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Knives

 Copyright © November 22, 2021 by Robert Wayne Atkins, P.E.
All Rights Reserved.

Introduction

Folding Knife A knife is a very practical and useful tool if you clearly understand its strengths and its weaknesses.

A knife can be successfully used to accomplish all the following tasks:
  1. Process fruits and vegetables.
  2. Skin and butcher animals, poultry, and fish.
  3. Cut ropes, twine, and vines into shorter pieces.
  4. Build traps and snares to catch wild game animals.
  5. Used for close range self-defense in the appropriate situations.
  6. Used to make long-range weapons, such as a sharpened spear or a bow and arrows.

Discussion

Knives can be handmade one-at-a-time, or knives can be mass produced.
  1. Handmade Knives: Some are really nice but some handmade knives are poorly made. Good quality handmade knives are relatively expensive due to the amount of labor that is invested in making each knife.
  2. Mass Produced Knives: Some are really nice but some mass produced knives are worthless junk. Good quality mass produced knives are usually very affordable.
The quality of a knife is not based on its cost. The process used to make a knife determines its quality.

Knives are usually made from one of the following types of steel:
  1. Carbon Steel: It stays sharp longer and it is easier to resharpen. But it may chip, or stain, or gradually rust due to the normal humidity in the air.
  2. Stainless Steel: It loses its sharpness a little faster and is takes more time to resharpen. However, stainless steel does not chip, stain, or rust.
Read all the customer reviews on any knife you are considering. Then make your purchase decision based on the reason you are buying the knife, and how you will be normally be using the knife, and how often you will be using the knife.

Dull knives are the cause of more accidents than sharp knives. A sharp knife will do its job with the least amount of effort. A dull knife requires more effort and the extra pressure is usually the reason for the accident. The Holy Bible says: "If the iron is blunt, and one does not sharpen the edge, he must use more strength," Ecclesiastes 10:10 - English Standard Version.

Buck Model 119 The most common types of knives are:
  1. A Fixed Blade Knife: A "hunting knife" can be carried in a belt sheath and it is always ready to use as soon as you withdraw it from its sheath. The blade should extend all the way down to the end of the handle. A blade that only extends a short ways into the handle is a weaker knife and it will more easily break during normal use.
  2. A Folding Blade Pocket Knife: It is opened using both hands but it can be opened relatively quickly. A folding blade knife should lock into the open position to prevent accidents while you are using the knife. The blade can be closed by pressing the release mechanism and then folding the blade back into the handle.
  3. A One-Hand Knife: Some knives can be opened with one-hand. These knives have a variety of practical applications if you are using one hand to do something and you need to open and use your knife with your other hand.
Short pocket knives are still legal in most states. However, each state has its own legal definition of the maximum blade length of a knife that a person can legally carry without requiring any type of special permit. Before you purchase a knife please do an internet search to determine your state's maximum "legal" blade length for a knife that you can carry in your pocket. When you look at knives use a tape measure to measure the length of the blade from its tip to where the opposite end of the blade makes contact with the handle. If possible, buy a knife with a blade that is about 1/16 inch shorter than the legal maximum. In most states a "legal" knife can be carried almost anywhere except onto a airplane, or into a court house, or a police station, or other establishment as defined by your state.

Self-Defense

Almost everyone has heard the saying: "Don't bring a knife to a gunfight." This is true if the opponents are more than ten feet apart. A person with a gun can shoot a person with a knife several times before the person with the knife can get close enough to hurt the person with the gun.

However, a person who has been trained to fight with a knife knows that most people underestimate how deadly a knife can be in the hands of someone who knows how to use it. A person with a knife can quickly run eight or ten feet in about two or three seconds and fatally stab someone who is holding a gun. Two or three seconds is faster than most people can react to an unexpected event.

Most bulletproof vests are designed to be effective against bullets and they are not designed to protect the wearer from the sharp point of a knife.

Therefore please do not underestimate a person who has a knife.

In a self-defense situation do not use a knife the way that actors use them in fictional knife fights in a movie. A knife should be used in a quick forward stabbing motion and then the knife should be quickly withdrawn. A knife can also be used in a quick slashing motion across a major artery that is near the surface of the body.

Regardless of what you may have seen in a movie, you should never throw your knife at someone (except as a last resort). If you miss, or if you only wound the other person, then you will be quickly dispatched by the other person if the other person has a gun or a knife.

Conclusion

Our world is not becoming a safer place to live. Instead our world is becoming a more dangerous place to live with each passing day.

A good quality folding pocket knife that is legal to carry in your state is something you should always have in your pocket when you are normally dressed. The knife could be extremely useful in a variety of situations when you need to cut something, such as a loose string hanging off your clothing, or to open a package or a box. A knife would also be extremely useful in an unexpected self-defense situation if you were attacked without warning. A knife is also the most important survival tool you could have in an unexpected emergency survival situation.

At the current time a good knife can be purchased at most hardware stores, home improvement stores, sporting goods stores, and Walmarts.

Respectfully,
Grandpappy.

Grandpappy's e-mail address is: RobertWayneAtkins@hotmail.com

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