You are safer without a knife

**Fragony** · 07-18-2008, 20:10

Originally Posted by HoreTore

But the point of it wasn't about responsible people with perfect judgment, but the general public, wasn't it? And since very few people have been exposed to situations like these, it's likely that very few have the proper judgment, and hence them warning people against carrying knives, as it is false safety.

If you live in a bad neighbourhood it's your daily reality having to deal with that, groups of aggresive youths, junkies, annoying drunks. Lived in a really not to bad neighbourhood in Amsterdam and when you go out on the street after dark you are bound to encounter at least one of those above and most of the time all.

**BigTex** · 07-19-2008, 01:47

Funny statistics, I carry 3 around with me depending on the occasion. Never been more then scratched.....

Thinking waving a sharp pointy thing around a criminals face is some how going to descalate the situation is rather moronic at best. Nope if you decide to wave a knife around in a situation as those listed you deserver to be stabbed or worse killed. Use the d*** thing and don't let them see it. If you arent prepared to use a knife or kill someone over that 30$'s in your wallet give it to them and back off. If you arent prepared for what the situation demands then don't walk yourself into that situation.

Knife's, guns, bats, daggers, sharp bottles, pointy sticks don't magically solve the situation. They escalate it and if you arent prepared to use them and reap the inevitable consequences then you shouldnt have been carrying a weapon and putting yourself into that position.

I'm going to somewhat agree with Horetore for once, somewhat. If you arent prepared to kill the person with that knife, it's best to run and not start waving it around. Or better yet throw what they want at them and run.

**Oleander Ardens** · 07-19-2008, 14:15

Sasaki mentioned what I always do when I'm trekking. Carry some money, and old ID and give them the mugger so that he has the feeling that he won. He walks away with some euros and I unharmed.

I always carry a multitool or a light knife, but it is clearly ment for work. I don't think I would be able to stab somebody, since I never faced physical violence after I became large and quite trained and don't know how I would react to it.

**Samurai Waki** · 07-19-2008, 20:42

In my minute experience muggers, no matter the size of the group tend to pick out the weakest looking individuals. If you look like you might be able to harm them, they'll stay away. Mostly because Muggers are cowards by instinct... thats why women, teenagers, and younger get picked out from the lot, the wolves theory, pick the weakest and mostly sickly from the herd.

**Husar** · 07-20-2008, 05:23

Heh, I'm not the strongest but I've never been mugged and never been afraid to walk around the city at night either, I'm simply not afraid and perhaps I developed a "leave me alone and I'll leave you alone"- face over the years for different reasons. There were someo people who stopped me in a verbally violent way over the years but for some reason I always got out unharmed without running or dragging a weapon but it all happened when I was younger than 15 and it was never about money. the strangest thing were two littles kids asking me whether I would think I could fight them and subsequently trying to get me to fight them while I was waiting for a bus. That was pretty weird but I thought either they're stupid or they have a plan involving their big brothers' gang.

**Evil_Maniac From Mars** · 07-20-2008, 05:34

Originally Posted by BigTex

I'm going to somewhat agree with Horetore for once, somewhat. If you arent prepared to kill the person with that knife, it's best to run and not start waving it around. Or better yet throw what they want at them and run.

For sure, I actually agree. If worst comes to worst, use it. Otherwise, give them what they want. Think about if you want to incapacitate the mugger over what you have in your wallet. If yes, then do so quickly. If not, give them what you have.

**Samurai Waki** · 07-20-2008, 08:48

Originally Posted by Husar

Heh, I'm not the strongest but I've never been mugged and never been afraid to walk around the city at night either, I'm simply not afraid and perhaps I developed a "leave me alone and I'll leave you alone"- face over the years for different reasons. There were someo people who stopped me in a verbally violent way over the years but for some reason I always got out unharmed without running or dragging a weapon but it all happened when I was younger than 15 and it was never about money. the strangest thing were two littles kids asking me whether I would think I could fight them and subsequently trying to get me to fight them while I was waiting for a bus. That was pretty weird but I thought either they're stupid or they have a plan involving their big brothers' gang.

and perhaps you're very well right. the last run in I had that might have developed into something more was I was walking to a gas station around the corner from my apartment when I was living in Cali. A young kid somewhere in his mid teens stopped and asked if I had any cash on me, I stared him down, smirked, and nodded my head and went on my way. Later as I was leaving the store, him and three other guys were hanging around the same corner, I looked them over fairly quickly, as I'm sure they did me, and nothing ever came of it. Keep it mind of course, that I'm speaking from experience living in Los Angeles, and not Germany, which I'm sure the violent crime rate varies fairly sharply. However, my wife did have a run-in with a mugger when she was a teen, and didn't come away bruise free, so I'm particularly leery of most vagabonds, and I think they can sense it.

**Ja'chyra** · 07-21-2008, 08:25

It will be different every time it happens and only the person involved can decide what they think is the best option, not to say they are going to get it right of course. all of the experiences I've had didn't involve running away as it wouldn't have helped, sometimes the standoff resulted in the one side backing off and other I had to fight, sometimes winning sometimes not.

Carrying a knife isn't a good idea, I have never carried one and I was brought up in quite a rough area and saw my first knife fight when I was about 6, both of the men fighting got cut.

Making the carrying of knives illegal isn't the answer in my opinion, this government likes to ban things instead of solving the problem, I also don't think the problem is as big as the media make out. How many deaths have there been in London this year from stabbings? 21? Out of how many people? 7 million? Those odds are pretty good.