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Is a knife male or female? - 1/6/2008 8:49:17 AM   
Aneirin


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From: Tamaris
Status: offline 		I like knives, I collect them and make them, but today being one of those days where I think a lot, I got to thinking who is it that likes knives.

My observations so far that it is the males of our species that seem to hold more of a fascination with these objects, as I know very few women that hold such an interest.

Bladesmiths, they too as far as I can discern are largely male, even in this modern society where anyone can be what they want to be.

So, I ask here, is blade interest more male than female..?

I posted this question elsewhere this morning, on a custom knife forum I use and came up with an answer I knew, but thought was only my twisted mind that thought that way. That way being a male interest in knives is because a knife blade is a phallic symbol and males are naturally attracted to blades, it's a macho thing perhaps, maybe even a compensator for some.

And so the thought went on, is a blade a measure of manhood?

What do others think, those with blades....no, I am not going to go there on that?

The question, is a knife more likely to be in the possesion of a male or female?

Are there any female collectors or bladesmiths?

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RE: Is a knife male or female? - 1/6/2008 8:51:32 AM   
sub4hire


Posts: 6775
Joined: 1/1/2004
Status: offline 		A knife is a phallus symbol.

Byond that....I don't know I'm female and have no interest in knives other than for cooking.

I do own more than a few only because I inherited them. 

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RE: Is a knife male or female? - 1/6/2008 8:56:06 AM   
pahunkboy


Posts: 33061
Joined: 2/26/2006
From: Central Pennsylvania
Status: offline 		..hmm.  I personally dont have tons of kitchen knives. SOrta cos if an intruder comes in, why help them?

this month stabbings in my town are fashionable

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RE: Is a knife male or female? - 1/6/2008 8:59:15 AM   
IrishMist


Posts: 7480
Joined: 11/17/2005
Status: offline 		Interesting question.

I like knives. I collect them, I use them, I like them used on me in a variety of situations. I don't, however, make them.

Why do I like knives?
When I pick up a knife, the feel of power is overwhelming. It gives me a sense of peace, of calm, of excitement....I 'react' to knives better than I do to guns  It's a part of me, and I am a part of the knife; if that makes any sense.

I collect them because knives can tell a story.

I like having them used on me because of the feeling of danger that is associated with having a blade held to your neck and knowing that if you move; one wrong small step in any direction; that the blade can take your life; whether by accident or by design.

Mmmm...I just love knives.

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RE: Is a knife male or female? - 1/6/2008 9:01:06 AM   
MissHarlet


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From: El Paso , TX US
Status: offline 		Im definately female and have a love of blades that goes back to the time I was a child. 

I love the beauty and strength of them from the pocket knife to the exquisitely formed ceremonial blade.

I have collected them for years and am very particular about them.. if they are not unusual ... well balanced and beautiful to look at... then ....they are not in my possession. 

I have never thought of them as a phallic symbol nor to have a gender.. only beautiful and powerful.

I love useing them on others as they are a symbol of trust ... and the excitement of that feeling is of a depth that nothing else matches for me.

< Message edited by MissHarlet -- 1/6/2008 9:05:13 AM >

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RE: Is a knife male or female? - 1/6/2008 9:07:44 AM   
Missokyst


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Status: offline 		Blades are definitely male.  Impalement, slicing through barriers, wiping off the blade, shoving it into a sheath.. all very male things.  That is probably why I love them.  They scream masculinity, possession, and the potential of taking charge.
*swoon*
Kyst


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RE: Is a knife male or female? - 1/6/2008 9:09:37 AM   
faerytattoodgirl


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Status: offline 		Spoons are female cause they are so curvy 

Fork is male because its so pointy!

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RE: Is a knife male or female? - 1/6/2008 9:30:02 AM   
Owner59


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quote:

ORIGINAL: faerytattoodgirl

Spoons are female cause they are so curvy 

Fork is male because its so pointy!



And a spork? 

What does that symbolize?

Though people lay these things,on things(the same way people think cars think,feel,and get moody),a knife is a tool,nothing more.

I`m a big fan of Damascus steal knives,and Japanese sword making absolutely fascinates me.


< Message edited by Owner59 -- 1/6/2008 9:34:34 AM >

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RE: Is a knife male or female? - 1/6/2008 9:30:38 AM   
RCdc


Posts: 8674
Status: offline 		I do not believe they are either. As with any tool, their usage changes.  In the past, far more women carried knives and small daggers, but that was more out of need and simplicity.
You know me A, I love knives, I had a collection which was lost many years back.  It is something I would love to get back into collecting again, including all blades and swords.  I just find them fascinating.  I might just press you for one of those new ones you just picked up...
 
the.dark.

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RE: Is a knife male or female? - 1/6/2008 9:36:24 AM   
faerytattoodgirl


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quote:

ORIGINAL: Owner59

quote:

ORIGINAL: faerytattoodgirl

Spoons are female cause they are so curvy 

Fork is male because its so pointy!



And a spork? 

What does that symbolize?   Tranny

.


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RE: Is a knife male or female? - 1/6/2008 9:56:16 AM   
Aneirin


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Joined: 3/18/2006
From: Tamaris
Status: offline 		Oh, the moras, well there are photos on another site, please find here;

http://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k313/dreamsofobsidian/Moraknivcollection.jpg


quote:

ORIGINAL: Darcyandthedark

I do not believe they are either. As with any tool, their usage changes.  In the past, far more women carried knives and small daggers, but that was more out of need and simplicity.
You know me A, I love knives, I had a collection which was lost many years back.  It is something I would love to get back into collecting again, including all blades and swords.  I just find them fascinating.  I might just press you for one of those new ones you just picked up...
 
the.dark.


A knife could also be a man's love and greatest fear, it has the phallic connotations as mentioned by ; Missokyst, but it also has the power to emasculate, as another wrote elsewhere ;

''They are sublime : beautiful and horrifying precisely because they are so potentially emasculating,''

So, maybe a blade is sexless, but a thing of power to whatever sex wields it?


< Message edited by Aneirin -- 1/6/2008 10:05:40 AM >

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RE: Is a knife male or female? - 1/6/2008 10:28:36 AM   
Badpunzel


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Joined: 12/24/2007
Status: offline
quote:

ORIGINAL: Aneirin

So, I ask here, is blade interest more male than female..?

And so the thought went on, is a blade a measure of manhood?

The question, is a knife more likely to be in the possesion of a male or female?

Are there any female collectors or bladesmiths?


I love blades.  I have since the first time I saw my father's favorite pocket knife, the one that had a marlin spike on it.  My father has since passed, and I now own the knife that sparked the lifelong love of blades.

My love of blades carried me happily through 11 years as a meatcutter. 

It lead to my associated love of scalpels and straight razors, too.  I do not feel that a love of blades is necessarily delineated by gender.  I enjoy having blades, and sharpening them.  And using them.




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RE: Is a knife male or female? - 1/6/2008 10:29:30 AM   
RCdc


Posts: 8674
Status: offline 		I don't see it as inherently phallic.  Butterfly knives could be said to be quite sexually feminine in the way they open and the shape of some balsong daggers could give the impression of parted thighs and the showing of petaled lips.  Some knives are very 'petal shaped' and many tips are nipple shaped if you examine closely.  People just put their own impression on what a knife is really.
 
If I wanted to be sexist, then a swiss army knife would be female. Because men can't multitask well.
 
I just like them because they are pretty and shiny and cold and because they taste and smell of lemonade.(I know you will get that)
 
the.dark.

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RE: Is a knife male or female? - 1/6/2008 10:55:13 AM   
Emperor1956


Posts: 2370
Joined: 11/7/2005
Status: offline 		FR:  I tend to go with the "no inherent gender" idea.  I too love knives, and have some very fine ones.  I agree that the tension between destruction and creation inherent in a fine blade is part of the attraction.  So is the visual pleasure of a fine blade in a fine handle.  But for me, the knife is a tool, and the greatest pleasure is the feel of a well-crafted, beautifully balanced blade in my hand.  That pleasure is neither masculine nor feminine.
 
To whoever stated that knives are masculine because they punch, tear, push, etc., consider that in using a sharp, well balanced skinner, the motion is entirely fluid, sensual and far more "feminine' (if one is wont to label such things).  I have pumals and daggers that are made to thrust and punch -- yet are sinuous, curved and nestle in my hand like something "female".  I don't think you can ascribe gender to a fine tool.
 
E.

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"It's the same thing," he said.

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RE: Is a knife male or female? - 1/6/2008 11:03:34 AM   
SL4V3M4YB3


Posts: 3506
Joined: 12/20/2007
From: S.E. London U.K.
Status: offline
quote:

ORIGINAL: Aneirin
So, I ask here, is blade interest more male than female..?

No idea
quote:

ORIGINAL: Aneirin
And so the thought went on, is a blade a measure of manhood?

Not to any normal person, it's no friend of manhood either just ask that Japanese man who had is manhood lopped off by one.
quote:

ORIGINAL: Aneirin
What do others think, those with blades....no, I am not going to go there on that?

Everyone needs a pass time I suppose.
quote:

ORIGINAL: Aneirin
The question, is a knife more likely to be in the possesion of a male or female?

Depends who does the majority of the cooking I suppose.
quote:

ORIGINAL: Aneirin
Are there any female collectors or bladesmiths?

That would be a safe bet.
 

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RE: Is a knife male or female? - 1/6/2008 11:03:37 AM   
domiguy


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Joined: 5/2/2006
Status: offline 		Very interesting question....Didn't feel that my life would have purpose without a response.

At first I was thinking that knives would have to be considered female...Hence the phrase, "not the sharpest knife in the drawer." However I have met plenty of men that were incredibly and equally as dull.

That's all I got. I'm sure it will be cherished.


However, I have lately been wondering lately about the gender of my cell phone. It seems to only ring when it wants to...And rarely works the way that I would wish that it would...My phone is acting like such a cunt.

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RE: Is a knife male or female? - 1/6/2008 11:10:15 AM   
dcnovice


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Status: offline 		<fast reply>

FWIW, the ARTFL Project: French-English Dictionary gives two French words for knife--canif and couteau--both of which are masculine.

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RE: Is a knife male or female? - 1/6/2008 11:15:04 AM   
dcnovice


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Status: offline 		<fast reply>

Also checked my elderly copy of Cassell's New Compact Latin Dictionary, and the word for knife (culter) is masculine. So that tells you what the ancient Romans thought, again fwiw!

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No matter how cynical you become,
it's never enough to keep up.

JANE WAGNER, THE SEARCH FOR SIGNS OF
INTELLIGENT LIFE IN THE UNIVERSE

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RE: Is a knife male or female? - 1/6/2008 11:20:01 AM   
Alumbrado


Posts: 5560
Status: offline 		Knives are a human invention to replace claws...very feline, very female when used in that context.

When used as a 4 inch substitute for a mighty sword, they are rather pitiful... and ever so male.

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RE: Is a knife male or female? - 1/6/2008 11:20:49 AM   
SL4V3M4YB3


Posts: 3506
Joined: 12/20/2007
From: S.E. London U.K.
Status: offline 		Is a pair of scissors knife Siamese twins?

I never used to wonder these things before I started reading this thread.

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