Knives - friend or foe?

“Who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life.” - 2 Corinthians 3:6 KJV

It’s funny how topics of interest sometimes merge. I’ve been following two stories of upright students (both scouts) suspended for having a knife at school. The first is a six-year-old who likes to eat with a folding knife-fork-spoon he got from cub scouts. The other is an Eagle Scout who kept a 2-inch knife in his locked car’s emergency kit. Both were given maximum suspension sentences under “zero-tolerance” before the media made the school boards look foolish.

Completely unrelated is my current commuting lecture CD of Eastern Religions. Did you know that Sikhism is the fifth-largest organized religion in the world with 23 million adherents? Since they don’t proselytize for converts, little is know of them outside of Punjab in India. Sikhs are often confused with Hindus (because they come from India) and Muslims (because they wear turbans). The religion began in the early 1500’s when Guru Nanak Dev (1469-1539) could not decide whether to be Hindu or Muslim. The religion professor compared Nanak to Joseph Smith (1805–1844), the founder of the Mormon faith. Both men prayed for insight to know which of the competing faiths was “the true church”. Both received revelation that it did not yet exist, and were inspired to create a new religion. For Guru Nanak it was the revelation that "There is no Hindu, there is no Muslim" but just one God and one faith.

The religion of Sikhism evolved under ten gurus from 1538 to 1708. It was the 10th and final guru, Guru Gobind Singh, who established the rule of the “Five K’s”, five items that all baptized Sihks must wear at all times:

kēs (uncut hair which is kept covered by a turban)
kanghā (a small hair comb)
karā (an iron bracelet)
kacchā (a special undergarment)
kirpān (a small dagger)

Now at last you see how the two topics in this post cross paths. In today’s paranoid world, dagger wielding Sikhs are not tolerated. Children are banned from schools. In New York City, a compromise was reached with the Board of Education; the kirpan is allowed IF the knife is impossible to draw by being glued to the sheath. Naturally, the kirpan causes alarm at airport security checkpoints. In 2008, Sikh leaders opted out of interfaith meeting with Pope Benedict XVI in DC because security insisted they remove their kirpans before entering.

Ironically, to Sikhs the kirpan is a symbol of "Ahimsa" or non-violence. The kirpan is a tool used to prevent violence against a defenseless person when all other means to do so have failed. The kirpan also represents the power of truth to cut through untruth. It is the cutting edge of the enlightened mind.

Bottom Line

As the apostle Paul notes in 2 Corinthians 3:6, the letter of the law can be a very bad thing. Laws without common sense “killeth” freedom and personal initiative. The NY Eagle Scout mentioned above said he was amazed that school officials freaked out over a tiny knife in his car emergency kit. He pointed out that baseball bats were easily available at school and far more lethal than his small knife.

On a flight (after 9/11), my wife & I were amazed to see metal knives given to first class passengers for their meal. A pair of knitting scissors and nail clips had to be surrendered but knives were handed out. What’s the common sense in that?

Common sense says that knife paranoia is bad for preparedness. One of the best survival tools is a good knife. Use it to make kindling and strike it with flint to start a fire. It can help build a shelter, prepare food, and so on. What a shame that all persons with knives must be treated as criminals.

You call that a knife?

"You call that a knife? This is a knife [pulling out a larger blade]" - Crocodile Dundee

One item missing from my go-kits is a survival knife. I've looked occasionally at stores but haven't found the right one yet. I learned about this one today online. It looks and sounds good; I like the saw teeth on the back and the sheath. But I'd like to hold it, feel it, before buying.

The blog "Equipped to Survive" has a great article on "Selecting The Best Knife". See also The Fighting Knife Blog with an article strangely similar but with several interesting links.

Things to avoid include

• Double edged knifes (these are meant for killing and you may end up cutting your own hand)
• Giant sized, "Rambo", knives. A short blade is easier to manage.
• Hollow handles filled with "survival gear". While there are some excellent models drilled into the steel tang, most are cheap handles that will easily break. And the blogger notes, if you lose your hollow handle knife, you lose your gear too.

Both the "Equipped" blog and a class I attended recommend a non-folding knife (full tang or narrow tang). A folding knife may break at the joint or close unexpectedly when used under great force.

Bottom Line

There are extreme survivalists who can survive with only a knife and their wits. A survival knife is for more than cutting. You can use it to shave kindling, saw a branch, scale fish, start a fire with a piece of flint, skin a squirrel, serve as a spear head, dig a hole, pry something loose, etc. As one knife reviewer said, "Its a hammer, a glass breaker, and a knife in one!" Buy a knife that can handle a lot of abuse.