Why do you carry a knife?

[PowderFinger]

Because I'm a BMF!

 

[llkoolkeg]

Because a samurai is too heavy?

It depends upon the size of samurai you go with.

I had just purchased this one(7 3/4" blade) while on my way to go mountainbiking with a couple friends and was afraid to leave it in my car and risk it getting stolen so I just put it in my camelback. Good thing I did because on my first downhill run, I strayed too near the underbrush on the right side of the singletrack and ended up getting my right forearm impaled on a stick that had been broken off apparently to clear the trail. I stopped immediately and found that a 3" piece of 1/2" diameter stick had been thrust into my arm and broken off at the skin line by my forward momentum. I called out to my buddies who came back to find me holding my arm and trying to get a grip on the stick to pull it out. My arm was bleeding pretty well, though, so it was impossible to get a grip of the slippery end of the stick and tugging at it only caused the muscle to pull and the stick bulge to shift.

Remembering that I had the knife and a can of 7up in my backpack, I poured the 7up on the wound to flush it while the less squeamish of my buddies cut the skin of my arm against the subcutaneous stick in order to open up the hole a bit and permit him to reach into my arm with the leatherman pliers he had in his camelback. After about a 1/2" cut, Tom was able to get the pliers into the hole and around the end of the stick. With a decent tug that caused the inside of my arm to pull out a little bit with the stick before snapping back into place, he removed the stick and we were all amazed that that much of it was completely in me. I flushed the wound out with the rest of the 7up and finished the ride with a rag tied around it though certainly taking it easy. Once home, I cleaned it out with hydrogen peroxide and alcohol then washed the outside with antibacterial soap but never got stitches or anything and it healed up just fine, if a bit slow. I was ever so thankful to have that samurai tanto with me that day because it was sharper than all Hell and it really didn't hurt much more to open up the wound than the wound itself was already causing.

The moral of this story? ALWAYS carry a knife unless the venue or mode of transportation prohibits it and is likely to metal-detect you. This is just one of the more serious times I've been aided by having one but you just never know...

 

[cowboy321]

I mostly sharpen pencils or open boxes with mine I suppose it could be used for other things if needed.

I carry one to open a pit bull, if needed.. Or a zombie...!

 

[jimbobborg]

It depends upon the size of samurai you go with.

I had just purchased this one(7 3/4" blade) while on my way to go mountainbiking with a couple friends and was afraid to leave it in my car and risk it getting stolen so I just put it in my camelback. Good thing I did because on my first downhill run, I strayed too near the underbrush on the right side of the singletrack and ended up getting my right forearm impaled on a stick that had been broken off apparently to clear the trail. I stopped immediately and found that a 3" piece of 1/2" diameter stick had been thrust into my arm and broken off at the skin line by my forward momentum. I called out to my buddies who came back to find me holding my arm and trying to get a grip on the stick to pull it out. My arm was bleeding pretty well, though, so it was impossible to get a grip of the slippery end of the stick and tugging at it only caused the muscle to pull and the stick bulge to shift.

Remembering that I had the knife and a can of 7up in my backpack, I poured the 7up on the wound to flush it while the less squeamish of my buddies cut the skin of my arm against the subcutaneous stick in order to open up the hole a bit and permit him to reach into my arm with the leatherman pliers he had in his camelback. After about a 1/2" cut, Tom was able to get the pliers into the hole and around the end of the stick. With a decent tug that caused the inside of my arm to pull out a little bit with the stick before snapping back into place, he removed the stick and we were all amazed that that much of it was completely in me. I flushed the wound out with the rest of the 7up and finished the ride with a rag tied around it though certainly taking it easy. Once home, I cleaned it out with hydrogen peroxide and alcohol then washed the outside with antibacterial soap but never got stitches or anything and it healed up just fine, if a bit slow. I was ever so thankful to have that samurai tanto with me that day because it was sharper than all Hell and it really didn't hurt much more to open up the wound than the wound itself was already causing.

The moral of this story? ALWAYS carry a knife unless the venue or mode of transportation prohibits it and is likely to metal-detect you. This is just one of the more serious times I've been aided by having one but you just never know...

Nice blade. At some point I'm going to get my pre-Meiji blade done just like that. BTW, where the first mekugi?

 

[llkoolkeg]

Nice blade. At some point I'm going to get my pre-Meiji blade done just like that. BTW, where the first mekugi?

There is only one mekugi, as is traditional for properly-made tsuka, and it is that smallish black dot you see near the fuchi. It's made of buffalo horn instead of smoked and aged bamboo...also a traditional mounting material and method. This one is made by Citadel and as you can see from the natural finish samegawa and barely-visible seam, they do very careful and meticulous same' wraps, all handmade and hand-finished including the graduated stone polish.

I wish I had a nice antique but my wife wouldn't let me trade my car in for the downpayment and thus I couldn't afford the ones I really liked. Maybe one of these days.

 

[jimbobborg]

There is only one mekugi, as is traditional for properly-made tsuka, and it is that smallish black dot you see near the fuchi. It's made of buffalo horn instead of smoked and aged bamboo...also a traditional mounting material and method. This one is made by Citadel and as you can see from the natural finish samegawa and barely-visible seam, they do very careful and meticulous same' wraps, all handmade and hand-finished including the graduated stone polish.

I wish I had a nice antique but my wife wouldn't let me trade my car in for the downpayment and thus I couldn't afford the ones I really liked. Maybe one of these days.

I traded a Paul Chen Practical Wakazashi for it. It's in really rough shape, and really needs a polish and most of the furniture is missing. There are some dings in the edge from defensive use from what I can tell.

 

[Boom Boom]

To open fan mail and courtship letters, of course.

 

[TurboHeloDriver]

Because opening things with my teeth is uncivilized.

Seriously though, because it's a tool, because I can, it comes in handy sometimes, it's an emergency escape device (in an accident)....need I go on?

 

[grayson71]

Because decent law abiding citizens can't get a ccw permit in Maryland