he told me, "A man without a knife is like a women without a pussy".

I haven't forgotten my knife since.

It was the influence of Big Unarmed Fighting and the criminal underworld arms race.

The former is a shadowy, amorphous, multinational group pushing the idea that men should be able to kick arse without access to weapons. Their insidious plan was to get people interested in various forms of unarmed fighting to make a bunch of money from private combat system training, nutritional supplements (AKA: da' juice) and televised fights.

The later was Darwinism; folks bringing knives to gunfights stopped surviving to pass on their pocketknife carrying genes to following generations. I think the last pocket knife carrying humans went extinct shortly after the Vietnam War.

in 50 years you've only needed a pocket knife 10 times?

I still carry a small executive lockback. Then I lose it.

It's not the men, it's the situations that have changed.

From college on, I always had a small little Swiss-army knife thing I got from the first company I worked for (had their name & logo on it). Fit on my key ring; neat, useful little gadget. Used it occasionally to cut things or unscrew/screw something. That lasted up until just after 9-11, when security everywhere changed. I have to go into a lot of government buildings for my job; I remember the first time I threw my key ring in the bowl thing and they said I couldn't do that. So I started keeping it in my car.

I tried one of those credit card knife things (which I also used occasionally, even to cut some limes for cocktails once in a pinch), but the X-Rays and metal detectors detect those things as well, even though it is in a wallet, so I stopped carrying it.

Some sporting event venues don't even allow you to bring a cigar cutter in (Superdome and Smoothie King Arena, for example) so you can't enjoy a victory cigar walking back to the car.

On the other hand, when I am boating, camping or even tailgating, I have on me and at the ready a fixed blade knife in a sheath on my belt, comme ca:

quote:

---

I don’t have one because I don’t need one for my office job

---

It doesn't have to be tied to your job. Take a small flashlight, for example. You don't know how often you need one until you start carrying one.

I grew up in rural LA and everyone carried a pocket knife, so obviously I did too

I stopped when my employer and clients began forbidding the carry of pocket knives (mostly O&G clients)

I haven't carried one in probably 15ish years and have had very few instances where I needed it, other than when I'm hunting/fishing/camping/etc, in which I would obviously carry a knife