• @[email protected]
    link
    fedilink
    162 months ago

    absolutely, yeah. there’s still a lot of construction folks/builders that refuse to do it. usually the same folks that have superstitions about tools (like never hand someone an unfolded pocket knife, no matter how safely you do it)

    • @LowtierComputer
      link
      52 months ago

      There’s a really weird thing in the Southeastern US where people will hand you pocketknives with the blade out always and you can’t hand it back closed. I don’t understand it.

      • @[email protected]
        link
        fedilink
        42 months ago

        One explanation ties this to a belief that closing a knife someone else opened can bring bad luck, or is considered bad manners. There’s also the practical side: if someone hands you an open blade, they’re entrusting you with a dangerous tool, and closing it before handing it back could suggest you don’t trust them to handle it properly.

        • @LowtierComputer
          link
          42 months ago

          I get the bad luck superstition, but handing someone a closed knife is just safer. The idea that handing someone an open knife shows more respect is stupid.
          I’ve had someone hand me an open knife and accidentally stab me with it. The whole point of it closing is to reduce the risk of getting cut.

          • @[email protected]
            link
            fedilink
            52 months ago

            Agreed with you. In Europe, there’s a superstition that gifting a knife can “cut” or sever a relationship. To avoid this, the person receiving the knife must give a coin—usually just a small one—back to the giver. This act symbolically “pays” for the knife, turning it into a purchase rather than a gift, and preventing any bad luck or harm to the friendship or relationship.

            It’s blend of practicality, tradition, and superstition.

      • @perviouslyiner
        link
        12 months ago

        Is that to do with showing the condition it was in, and that you didn’t break it?

        • @LowtierComputer
          link
          12 months ago

          Nope, is apparently a superstitious thing, but I have a feeling it’s roots are in some masculinity BS.

    • @[email protected]
      link
      fedilink
      12 months ago

      like never hand someone an unfolded pocket knife, no matter how safely you do it

      Yeah! Without a proper backspin toss, it’s not going to land in their palm correctly, or in time for their next throw.