Submitted by CZ (Chris)
Disclaimer: BecomeGoodSoil.com is a blog written for men who are choosing a decade of excavation. My motive is to write with integrity and love to this group of men uniquely. If that’s not you, I welcome you to enjoy, drink deeply, and invite God to bring nourishment to your heart. But be mindful that some of the topics, language, etc., might not sit well with you; in fact, they might be offensive. I trust you and your walk with God to sort that all out.
Eunuchs
The tragic fall of masculinity has whispered to me all my life, dissonant with something I know to be true. Yet it was glaringly obvious the other day when a coworker asked my friend Allen and me to assemble a set of IKEA shelves for her office.
The directions were as simple as I’ve ever seen in a package.
And I blew a gasket when I looked at them.
Before reading on, take a minute to soak in the directions I pasted below:
In time, I was finally able to put words to what pissed me off: it’s what I sensed the “technical writers” were implying in the sequence of images (notice the image begins in a quotation box). It goes something like this:
(Frame 1) Hey, you. You have no penis. So here’s what you need to do. Go find that little pink toolkit your wife’s dad gave her when she left home. Find a screwdriver and a hammer. That’s it. Nothing else. You heard what I said. A screwdriver and a hammer.
(Frame 2) Now, don’t do something stupid like trying to pick this little set of shelves up by your androgynous self. Go find another genderless buddy to help you carry it.
(Frame 3) This is a simple, straightforward job. Any man could do it with ease. But you are going to screw it up. When you do, don’t make it worse. Just stop everything and call us, the experts. We’ll help you get out of the mess you’ve so easily gotten yourself into.
Right?
Be honest. Brutally honest.
Look at those directions—what is your unedited reaction?
There’s a reason IKEA has made the instruction manual this way.
Because it works.
One look at IKEA’s sales numbers tells us that their strategy to require essentially no skill in the assembly of their products is a bullseye on the target of our culture’s demand. IKEA’s thriving is an answer to the question for the current state of masculinity. Into their retail stores in 42 countries, they welcomed 775 million visitors and had 29.2 billion dollars in revenue in 2013 alone.
Hello Trouble
By way of contrast to our castrated IKEA buddy, check out an alternative vision of masculinity offered by Gerber, a leading knife manufacturer.
Watch UNSTOPPABLE.
Don’t skip over this video.
It’s too important. It’s eternally important.
If a playable video does not appear below, click on this link to go to view.
Now, take a moment to respond with your heart to that. What is your heart saying to you? Don’t you want to be “that guy”? Notice, too, if there is another voice in your heart that says, simultaneously, “that could never be me.”
Listen closely, because that second voice is wrong. This is exactly who you are meant to be.
This Gerber video is a mythic picture of the spiritual reality God is after in your heart as a man—in the heart of EVERY man.
Gerber gets it: they have tapped into the core longings of the masculine heart.
A man and a knife. That could save the world.
At least, it was intended to.
A man and a knife were meant to be sufficient. And even more than sufficient. A man was intended to walk ever deeper into a blend of fierce mastery and determined love, both growing in the context of absolute unity with his Heavenly Father.
In fact, fully restored masculinity is God’s choicest answer to the problem of trouble on the earth.
[Now, of course, there is a need, a deep and desperate need, for women to be restored, as well, as women. As you recall, the deepest way in which we bear the image of God is as men and women (Genesis 1:27). Eve is the crown of creation and God’s most treasured masterpiece. As this is a blog by a man, for men, this dialogue is dedicated to exploring more deeply the heart of a man.]
What are we to make of the contrast between the image of masculinity in IKEA instructions and the images from the Gerber video?
I’m aware how IKEA welcomes defeat and surrender, while God, through Gerber, causes desire to surge within me.
This isn’t a new thought.
C.S. Lewis could’ve likely written Abolition of Man after his first visit to an IKEA store. While it is one of the most challenging books I’ve ever read (and still mostly have not grasped), I believe some of C.S. Lewis’s insights into the fall of masculinity are particularly helpful on this point. Lewis writes,
In a sort of ghastly simplicity we remove the organ and demand the function. We make men without chests and expect of them virtue and enterprise. We laugh at honour and are shocked to find traitors in our midst. We castrate the geldings and bid them be fruitful.
A man was meant to engage. To offer strength. To rise up. To be whole and strong. God, our Father, believes in masculinity far more than the three piece suits at IKEA do. As a matter of fact, He’s put all His chips on restored humanity to bring the kingdom in full.
Through a collision of historical and cultural forces as well as the wages of sin and the determination of our enemy, so much of what God meant when He meant man has been lost.
No, better said, stolen.
No, even deeper than that, surrendered.
How can we live out our masculinity when our “organ” has been removed? The castration has come in many forms. One of them is the loss of a context to develop the pragmatic skills that let us engage the world and its trouble with settled confidence. We’ve ceded the fierce mastery we were invited into early in the Story.
What if this loss of essential and substantive masculinity was central to what Jesus was after when He declared that “the Son of Man came to seek and save that which is lost” (Luke 19:10)?
This verse has gotten neutered into a salvation-prayer-kind-of-eternal-bandaid, when the roots of Jesus’ intentions go deep and wide.
What if it wasn’t the lost He was referring to, as in people in general, but precisely all the parts of humanity that were lost and broken in the Fall? The word translated as “save” is the Greek word “sozo,” which means “to save from suffering and disease, to make well, to restore to health in every way.” What if the context in which Jesus offers His life is not a one-time eternal ticket, but rather a day-by-day and decade-by-decade apprenticeship in Kingdom living?
The world, the flesh, and the evil one have a single purpose in taking us out as men: to destroy the image of God in us. To create a path for us to atrophy into the eunuchs that IKEA believes we are, and to completely lose our hearts in the process.
If you recall, Paul urges us with this counsel on how to live in the Kingdom of God as men:
Keep your eyes open for spiritual danger; stand true to the Lord; act like men; be strong; do everything in love.” 1 Corinthians 16:13
I doubt IKEA’s Helpline is what Paul had in mind when he was urging us to stand against opposition.
Through the incarnate life of God, in Jesus, we are offered another way.
He has come to put a knife in your hand, to train you as a warrior and as a man.
The life of King David provides a brilliant picture of a man who was fathered by God. David declared in thanksgiving as he turned toward his Father,
Blessed be God, my mountain, who trains my hands for war, my fingers for battle (Psalm 144:1).
In Psalm 78 we read that David led the Israelites with both a whole heart and pragmatic expertise:
With integrity of heart and skillful hand he led them (v. 72).
David received God’s initiation as a man and became whole, and from his wholeness spilled both worship and fierce mastery.
A Case for Carrying a Knife
Where do we begin allowing God to restore the pragmatic expression of our masculinity? It might start with carrying a knife. Literally. On you, every day of your life.
It’s easy to blow off that invitation. Some might say it’s barbaric. Or simply “non-essential” in these days.
We live east of Eden. Most of our needs for a knife in practical terms have been conveniently removed. But the knife is mythic. It represents something deeper. It’s a symbol of a man whose heart and strength are intact. A man who has not outsourced his world and his masculinity to hired hands. A man who is capable of facing life’s deepest challenges and coming out whole.
A man like Jesus.
I haven’t gone a day without carrying my knife on me for almost two years now. And everything has changed. It’s becoming an extension of me. My cell phone used to be the first “accessory” I reached for each day. Now, it’s my knife.
I use it every chance I get.
Each time I draw it out, it is an exercise in wholeness, in integrity—becoming solid through and through. It’s one more small step toward whatever God meant by His word to Adam and Eve to exercise fierce mastery over their world (Genesis 1:28). Flicking that blade and using it to solve a problem, drawing from my resources within rather than outsourcing, has a way of healing the masculine soul.
It’s affirmation of the Father with no limits. Whether it’s sliding my knife into the pocket of my bike jersey, tucking it in the tool pocket of my Carhartts, or securing its clip in my board shorts before a swim, it’s working. I’m taking back something surrendered long ago. It’s working for me. It’ll work for you.
The other day, the kids were in the back of my truck with some of my friends, creating something with all the gear in my gearbox, when one of the boys said, “we need a knife!” My little six-year-old, Abigail, smiled and responded with easy confidence, “Oh, my daddy always has a knife!”
For a moment, all was right in the world.
Things were as they should be.
What they were asking for was a knife, but what they really were wanting was a man.
My kids ask almost daily, “Daddy, can I borrow your knife?” and in those moments I feel that something deeply wrong in the world is being righted…the ship that was floundering and insecure is finding its solid place in the deep blue.
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For fuck sake. Here are some random thoughts:
1) Gerber knives suck
2) knives are sacred
3) this guy has carried a knife for 2 years. I am 62. I have carried a knife every day for the last 55 years. Every. Damn. Day.
4) if one of my young kids ever had asked me to borrow my knife I would have told them to use their own damn knife. Knives are sacred, and they have had their own since they were young. Several in fact.
5) I do not look to use a knife “every chance I get”. I do not even know what that means. I always have a knife, and use it when I need it.
6) Upon meeting my daughter’s boyfriend, almost my first question is to ask to see his knife. No knife he says. Daughter, says I, let me borrow your knife. Sure says she. I do not know if he got the damn message. Time will tell.
This guy means well, but is a clown if he does not understand the above. His dad was seriously remiss in his parenting skills.
“His dad was seriously remiss in his parenting skills.” Maybe that’s his point. It is all well for you to be this way. The world we live in is not that way. Most men are not that way. Why? It is enough to say we live in a decadent society. To say a society is decadent is enough of an explanation. To be decadent is to have fallen away from a standard. This guy wants to restore it and it certainly is in need of restoration. I’m sure he’s full of some evangelical bullshit; most Americans are. That doesn’t take away from his message.
Virtue signal much?
My Gerber is part of getting ready for the day. It’s been a fine knife for decades. I have others but this one is my favorite. Are there better? Well, there’s always a better something.
It does what a good knife is supposed to do, feels & fits right, holds a good edge and has been very durable.
MM – I have many old knives. None I carry for decades. They wear out well before then, no matter the quality. I use them a lot, which means they get sharpened often. Sharpen knives often, and eventually the edge moves toward the spine, which means they have to be back bevelled to get an appropriate edge, and the degradation accelerates. So an EDC has a limited lifespan for me.
If you are happy with the Gerber, that is what matters. They are at best ok, wil sharpen fast but tend to lose the edge fairly quickly, and are not in the same realm as a Benchmade, a US Spyderco, a ZT, etc. in my opinion.
Once they stopped making leather sheaths, I knew the quality would collapse. I’m a year or so younger than you and have some wonderful old Gerber and Kershaw knives from decades ago that I can’t bear to use, they’re so darn perfect. I carry a Kershaw or a Gerber for EDC carry (they’re crap, but they’re also easy & quick one-handed openers), but living and working in a city means that EDC=only on the weekend. I can carry pepper spray, though (and have used it on some folks who didn’t understand proper public behavior…*ahem*). Can’t wait to retire and live in the country, assuming I can live that long.
I ended up with the set of six Gerber steak knives that was a wedding gift in 1970. I’m using it right now while having a late lunch. Nearly half a century old and could still serve as scalpels in a pinch.
I’m not usually a jealous person…but you managed to generate it in me.
I should probably apologize, but instead I’ll try and make it worse, heh heh. I still have a Burberry tweed overcoat my folks bought me in 1962, before Burberry went the way of the genuine Abercrombie & Fitch, and to top that one, the Grundig Majestic multi-band, tube radio with the “Magic Eye”, still working, that I was given for my twelfth birthday 51 years ago. Did you like Rooster ties, the thin ones, wool, with the flat bottom? Still have two of those too. I’m a walking museum!
In the Illegal Union of 57 States, I’d ask to function check my daughter’s boyfriend’s AR15.
I’ll say it once, and I’ll say it again.
Raise your hand if you’ve cut yourself a few times over the years with your blade.
Now, raise your hand if you’ve shot yourself a few times over the years with your gun.
Guns have more variables and consequence than knives.
Solution?
Put the knife on your gun.
Llpoh..
Thanks, my exact sentiments word for word. I carried my little folder to Kindergarten.
However, I agree with Mac that about the age group this message is for. They didn’t grow up being taught how to be a Macho Prick like me. The under 55 crowd was neutered in Pre-school.
baggs,
we’re all being neutered because there are fewer/fewer places one can carry w/o criminal sanctions if caught,just 4 a 3.5″ pocket knife–
funny story about a guy being neutered–a good friend who grew up w/me is a top dog at one of the bigger companies around here & lives the high life & has gotten very” civilized”–
we rarely get to see one another & a couple of years ago i needed to go to a place just down the street from his office so we met 4 lunch at a deli–
after eating our sandwiches,we decided to get a fresh strudel that was packaged 4 takeout & had just been set out–it was just one large piece so i whipped out my knife to cut it & he stopped me–
“there’s no telling where that knife of yours has been,let’s let them cut it 4 us.”
damn,you’ve turned into a p….–
“yep,so what,i’ve seen all the things you use that for.”
Problem with knife carry is how many places won’t let you in with a knife. I own lots of cheap knives sequestered in different places. I have Green River knives for cooking and sundry, use a belt blade and a sheath blade mostly, carbon steel, they rust but the shank goes thru the handle and I keep them sharp and clean. I had a buddy who collected knives and he would give me his old Barlows when a new one caught his fancy.
I understand not wanting to use an everyday carry knife to cut strudel, I use my knife to cut bait, wood, as a pry bar, I dig in the dirt with it and whatever else you use a knife for. Sometimes I clean and sterilize it on my jeans before putting it back in my pocket or belt sheath.
As to being a man, lots more to being a man than shooting deer or zooming around in a pickup. I’m going to give a shout out to Mark and Hardscrabble because I think from what I’ve read of their posts that they embody and understand what being a man is all about. (there are lots other that post here that are also men in the real sense of being a man, ya’ll just need to post more:)
Flea – that neutered comment as an all time TBP great. Snorted out my coffee.
Llpoh..
You’ve said it before, I don’t always like being right.
My EDC is a Benchmade in the back pocket, a kershaw in the front right pocket and a swiss army pocket money clip in the front left. And a machete in my front right hand. Each has a use.
Kershaw for mangoes, Benchmade for assholes, swiss army for cleaning fingernails and machete for snakes, and the occasional head of ripe bananas.
As usual you, HRob and Platopuss are in your own worlds. This guy wants to fix shit now and he gets it.
Do you know what is better than carrying a knife? Carrying two!
A .410/.45?
Don’t go anywhere without a gun, a knife, and something to start a fire.
https://www.bondarms.com/
Pastor,
I carry a Bond Arms Defender and have killed two Copperheads and four Cottonmouths (at my pond) with double tap .410 rounds. Can’t miss’em with this bad boy.
I love it for snakes!
(Especially if they are close and have two legs.)
Ranger 2, my brother…
…kilt a bunch of critters, have not yet had to display it to the two legged kind.
Edit: hope it stays that way. Don’t believe it will.
Me either Pastor…me either…
Two Cold Steel folding Tiger Claw karambits. 3″ of CTS XHP steel each.
Cross your arms and hope to slice, Marcaida style. SIG P239 IWB carry w/ reload.
Slows down a pissy attitude or two in a hurry.
Ed – nice knives. I would not know how to use one, and is sharpening a bitch?
Yep, takes a semi-round or cylindrical sharpening stone. Much easier to do when the blade doesn’t have serrations.
As a tool it has to be manipulated a bit differently. Makes a great gut hook for fishing and deer, and as a defensive tool it’s great for angular slashing but ain’t much for stabbing. It’s more or less a variation of a cat’s claw.
Cold Steel Recon 1 here… thing is indestructible. And fits!
Of course today is now the day it breaks… ?
Ikea directions are wrong,first box should have either a map to a dumpster or a Zippo lighter,all the tools you need for Ikea junk.
I suppose the hammer could be used to knock some sense into the folks who actually buy that crap.
Had my first knife when i was 4
My current go to: a Zero Tolerance. Heavy, but it is a beast and will get the job done.
“heavy,but it is a beast & will get the job done.”
that’s how women describe me–
I never leave the house without a knife but I also use one several times a day, every day. Keeping it sharp is every bit as important as simply carrying one. Whenever we get young men to work on the farm, if they last long enough we always give them a nice folding Buck as a thank-you gift. Without exception the next time I see these young men they are wearing that knife on their belt.
And I can’t speak for the entire Gerber line, but I carried this one when I was a paratrooper because it was a) the sharpest steel b) it cut both ways and c) it came out of the sheath better than any other knife I have ever owned and if you need it in the middle of a parachute malfunction, speed is paramount. I didn’t know too many guys who didn’t have one or didn’t want one.
And Ikea is the fast food of the furniture world. Crap in, crap out but if you’ve got nothing else I guess it will work.
HSF – there is no sharpest steel as such. More it comes to how quickly they can be brought to an edge, and how long they hold it. Any steel can be brought to a razor edge, if a person knows how. When I get very ambitious I bring mine to mirror finish – time consuming, but they are then indeed sharp.
There absolutely better steels than others.
Not all steel is created equal and much of what matters is a good heat treatment.
Ed – check out knifecenter.com. Lots of info re steel can be gleaned there.
Anon – I did not mean to suggest otherwise. My point is, no matter how crap the steel, it can be sharpened. It wil not hold the edge, will chip, break, etc.
As HSF points out this style of fighting knife was developed and proven extremely useful in real-world applications. The design originated with two Brits in the municipal police force of Shanghai pre-WWII. Light, super fast in the hand and very good at penetration (penetration kills vs. slashes). I have one and love it also. https://www.fairbairnsykesfightingknives.com/geber–randall.html
Great link, beautiful knives. I should have mentioned the balance of that knife. I spent a lot of time throwing knives in the field until I was pretty good and the Gerber Mark II was damn near perfectly balanced.
So was the 1955-1960 Soviet AK 6×2 bayonet, oddly enough.
I had the Gerber MK I. Did a move and all my tools were stolen along with that knife. We were allowed to wear knives as line handlers on the sub and the was my choice as it irked some of the higher ups but was easier to get to than the foldable bos’n knife.
Farmer,is that color of nail polish really appropriate when ya’s doing chores?
That pic from your para days ,well,blue/para/sky I get it then!
Not every man is born with a knife in his hand, some come to realize the need and adjust accordingly; as the writer of this article… lay off.
I did Field service work that started 10 years ago and gradually found how useful it was to carry one, and so it is today.
Box cutting, twine, rope, fishing line, and peeling the insulation off electrical or CAT5 cable.
I like locking folders because they can be clipped inside a pocket whereas the straight blades are a bit more tricky to conceal well.
Thoughts while skimming…
Gerber…little jars of baby food, no?
Post started out ok, then took a detour off topic, and tried to weave in machisimo and how it equates to divine providence.
Unnecessary.
3…Wondering where my Kershaw pocket model falls, on the respect-o-meter of general purpose knives for everyday use, convenience, and sleek, low profile design?
4. A tool that comes in handy in countless scenarios, easily transported, and worthy for defensive offense, if absolutely necessary, when a firearm, for whatever reason, is not immediately available.
5. Yes, in this day and age, women should have one in their possession. Predators exist.
It should feel right in your hand, it should be good steel that takes an edge, and it should be solid construction. Everything else is kinda personal, looks and length-wise. Of course learning to use one properly is up to each person, but if you have one all the time, you find uses for it.
Kershaw generally ok, to even pretty good, roughly Gerber quality, maybe a bit better, depending on the knife steel.
i recently bought a new kershaw flip knife (i forget the model) at an estate sale for $5. it retails for $60. good hard steel that holds a nice edge. my favorite knife for carrying/whittling is my 3 blade Old Timer.
i agree with the main theme of the article: it’s more than ok to be a man, it’s our duty. it’s how we were made and intended to be.
Christianity has lost the culture war, hence what we see in entertainment, hear in music, and notice what the mainstream west expects from men. time for some to reclaim the mantle (pun) of what should be typical guy stuff.
I had a teacher in my first year in high school, my latin teacher, an old girl, who on the first day of class asked all the students who carried a pocket knife. About a third of the boys raised their hands. I was not one of them. She then said that all boys should carry a knife. It taught responsibility, and helped gain maturity. I have never been without a good knife since that day – except those occasions when I flew when the knife would be in my checked luggage. Last week I turned 80, and my pocket knife is still there.
Got a knife … in my briefcase …
Budget conscious spear point dagger sharp enough to slash or spear with.
Be careful!
I’m not sure how old I was, but one of my earliest memories of my maternal Grandfather was him sitting me down at the farmhouse kitchen table before supper, disappearing into the pantry and returning with a jar full of pocket knives of varying colors, sizes and quality. He fished one out of the jar and proceeded to sharpen the blade and taught me that if you care for your knife it will care for you when you need it most. He handed me the knife and said that if I still had it in a few years he would give me a nicer one. My grandmother, while quietly assembling our lunch of baloney, tomato and mayo sandwiches, added her $.02 to “never trust a man who doesn’t carry a pocket knife.” To this day I never leave the house without one, though not the cheap, no-name knife my Paw gave me that day. It’s squirreled away in a box somewhere in the attic hopefully to be given along with an invaluable lesson to one of my grand-kids some day.
Well let’s do this, if haven’t done most of these things why not?……looking at the images in the video, Except for the bronc busting I have done most if not all of those things plus more (shark diving no cage, totaling motorcycles on the race track, etc) and broken many bones (I suck at motorcycles). Have you totaled vehicles, been in the ICU, camped without a tent or in the snow, ever thought…”well OK that was that now I am fucking dead?” If you haven’t get the fuck outside right now….GO! Grab a folding knife on your way out the door and BTW take your kids with you!
I’ve never been in an Ikea, no reason to go. As to the stuff on the video? I’ve never intentionally climbed on an unbroke horse but I’ve suffered from being bucked off on more than one occasion, I do my damndest to avoid personal harm and yet…as the video indicates, trouble can sure as shit find you, especially when you least expect it. Oh, and as to personal safety and protection? Well, knives are great but a gun is better…for a little bitty girl like me.
inherited a love of knives from my father, and i’ve never been in an IKEA. i give free knives to people if they see me using it and i think they could need it. most take it. years ago i had my business name on promotional pocket knives for my clients – 25 years later i still hear good stories about them.
i bet ikea is wishing that they would have allowed that guy to return that 1/2 put together shelf that he was so frustrated about–
I could do 10,000 words on knives I have handled .
But to add to the theme of emasculation presented and lamented I recently wrote “male eunuch” in a comment on another blog. In this day and age of gender confusion male eunuch is no longer redundant.
The only time I leave my pocket blade at home is when I go fishing. I holster one on my belt for that.
My knife collection is nearly rivaled by my son’s.
My 7 yo grandson visited this morning before day camp and asked me if I wanted to play. (He is on electronic game restriction ) While we conversed he reminded me with pride he has a knife and a (bb) gun.
Keyser..
Manpussies.
All for carrying a knife, but more than that. Take two. One is for the mundane-cutting bale twine, removing labels, scraping gunk, and whatever you’d do with a cheap, crappy knife that you don’t have time to go fetch the right tool to do it correctly. The other one is for defensive purposes, is used little and is always razor sharp, can be deployed one-handed and is always in the same pocket.
The ZT I carry covers a lot of bases. Heavy blade, sharp as hell, back portion serrated for rope, etc.. There is no one knife perfect for all things, but some cover a variety of situations.
ZT’s are great knives. Super impressed with their quality.
Every man has a need to be a Warrior and a Hero. When that need is suppressed it resurfaces in unhealthy ways. When it is extremely repressed it resurfaces in extremely deviant ways like we see today with 8 year old tranny parades.
On the IKEA issue – you try putting together diagramatic instructions that will be UNIVERSAL in EVERY country (without translation), and will be suitable for the professional weight lifter who owns $10,000 worth of tools, AND the 85lb young lady who doesn’t know which end of the screwdriver to use, both of whom could possibly purchase the item. And as most of their stuff is made from MDF or similar, heavy material, it is most certainly not inappropriate to suggest getting assistance with lifting. In our litigious world, being “overly” safe is sadly required, even in instructions. Additionally, as the goal is NOT to have to create special instructions for EVERY product sold, the more universal the drawing can be, the better for cost savings. Lighten up. Its not emasculating.
As for the knife, as with a gun, the one that you will carry and can use safely and effectively, is the best one for you.
Yup. They wrote it that way so that even niggers can understand it (maybe).
Niggers generally don’t build things, they break ’em don’t they
Nope, they wait until the neighbor gets one and gets it built, then they steal it.
One handed opening has become a must-have. The stud located on the top of the spine is operated with the thumb to leverage the blade open and into a locked position. I carry the knife appropriate for the work. My go to town knife is a touch longer and maybe a little meaner looking than my hard working blades. I’m always looking for that perfect knife. Weight is a big factor and the skeleton handles are worth considering. The old Buck folder is a working man’s piece of art and a great knife, but is too heavy for pocket carry. My folding Buck was a Chritmas present from my older brother and a cherished possession. Funny how my old knives still carry so many memories with them.
The knives with holes – ie Spyderco – work well. Some have back flippers as well. One handed are the way to go, but I do still have an affinity for the Case folders.
I never knew my father or grandfather ever having a knife, but they were in WWII and WWI respectively, so I know they both had them and used them at some point. I don’t know how or when I got my first knife, but I was a small boy, and carried it everywhere (and yes, that was in NYC). At some point, a friends mother found out that I had a pocketknife and took it away from me and called my mother. I didn’t have it out, but she was incensed when she found out. My mother told her to give it back to me. I wasn’t allowed in that house with the knife after that, so I never went there again.
Ever notice how the emasculated men wear long hair and the radical feminists wear very short hair? It’s interesting that the Bible specifically mentions that long hair on a woman is her glory and that men should wear their hair short. I don’t know if liberals hate me more because of my high and tight (shades of my USMC days) or because I carry a knife (and my .45). I am proud of my masculinity and love to see how it irritates leftists.
Doc…
I thought nothing could be more disgusting than a non Indian wearing a ponytail. Then they started wearing chipmunk tails. Then they started wearing buns. Now I see them with buns and a faggy looking chipmunk tail sticking out the top.
BEAM ME UP SCOTTY!!!
Retired USMC here…I thought the long hair on males was bad in the 70’s, but now it’s out of control. My skull starts itching within three weeks if I don’t get a haircut (#1, tapered).
I envy your carry pistol. My state was kind enough to grant me a concealed carry permit, but I can’t tote a .45 or Beretta 92 under my motorcycle jacket, unfortunately. Still, there are some darn nice compact pistols. (But that’s a whole other discussion.)
Huh,am a licensed builder,use and carry a knife/can carry a pistol without a permission slip and do/shot ok(getting better)/work on my own vehicles and at time build em(F250 4×4 frame with E100 body)to a degree,you know,things considered “masculine”,could go on but ya get the point.
Oh,and have a full head of hair halfway down me back that at times wear in a ponytail(do have a smidgen of Maori in me/that count for indian doc?).
Yep,no problems with me masculinity,and, I am easy on womans eyes,enough of em anyhow for me!
I am guessing the folks bitching about long hair on guys(why do you care?) suffer to a large degree from the dreaded MPB!
The times that the (now ex-) wife bought crap at Ikea, it always came with a twisted two-ended hex wrench that was far too short to be useful. Those were painful assemblies. (Hey, I was young and owned few tools at the time, much less a collection of damned hex wrenches!) So now they’ve finally realized that REAL tools exist?
Haven’t been there to buy furniture in more than twenty-plus years, not even for their supposedly delicious Swedish meatballs (that I have never tasted).
Perhaps we all do have one thing in common. Our love of self reliance and how a knife fits into that. I currently carry a Chris Reeve Inkosi folder. He makes his knives in Idaho. I also have one of his Professional Soldier knives and it is a bit on the big side, but not as big nor as heavy as the old buck that I used to carry every day. I always have at least four different knives on my desk at any one time. One in my pocket. Almost all of my jeans have a hole in the back pocket that a knife has worn through. I have an entire display case of custom knives from many of the big name knife makers. Most never leave the case as they are valuable, some beyond counting.
My father, and his father before him, always carried a knife. Both my brother and I learned about knives from my father. In some jobs you will use your knife all the time. You will wear out knives just like you wear out jeans. In other jobs you will rarely use your knife and it will stay sharp for years. As you age, your uses for a knife become less stressful on the knife, and maybe it becomes less important which one you chose, as any fairly good knife will cut up that peach for you, but there is nothing like the feel of a really well made knife. The blade doesn’t wobble. The blade deploys with a comforting smack. And the knife feels like it was made to fit into your hand. And it was.
It matters little which blade you wish to carry. What is important is that you carry one. Machine made in Japan or China or hand made in Idaho, it is true. The best knife is the one in your pocket or on your belt.
The Reeves are exceptional knives. Great choice.
I have a couple of knives from my hunting days. But the knife I use most often isn’t really a knife, it’s a leatherman my son gave me. I love that thing!. I know some here will say its a gadget, but I use two parts of it all the time. First the needle nose pliers, second the serrated blade. It is indispensable when I am on my boat. Always need both those tools which are stainless steel, wrapped in one and comes with a nice sheath with a belt loop. Plus it makes me think of my son every time I use it.
I’ve been carrying a Leatherman of one sort or another for decades. Currently it’s a WAVE, which my wife and daughter bought for my birthday to replace the one I lost. Daughter carries a knife most of the time; son hasn’t figured it out yet, but there’s time. Wife uses mine when she forgets hers. I frequently carry two, the WAVE and a 5N1EDC that has a nice blade, window-breaker point on one end, fire steel, pinpoint light and seat belt cutter. This may become a problem soon; this workplace has a policy against knives (“weapons”!), although I could do more damage with five gallons of gas and ten minutes to prepare than any knife ever would ….
My hair is down past my collar now; years of being forced to wear it short for hard-hats and no facial hair for respirators activated my OCD so much that now I have long hair and sideburns-moustanche all connected. True, once I went to graduate school and had hair down my back (who cares what a grad student looks like? Not my professors, as long as I paid my tuition!), but when I went back to work I cut it and gave it to Locks of Love for a cancer wig for kids. How many kids want an old guy’s long hair? No idea, but the LOL folks took it.
My father-in-law surprised me two years ago with a gift of his collectible pocket-knife collection when he downsized in retirement. Some are worth a little money; but it has Schrade, Buck, Case and several others in it. If I want I’ve got lots of replacements, but the 5N1EDC and WAVE are what I’m carrying now, along with a Cree flashlight and other tools as needed. And picking up hot things with the Leatherman pliers, opening cases with the screwdrivers, filing my fingernails with the file and (rarely) sawing limbs with the 3″ saw blade keep my happy outdoors and in.
Men (and many women) need knives. They help keep the darkness pushed back a bit.
Treat yourself to an Old Timer. And an Old Timer sharpening steel. May be not as sleek and fast as a Gerber but when you want small and razor sharp, that’s the way to go imo.
Gerber’s okay. I carried one in combat, even. Not as tough as the bayonet but handy as hell nonetheless.
.
Nice to hear men talking about knives instead of lattes. I always had a knife around as a kid. I went many years without one. I started carrying again a couple of years ago when darker faces became assholes on a regular basis. Never underestimate the deadliness of a knife. In close quarters they are devastating and never run out of bullets. It was great reading an article that wakes the male spirit.
“Nice to hear men talking about knives instead of lattes”,Steve,you from Cali.?
I do not know where you hear men talking about lattes but where ever it is GET THE FUCK OUT!
I will say the knife discussion nice and the general consensus seems to be trash any Ikea junk you find.You need furniture that will hold up and short a few bucks check out CL free section.I really think here at least in New England you waited a year could completely furnish a home for free from CL,including working appliances.Sure,may not all “color/style match but would all be serviceable.
Here are a few that get the Llpoh seal of approval:
https://www.knifecenter.com/item/ZT0350ST/zero-tolerance-model-0350st-assisted-flipper-knife-s30v-black-combo-blade-black-g10-handles
https://www.knifecenter.com/item/BM5501/benchmade-griptilian-axis-lock-folding-knife-cpm-20cv-satin-sheepsfoot-plain-blade-gray-g10-handles (Be careful of the tips – the hollow ground blade makes the tip vulnerable to breaking)
https://www.knifecenter.com/item/SP81GPCMO2/spyderco-c81gpcmo2-paramilitary-2-folding-knife-s30v-satin-blade-digital-camo-handles
https://www.knifecenter.com/item/SP11FPBL/spyderco-c11fpbl-delica-4-flat-ground-vg10-satin-plain-blade-blue-frn-handles (Light, great EDC)
https://www.knifecenter.com/item/SOGPE15/sog-pe15-pent-arc-folding-knife-bead-blasted-vg10-blade-grn-handles (What I carry if just in case is a criteria)
https://www.knifecenter.com/item/BM860/Benchmade-Bedlam-Folding-Knife-Satin-Plain-Blade-G10-Handles (Another just in case carry)
Damn! Good video. Never thought about carrying a large knife. I carry 24/7 little Victoria pocket knife. Very handy.
I got a large Ka-bar knife I keep stored when I go hunting/hiking, however.
Interesting read CZ, I am not sure if you wrote this article or just posted it, but clearly you find value in it. I wanted to wait a few days to post this reply, so as not to start a diatribe with many involved. These words are for you alone as clearly you’re a believer as am I. They are not intended to tear down but to build up, though they are clearly in strong disagreement with much of what is written in the article.
I think that Ikea knows its audience well and that shows up in its sales figures. I don’t seem to be quite as put off by their goofy instructions as you. What they are is “language free”. Instead of writing the same thing down in how many “melting pot” languages and winding up with a small book, a few pictures spoke volumes. I do see the point you’re trying to make when you compare to the much more “our style” Gerber ad.
A few thoughts on the articles tie in to God however… you say some things in this article that from one believer to another need to be addressed.
“This Gerber video is a mythic picture of the spiritual reality God is after in your heart as a man—in the heart of EVERY man.”
That’s saying (presuming) a whole bunch. I’d call it religion. I detest religion for what I believe to be very good reasons and will try to explain.
“A man and a knife. That could save the world. At least, it was intended to.”
A man and a knife cannot possibly save the world; nor is a man and a knife ever intended by God to save the world. To make such a presumption, one has to believe man is good enough to save himself before he then saves the world, and he’s not. Only God can save a man “out of” this world. It would then logically follow that only God can save the world. A man can save his own “physical” self with a knife, perhaps, if he knows how to wield it well.
“Gerber gets it: they have tapped into the core longings of the masculine heart.”
This point you make, I get. Yes, with that advertisement they are trying to tap into “something” Ikea is certainly not addressing.
“In fact, fully restored masculinity is God’s choicest answer to the problem of trouble on the earth.”
Restored masculinity surely would help the situation but it’s not the answer to man’s ultimate problem. People need to “man up” look in the mirror and recognize themselves for who they really are, sinners in need of a Savior. Mans problem is sin. God’s only solution for sin is Christ on the cross. We cannot overcome our own sin, if we could the cross would be unnecessary. The cross is THE GIFT of grace from God to man.
Gal 2:21… “I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain.”
“As you recall, the deepest way in which we bear the image of God is as men and women (Genesis 1:27).”
As the Bible states, Adam and Eve were created in the perfect (non-fallen) image of God. The problem… Adam fell. He gave that perfect eternal image up and brought death itself into the world. His children were then created NOT in Gods perfect image but in Adams fallen (dying) image.
Gen 5:3… “And Adam lived an hundred and thirty years, and begat a son in his own likeness, and after his image; and called his name Seth:”
This is why salvation is necessary. We must be put back into that non-fallen eternal image once again, even though our flesh will very likely die. Noah is in the line of Seth. All living are all children of Noah (Noah’s children) and thus Seth, begotten in Adams fallen (dead) image. This is not a small point here; this is critical to understand. Upon this very fine point rests the essential nature the cross itself. Mankind was intended and created to reflect Gods perfect image. WE NO LONGER DO, because sin.
“As a matter of fact, He’s put all His chips on restored humanity to bring the kingdom in full.”
It is absolutely NOT up to man to bring in Gods future Kingdom on earth. This is a flat out lie and is what satan would have you believe in order to get you to behave in certain ways; usually violently. God is going to destroy that which man has created since the fall. God will bring His “Kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven” when and only when He is good and ready.
Dan 2:44… “And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever.”
“What if this loss of essential and substantive masculinity was central to what Jesus was after when He declared that “the Son of Man came to seek and save that which is lost” (Luke 19:10)?”
Jesus, in prophesy (the red letters), came to save the lost sheep of the house of Israel, not their sense (or lack thereof) of masculinity.
Mat 10:5-6… “These twelve Jesus sent forth, and commanded them, saying, Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not: But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”
Mat 15:24… “But he answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”
“What if it wasn’t the lost He was referring to, as in people in general, but precisely all the parts of humanity that were lost and broken in the Fall?”
The literal interpretation, if we are to believe our Bible, is that “the lost” were Jews who no longer followed God, but satan and their own worldly self-oriented religion. If the Bible cannot be taken literally it is worthless. The above proposal is spiritualized nonsense.
“The world, the flesh, and the evil one have a single purpose in taking us out as men: to destroy the image of God in us.”
CZ, we (Adam) destroyed that image ourselves. We (Adam) gave it away intentionally. We (Adam) chose self and satan over God and most still do to this very day. That image left when Adam ate of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. What satan wants to do is convince you that you are somehow able to recapture Gods image yourself. This is religion. What God offers man today is a very similar choice. We either choose Him (Christ on the cross in our stead) or self; and it looks to me by what you write (or posted) as if you are choosing self. There is no “God” whatsoever in the unsaved man. Be very careful here. The mystery revealed to Paul puts us back into the image God intended… “Christ in us, the hope of glory” (Col 1:27). Without salvation there is no hope at all.
“Through the incarnate life of God, in Jesus, we are offered another way. He has come to put a knife in your hand, to train you as a warrior and as a man.”
If by a “knife” you mean the sword of the word, then I’d agree; but I believe you mean a literal knife, as if killing were the solution to our problems. If you claim Psalm 144:1 as your own, you must claim all of the Psalms as your own and you can’t do that. There is no picking and choosing which verses suit you and which verses do not. All the Bible is true. What we all need to learn is who God is speaking to, when, where and for what purpose. God is not speaking to you in the Psalms. Spiritual wisdom can certainly be gleaned from the words therein but when we read them their historical context must be taken into account. Those words are directed at Israel.
The “way” Jesus offers a man today is found in the letter of Paul written to today’s believers. He offers a sword that is His word, which we need to study in order to become warriors; not a physical weapon (even though physical weapons are handy from time to time). This is what Paul is instructing Timothy (2 Tim 2:15) and any of us who would pick up the mantle and carry it forward.
“Where do we begin allowing God to restore the pragmatic expression of our masculinity? It might start with carrying a knife. Literally. On you, every day of your life.”
I highly recommend carrying a knife. I recommend carrying a gun as well. Neither has anything to do with masculinity however. We begin to allow God to restore that which humanity has lost by intelligently and honestly studying His word. As we read the book, it reads us and will show us things I promise you, only a man can handle (Heb 12:4). Coming to grips with the words on the page will turn a boy into a man; a girl into a woman.
“It represents something deeper. It’s a symbol of a man whose heart and strength are intact. A man who has not outsourced his world and his masculinity to hired hands. A man who is capable of facing life’s deepest challenges and coming out whole.”
I get where you’re going with that… but please don’t attribute “knives” to what God has to offer.
“It’s one more small step toward whatever God meant by His word to Adam and Eve to exercise fierce mastery over their world (Genesis 1:28).”
Fierce mastery??? From what religious book are you reading? God created a world perfect in beauty that did not know death that we would grow and care for with His help. He put us in charge of it, meaning, He gave it to us… just because He could!
Gen 1:28… “And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.”
To subdue and have dominion over are very different things than fierce mastery. Get out a Websters 1828… it is satan who has “fierce mastery” over this world at the present time.
“Flicking that blade and using it to solve a problem, drawing from my resources within rather than outsourcing, has a way of healing the masculine soul. It’s affirmation of the Father with no limits.”
This CZ, is a serious stretch… bordering on blasphemy and I never use that word loosely. To attribute something to God that has nothing to do with Him is the definition of blasphemy. Flicking the blade of a knife might cause you to feel more self sufficient, a good thing for sure, but “an affirmation of the Father with no limits”? Not even close.
“I’m taking back something surrendered long ago.”
Good for you if carrying your knife is helping you to feel more masculine, more prepared to meet life’s challenges. That’s great! What God offers is FAR more important; and on a completely different level. God the Father through Jesus Christ the Son offers man complete and total redemption from all sin. Avail yourself of this most generous gift. Please do not attribute worldly things to God with which He has nothing to do.
grace and peace…