I made a beeline to an outfitter's store in SS15, Subang Jaya over the weekend.
The purpose of my visit there was to pass some books on knifemaking to my friend who also runs the store.
Unfortunately, he was not in the premise, so, I stayed and talked to one of his part-time assistant.
Just as I was getting comfortable, a mother and her teenage son walked in.
The boy, who looked no more than 15, was asking about folding knives.
One of the shop assistants had gladly taken his query and started showing him some knives.
So, as the boy was going through the pile, he mentioned about steel quality and "EDC" (Every Day Carry).
His intent was to carry a folding knife to school.
Now, that spells trouble.
My take on knife usage among teenagers is this: they don't have any business carrying them around and to school.
UNLESS: They are involved in outdoor activities that warrants the usage of edged tools and such can be used to justify carrying one.
I sized up the situation and told the kid that he did a lot of Googling and You-tubing.
"Hey, how did you know about that?," he asked.
I told him that I train kids his age and knew exactly how they think.
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| Two Termiar kids showing off their slip-joint folding knives |
Parental consent
Later, the mother came back to store after leaving her son for nearly an hour.
I can see that she is worried.
"Ma'am, you better go home, take your son with you because he don't need a knife.
"He wants it, but its not a necessity. Take your time and sleep over this and when you need one, it'll be here.."
The mother agreed.
But one of the part-time sales assistant said this: "Oh man, you are the kind of parent I hate... "
My reaction was this: "Too bad. If you want something, you better work for it.."
I think its morally wrong for a store to sell knives to people under the age of 18 without the company of an adult.
The 14-year-old kid was adamant. His mother on the other hand, was level-headed.
I told her that if her son is able to produce good results in exams or willing to work for it, then he earned the rights to own a folding knife.
These days parents give in to their children easily.
From the responsible knife ownership point of view, I think the store assistants were wrong.
They were pushing for a sale.
There's commission to be earned. All I see, was the excessive obsession to earn and make a sale.
I was also shocked to see that the part-time dude had charged RM140 (US$45) to sharpen a Tramontina machete.
For a crappy workmanship and finish, I'd say that the sharpening fees is even more expensive than the cheap-assed machete.
What I witnessed, was an outright slaughter of the innocent. But hey, its true what they say that a sucker is born every minute.
I just cannot agree with the RM140 sharpening fee for a machete. That's why its important for one to learn on how to sharpen their knives.
I for one, will never pay a college kid working part-time in a store to sharpen any of my knives.
Another disturbing trend I observed was the obsession with slicing paper.
The older staff in the store had asked the college kid to sharpen a camp knife for slicing paper.
What the fuck is wrong with these people!
That said, I think I better lay low and spend less time at the store. The sales guys have a lot to learn...
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