That is a very true feeling many of us here in the UK share with you Northern who have hobbies involving guns or knives and it even crosses over into jobs which involve these "tools"....you would be suprised at how many soldiers in the Army are none knife orientated. By this I mean that they are not "comfortable" with them.

I often get tired of having to consider this "public awareness" aspect...as an example...it may sound daft...but if I am deer stalking I tend to carry my knives whether folder or fixed blade in either a pouch or sheath...in a pocket on my jacket rather than on a belt. That way if you meet anyone or go to the pub after an evening's stalking...you are not visibly carrying a knife.

Dress code is also something I consider....if I am stalking near "sheeple" I would still use a cammo jacket but often I will put on plus fours and wear a trilby hat so that the image is one of a "country gentleman"....it is an amazing thing to see the reassurance in their facial expression if you bump into them and you are carrying a rifle...because the "danger" they instinctively feel is assuaged by the trilby and plus fours...you "conform" to their idea of what a "justified" reason for owning a rifle and using one in the countryside should be. Particularly if walking along a country lane going back to the car...you even notice it with passing traffic.

In the Army this "fear" of knives is more subtle...but it is still there...

They all expect to see "Weapons" and the common issue rifle raises no ones pulse...but knives...particularly very sharp knives...still cause this instinctive reaction of being "wary" of them. A good example is seen every time we finish a Range session and weapons are being cleaned. The Army issue rolls of cleaning patches which are "cut to size" and I have seen everyone from privates to senior officers "sawing" away at this stuff with fairly blunt SAK's or bayonets or more commonly Leatherman's. None of these are sharp. I think the "sharpness" of a knife comes as a shock for most....as many don't know how to sharpen knives....so they always start with a factory edge and let it get blunter as time goes by.

When you use a really sharp knife it gets noticed...even soldiers seem to have concerns as to what sort of person carries a razor sharp knife...they seem to regard learning to sharpen knives and having really sharp knives as something different to themselves....and it can make them "wary". Thankfully for me now that is less of an issue...as you get older you can get away with this by simply looking like you learned all this on the way....and actually it sets a good example as far as I am concerned. A knife should be sharp.....

But if you have to watch how others perceive you even in the Forces regarding knives then in Civvi Street it is much more of a concern.

For me now I am more and more thinking I would like to live somewhere where my interests just fit in better....probably some part of the States...but even you guys are having problems.