Article by Gerald Shaw
During the old days, knives are used mainly as an army weapon to assault or kill the enemy. Nowadays, knives are used mainly as a tool for cooking, making art work or household repairs. Some knives such as the Swiss army knife, is carried around by boy scouts or hikers as a handy tool when roughing it up in the wilderness. Nevertheless, these are the only settings in which carrying and wielding knives are allowed. When knives are carried outside on an everyday, especially when they are concealed, legal and ethical issues arise from it. This also includes carrying knives as self-defense weapons. It is a gray area and something which must be given much greater thought.The important thing to remember when bringing knives is safety first. One way to ensure this is that the person must be equipped with the necessary knowledge and skills in knives. When one is clumsy or uncoordinated, there is always the danger of getting hurt with one’s own knife tools or weapons. Chefs and cooks are taught this skill in the kitchen, especially when they encounter many different knives for many different purposes – chopping knives, bread knives, paring knives, knives for slicing and cutting, etc. When handling knives, it is important to understand how it is designed and for what purpose. Longer knives are supposed to be handled with greater care and caution than shorter knives. On the hand, shorter knives such as pocket knives and folding knives are easier to conceal, and can be considered a dangerous weapon. Some public schools, work offices, and airline companies have installed a zero-tolerance policy when it comes to carrying any form of sharp objects. Because no one is exempted from this policy, there have been cases in which innocent and ignorant people who found themselves suffering from its consequences, such as the case of a seven year old boy scout who was expelled from his school for carrying a handy tool knife which he uses for eating lunch. In an interesting piece of news, a metal pen thrown as practical joke gone awry during a race track in the recent New Zealand Trotting Cup, was thought to have been a knife, and the person responsible has apologized and will be subjected to a disciplinary action.On the other hand, knives are a delight to knife collectors, who purchase them not for its purpose but for its aesthetic qualities. For example, a knife collector would be looking for an old bowie knife for sale. An old bowie knife is valued for its exquisite design and a hardy steel blade, which is difficult to replicate nowadays.
About the Author
Gerald Shaw is a voracious reader. Maybe that’s why he writes so well.