Danny T
Senior Master
As to arousing suspicion; in my area it is rather common to see Rifles, Shotguns, and pistols as well as bladed tools of many sorts. It is not unusual to see walking sticks either. We are a farming and oil & gas industrial community with a love of the outdoors and hunting, camping, and fishing is prevalent.A machete you could say is a type of short sword and its a commonly used tool and very effective so you could keep one in your car and say you're camping and it won't arouse suspicion so machetes are good.
You'll see people from the ages of 6&7 up 80; blue collar workers, farmers, business and professional people who are in camo for a morning hunt, business suits for work and in the evening back in camo for another hunt or maybe in the boat fishing. As the culture has changed it isn't seen as much but it is still not unusual to see a youngster with a knife, a machete, a shotgun, or even a rifle.