Just an FYI to 21st century readers….carrying a knife back then was more a sign of growing toward manhood, like long pants, than of any homicidal tendencies or gang leanings. The knife that would be carried, typical jack-knife, (not the corkscrew type) was used for whittling, cutting rope, cleaning rocks out of the hooves of working horses, etc.
Just an FYI to 21st century readers….carrying a knife back then was more a sign of growing toward manhood, like long pants, than of any homicidal tendencies or gang leanings. The knife that would be carried, typical jack-knife, (not the corkscrew type) was used for whittling, cutting rope, cleaning rocks out of the hooves of working horses, etc.