[OT] Carrying a knife

[Kahuna Burger]

That's all well and good. We're not talking about wearing a six gun on your hip. We're talking about carrying a concealed weapon. That's well within the power of the states to regulate. Furthermore, just because PA has one set of rules pertaining to what constitutes a legal knife, doesn't mean that it's the same in California.

There are limits on the Second Amendment.

--G

Not to mention that any attempt to use the 2nd ammendment in this case (assuming it was transplanted to the US) creates an instant catch 22 due to the claim that its a tool not a weapon.

And there are limits to all the ammendments, including their conflict with other ammendments. Thats which we have a supreme court....

Kahuna Burger

 

[takyris]

First off, Emiricol, my apologies for not letting it die a natural death. Bygones.

DwarvenDude! You're back!

Looked at the picture.

Honestly... I completely understand your reasons for choosing the knife. It makes sense, it seems reasonable. That said, it's still a mean-looking knife, and if I were a restaurant manager in an urban area, I'd probably be a little taken aback by it. Small blade or not, it comes off as looking nastier than your average folding knife. I don't believe you're malicious or in the wrong, but I still think it's reasonable for the manager to tell you that the knife doesn't belong in the restaurant. Seems just like a dress code thing to me. Wearing a toga ain't illegal, and in some hot and humid parts of the country, a toga might be a logical, well-reasoned choice. But your manager would still be within his or her rights to say, "Please wear pants."

 

[Goobermunch]

Not to mention that any attempt to use the 2nd ammendment in this case (assuming it was transplanted to the US) creates an instant catch 22 due to the claim that its a tool not a weapon.

And there are limits to all the ammendments, including their conflict with other ammendments. Thats which we have a supreme court....

Kahuna Burger

And lawyers. Can't forget about lawyers.

--G

 

[DWARF]

Just don't be a dick about it. You have no "right" to carry the knife. Don't make a big scene. If you think you need a knife for things, keep one of the myriad utility knives you mentioned are around near your workstation. Giving a big lecture to your employer about the needs of the Mob quashing the needs of the individual will not help

I didn't make a big scene, the night manager just sorta went nuts when she saw I had it. Then it was confiscated and I had to talk to the restaurant manager about it. He was sympathetic to both sides, but ultimately would side with his long-term manager over the summer guy and I agreed that I wouldn't carry it while I was working, no big problem.

But it's like Teflon Billy said, when I don't have it, it's like I'm missing a hand. Being an Anthropologist, I chalk it up to the fact that it's pretty much the fundamental tool of human civilization. And after carrying one, I don't know how people go around without one. I also carry a small retracting pen on my key ring as well. When I get dressed it's in my check before I leave. Do I have my wallet, keys, knife, cell phone?

I may not use it once in a given day, but there've been times when I've needed it and not had it and felt very stupid. And there's been a time a few years back when I needed it, had it, and very well might have saved a life with it. I was canoing with a friend and we were going through the tail end of some class 2 rapids, no big deal. Rounding a bend, we saw there was a sweeper, a tree that fell over into the river, ahead. Things got screwed up and we flipped the boat, swamped it. I was behind the boat so I held onto the stern to see if I could get it out. My friend was up front and should have gotten out of the way. But he kept swimming up beside the boat and I finally cleared my ears enough to hear that his legs were stuck on some rope, the bow line we found out later. I was able to get around to him and cut the line so he could get out.

I still managed to get the thing to an eddy and saved the canoe. But if I'd done the "safe thing" and gone to shore as soon as I could, or if I didn't have my knife on my, he might have died. That's a powerful influence on my life and the reason why this is a "big deal" for me.

 

[Kahuna Burger]

Woah, I forget to check my thread in the morning and look what happens!

Alright, if the exact specifications of my knife will help the discussion, so be it.

While not commenting on you (yes, there's practical reasons for choosing that kind of knife) I'd say this puts me well on your manager's side. You are not a thug or a criminal, but a person also wouldn't be an idiot or overreacter for being distinctly uncomfortable at someone carrying that arround work. Its not like you were fired, or (from the sounds of it) even diciplined, and I wouldn't get wrapped up in thinking of the order to leave it home or in the car as harrassment. So I'd consider this a learning expereince and move on. But thats just me.

Kahuna Burger

 

[takyris]

Oh, heck, I don't think anyone would argue that carrying a knife while rafting, hiking, hunting, or camping is a bad idea. I'd consider it a necessity -- it was one of the things my uncle told me to buy when he took me camping for the first time -- a good knife.

I can understand your point -- and if you ever need to cut a bow line at the restaurant because one of the waiters is trapped and being held underwater in the lobster tank, you will be at a loss. And that waiter's death will be on your manager's hands.

 

[alsih2o]

The difference being that the knife doesn't have a will of it's own. The knife won't do anything you don't make it do. And, the knife is fully domesticated. None of which applies to the lion

picky picky

 

[Azlan]

Woah, I forget to check my thread in the morning and look what happens!

Alright, if the exact specifications of my knife will help the discussion, so be it.

I'm a big guy, so the blade is maybe a 1/4 of an inch longer than my palm. Yes, the blade is black, but not because of some "I'm a ninja-knife fighter" aspirations. In biology I come into contact with some volatile chemicals and I've had a few blades get discolored or worse due to contact and the coated blades tend to be less reactive with Formalin and other chemicals than the steel in my knife. And yes, the handle is also black because it's Xylex, which is lightweight but doesn't get nearly as slippery as most plastics.

Good grief, man! If you're confused over why one of the assistant managers might feel threatened by your carrying around a knife like this at work, and if you feel indignant because the manager told you to not carry this knife while you're at work, then you're bound to have a lot of trouble in the hard and bumpy road of life.

So what if the blade is only 1/4" longer than your palm? That makes it, what, 3" long? And you're a big guy, right? Regardless, the actual lethality of the knife and your capability with it as a weapon are beside the point!

 

[apsuman]

I have not read the whole thread yet but still I wanted to step in here.

While I believe that the person involved here is really receiving the bad end of a *BUNCH* of well intentions.

The sub-manager has been painted as a reactionary here, and she might very well be.

Here at work I have a desk fan, and to improve the airflow I took off the front face plate. The fan is thin plastic and does not hurt if you touch the blades in full motion. The CFO was in my office and told me that my fan was a work hazzard and that I should not skick my fingers in the blades. He then said over my cube wall to my coworker (and me) that I can now not file a workman's compensation claim against the employer for fan damage.

The moral to this story is that the manager person might have had an insurance (or other nonsence) issue in mind.

g!

 

[DWARF]

I have never been in a car accident, but I still wear my seat belt? And why? I don't do it because it's the law, I do it because something MIGHT happen. Do I forsee needing my knife in a life or death situation? No.

But I don't forsee being in a car accident nor having to go on welfare. But I wear my seatbelt and continue to support welfare because something MIGHT happen.