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. *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ ***************************************************************************
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