I didn't plan it. I just grabbed the first thing in front of me. It could have been a bat or chain or anything else but it just happened to be a knife. Also both times I exited the building and approached from the outside, I kept my distance (30 feet) and gave myself an escape route if the situation escalated. I know that 99.99% of the time a person will run away from someone surprising them with a knife so I took a chance. It was a calculated risk and it worked. The risk calculation changes drastically if you have a gun and it is much more likely to lead to bad decisions being made.

If circumstances had been that I was cornered and I would have had to use the knife if they didn't leave I don't think I would have taken it (or a gun for that matter). To be quite honest I don't know what I would have done in that situation (probably rushed them unarmed and tried to run away). Thankfully in both properties there were multiple escape routes.