A Hawick man, seen with a knife at a rugby club function, claimed it was for his own protection.
Andrew Birnie declared: “I need the knife as people will do worse to me than it will do to them,” adding that he wouldn’t have used it.
Concerned friends persuaded him to put the knife in a bin.
Birnie, 20, of Sunnyhill Road, Hawick, appeared on indictment and admitted having a knife at Volunteer Park, Hawick, on December 1 last year.
Procurator fiscal Graham Fraser told how a social event was being held at the Volunteer Park, attended by about 120 people, most of whom were under 18.
Birnie approached a couple of friends and said he had a knife, and when told to hand it over, put it in a nearby bin.
“A friend went to the bin and took it out and he was stopped by the police,” added Mr Fraser.
Solicitior Iain Burke added: “At no time did his friends think there was a threat, they were more concerned for him.”
Sheriff Peter Paterson told Birnie: “People carrying a knife are a potential danger to others.”
He sentenced Birnie to a 12-month Community Payback Order with 130 hours of unpaid work, warning him, “This is a serious matter and it is a direct alternative to custody.”
On a further complaint, Birnie was fined £200 after he admitted making repeated 999 calls to the control room at Bilston on October 19 last year.
In the early hours of the morning, Birnie phoned around 10 times.
“He was basically trying to attract attention to himself,” said Mr Fraser.
Mr Burke added, “He was in a state of upset at the time and said that the 999 number was the only one he could remember.”