the knife laws are so old in this country that the legal terms used are often “bowie knife,” “dirk,” “dagger,” and they sometimes don’t get more specific than that. can’t carry a dirk. or if you do, can’t hide it. otherwise, gun laws seem relatively lax. as far as getting licensed to carry a concealed weapon.
though, the opposite sure holds true, too. in portland they recently tried to outlaw even pocketknives. the law survived a few appeals. and then the supreme court struck it down, i think. jeez. it’s great, reading about knife laws. each wave of fear that rippled across the country led to more laws. you can tell what era a law came from due to the names they use for knives they were outlawing. wish i saved some of those links. great stuff. wait, i found it:
* If it speaks of bowie knives and Arkansas toothpicks, it dates back to
the second quarter of the 19th century, to the rapid and sometimes
lawless expansion of settlement in the Mississippi River basin.* If it speaks of concealed dirks and daggers, it dates to the wave of
anarchist and pro-German terror bombings around 1915-1918, which
frightened an entire generation of Americans into surrendering their
liberty.* If it speaks of switchblades and gravity knives, it dates to the “West
Side Story” era of the late 1950s, when the mass media drummed up fear
of teen-age gangs, and of violence by immigrant refugees with too many
vowels in their names.* And if it speaks of school grounds, and “dangerous” weapons, it most
likely dates to the convulsive expansion of puritanical prior restraint
of our own politically correct era.
and you look the laws up and its true. this is the exact language in the standing law in many places. “dirks, daggers, slingshots”…
history is so fascinating. i actually do think we all want to learn from it. the problem is that we don’t always share the same ideas about what “learning from it” means. and then one day you realize it won’t be resolved by the time you leave the planet. so you relax a little. and just wonder at the resilient, redundant, reactive, ridiculous creatures that we are.
i’m not sure i agree with a set of laws that gives the police electric taser guns (though in oregon, citizens can have this and carry it, too, the only restriction is that it is a felony to knowingly fire one at a law enforcement officer but dont rely on me, oregonians! look the law up please) but forbids the people to carry knives??? wait a minute. though i think it’s only concealing them that seems to be the problem. which seems odd! is it better to have a room full of people with knives hanging from their belts? or just not see them and assume people have a knife on them? seeing them everywhere would make for an anxious vibe? or no? i don’t blame people for wanting to carry one. it makes sense to me. like having fingernails. but stronger, and not attached to your skin. a knife seems an essential tool that can serve a lot of ends. cut twine, open boxes, whittle wood, pry open lids, stab errant pit bulls before they chew off your face, cut flowers. just everyday tasks.
i dont ever want to stab anything. but i keep reading stories about these dogs that attack people and kill their child…or rip off their face. a friend that lives locally was attacked by one. he saw it heading his way from down the street. tried to move out of the path of pitbulldogness, but it came to him. jumped on him, attacked him. if my friend hadn’t had a knife on him, well. the ending would have been different. let’s leave it at that. this is real life. this is a cat i was sitting down and speaking to. it happened to him around here! i don’t think its a good idea to live in fear, or prepare for attack day in and day out. but i also think its a good idea to be prepared in one or two important ways and then let it go from your mind. you know. walk softly and carry a big dirk.
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Hope you’re ok. Sounds like you are...
So, this has post has been bouncing around in my head since I read it. In Arizona it looks like intent and not the knife itself is what the law seeks to control; maybe construction implies intent and that’s how the holder is judged by the law. I don’t know, but have a request to the AZDPS for clarification.
I was raised with a service revolver and shotguns in my parents’ house, but am not happy about my husband’s decision to keep a shotgun in our house. I know that if and when it’s ever used it would be a tragedy that could never be undone, even if no one was killed, and that use of a lethal weapon is often a first choice for defense when it should be the last. However, I’m a woman. I like to play outside alone and in the dark. I don’t have a dog. I don’t know martial arts. I’m aware that some people would view me as a potential target and I can’t control that. My husband wants me to carry a pistol. I resist his urging because I think a firearm is different, it seems like protection but I think perpetuates a kind of fear, makes every interaction a potential attack. A knife, so light, so useful in the practical and even creative tasks, is not the same as a gun, but it can still help you out of a crisis if necessary. I’m doing some research to find out what a “good” all-purpose knife looks like. Thanks for this post.
dianne, i understand. i share the same conflict. i dont want to live in fear, i dont want to be hypervigilant (tho i am). but theres a balance. sometimes being armed can make you calmer. i know training (martial arts, TKD, here) does. a LOT. i’m against the gun in the house thing, too, tho i have a taser gun way out of sight, hidden, my daughter could never get it and i check it regularly.
i suggest you get a knife that you can get a very good grip on. i wonder if a push knife might be good. (here’s one that looks rather effective.) its a short fat blade that isnt unwieldy or long or heavy, you dont need to fumble with unfolding it or worrying about it closing on your hand, you can keep your fist curled around it as you walk, even in your coat pocket or pants pocket or by your side, if you feel threatened, and what i like about this knife is you can just jab with it.
face it, not many people are prepared or willing to hurt someone else, let alone slice them. but its also pretty instinctive to jab out if someone is trying to hurt you. you dont have to worry about driving a long spike into them (thus war with your own psychology that may resist hurting someone and lose a crucial moment of time), you can even swing your fist laterally (side to side) with this and it would be very very dangerous to someone in your reach. this one even has a hole you can attach it to a key ring. and they are razor sharp. (so you’d have to be very careful to keep that sheath attached.
i’ve known enough women in my life to have my own fear and anger over the threats they face and the assaults they have weathered and survived. i agree with your husband that you should be prepared in some way. i agree with you that if you are not comfortable with a gun it is the last thing you should be carrying. remember, a weapon we carry is always a potential weapon that can be used against us. so when you get your knife, practice jabbing it into a piece of wood (well, not a dense type of wood! or maybe some hard foam practice surface). train with it. a lot. training is the answer to panic, to the “flight” syndrome. also think about doing knuckle pushups regularly to strengthen your wrists. even a few every day will reap results.
suerte.
this one has a nice molded hand grip that would fill up the inside of the fist a little better, be easier to hold on to. nice steel sheath too, if you’re into the aesthetics of it.
Thank you, a LOT, for these suggestions. Most of my research into techniques for knife fighting have resulted so far in: 1) how to duel using a broadsword or another similar anachronistic piece, or 2:) how to disarm someone with a knife using martial arts. So, until your suggestions not much of value had come of my research. I hadn’t considered a push knife before, but all of the positive aspects you mention are what I’m interested in. Also, knuckle pushups. That’s badass! I think I’ll try it just to say I can do it. Thanks again.
you are welcome.
i like the push dagger because it is just as lethal or effective as any other blade, but it is sort of an extension of the fist, rather than something you have to “hold on to” if you get me.
part one of knuckle pushups is focusing on the first two knuckles of the hand. not the whole fist. that is the strike area/surface for pushups area. the pointer finger and the middle finger knuckle. i wish i could show you, maybe later with a foto, but for now know that your fist will very slightly angle down from your extended wrist to rest on that plane of those two knuckles of the hand. that is, your middle finger wont be the one perfectly centered. eh. better a foto later.
part two is just practicing until you can do five, or ten, or more. and doing it every day for a while. shoulder width.
part three is doing it on hard surfaces until you build up callus on your knuckles. i started on wood, then moved to asphalt. yeah i was very into my training. i loved it. i dont train anymore in TKD but i miss it sometimes very much! i’ll get back to it i think, soon.
part four is punching a board that has rough fabric (burlap etc) layered around it for practice. jabs, from the hip. never rest with one strike. practice combos. what you practice you’ll do in moments of non-thought. so always practice. and practice the way you want to perform it later. thats why i suggested practicing with the knife. its one thing to think about and read about defending yourself with something like that. but actually pulling it out and using it will demand training, i would guess. or at least its safe to guess. again, if only because where training has taken place adequately, panic finds a hard time gaining purchase. and little is more dangerous to us in these types of situations than panic.
i dont expect you to want to do all these or think you should…just trying to lay out the whole picture rather than just a peep, since you sounded interested. it would probably be good to look up “knuckle pushups” you might find illustrations. i say this because the part about what area to hit with and rest on when doing pushups is very important. to your own health/bones/effectiveness.
but even the part about doing some knuckle pushups regularly is good for the knife preparation thing. because wrists that are not strengthened will often fold when they hit something, if not trained at all to make a good fist, especially. and a lot of being prepared is feeling confident in a confrontation. and this means you want to know your wrists will be strong if you strike out.
Ok. That’s a lot of information. It’s good information. I found some ok videos of knuckle pushups. This will take awhile. I may have to pass on the asphalt training though until next winter. It gets hot here. I’ll keep you posted.
cool. didnt mean to inundate or overwhelm you! i just got going. also, sometimes i lay things out in comments for myself or to provide info for google. cuz i find a lot of helpful stuff that way, searches that dig up people’s comment threads, etc.
peace, here’s hoping you never have to use the preparation, but that you feel well-prepared.