Anyone ever had to use a knife or other non-gun for self defense? How'd it work out for you?
The closest I ever came was years ago, back in my "anti-gun" days. I carried a Spyderco Co-Pilot as a money clip/utility knife. Late at night, walking out of a bar in Greensboro, I noticed my date's car had a flat tire. Set about changing it and was almost done when two homeless men came up to offer "advice" and "assistance" (got in the way, told me to buy fix-a-flat, etc.) then asked for money. I had $7 to my name, and gave each of them a dollar - one of them commented on the money clip but didn't seem to realise it was a pocketknife.
They wanted the five and I should have given it to them but I was dumb, and mad. They sort of crowded me against the car and kept demanding I give them the five, getting more insistent and angry. I held the knife open, but low and sort of hidden against my thigh, put my weight forward to avoid being put off balance against the car, and continued to politely but firmly refuse the money. The man who did most of the talking suddenly looked down and noticed the knife, didn't address it but suddenly got more polite, wished me a good night and started to walk off. His friend looked confused and started to argue with him ("Wait a minute-where you going?" etc.) but the first guy just grabbed his friend by the sleeve and pulled him away.
I've had no training at all in how to use a knife, and this one only had about and inch, inch and a quarter serrated blade, but it was enough of a threat to discourage those guys. I'm sure that if I hadn't had it, they would have continued to escalate the situation in hopes of separating me from my meager $5. I'm also sure that if I had held it up and flashed it, things would have gone differently.
That's not the only time when I've been "sort of" mugged, when someone's actions slowly crossed the line between aggressive panhandling and overt intimidation. I've noticed that some petty criminals will try to get by with the least amount of violence necessary to achieve their objective, and gradually escalate their attempts from verbal arguments to subtle threats, outright threats, then physical contact like pushing or bumping, then real violence. In such slowly escalating scenarios it's hard to know exactly how much force to use, and it's easy to get trapped by your own sense of politeness. I guess I should have told them I didn't have any money, or to [beat it], when they first approached me.
The closest I ever came was years ago, back in my "anti-gun" days. I carried a Spyderco Co-Pilot as a money clip/utility knife. Late at night, walking out of a bar in Greensboro, I noticed my date's car had a flat tire. Set about changing it and was almost done when two homeless men came up to offer "advice" and "assistance" (got in the way, told me to buy fix-a-flat, etc.) then asked for money. I had $7 to my name, and gave each of them a dollar - one of them commented on the money clip but didn't seem to realise it was a pocketknife.
They wanted the five and I should have given it to them but I was dumb, and mad. They sort of crowded me against the car and kept demanding I give them the five, getting more insistent and angry. I held the knife open, but low and sort of hidden against my thigh, put my weight forward to avoid being put off balance against the car, and continued to politely but firmly refuse the money. The man who did most of the talking suddenly looked down and noticed the knife, didn't address it but suddenly got more polite, wished me a good night and started to walk off. His friend looked confused and started to argue with him ("Wait a minute-where you going?" etc.) but the first guy just grabbed his friend by the sleeve and pulled him away.
I've had no training at all in how to use a knife, and this one only had about and inch, inch and a quarter serrated blade, but it was enough of a threat to discourage those guys. I'm sure that if I hadn't had it, they would have continued to escalate the situation in hopes of separating me from my meager $5. I'm also sure that if I had held it up and flashed it, things would have gone differently.
That's not the only time when I've been "sort of" mugged, when someone's actions slowly crossed the line between aggressive panhandling and overt intimidation. I've noticed that some petty criminals will try to get by with the least amount of violence necessary to achieve their objective, and gradually escalate their attempts from verbal arguments to subtle threats, outright threats, then physical contact like pushing or bumping, then real violence. In such slowly escalating scenarios it's hard to know exactly how much force to use, and it's easy to get trapped by your own sense of politeness. I guess I should have told them I didn't have any money, or to [beat it], when they first approached me.
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so i picked up a large, razor sharp cane knife and cut his middel arm.
