MushiSushi
15-10-03, 11:57 AM
snatched from rec.knives
Funny you should mention this. I very recently had a very similar
experience with an A.T. Barr custom that I had made for a work knife. (I
have not been on this group for some time due to time constraints, but it
was A.T. that forwarded your problem to me, as sounding familiar).
In my case I was scheduled to do a job in a county court building on Long
Island, NY. (I was not working any where near any court rooms.) I was
advised to enter the building via the truck loading dock, and to call my
building contact from there. At the loading dock was a court officer in
charge of security. He advised me that I would have to go through a metal
detector to access the building, and I,(of course), had no problem with
that, but I told the officer that I had no tools and equipment with me, and
would only have to go through again, after I met my building contact,(who
was familiar to the guard). He wanted me to go through anyway, so I emptied
my pockets into the usual basket before going through the arch. ( Note: as
it was 7 A.M., there was nobody there but me and the officer. ). As I
removed my stag handled, pocket clip installed, less then 3" , thumb stub
opening custom knife and placed it in the basket, the officer immediately
picked the knife out from the rest of my pocket stored items, and with some
degree of effort,(he was a pro), opened it with a wrist snap. (I also just
cleaned and lubed the knife the night before). The officer then bent down
into my face, (he was approx. 6', I'm 5'7" and 56 years old), and stated
that I was in possession of a gravity knife! I told him that he was wrong,
it was not a gravity knife, and that most modern knives could be opened with
enough wrist snap, and that He was needlessly stressing the lock action on
the knife, and probably damaging it. As soon as I has that out, he snapped
it open 3 more times. I then said that I had paid $650 for that custom
knife, and was not at all happy about what he was doing with it! As soon as
I said that, his entire demeanor changed, and he flat out told me that he
was confiscating the knife. I of course, protested loudly. He told me that
if I wanted the knife back, he would have to file a report. I told him to
by all means, file a report. (Stupid me thought that this meant that I
would get my knife back, and I would have to appear in front of a judge at a
later date to explain myself. Actually, he meant that either I give him the
knife and walk away, or he was going to file charges against me, and I was
not going to get the knife back anyway). I insisted on a receipt for the
knife,(which really torqued this POS off). He stated that he had no
receipts on hand, but would go and get some, if I insisted. I did insist,
and also asked to speak to his supervisor. He said that she was due any
second, (and indeed, walked into the parking lot door at that moment). I
turned to talk to her, got as far as mentioning a knife, and without hearing
ANYTHING about the situation, said "you are not getting your knife back". I
guessed that this was NOT the first time the skel guard was involved in the
same situation. Bottom line. When I got the receipt it stated that I
voluntarily gave up my knife. I crossed that out, and initialled the
change. I asked that the receipt show a stag handled knife made by A.T.
Barr,(etched on the blade). The receipt showed a brown handled gravity
knife. I left the building without doing the work I was scheduled to do,
and started calling lawyers. I eventually hired a lawyer who was purported
to have an excellent working relationship with the court officers. That may
have been a mistake. My lawyer told me that the essense of the case was
that the knife DID indeed violate the law, and that the court officer was
filing felony charges against me UNLESS I agreed to voluntarily turn the
knife over to him, and recind the comments made on the receipt given me by
him. The lawyer said that he would gladly represent me to the best of his
ability on the criminal charges, but he questioned my reasoning for persuing
this course. I whined and protested, but saw the wisdom of his advise, and
folded. I gave him the authority to make a gift of my knife to the POS, as
my attorney.
Side note: Later on I heard from other construction workers that the
POS, apparently realized how bad he looked, and spread the story in the
building that I had come into the building with an attitude, he saw the
knife in my pocket, and I flat refused to remove it, even though he gave me
the opportunity to put it in my truck. And I just pushed my way past him,
and he had no choice but to confiscate the knife. I'll just say that the
POS had a 9mm in plain sight on his Sam Browne, and I'm not crazy. Or dead.
Funny you should mention this. I very recently had a very similar
experience with an A.T. Barr custom that I had made for a work knife. (I
have not been on this group for some time due to time constraints, but it
was A.T. that forwarded your problem to me, as sounding familiar).
In my case I was scheduled to do a job in a county court building on Long
Island, NY. (I was not working any where near any court rooms.) I was
advised to enter the building via the truck loading dock, and to call my
building contact from there. At the loading dock was a court officer in
charge of security. He advised me that I would have to go through a metal
detector to access the building, and I,(of course), had no problem with
that, but I told the officer that I had no tools and equipment with me, and
would only have to go through again, after I met my building contact,(who
was familiar to the guard). He wanted me to go through anyway, so I emptied
my pockets into the usual basket before going through the arch. ( Note: as
it was 7 A.M., there was nobody there but me and the officer. ). As I
removed my stag handled, pocket clip installed, less then 3" , thumb stub
opening custom knife and placed it in the basket, the officer immediately
picked the knife out from the rest of my pocket stored items, and with some
degree of effort,(he was a pro), opened it with a wrist snap. (I also just
cleaned and lubed the knife the night before). The officer then bent down
into my face, (he was approx. 6', I'm 5'7" and 56 years old), and stated
that I was in possession of a gravity knife! I told him that he was wrong,
it was not a gravity knife, and that most modern knives could be opened with
enough wrist snap, and that He was needlessly stressing the lock action on
the knife, and probably damaging it. As soon as I has that out, he snapped
it open 3 more times. I then said that I had paid $650 for that custom
knife, and was not at all happy about what he was doing with it! As soon as
I said that, his entire demeanor changed, and he flat out told me that he
was confiscating the knife. I of course, protested loudly. He told me that
if I wanted the knife back, he would have to file a report. I told him to
by all means, file a report. (Stupid me thought that this meant that I
would get my knife back, and I would have to appear in front of a judge at a
later date to explain myself. Actually, he meant that either I give him the
knife and walk away, or he was going to file charges against me, and I was
not going to get the knife back anyway). I insisted on a receipt for the
knife,(which really torqued this POS off). He stated that he had no
receipts on hand, but would go and get some, if I insisted. I did insist,
and also asked to speak to his supervisor. He said that she was due any
second, (and indeed, walked into the parking lot door at that moment). I
turned to talk to her, got as far as mentioning a knife, and without hearing
ANYTHING about the situation, said "you are not getting your knife back". I
guessed that this was NOT the first time the skel guard was involved in the
same situation. Bottom line. When I got the receipt it stated that I
voluntarily gave up my knife. I crossed that out, and initialled the
change. I asked that the receipt show a stag handled knife made by A.T.
Barr,(etched on the blade). The receipt showed a brown handled gravity
knife. I left the building without doing the work I was scheduled to do,
and started calling lawyers. I eventually hired a lawyer who was purported
to have an excellent working relationship with the court officers. That may
have been a mistake. My lawyer told me that the essense of the case was
that the knife DID indeed violate the law, and that the court officer was
filing felony charges against me UNLESS I agreed to voluntarily turn the
knife over to him, and recind the comments made on the receipt given me by
him. The lawyer said that he would gladly represent me to the best of his
ability on the criminal charges, but he questioned my reasoning for persuing
this course. I whined and protested, but saw the wisdom of his advise, and
folded. I gave him the authority to make a gift of my knife to the POS, as
my attorney.
Side note: Later on I heard from other construction workers that the
POS, apparently realized how bad he looked, and spread the story in the
building that I had come into the building with an attitude, he saw the
knife in my pocket, and I flat refused to remove it, even though he gave me
the opportunity to put it in my truck. And I just pushed my way past him,
and he had no choice but to confiscate the knife. I'll just say that the
POS had a 9mm in plain sight on his Sam Browne, and I'm not crazy. Or dead.