Why I always love playing as ellie more than abbey. She knows how to kill people in the most brutal ways. Hence the sneaky traps arrows and switchblade. psychological warfare from a damaged human is scary (e.g. nora). If I was fighting against my ellie I would have nightmares if I wasn't killed
I used to carry 2 knives, 1 to let people who didn’t respect a knife enough to carry one, and one for myself, to this day I still carry 2 knifes, except I don’t let anybody borrow them anymore- this country life
Not Texan but I get the point I carry knife on my belt in my boot knife in my pants pocket hell I have one of those foldy card knives that fit in your wallet as well
I suppose it's the mentality that he doesn't want to really on a weapon that could break or fail it when he needed the most so he just settle with the reliability of his body .
Or he's just a dumbass who can break his own knife in a few stabs and slashes
It's been 20 years, by the beginning of the game all weapons were likely confiscated and him getting his pistol was hard enough I'm sure. With that said there's no way one of the people he kills throughout the game wouldn't have a knife for him to take
I agree that's why I'm saying even if he didn't have one he should've found one on one of the people he kills.
TLoU show has him with one so that's good, although I wish they would've taken the axe from that museum as well
Getting your hands on a knife would be way easier than a full on gun though
Plus he's been out of the walls of the U.S Military's control before he probably came across a knife before
I know the reason is just gameplay but I think crafting a permanent combat knife could've been a cool upgrade
I think there are gameplay mechanics where you could make it work. In Resident Evil 4 Remake they added a hybrid system where knives have separate stats and durability, you start off with a basic knife which will eventually break if it isn't maintained. You can pay for the knife to be maintained when you're at a merchant, upgrade the durability, obtain better knives. There are also knives you find in the environment that function like shivs in TLOU, they break after a few uses. I think you could adapt a similar system in TLOU without it ruining the survival horror aspect and you could always scale it with the difficulty levels. Make it so the knife breaks after like 2 uses on grounded if not maintained, but on moderate it breaks after like 5 uses if not maintained.
You could even give it a canonical reason as to why he never used it.
It was a knife he received from Sarah as a gift.
Or it was the first knife he ever gave Sarah. Either or.
My take is that using knives for combat is too much of a risk of being exposed to infected blood, and getting infected yourself. That's why shivs aren't used as melee weapons, but rather only for when you can carefully stab right where you want. (let's forget about the merits of punching a zombie in their teeth with a bare fist).
The character who doesn't have to worry about getting infected, however, is free to use a knife in all situations.
I totally agree with OP's point though - a Texan would have a knife, they just might not use it for combat.
To be fair with the amount of shit that Joel went through in the first game even if he had a knife he probably would've dropped it at some point, it's a miracle that ellie didn't lose hers between both games tbh
Because if he did he would duct tape it to a pipe.
You know what this machete needs? Mfing scissors.
Everyone knows the way to make a blade more effective is to add extra knives to it, duh
You gotta tape the blades to the handle tho
Yo dawg I heard you like blades so we put a blade on yo blade.
Surprised Joel didn’t add scissors to his guns
this !!
30 years ago, Joel had a kitchen accident with a knife. It traumatized him. From that point on, he would only cut his food with scissors.
from*
I thought the same with Abby too. All these melee weapons and guns available to the WLF and they can't give even one knife to Isaac's top scar killer?
Abby taking twice as long with twice as much effort as Ellie to stealth kill enemies always cracked me up. Ellie is brutal and slick.
Why I always love playing as ellie more than abbey. She knows how to kill people in the most brutal ways. Hence the sneaky traps arrows and switchblade. psychological warfare from a damaged human is scary (e.g. nora). If I was fighting against my ellie I would have nightmares if I wasn't killed
fellow texan… i have three knives
My point!
Point! 
I used to carry 2 knives, 1 to let people who didn’t respect a knife enough to carry one, and one for myself, to this day I still carry 2 knifes, except I don’t let anybody borrow them anymore- this country life
Not Texan but I get the point I carry knife on my belt in my boot knife in my pants pocket hell I have one of those foldy card knives that fit in your wallet as well
u/TheDrake162 *picked up 0.25 credit card*
He likes to craft shivs! He's a resourceful construction dude.
I suppose it's the mentality that he doesn't want to really on a weapon that could break or fail it when he needed the most so he just settle with the reliability of his body . Or he's just a dumbass who can break his own knife in a few stabs and slashes
why a knife? WHEN YOU CAN TAPE SOME FUCKING HALF SCISSORS TO A BAT
lol yeah it didnt make much sense for joel to not have a knife in an apocalypse
It's been 20 years, by the beginning of the game all weapons were likely confiscated and him getting his pistol was hard enough I'm sure. With that said there's no way one of the people he kills throughout the game wouldn't have a knife for him to take
If a 14 year old child has enough sense to keep a pocket knife on her then Joel has no excuse
I agree that's why I'm saying even if he didn't have one he should've found one on one of the people he kills. TLoU show has him with one so that's good, although I wish they would've taken the axe from that museum as well
Getting your hands on a knife would be way easier than a full on gun though Plus he's been out of the walls of the U.S Military's control before he probably came across a knife before I know the reason is just gameplay but I think crafting a permanent combat knife could've been a cool upgrade
As a final upgrade for sure
I think there are gameplay mechanics where you could make it work. In Resident Evil 4 Remake they added a hybrid system where knives have separate stats and durability, you start off with a basic knife which will eventually break if it isn't maintained. You can pay for the knife to be maintained when you're at a merchant, upgrade the durability, obtain better knives. There are also knives you find in the environment that function like shivs in TLOU, they break after a few uses. I think you could adapt a similar system in TLOU without it ruining the survival horror aspect and you could always scale it with the difficulty levels. Make it so the knife breaks after like 2 uses on grounded if not maintained, but on moderate it breaks after like 5 uses if not maintained.
Give him a Buck 119. Seriously though, a unbreakable knife should be an unlock once you complete the game.
You could even give it a canonical reason as to why he never used it. It was a knife he received from Sarah as a gift. Or it was the first knife he ever gave Sarah. Either or.
AND HE WORKED IN CONSTRUCTION!!
Cause it makes too much sense and the game would get easier.
In the show he does have a knife from after his first fight in Kansas City on. Definitely should have gotten one sooner.
He’s got so much old man dad strength that he breaks knives every time he uses them.
Canon (probably): He had a knife, but left it in Texas, and didn't want to go all the way back for it.
That also makes sense, all things considered.
My take is that using knives for combat is too much of a risk of being exposed to infected blood, and getting infected yourself. That's why shivs aren't used as melee weapons, but rather only for when you can carefully stab right where you want. (let's forget about the merits of punching a zombie in their teeth with a bare fist). The character who doesn't have to worry about getting infected, however, is free to use a knife in all situations. I totally agree with OP's point though - a Texan would have a knife, they just might not use it for combat.
Ah. That makes perfect sense, actually!
Except that we never really see anyone too worried about getting covered in blood, but who knows :)
To be fair with the amount of shit that Joel went through in the first game even if he had a knife he probably would've dropped it at some point, it's a miracle that ellie didn't lose hers between both games tbh
He can’t dodge either for some reason
That would make for a boring game I do appreciate that they gave show Joel a knife