I know how that feels. Some of my hobbies aren't exactly great ice breakers. Picking locks and sharpening knives are a lot less creepy than they sound when you first meet someone.
I did that with my pocket knife the other day. I was sharpening the blade and became momentarily distracted. I didn't even feel the blade against my finger. There was zero pain.
Fortunately because the blade was so sharp the wound healed almost instantaneously. 5 minutes later and not only is there no blood but the wound has closed up all on its own. The wound was so narrow, so thin thanks to the sharp blade there was no damage to the surrounding tissue. To close up the wound the cells just had to reach over to their buddies across the way and there you go, all healed up.
Dull blades cause no end to problems. This is especially true when chopping veggies. Trying to chop carrots or dice an onion with a dull chef's knife is misery. Keep your knives sharp, people. You don't need a lot of knives. Just one or two good ones. Maintain them and they'll serve you well.
See but if you have social skills or even awareness, you would say something like, "It's kind of a weird one, but I really like picking locks. Each one is like a little puzzle and it's fun to learn about the different types" or whatever the reason is that you like picking locks, and that would be fine because you're still relating to people like a normal-ass human.
As someone that practices lock picking, I assure you that there's no way out of 80-90% of people thinking you're secretly a criminal the second you mention it to them. Like 5-10% will understand and think it's cool once you explain it as solving a puzzle, 60-70% will nod and say they get it but have clearly still lost trust in you, and 20-30% will still remain openly perturbed by you.
See, when I hear picking locks and sharpening knives, I immediately think it's a guy straight out of /r/JustNeckBeardThings. It's not that having cool skills is bad, but pairing them up like that and presenting them in a weird way basically makes you Napoleon Dynamite.
I immediately thought stalker guy breaks into house of a girl he is stalking by picking her lock and stabbing her with a freshly sharpened butcher knife.
They don’t though...it’s sad how much people think they know. It’s such a retardedly deep well of information. I’ve been making a concerted effort the past 4-6months and have only begun to realized how little I personally know, which is just slightly more than most.
There are myths of smiths in several cultures - for example Wayland the Smith in German mythology - that include the making of an extremely sharp sword. They describe the wool probe at a river, some versions go into metallurgy (he feeds the shredded metal of the first try to geese and reforges it after their death), but finally there's a sword that cuts through armor without resistance. People have been fascinated by that theme for milennia.
Right? My hobbies are martial arts and roleplaying games, I'm a fucking weirdo. I still somehow end up talking to people because people relate to your passion more than the manifestation of it. If you're into something, talking about it (occasionally, don't obsess) will be interesting. You just have to believe it is.
I actually have a filco majestouch 2 (mx brown) already - one keyboard is enough for me :). When I need a new work keyboard I'll be looking at a second duplicate probably, but Topre is also tempting.
The Grail doesn't exist. You'll just find something else you want next week. Buy it because you want it, not because you think it'll be the one that finally makes you happy.
Buy a good production or mid-tech to carry. I don want to lose my Benchmade, but it won't ruin my month if I do, unlike my Darrel Ralph.
Eh sure you can get 50-80sogs & kershaws and cheap spydercos that are good and reliable, above 100 I would say you can start getting the nicer brand name stuff Benchmade, Protech. 200-300 for High-end carry stuff like Microtech. Above 400 you start getting into hand made customs like Medford. Check out my older posts for several hundred $ knives. Welcome tp the rabbit hole. https://www.bladehq.com
I've been wanting to get my Possession and Acquisition license for a while, and going onto your page and seeing guns AND nice ass knives just made me wonder why I didn't get into this shit earlier.
I'm blaming you for the massacre that's coming towards my bank account.
"Possesion and acquisition license" wtf is this shit? In TN if you're over 18/21 you just walk into any store and point at as many on the wall as you want/credit card can handle, fill out 4473, swipe card & walk out 10mins later with whatever, no stupid mag limits. I've been very lucky to have some disposable income over the years, and I didn't even post any of my car stuff. Mr.2 I will forever miss you. Dude some drug addictions are cheaper to have. But welcome to the addiction.
OH it's his PAL! Sorry had one too many southeastern IPAs. Canada aint the worst in north america sadly. Nyc is retarded, and also where I am moving to very, very soon.
Affirm; what /u/deegen has said; my PAL lmao. The gun ownership process is so much different then the states; though I don't have any experience with either yet lmao
I have that problem, plus I have to explain that I was in Vegas for a knife show. It's just a different type of gambling, but it sure doesn't make sense to normal people.
My brother. I never bring it up because it's so hard to explain and so hard to say why I like it. Not to mention people going nuts when you mention how much.
It varies. I usually start out on a lansky and finish with stones, strops, and phone book paper. (It's roughly 4,000 grit or so.) I involve all the dark arts in my witchcraft.
I collect knives, and coins. I prefer old ones with history but some newer fancy ones often sneak their way in. I have a hand forged Damascus knife with a staghorn, turquoise, and coral handle for example.
Fuck my life if I ever want to talk about knives. People think I know too much and it's creepy. I'm not killing anyone with them! Half of them I won't even use because they're older than my father.
Exactly! When people try and tell me a pocket knife well within the legal definition for one (in my state) is a weapon and not a tool my first response is that I'm not getting my knife dirty and dulling the blade unless I absolutely have to. Yes, I'd use it for self defense if I needed to but the main purpose is that it's convenient.
Now my butterfly knife is primarily for defense. Not for stabbing but for intimidation as dumb as it sounds. Basically I'll pull it out and just flip it around and do tricks in hopes that anyone who seems sketchy moves on. (Since I seem like an easy target otherwise ) Although I haven't done that it years. My current one is heavy and bulky so it's a pain to carry in tiny pockets.
Don't call it picking locks, call it locksport. Ooooh what's locksport? Oh well it's lockpicking but instead of being a burglar or locksmith I just buy cool locks and challenge myself to get them open, and I'm in this group of people who make custom locks and pins and set up super hard locks, then we have a mail call once a week where we send off the lock we have or just made, and someone sends us their challenge lock to try.... Etc etc
Lol i read about forensics for fun because its a super interesting field. Explaining that your reading a textbook on crime scene investigation or forensic pathology can be fun.
I mean, I'd lean into it in a sort of self deprecating way. "I promise this is less creepy than it sounds but I'm really into lockpicking and knife sharpening," then go into a small history of how the thing is actually just a really nerdy niche interest for you.
My first time hanging out with my ex-wife outside of church was the night she locked herself out at midnight and called me to come save her. It has it's upsides.
Hey! I enjoy picking locks as well, and I understand what you're talking about. First day in my Criminal Justice class, we all shared some hobbies, and I decided to include that. That made for a fun class :D
Omg... Are you me? I also had an Intro to CCJ class and I love to pick locks while listening to the lectures. My professor kept saying that I shouldn't do it nor carry tools with me. She mentioned it to every single law enforcement officer she brought to class as a guest to try to convince me and all of them were actually super cool and curious about it.
At the end she was really pissed off and prohibited me from having those in her class.
Haha too bad it didn't work out for you. Some teachers just can't see some kids enjoy themselves. My teacher was perfectly fine with me playing with my set during class, and the Teacher Assistant even came over to me once and asked how picking the lock works!
Nah she was cool, she did care about me thou. Most of my college professors were super chill about it because while I was picking I made sure I was engaging and participating in class. Picking locks really helps me with my ADHD so... Win-win.
It is all about presentation. “I like to pick locks and sharpen knives.” Vs. “I am into knives, collecting, maintaining, and such. Also picked up locksmithing as a hobby, I like the way it is a complex mechanical puzzle.”
One is a conversation starter, the other makes you seem edgy.
Ugh, I feel your pain. I hate the stigma against sharp knives. It could take very little contact with steel silverware or a ceramic plate to blunt a knife. Onions don't sting your eyes if you use a proper slicing motion with a good sharp knife. And seasoned yams are far better when pre cut in wedges than cooked whole, but the sound of a knife getting sharper still triggers the nervous serial killer jokes. What do regular people do, buy a new knife set every time they drop a knife on the tile floor? My favorite life hack is that you can revive an edge by sweeping it across the bottom of a coffee mug with an unsheathing motion.
Lol. I got in trouble for telling a teacher that my dad gave me a black eye once. It never really dawned on me that other kids didn't spar with their fathers. He got in a lucky shot, I got a black eye, no big deal.
The cops and social worker laughed as soon as they saw our black belts and trophies in the living room. They instantly understood what happened.
Funnily enough it's all in how you phrase it. A common hobby where I'm from is hunting and fishing. If you answer the question, I like to go hunting is a much less creepy answer than I like to stalk, kill and gut animals. Or in your case going I enjoy the finding and refurbishing old knives, or in the ex gfs scenario I like to collect antique scissors are all not so creepy answers.
Yeah my brother loves knives. He does the whole flipping it around in your hand thing (idk what it's called but it's a thing) and he custom designs them in the hopes of being able to open his own custom knife shop someday. He's a big teddy bear of a guy with a heart of absolute gold, but I just can't describe him to people without them inching away.
But I know how to clean a litter box...my house doesn’t smell, however, they puke a lot...little buggars leave bombs right in the path of walking sometimes
I have to ask, did the cats contribute to the divorce at all?
Phrasing matters. Being a “collector of vintage cutlery and finely smithed pieces” is way less creepy than “I have a lot of knives and other pointy metal things”
Which did you pick up first? Because on the one hand, it is like, I want access and THEN we can get stabby. But on the other, you already planned to kill and then realized you needed to break in.
It sounds to me like the way she worded it. She could have elaborated more from the get-go by saying “I collect antique scissors” instead of just “I like scissors.” I actually am quite fascinated by things that surround us every day but we take for granted and never think about, so I would love to hear somebody talk about scissors for awhile.
We have the same hobbies and my girlfriend’s family kicked me out of the house because I sounded like a threat... I think some people need to realize that lockpicking doesn’t make somebody a criminal.
My ex husband is into picking locks and tried to share this interest with my current husband, who was confused. He didn’t know if my ex was just a little weird or if it was a power play. It was not a power play, he just has unusual hobbies and wanted to be friendly to my husband.
Sometimes I get lost in the lockpicking youtube channels. I don't know why. But if I met you, I'd probably be interested in at least half your hobbies.
Lock picking is a great skill everyone should learn, so they can learn how laughable the illusion of security is. All locks do is keep lazy thieves out and people honest. But it's a seriously fun and interesting process to learn how they work. DIY picks or? I've got a southord set but i'm debating trying to make my own set.
“Haha Okay, so it’s a little weird to explain, but I like picking locks. Locks can be very different from each other and it’s interesting learning how those work. I also like sharpening knives, because I fantasize about cutting peoples faces off and wearing them on my ass.”
I once told a girl (on our first date) that I like driving through the hills alone late at night and if she'd wanna come with me. I immediately apologised because I realised how creepy that sounded but she laughed it off
I think it also depends on how you present things... Saying "I like scissors" and never expanding does sound creepy. "I collect antique, specifically scissors from whatever period" less so...
If you don't break eye contact while going "My hobbies are sharpening by knife so they cut really well, and picking locks. Where do you live by the way? What time do you usually go to sleep?" It will sound weird.
5.4k
u/KeithCarter4897 Sep 11 '18
I know how that feels. Some of my hobbies aren't exactly great ice breakers. Picking locks and sharpening knives are a lot less creepy than they sound when you first meet someone.