[Paddlewise] Knives

At 07:20 PM 3/25/98 -0500, you wrote:
>Ralph wrote;
>
>(SNIP of worthwhile thoughts on knives etc..)
>
 If you
>>have absolutely nothing on you or your boat that can entangle you, you
>>don't need a knife.  If you have potential sources of entanglement, you
>>do.


        There's a long standing adage that a man's not fully dressed without
a knife. The knife is a tool, NOT a weapon (although it can become a weapon,
as can a nice bottle of cabernet. . .) At any rate, the knife as tool
concept is reflected in "pen knives" which are designed for putting points
on quill pens, and the Swiss Army Knife which is designed as an all purpose
tool. The Leatherman Tool is an extension of the concept of "knife as tool."

        Now, I carry a pen knife in my change purse and haven't used a quill
pen in what seems like ages. But I *did* often use it for putting points on
drawing pencils in my art classes as an undergrad. I've also used it for
splinters, trimming loose thread on garments, and taking the snag off broken
fingernails. 

        The knife on my PFD comes in handy for cutting lines --and I carry
100 feet of nylon cord on the boat. I keep potential entanglements off the
boat just because it's good boating procedure. Nonetheless, a paddling knife
is a good safety item. It also works as a flat tip screwdriver, a small pry
bar for some of those cans with the pry off lids, as a knife for slicing the
Edam and Jarlsburg or dicing the kiwi, spreading the Potted Meat Food
Product, making a roasting stick for that can of SPAM. . . 

        As a weapon, most paddle knives are a poor choice. Coming on shore
in New York with a paddle ("club") and a boating knife ("weapon") probably
doesn't keep on from being mugged so much as the appearance that a paddler
in a wet suit probably isn't carrying a whole lot of ready cash or jewelry.
Then too, the "commando" appearance of most paddlers in a dry-top, wet-suit,
and a suitably accessorized PFD probably suggests to thugs in New York that
part of the paddling gear includes a reliable handgun. 

        Geo. 

        


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