It's times like that when a fellow has to reconsider why he is doing what he is doing.
Good reflexes. Next time bring a helper when working in those neighborhoods. I guess I have always been pretty lucky.
I've seen some weird people out in the Forest but it's fairly rare.
The last incident I just kept going down the road.
I feel you . We have been working in the Ghetto and we get alot of zombies screwing with us hard . We have started packing heat in the truck everyday. Also a good swipe with a sharp shooter shovel and his days would be numbered .
The situational awareness is key. Know who is around you as much as you can. I carry concealed on some jobs but that is little protection if someone is with the magic circle. 21' is too close. My cop friends say this has been studied and if someone is within 21' of you, you are in a hand-to-hand situation. The gun cannot be deployed quickly enough. I don't know about you, but hand-to-knife defensive tactics are not something I'm interested in testing.
Keep your head on a swivel.
Even someone as old and slow as I am can cross 21 feet in less than 2 seconds, which is just about the fastest that someone can observe a danger and react. That is the reason that someone with a contact weapon (knife, club, etc.) is considered an "immediate" threat at that distance or less.
I am not absolutely sure, but I believe that if confronted by a person with a knife at 5' I would have attacked with the sharpshooter. I hate having a knife pulled on me. I do not react nicely. I speak from experience.
SJ
Way to be on your toes man. I don't know if I would have been able to control myself from knocking that dude in the head if I was you.
Try to not get stabbed and stick around for a while - I don't have many friends and I count you as one of the best ones I do have!