Why wouldn't knives or similar weapons be standard SF issue?
- Black Jesus
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Why wouldn't knives or similar weapons be standard SF issue?
Why wouldn't Starfleet issue knives or similar weapons in certain situations? Seems pretty sensical in, say, a combat situation, when a person's phaser might be taken away or while engaging in hand to hand combat. The Jem'Hadar used bayonets, pretty sure they carried knives, too. The Klingons did, as well. The one time we saw a Starfleet guy use a knife it was remarked that it "wasn't standard issue," which seems to entail that it's either a phaser fight, or they're using Starfleet kung fu. It's an item that would've proven useful.
Re: Why wouldn't knives or similar weapons be standard SF is
I think that knives are over-rated as a tool in todays world, much less in the world/time of Trek. I have a few very good blades (Emerson, etc) and I keep them handy. I have one in my briefcase/bag, in each car, a couple handy places in the house. Over the last decade or so I have barely ever used them though. I took a couple burrs off of plastic pieces, cut a few strings from shirts, fut a piece of foam pipe insulation... nothing major at all.
In the ST universe outside the occasional potential of hand-to-hand there appears to be no real use to a knife. You can't use one to repair anything because it is all optical this and digital that. They are not going to be cutting fiber optics and splicing them together with a Strider. Also, their uniforms don't seem to have pockets. Their h2h training seems to be geared towards fighting opponents that have knives, without having a knife yourself. The first strike or two seems to typically disarm their opponent of the blade and the SF person never tries to get the weapon. It simply seems to be a piece of equipment that SF believes is quite unuseful and antiquated.
In the ST universe outside the occasional potential of hand-to-hand there appears to be no real use to a knife. You can't use one to repair anything because it is all optical this and digital that. They are not going to be cutting fiber optics and splicing them together with a Strider. Also, their uniforms don't seem to have pockets. Their h2h training seems to be geared towards fighting opponents that have knives, without having a knife yourself. The first strike or two seems to typically disarm their opponent of the blade and the SF person never tries to get the weapon. It simply seems to be a piece of equipment that SF believes is quite unuseful and antiquated.
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Re: Why wouldn't knives or similar weapons be standard SF is
We've seen that knives are available. Janeway took one out of an emergency kit thingie in that stupid macrovirus episode. And it would certainly be easy to replicate a knife if you wanted to.
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Re: Why wouldn't knives or similar weapons be standard SF is
Knives are useful. Rambo sized knives? Not so much.
I can imagine the flip blade style being useful. I can easily imagine my black Gerber blade being clipped to a Starfleet officer's hip.
I can imagine the flip blade style being useful. I can easily imagine my black Gerber blade being clipped to a Starfleet officer's hip.
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Re: Why wouldn't knives or similar weapons be standard SF is
What would a Starfleet officer use a knife for?
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Re: Why wouldn't knives or similar weapons be standard SF is
STABBING THEIR ENEMIES IN THE HEART!!!!!!Jim wrote:What would a Starfleet officer use a knife for?
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Re: Why wouldn't knives or similar weapons be standard SF is
Carving their names on trees.
What does defeat mean to you?
Nothing it will never come. Death before defeat. I don’t bend or break. I end, if I meet a foe capable of it. Victory is in forcing the opponent to back down. I do not. There is no defeat.
Nothing it will never come. Death before defeat. I don’t bend or break. I end, if I meet a foe capable of it. Victory is in forcing the opponent to back down. I do not. There is no defeat.
Re: Why wouldn't knives or similar weapons be standard SF is
Proving they're not a changeling?
"You ain't gonna get off down the trail a mile or two, and go missing your wife or something, like our last cook done, are you?"
"My wife is in hell, where I sent her. She could make good biscuits, but her behavior was terrible."
"My wife is in hell, where I sent her. She could make good biscuits, but her behavior was terrible."
Re: Why wouldn't knives or similar weapons be standard SF is
Jim wrote:What would a Starfleet officer use a knife for?
Same exact reasons a modern soldier of any nation carries one. You should ask them that.
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Re: Why wouldn't knives or similar weapons be standard SF is
GrahamKennedy wrote:STABBING THEIR ENEMIES IN THE HEART!!!!!!Jim wrote:What would a Starfleet officer use a knife for?
Carving trees on their enemies hearts?Teaos wrote:Carving their names on trees.
"All this has happened before --"
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Re: Why wouldn't knives or similar weapons be standard SF is
Stabbing Troi in the turboift whilst you're sleepwalking
"You ain't gonna get off down the trail a mile or two, and go missing your wife or something, like our last cook done, are you?"
"My wife is in hell, where I sent her. She could make good biscuits, but her behavior was terrible."
"My wife is in hell, where I sent her. She could make good biscuits, but her behavior was terrible."
Re: Why wouldn't knives or similar weapons be standard SF is
You mean the same way a modern soldier wears camo, a helmet, Kevlar, extra rations, night vision, a giant back-pack full of all kinds of shit? ALL things that SF officers don't use?McAvoy wrote:Jim wrote:What would a Starfleet officer use a knife for?
Same exact reasons a modern soldier of any nation carries one. You should ask them that.
Maybe how in the middle of a city, in office on the 29th floor of a building, half of the military officers wear camo fatigues and combat boots to sit behind a computer? (the other half wearing blues)
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Re: Why wouldn't knives or similar weapons be standard SF is
Oh you mean the wide variety of camo the military uses. You mean the military who may not even be in the field that still carries a knife because he works on tanks, planes, helicopters, and jets? You mean the military who are supply who needs a knife to cut through boxes?Jim wrote:You mean the same way a modern soldier wears camo, a helmet, Kevlar, extra rations, night vision, a giant back-pack full of all kinds of shit? ALL things that SF officers don't use?McAvoy wrote:Jim wrote:What would a Starfleet officer use a knife for?
Same exact reasons a modern soldier of any nation carries one. You should ask them that.
Maybe how in the middle of a city, in office on the 29th floor of a building, half of the military officers wear camo fatigues and combat boots to sit behind a computer? (the other half wearing blues)
You mean knives are useless because Starfleet doesn't wear camo and office military wears camo.
Yeah. Makes perfect sense.
Oh and BTW, I carried a knife or two on me when I was in the military. Funny isn't it?
"Don't underestimate the power of technobabble: the Federation can win anything with the sheer force of bullshit"
Re: Why wouldn't knives or similar weapons be standard SF is
No, it's not funny or odd for you to have done it because in today's reality a knife might come in handy from time to time in the military. In the Trek time it is about as useful as a rock. How many boxes did you see in Trek? Things were always in plastic crates that opened via a hinge and the items were non-wrapped inside. Knife not necessary. In the motorpool knives can be used to cut hoses, strip wires and cut zip-ties. More things that you never see in Trek. If anything you would think that they would always carry one of those things that looks like a screwdriver with a light at the tip instead of the flathead/phillips head.McAvoy wrote:Oh you mean the wide variety of camo the military uses. You mean the military who may not even be in the field that still carries a knife because he works on tanks, planes, helicopters, and jets? You mean the military who are supply who needs a knife to cut through boxes?
You mean knives are useless because Starfleet doesn't wear camo and office military wears camo.
Yeah. Makes perfect sense.
Oh and BTW, I carried a knife or two on me when I was in the military. Funny isn't it?
Ugh... do not thump the Book of G'Quan...
- Black Jesus
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Re: Why wouldn't knives or similar weapons be standard SF is
If an officer were just doing her/his day-to-day duties on a starbase or starship, then sure there's no need for a knife. Same as there's no need for Phil in accounting to carry a knife, even though he seems to think that doing paintball once a month makes him a badass. But hey, that's neither here nor there. On an away mission or in a combat situation there might be a need for a blade. Certainly in a combat situation, look how at useful blade weapons are for the Klingons. They also seem to be an effective weapon on the Borg.