All About Pocket Knives

As knife lovers, we all have our beliefs, superstitions, and idiosyncrasies regarding knives. Some knife owners would never allow another person (with the exception of their SO) to touch their knives. Some don’t buy certain knives because of an “unlucky” serial number--like one having 666. I’ve even heard of one man who has a tendency to buy knives that have serial numbers that contain significant dates such as 1776, 911, or 1415. Like any group of fanatics, we knife lovers are not immune to superstitions, so, to embrace knife fanaticism, I bring to my fellow AAPK members 26 superstitions all about our most beloved subject: Knives.

26 Knife Superstitions That May Surprise You:

#1: Placing a knife under the bed of a woman giving birth is believed to ease her pain during labor.

#2: Sticking a knife into a cradle's headboard is believed to protect the baby. Thrusting it into the door of a house is also believed to provide protection.

#3: In Greece, putting a knife with a black handle under your pillow is believed to keep away nightmares.

#4: Hundreds of years ago, people believed that placing a knife across another piece of cutlery was a sign of witchcraft.

#5: One prevalent belief still held by people today is that gifting a knife to someone will cause the relationship between the giver and the recipient to be severed. To prevent this from happening, the recipient should give a "payment" to ensure that the relationship will not be cut. A small coin is the most popular "payment" given. Some givers often tape a penny to the blade so that the receiver will simply just return it as "payment."
This superstition actually dates back to the Vikings who believe that gifting a knife to someone implies that the receiver isn’t able to buy himself a good enough knife to kill the giver so he has to be given the knife for free. Thus, to avoid the intended insult, Vikings would “sell” a knife to a friend extremely cheap – the cost of one copper coin.

#6: Never stir anything using your knife (like soup or coffee) because that would bring bad luck. There’s even a lovely rhyme to help you remember: stir with a knife and stir up strife. One variant of this superstition includes the fact that the bad luck will mean pain or stitches.

#7: Two knives crossed on a table will cause a quarrel. It is believed that uncrossing or straightening them immediately will prevent bad luck or a quarrel from happening.

#8: Some knife owners believe that you never truly own a knife unless it has "bitten" you (tasted your blood). Once a knife has taken its owner's blood, the owner will never sell or trade that knife with anyone. A similar superstition states that a knife that has “bitten” its owner will stay sharp longer and is less likely to accidentally cut its owner.

#9: Some knife owners also believe that you should never close a knife (either folding it in or putting it back in its sheath) if someone else has opened it because it is bad luck. Some have even given knives away just because this happened.

#10: Bad things will happen if a knife falls and sticks into the floor.

#11: In Iceland, it is believed that when a knife is dropped by someone while cleaning fish and the knife lands pointing in the direction of the sea, the fisherman will get a good haul the next time he goes fishing. If the knife falls and points towards land, the fisherman will not catch anything the next time he goes fishing.

#12: Getting a knife as a gift from your lover means that your love will soon end.

#13: Another superstition suggests that when a knife falls to the ground, a man will soon visit.

#14: A knife made of steel is believed to protect you against curses and fairies.

#15: In Finland, a knife given as a gift is a sign of respect. This is especially true for various clubs and organizations, privately or government held. The knife, a Finnish fixed blade outdoor knife called a puukko, is given to trusted employers or contacts and always presented with the handle first to signify trust and friendly intentions.

#16: It is bad luck to say the word "knife" while at sea.

#17: One old wives' tales about white-handled knives is that they can tell you if your future spouse will be dark or fair by spinning it around. If the knife's handle comes to rest pointing at you (or whoever is asking the question), then that means your future spouse will be fair. If the handle points at anyone else, your future spouse will be dark-skinned.

#18: Another common superstition is that you should never put a combat knife back into its sheath if it hasn't drawn blood because it will fail you in battle.

#19: In some parts of America, people believe that sharpening any blade after the sun goes down is bad luck.

#20: Some hunters believe that the knife you use to kill game (not dress it) should never be handled by a woman.

#21: Slicing hot cornbread with a knife implies cutting your luck. A similar superstition says that piercing bread baked by a pregnant woman with a knife (or any pointed utensil) may cause the baby’s eyes to be poked out.

#22: If you cross your knife with your spoon after eating, you are indicating that the food didn't taste good and that you're wishing the cook to have bad luck.

#23: To make sure that a pregnant woman will give birth to a boy, the husband needs to stick a knife into the mattress of her bed.

#24: In China, it is believed that sleeping on a bed with knives under it will scare away evil spirits.

#25: According to Russian folklore, a knife laying with the sharp side up means that murderers are being born while it is left this way.

#26: Some knife owners, particularly those in the Philippines, believe in coating the blade with their blood if they accidentally cut themselves with it.

And, there you have it--twenty-six beautiful representations of what it means to revere knives (perhaps a little too much?!) As a word of warning though, if you decide to take up any of these superstitions, most women you know won’t take kindly to your stabbing a knife into the headboard of their babies’ beds. That’s one instance where people are wrong who say “it’s the thought that counts.” Just thought you might want to know.

My Dad was a strong believer in #9. But he would not go to the extreme behavior of throwing the knife away. He would however, give me a good lecture.

And perhaps I should check out #24: and look under the bed tonight. My wife is Vietnamese with Chinese and American citizenship.

What about you? What are your knife idiosyncrasies or superstitions?

Dan, a great list you have compiled there. Some I have heard and some I haven't. #9 I would say is almost standard practice among knife owners.
The extensive list of beliefs just goes to show how revered and important the knife has been to the human race since the dawn of time!

That was an interesting read. I'd read of a few of the superstitions you listed, they make you wonder what causes folks to have such beliefs ?
Old Folder, your 2nd sentence in the opening paragraph rang my bell, where you said somethin' about not allowin' another person to touch their knife. I have been cured of that by having some one say "Let me borrow your knife", then they go a try to tighten a screw with it !
Treefarmer

That's quite a list. Thank you for posting it.

How about the one where someone hands you a knife with the blade open, you return it with the blade open. Or vise versa with the blade closed.

In other words, a knife should never be opened by one person, then closed by another.

Charlie Noyes

Similar to #18,I read years ago that Cossacks,if they drew their swords, would always cut their hand as they slid it back into its scabbard unless it had otherwise drawn blood.
I suppose that would be a good way to keep hot heads from drawing their weapons unless they meant to use them.
Bruce

That's a great list. My paternal grandfather was extremely superstitious about everything and when it came to knives especially about not giving one away or handing it back the way it was handed to you.

Berryb wrote:Similar to #18,I read years ago that Cossacks,if they drew their swords, would always cut their hand as they slid it back into its scabbard unless it had otherwise drawn blood.
I suppose that would be a good way to keep hot heads from drawing their weapons unless they meant to use them.
Bruce

Supposedly Indian Gurkhas have/had the same superstition. I don't know if that is true or not. Just something I've heard over the years.

Never been superstitious and wasn't raised in a superstitious home. I learned about exchanging a coin when gifting a knife at Blade Forums - it's a pretty neat custom. It is interesting to read old superstitions and ponder, why? Boy Scouts are taught to never let go of a knife being passed to another person until they say "thanks", keeps the knife from being dropped. On my former hunting lease one of my most productive deer stands was set up adjacent to an old slave graveyard in a field down by the Tar River. Some club members didn't like going there alone but I can report that no spooks ever bothered me (however I did keep my eyes open for black bear when walking out). OH

I have always thought that getting between a mother Grizzly and her cubs, with or without a knife was bad luck.

Never suspected there would be so many superstitions regarding knives.

Thanks for the post.


Bob

Thanks for the post, Dan

I enjoyed the read this morning with coffee.

My grandfather believes that handing someone a closed knife is bad luck. This actually resulted in one of mine (a Victorinox Fieldmaster) getting broke when the blade bent when he dropped it on the cement slab in front of the farm shop handing to me. I don't--I was taught in Scouts to always close the blade before handing it to someone else.