An Odd Occurrence

If you happen to see me out and about more often than not I'll be wearing a kilt.  I have to wear pants at work and enjoy the comfort of kilts when I am able.  I have a couple utilikilts and they are super comfy plus they have pockets big enough for all my stuff.

In general I don't leave the house without a minimum amount of gear.  In the prepper community this is referred to as Every Day Carry (EDC).  A Leatherman, a knife, a flashlight, a bandana and a lighter are standard items I have in my pockets every day.  It's amazing how often I use most of the items.  When I'm suited up at work I carry a little folding knife.  On my kilt I carry a short fixed blade CRKT knife.  It rests in a sheath I made myself that covers the entire blade and 2/3 of the handle.  The blade is around 3" and the handle maybe 5".  It's a perfect utility size, a grip that's easy to hold and a short sturdy blade. 

I've had this knife on my sheath every time I leave the house in a kilt.  I figure I've been in restaurants and bars 250 times with this particular knife and never had a problem.  Well, until last night.  I went to the St Louis Science Center with my wife and her friend to see the Star Trek exhibit.  After being there about 45 minutes I was approached by a security guard who asked me if it was a real knife.  I responded affirmatively and he asked me to come with him.


The best part was the 4 other guards that collapsed on our position.  This must have been the biggest deal ever for them.  I asked if I could leave the knife at a desk and pick it up when I left and was told I could not.  So I walked to my car, escorted by one of the guards, tossed the knife in and walked back to the exhibit.

Now, I live in St Louis.  St Louis city has a shooting every day and a murder every third day.  In a community of only 320,000 that makes for a pretty serious violent crime rate.  For the security guards to get all worked up by a dude peacefully walking about with a knife shorter than 4" is silly.  I'm sure it did violate one of their rules but it's a silly rule to have, one that has no affect on crime on premises I'm sure.   

Oh well.  All hail the nanny state.