'Rambo' blades still on sale despite death of Tyler Cassidy

Brendan Roberts

December 19, 2008 12:00am

A WEEK after the Tyler Cassidy tragedy, a store is selling long-bladed hunting knives alongside a "no licence required" sign.

The Herald Sun viewed the knives, which are more than 20cm long, on display in the "Fellas" store at Highpoint Shopping Centre.

Opposition police spokesman Andrew McIntosh said the Government should ban the items, which he described as lethal weapons.   ....

http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,27574,24821241-2862,00.html

Coreect me if I'm wrong, but didn't he rip open a pack of kitchen knives?
Maybe not, but a long thin knife would be much more useful for causing serious injury.

I'll be suing for RSI when I'm forced to eat my meals using plastic utensils with corks on the ends of them.

This is nonsense.

I mean, they're just knives. I don't see a problem.

edit: it's in google now.

Knives are all designed for specific uses.
Given this sort of weapon was used in the crime, there is cause for complaint on human and sensible grounds.

They use that argument for guns.

But this gun is designed for killing! It's military style. Yeah, if you subscribe to that logic (which I don't).

That logic is nonsense with a knife. A knife is a knife is a knife, regardless of shape or 'intended purpose'.

These 'combat knives' you hear about, are clearly not useful in a fighting situation. They are heavy, often have a saw on the back of them and really are just camping knives with a fancy name.

Lets ban hands. A hand is way more dangerous than a knife. Hands are everywhere and no one has been conditioned to be fearful of a hand. Hands are friendly right?

What if I approach you with soft eyes and a smile, give you a left handed wave, up high, say hello, relax you, use that left hand, thumb and index finger to gouge your eyes, your hands go straight to your face instinctively, come in with my right hand, crush your windpipe with my right hand, you can't scream (ability to inhale and exhale is gone) and you suffocate to death.

Yeah, hands are next to go. ::)

This is nonsense.

And you might consider other instruments which have caused police to shoot the offender.
Axes, hammers, screwdrivers...etc. Should they be banned also?

Maybe when people aren't working and earning money for the fat cats, they should just plug themselves into the matrix until the next working day.

Only idiots buy these knives. They are useless, unless you want to hammer in tent peg or something. A good filleting knife is far more dangerous and far more usefull. This is just a gap filler for a 'no news' day.

freediver wrote on Dec 23^rd, 2008 at 10:09pm:

Only idiots buy these knives. They are useless, unless you want to hammer in tent peg or something. A good filleting knife is far more dangerous and far more usefull. This is just a gap filler for a 'no news' day.

They're too flexible. Might snap on bone, or deflect to a less than lethal area when hitting something hard. Good slasher though, if you were so inclined.

They already know the most powerful tool you have is your mind. Which is why they try and dumb us all down. Whatever you know, make sure to share it. I mean, the government has the knowledge, terrorists have the knowledge, everyone else should have it also. Even up the playing field.

They also tend to be thick, blunt and hard to sharpen. You'd have more luck stabbing someone with a screwdriver. Even if you managed to hit an artery it probably wouldn't cut it.

I was talking about filleting knives in regards to flexibility.

Still though, almost any sharp or pointy instrument can be used to kill someone, if you were so inclined.

But, I doubt a trained knife fighter would go for something large, heavy, and rather hard to wield. They might want something small, sharp and light for slashing at tendons and arteries, maybe with a bit of stiffness for stabbing, maybe a half way decent length to get inside someone.

I don't know.

I do know the media is full of agenda pushing idiots.

FD is is quite correct about the filleting knife, they are deadly. The flexibility of the blade takes into consideration the striking of bone and will turn with force. You won't just cut someone, you will slice pieces off. Bad news.

The have been plenty long heavy bladed fighting knives in the past however, the most famous would be the American Bowie knife, the
Gurkha "Khukri". Also long bladed and double edged was the British Commando Fairbairn-Sykes which set the standard for many military combat knives.

The Khukri and the Bowie are also general purpose knives and can be used as small handaxes.

All knives are deadly. A filleting knife would be good for taking chunks off. If I had to attack someone with a knife, it wouldn't be my choice. I'd want something that I know I could stick in a place that would ensure the person isn't going to be able to use adrenaline to fight me in their last throes and potentially kill me.

If I was going to fight someone with my level of non-skill, I would choose something large, maybe a machete or even the khukri, possibly not a bowie knife. That's just for range and weight though.

The FS is not a combat knife, hardly even a fighting knife. It's an assassination knife.

That's just my opinion though, and everyone has different ideas.

Combat knife is a camping knife, fighting knife is for fighting, assassin knife is only useful for killing.

The one I prefer for spearing is short, pointed, has a double edge, but one of the edges is a bit serated. Some people use those big chunky knives for spearing, but they are difficult to handle I think. They only use them because they are cheap. The serrated bit comes in handy sometimes because it can cut through the large fish bones (eg ribs). It also has a slightly rubbery handle. Those red plastic handles are too slippery. I think it's main benefit is that it is accurate, even on a large struggling fish. You are less likely to slip and cut your hand because you have so much control over it. The point makes it very easy to jam it into the vertebrae and twist.

I think that medieval people used heavy swords in war because they had to cut through shields or armour, and do enough damage to stop people immediately. But for killing people in a more domestic situation they used rapiers or short knives - something that gave them a lot of control and isn't going to get stuck in a jacket or chair. Those chunky hunting/camping knives seem to combine the disadvantages of every option. They have the clumsiness of a sword or axe, but not the weight to break through with brute force. The only advantage is that they look scary. Plus, they are designed for one handed use, but the size is halfway between a blade designed for one and two handed use, or at least, a bit too big for effective one handed use.

I do not see any need for more laws - unless such laws would make all knives to be sold to be kept under lock and key.  Banning some knives otherwise will do little good.