cb51
Active Member
I was born and bred in D.C. and lived most my life in and aired the place. Family moved out to the Maryland suburbs when I was 10 and lived in Wheaton when it was a solid blue collar type of place. Later I moved out to Germantown as my job was out that way.
All this had an effect on how I saw knives. I always had a love for knives, and collected them and carried a few on me all the time. Mostly slip joint pocket knives. Maryland was funny about sheath knives, and one concealed was a no-no. But a folding knife, as long as it was not a "switchblade" was okay even I fit had a 8 inch blade. So I never got to carry my fixed blades much, so most of them got sold off along the way.
Moving to Texas in 2015 was a real change in environment. Not only did I get a license to carry a firearm, they are very liberal on knife laws to boot. Last year they actually got more liberal, and I've seen more people carrying a fixed blade on a belt than a few years ago. I've always prefer a fixed blade knife, no lock to worry about failing, no hidden areas in blade slots to gather gunk, and no opening to use. Just pull out and cut, wipe off and put back in sheath.
It's taken me a few years to get away from the Maryland mind set, and I've been wearing my old well used Buck 102 woodsman on my hip. In hot weather I usually have a Magellan fishing shirt on, so it covers the knife. That would have been illegal in Maryland. It's so refreshing to just reach down and pull out the knife to open a box or cut some twine for the tomato plants out back. Plus it frees up pocket space for a small pistol and spare mag of ammo.
The Buck 102 has been with me for 20 years, and it's so light weight I can forget it's even there. I may have to investigate a small custom.
All this had an effect on how I saw knives. I always had a love for knives, and collected them and carried a few on me all the time. Mostly slip joint pocket knives. Maryland was funny about sheath knives, and one concealed was a no-no. But a folding knife, as long as it was not a "switchblade" was okay even I fit had a 8 inch blade. So I never got to carry my fixed blades much, so most of them got sold off along the way.
Moving to Texas in 2015 was a real change in environment. Not only did I get a license to carry a firearm, they are very liberal on knife laws to boot. Last year they actually got more liberal, and I've seen more people carrying a fixed blade on a belt than a few years ago. I've always prefer a fixed blade knife, no lock to worry about failing, no hidden areas in blade slots to gather gunk, and no opening to use. Just pull out and cut, wipe off and put back in sheath.
It's taken me a few years to get away from the Maryland mind set, and I've been wearing my old well used Buck 102 woodsman on my hip. In hot weather I usually have a Magellan fishing shirt on, so it covers the knife. That would have been illegal in Maryland. It's so refreshing to just reach down and pull out the knife to open a box or cut some twine for the tomato plants out back. Plus it frees up pocket space for a small pistol and spare mag of ammo.
The Buck 102 has been with me for 20 years, and it's so light weight I can forget it's even there. I may have to investigate a small custom.