Tuesday, February 09, 2010

It was made apparent to me, a couple of days ago,

just how out of step I am with some of the people I know.

Had been invited to a birthday party, and as the honoree had made it known that dressing would not be amiss, I wore kilt; the whole five yards.* Just before I left(good evening) I showed a friend my dirk, as I recalled she'd never seen any of my work. She and her husband are both nice people, but after she looked it over she kind of frowned and said "You need to put it on a grinder or something and... make it dull."

I'll admit I was nonplussed. "But then it won't cut well."
"But it will be safer!"
"No, because then you have to force it to make it cut."
After I sheathed it, showed her my sgian dhu, and basically same thing: "It's too sharp!" Including the comment that them being sharp made her a bit nervous, "I'm a peaceable girl."
Which left me standing there for a moment wonder what the hell being peaceable has to do with sharp tools?

Nice people, but with some of them, at times we might as well be speaking languages the other doesn't know.

6 comments:

PeterT said...

I'll bet that her kitchen knives are like butter knives.. I wonder how many times she has cut herself due to a dull knife?

Unknown said...

"...and... make it dull."   Perhaps she's a school teacher?
.

Firehand said...

I'd imagine their kitchen knives are fine; but for some reason the idea of a very sharp knife in other contexts just bothered her.

Mattexian said...

You should have offered to take all her kitchen knives out to the driveway and grind them til they're dull, so she'll be safe, if that's how she figures it. Plus, with you in a kilt, bent over working, that'll give her a little show!

Windy Wilson said...

I had a gf who was creeped out by me carrying a Swiss Army Knife Tinker, in spite of the fact that she knew me for 6 years and the only time she ever saw the knife was the time I used it to untangle a pelican from some fishing lines.

I agree, offer to dull all her knives.

Curiously, the verification word is unmesse, and a messer is the German word for knife.

Anonymous said...

Every time my wife flies somewhere for business we go through the routine: Empty the purse and remove the knives, pliers, pepper spray, duct tape, nail files,clippers,tweezers, etc. With the exception of the pepper spray everything in there is just a tool and she has used all of it on more than one occasion to help someone out. Dull knives are dangerous, sharp knives are tools. Some people should be wrapped in bubble wrap and put somewhere safe.
Rey B