I used to carry a * load of knives. Awhile back I was big into knife making, and I would carry a hunting style knife and usually two flick knives. The hunting knife in a sheath against my back, and the two flicks in either pocket for a Wolverine-style "CLING". I don't carry any now, though. Because I pulled a knife on four guys once that I figured I would have had a bad chance of fighting, and they ended up pulling a knife on me. Luckily a cop drove by and broke up the soon to be fight. The thing is, if somebody tries to mug me, I'm not going to stab them anyways. I'd rather loose the usual eighty bucks from my wallet rather than have to stab someone and take the chance of killing them. Just isn't worth it. And you really really really shouldn't carry a knife unless you're willing to use it. You might run into someone whose willing to use his. Now and then I carry a BB gun around, not for self defence but because I do a lot of BB gun shooting, and when I'm on the street, there's a good chance I'm walking towards an empty area somewhere to do some target shooting with friends. I work nights at a gas station with a graveyard on either side of the street. I make a couple extra bucks doing security work, making sure nobody is damaging the graves and stuff. So I carry a 9 inch baton that goes out to 27 inches. I've only had to pull it out a few times. I'm a big guy, and when you see a big guy in the dark you don't know he's a teenager, so seeing a big guy with what looks like a stick, is usually enough to send the high choolers running away.