Awkard moments or negative responses while using your EDC!

[squinty]

("Like I'll be drinking wine during the zombie apocalypse")

I always figured the ZPAW would be the ideal theatre for haphazardly drinking top-shelf alcohol. It's like, "Hey, i know this is a 20 year old Bordeaux, but the ZPAW dictates that i swig it out of the bottle by candlelight while cleaning my AK rather than decanting it for two hours and sipping it out of a wine glass."

Kinda like how all humor in the ZPAW must be grim humor, and how you can't really smile, you can only half-smile or grimace.

Apocalypse etiquette?

[T-Boon]

grimace.

[squinty]

Kinda like how all humor in the ZPAW must be grim humor...

"Knock knock!"
"Who's there?"
"Nobody! It's the apocalypse!"








ETA:But I heard a knock!

[Meat N' Taters]

Kinda like how all humor in the ZPAW must be grim humor...

"Knock knock!"
"Who's there?"
"Nobody! It's the apocalypse!"

Exactly!

"So a man walks into a bar...nah, I'm bullshitting you. There are no functioning bars or businesses left for that matter. Not to mention the fact that nobody would be walking anywhere these days, what with all the zombies walking about."

[squinty]

Kinda like how all humor in the ZPAW must be grim humor...

"Knock knock!"
"Who's there?"
"Nobody! It's the apocalypse!"

Exactly!

"So a man walks into a bar...nah, I'm bullshitting you. There are no functioning bars or businesses left for that matter. Not to mention the fact that nobody would be walking anywhere these days, what with all the zombies walking about."

"Two guys walk into a bar...well they really shuffle in, moaning, and the bartender says...well they ate him he didn't get to say much..." (Rimshot)

[Lugnut]

When someone questions why the hell I have a knife, my usual answer is "because I have opposable thumbs." One primate criticizing another primate for using a tool has to be the most stupid thing ever.

Win.

[squinty]

Kinda like how all humor in the ZPAW must be grim humor...

"Knock knock!"
"Who's there?"
"Nobody! It's the apocalypse!"

Exactly!

"So a man walks into a bar...nah, I'm bullshitting you. There are no functioning bars or businesses left for that matter. Not to mention the fact that nobody would be walking anywhere these days, what with all the zombies walking about."

Everyday phrases may become taboo or seem rude after the Zombie Apocalypse:
"Wow. He's bitter."
"What's eatin' Frank?"

[MrUgly]

I got a negative response from the lady I helped. I had been working for my company for about 1 year (after being a consultant for a year prior) when one of the secretaries asks me to open a package. She hands me a taped box and an OPEN pair of scissors. I take the box, say no thank you to the scissors and take the folder out of my pocket. (Cheap no-name NRA giveaway) I cut the tape on both ends, open the box, put the folder away and ask if there is anything else. She says no and I go one about my day.

A day later I am called into the office and chastised for behaving in a 'threatening' manner.

A year later, the same secretary asks me if I can open a package. I look her dead in the eye and say "No. I don't have the proper tool for the job." and walk off.

[squinty]

A different sort of awkward response: At work one day, the lady whose responsibilities included stocking asked around if anyone had seen the box cutter. Nobody had. At that time I carried a cheap (like two dollars bought at a gas station counter next to the jar of loose cigarettes cheap) plastic handled lockback knife, with about an inch and a half long blade, on my keychain. Nobody had ever noticed it until I handed it to this woman so she could open some boxes. Then everybody had to comment on it, they passed it around - open! - and took turns doing the "I'm strapped" dance, and calling me Rambo, and saying things like "I guess Squinty's been down to the club, he needs a blade to take care of business!" and dumb stuff like that. Nobody told me I couldn't have it or freaked out, they just all thought it was funny. Fine.

She worked there for nearly a year, and every time supplies came in the woman would ask me "Hey Squinty can I borrow your little knife?" I got a little frustrated. So I tried to just give it to her - "Here," I said. "Why don't you just hang on to this? I have others."
Her response was "Oh no, I don't need to carry a knife around!"
And I gonked ( ) in real life.

[ednemo]

My everyday bag is a Maxpedition Kodiak and it of course has a first aid kid, fullsize flashlight and assorted other items that I consider EDC and essential. Everyone at my office knows I prepare for just about everything. Well, recently we were watching a commercial for the latest "Killer virus" movie and the people on the screen are walking around in the white protective suits with gas masks.

One of my lady coworkers looks over at me and says, "I bet you don't have one of those suits for a big outbreak." I replied, "It's an NBC suit and I have two."

Granted, this is not the sort of thing I normally buy, but a friend of mine gets a lot of free military gear from a friend on the Teams. And I in turn get stuff from him. I always worry that if the police ever raided my house for any reason, you would see on the news. A local man was arrested today and in his house were found multiple guns, lots of ammo, bio-chemical suits and other items clearly showing his intent to destroy the world.

[zengunfighter]

The knife reactions are common, I've had most of them.

my most unusual one was when my wife and I were at the movies and the power went out. Back up genny didn't kick in. So the audience was sitting there wondering how long to wait to see if the power would come back on.
As soon as the power went out I pulled out my Minimag 2AA LED light, turned it on and shined it at the ceiling so we weren't sitting in the dark.
That calmed people down.
Then I realized that the screen was much more reflective, so shone the light on that.
Being an 11 year old trapped in a 50 year old body, I then started doing shadow puppets on the screen.
People were caught between, "That's pretty weird' and 'That's pretty cool"
I got a couple of kids involved in the shadow puppet show. We kept everyone entertained for the 10 minutes it took for the power to come back on.

[deMaccusweil]

I remember a decade or more ago, before I became jaded and studied the list of 'offensive weapons' as they are deemed here, I used to carry a lockable folding knife (essentially it is something everybody can see the usefulness of, and the lockable aspect makes it less likely for me to trap my fingers). Being young and sprightly and on my way home, I took a shortcut and hopped over an eight foot fence, only to land next to a police car (note to self, look before you leap ), the occupants of which promptly searched me. The two guys (one of whom was clearly a freshling learning the job), having thrown me against the car, then debated over taking me in for carrying an offensive weapon (!), finally agreeing to do so because it would be good experience for the guy (!!). I was cuffed and thrown this time into the back of the car. At the police station I sat in a cell for a few hours before being questioned over my crimes, and was accused of going about armed and clearly having the intention to buy or sell drugs (!!?!) due to the neighbourhood I was moving through and the change in my pocket. Also, apparently my story that a knife is simply the most useful and multi-functional tool known to man was clearly a pathetic excuse. Long story short, they took a DNA swab for their database, made me sign a destruction permit for my knife, cautioned me, entered it on my permanent record despite telling me they wouldn't (caused some querying during my vetting later) and sent me on my way a day later.

All of this came about because I wanted a pocket knife that was safe to use...

Now something else that really got to me was that while listening to the two cops chatting it became apparent that they had only taken me in to fill their quota, and had let a guy with drugs in his glove compartment go earlier in the day because it would have been too much paperwork.

[Nycene]

I have a little credit card sized thing that fits in my wallet with a little knife, flint, whistle, tweezers and a tooth pick. I bought my son a car at the Disney store that he wanted to Play with RIGHT NOW. Off to the side of the counter I pulled out the little saw knife, got it out of the cardboard and used the tip to undo the screws holding it on to the base. the sales woman initially looked at me like I had sprouted a second head - then she asked me where I got it.

Same tool came in handy at the amusement park. My three year old steered the swan boat on to the ground on the opposite side of the pool - I pulled out the card and used the whistle to get the ride operator's attention. The guy said, 'good idea carrying a whistle - who does that'. I do! You never know when you will need to get someone's attention, and yelling often doesn't work.

[WY_Not]

Yer way too nice. When I worked in a machine shop, if you borrowed something three times, it was time to go buy your own. That was years ago and that rule still well.. rules.

She worked there for nearly a year, and every time supplies came in the woman would ask me "Hey Squinty can I borrow your little knife?" I got a little frustrated. So I tried to just give it to her - "Here," I said. "Why don't you just hang on to this? I have others."
Her response was "Oh no, I don't need to carry a knife around!"
And I gonked ( ) in real life.

[junkyard slave]

I've had cops stop me multiple times to search my bag. I always get a kick out of their faces when they see everything inside. they never fail to hassle me about it, but it's all legal. Does get old after a while though...
Another thing, everyone always assumes that if you carry a big knife that you either have stabbed or plan to stab someone. "why do you carry knives? who do you want to stab? why would you want to hurt someone? etc."
One time a friend asked me why I carry knives. I told em i use it as a tool, and to defend myself/others. They actually said "What? Thats what the cops are for."
sheesh

[ausher]

i needed some screws for a scope mount on my pac-lite 22/45 and didn't know what size they were and the guy at the local nut and bolt shop told me to bring it in. when he saw it and asked me if i was a hitman

[GMScooter]

The biggest thing that gets me about my EDC is my bag. It is a UTG bag:



I get lots of 'murse' or 'man-purse' comments.

Also, I work in a corporate office type environment. I've carried my Spyderco Endura for years. I've opened some boxes at the office with it and I've been given some real odd looks or comments about the size. It is not really a tactical looking knife but it is on the large size and is fairly aggressive looking. I've since switched to a Kershaw Skyline. Its a bit smaller and less intimidating.

[squinty]

The biggest thing that gets me about my EDC is my bag. It is a UTG bag:



I get lots of 'murse' or 'man-purse' comments.

Also, I work in a corporate office type environment. I've carried my Spyderco Endura for years. I've opened some boxes at the office with it and I've been given some real odd looks or comments about the size. It is not really a tactical looking knife but it is on the large size and is fairly aggressive looking. I've since switched to a Kershaw Skyline. Its a bit smaller and less intimidating.

That bag and the maxpeditions it's based on just scream gun to me. Though you'd laugh and laugh at the metrosexual "non-gunny" bag I picked to EDC instead. ("It's a European shoulder bag".)

[KnifeStyle]

I'm at a liberal arts college with pretty established culture, but no one seems to worry and pocket clips aren't looked twice at. Oddly enough, the only expected response occurred with some random person visiting from another college. Some one asked to borrow my Leatherman Squirt off my keychain, and when they saw the little thing they exclaimed how dangerous it was. Everyone kind of let that go. She never saw the knife blade on it, she simply saw a tiny pair of pliers that folded onto a keychain. I'm a knife freak and most friends know it, so some one reacting to the keychain tool with a nearly worthless blade was rather ironic.

[squinty]

I'm at a liberal arts college with pretty established culture, but no one seems to worry and pocket clips aren't looked twice at. Oddly enough, the only expected response occurred with some random person visiting from another college. Some one asked to borrow my Leatherman Squirt off my keychain, and when they saw the little thing they exclaimed how dangerous it was. Everyone kind of let that go. She never saw the knife blade on it, she simply saw a tiny pair of pliers that folded onto a keychain. I'm a knife freak and most friends know it, so some one reacting to the keychain tool with a nearly worthless blade was rather ironic.

I took classes at a ocal community college, some where 'EMS' classes taught in the same building as the BLET and Firefighter classes. Pocket clips galore, everybody had one and it wasn't commented on.

Some of the classes were in the Nursing building, a couple hundred yards away. There people freaked out and told me not to bring my dangerous weapon onto campus anymore (Kershaw blackout.) Same college, same policies, different attitudes.

[GMScooter]

That bag and the maxpeditions it's based on just scream gun to me. Though you'd laugh and laugh at the metrosexual "non-gunny" bag I picked to EDC instead. ("It's a European shoulder bag".)

I'm a pocket/organization freak when it comes to my bags. I agree it certainly has that tacti-cool look but I just love it so much. A more low-key bag would be smarter, I guess. Screaming gun is fine with me. I don't keep my gun in it so if some one takes it to neutralize a possible gun, they'll have a surprise coming.

[tedbeau]

This just happened two weeks ago. I was helping at an archery seminar sponsored by our church. The archery is taught by instructors from Centershot Ministries http://centershotministries.org/ .

They needed a knife to cut a rope used to hold the back of the safety netting. My minister yelled from across the parking lot, "Ted, Knife!" knowing that I EDC carry a locking folder and a handgun. He has given me permission to carry in church, (required in Michigan). There are about seven or eight people that have permission to carry in our congregation. The trainer from Centershot Ministries that was runnning our seminar is from another church in the next town. They joke around with us that they are trying to increase the number of CCW holders in their church until they have more than we do. Once they do they want to change their church name from "Our Redeemer" to "Armed Redeemer"!

Every spring both churchs get together for "man camp" a weekend of bible lessons, skeet shooting, pistol shooting, paintball, and mancrafts. I can't wait till next spring. I am going to teach mancrafts by making paracord keyfobs.

[Dogan]

Whipped out my Leatherman the other day in computer class, someone said "You brought a weapon to class?!"

I simply looked at them.

Today, I did some investigation. There is indeed a "no weapons on campus" thing, but with exceptions for Leathermans and folding knives.

[Greg Focker]

Whipped out my Leatherman the other day in computer class, someone said "You brought a weapon to class?!"

I simply looked at them.

I think the proper response is "Yes, I did. I brought my brain to class... I see you didn't."