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Yeah, but do you really think you could use it as protection against someone who is twice your size? I really doubt that, maybe you used it for other things like going to the woods or playing games.. that's pretty normal, all the guys had pocket knives where I grew up too.
No, I'd never consider my pocket knife as a weapon for personal protection. Nor would I counsel others to do so. Like I said, its a tool.
With that said, I sure as hell don't want the gov't telling me at what age I can give my kid a knife. It is my job as a parent to make that decision, not the gov't.
Not for self defense but when I was growing up, I always carried around my trusty Swiss Army knife. That thing was darned handy and seemed to have everything on it. I still have it around somewhere. I carried it in my pocket while in the Army as well. I grew up in a pretty rural area and my bigger concern was critters---dogs, wild pigs, etc. When my mom and I did our daily walk, we always carried a big stick which came in pretty handy with some pretty vicious dogs along our walking path. We also had guns around the house but that was more living in a very isolated rural area. Everyone had guns. (This was Hawaii btw).
I can see buying my kids a trusty Swiss Army knife at some point though. What a handy little gadget.
I would be really concerned about what they might be up to or where they were going that they thought they needed a knife for personal protection. If what they are doing or where they are going demands personal protection, I think that is where my issue would be.
A pocket knife is a great tool but a lousy weapon. What is a kid going to do with a pocket knife to defend himself, anyway? Being stabbed or sliced is usually not lethal, and most teenagers do not have the wherewithal to defend themselves with lethal force. What they might hope for is to look menacing, so the attacker runs away, and most pocket knifes do not convey that Crocodile Dundee "Now that's a knife!" badassedness. The attacker might just take it away. It's not difficult for a grown man to overpower a teenaged girl when he wants to. He might get a slash or two before he grabs her wrist, because she will probably be too shocked or afraid to stab him in the eye or throat, or the attacker might know how to defend himself.
If you don't know how to use a weapon, it's not much use to you and can be used against you.
Self-defense is a great thing to know. However, my children do not need to be armed.
Pocket knife for protection?? From what, rope? I have have pliers on mine, maybe I will be safe from bolts. A saw might protect me from branches less than 3 inches thick.
My daughter carries around her leatherman for the same reason I made her a first aid kit out of an altoids tin. Its useful as a TOOL and might actually save her life, but not because it is to be used to keep "bad guys" away.
Now my boat knife is a single blade (not a multi tool) and is very, very sharp, and I am positive I could die without it. But again, I do not use it to protect myself from strangers.
I've carried a little swiss army knife on my key chain for years but only for convenience with threads, letter opener, tweezers, etc.. I never once thought of it as protection.
Yeah...I used to have a swiss army knife on my keychain because it was so handy...um, if it weren't so heavy, I would still have one.
If this were the case (and they didn't take it to school), I would be ok with it. But I don't like the idea of my kid walking around, bristling with weapons, looking for trouble so they could pull their knives.
My son is coming with me to martial arts training, anyway.
Didn't we pay a badrillion dollars to live in a safe neighborhood for a reason?
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