Advice on gift

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lemontwist

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HELLO! 👋 I need some advice. My nephew is graduating from high school and I would like to add to his knife collection with something personalized with his name or initials. His "collection" consists mostly of old knives that were my dads. Some older pocket knives and a Wildcard Wallet Knife that I gave his dad several years ago that my nephew then took as his own.

He likes to fish so I thought maybe something he could use for that, but he would probably like something he can carry with him. Etsy has some really nice looking nice from artisans, but hard for me to know if they are really nice quality. I thought the Gerber knife/money clip would be cool, but the reviews for the Gerber knives were not too spectacular. Any suggestions appreciated.

I am giving him cash toward his college books so hoping not to spend more than $200 on a knife. Hoping this is enough to get him something special.
 
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Give us some budget requirements, and I'm sure you'll get plenty of great suggestions from the knowledgeable members here. I'd steer away from Etsy and the likes for now, because at most any budget you can find something respectable should he decide to delve deeper to the hobby in the future, and you can likely find something he could cherish for a lifetime.

You already have Buck suggested, which is a step in the right direction.

Good on you as an uncle, BTW 👍
 
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Don't go for the nice looking etsys. They are just too hit and miss.

I would go for a gerber centerdrive.

Which has the sprung pliers. That can be used for fishing. Plus a decent big one handed folding knife. And other tools. And a bit driver that takes normal bits.

Gerber has a custom thing as well.

 
Hello and welcome to the forums.

As K&L said, we need a budget to work with.
I'd avoid Gerber and Etsy. I think you can find more bang for the buck than Gerber and Etsy is full of counterfeits and clones.
A multi-tool is a good recommendation.
If someone isn't a big "knife person", I tend to recommend a Victorinox swiss army knife. A large range of tools and colors to choose from to fit most budgets. Many knife retailers do offer engraving too.
 
beeinak said:
Buck has some great choices for fishing/outdoors/edc and you could have it personalized for him. A nice multi-tool is a great gift as well.
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Is Buck better than Hunter? I only ask because someone told me that the Buck 110 Hunter Knife is good. I will start researching multi-tools as well. Thank you
 
Knives&Lint said:
Give us some budget requirements, and I'm sure you'll get plenty of great suggestions from the knowledgeable members here. I'd steer away from Etsy and the likes for now, because at most any budget you can find something respectable should he decide to delve deeper to the hobby in the future, and you can likely find something he could cherish for a lifetime.

You already have Buck suggested, which is a step in the right direction.

Good on you as an uncle, BTW 👍
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I'm hoping I can stay under $200 so I can give him money for his college books. I'm actually his aunt. 💃
 
In my opinion, your main criteria should be the knife itself, and how well suited it is to his needs and personality. Initials can be put on any knife.

lemontwist said:
Etsy has some really nice looking nice from artisans, but hard for me to know if they are really nice quality.
Click to expand...

That is why you should hire a Bladeforums Knifemaker/Craftsman/Service provider to make this knife for you, or pick one up off the Bladeforums Exchange:

For Sale: Fixed Blades

www.bladeforums.com www.bladeforums.com
 
You can get one of the Knafs knives laser engraved, prices run $50-150 and the company is a small business. It sounds like he's a knife guy so they would be something a little different. The Sendy is a quirky knife. Great customer service also. A classic Buck 110 or 112 is always a good gift as well and under $100 and customizable with engraving.
 
beeinak said:
Buck has some great choices for fishing/outdoors/edc and you could have it personalized for him. A nice multi-tool is a great gift as well.
Click to expand...

gazz98 said:
Hello and welcome to the forums.

As K&L said, we need a budget to work with.
I'd avoid Gerber and Etsy. I think you can find more bang for the buck than Gerber and Etsy is full of counterfeits and clones.
A multi-tool is a good recommendation.
If someone isn't a big "knife person", I tend to recommend a Victorinox swiss army knife. A large range of tools and colors to choose from to fit most budgets. Many knife retailers do offer engraving too.
Click to expand...

lemontwist said:
HELLO! 👋 I need some advice. My nephew is graduating from high school and I would like to add to his knife collection with something personalized with his name or initials. His "collection" consists mostly of old knives that were my dads. Some older pocket knives and a Wildcard Wallet Knife that I gave his dad several years ago that my nephew then took as his own.

He likes to fish so I thought maybe something he could use for that, but he would probably like something he can carry with him. Etsy has some really nice looking nice from artisans, but hard for me to know if they are really nice quality. I thought the Gerber knife/money clip would be cool, but the reviews for the Gerber knives were not too spectacular. Any suggestions appreciated.

I am giving him cash toward his college books so hoping not to spend more than $200 on a knife. Hoping this is enough to get him something special.
Click to expand...

I appreciate all the replies I got. Hope to clear some things up.

1. I would like to stay under $200.
2. I had looked at Buck brand knives, but Hunter was mentioned several times. Having a hard time finding the Hunter website.
3. My nephew does have a collection of knives which he loves. Including pocket knives, however nothing personalized with his name or initials.
4. I'm the cool aunt!

Some of the knives I have given him in past.
 
You have a ton of choices at a $200 budget. Too many to suggest so I will recommend a few brands instead of specific models:

Buck
Benchmade
Cold Steel
Spyderco
Civivi
Hogue

Keep the size of the knife in mind. Many locations have a blade length limit that you might want to consider.

Let us know what you decide on and welcome to the forum.
 
2 thoughts come to mind for me, either a spyderco salt in magnacut which would make a great everyday knife and fishing knife. Or my second thought is a custom made knife from one if the folks on here. Might depend on how much your in a rush, and buying factory knives you may not be able to get any name engraved in it, I'm not sure which manufacturers would offer name engraving. If the name engravings really important I'd personally look for a maker on here that can make a design you like in a good all around steel like magnacut or similar that can put his initials or name in it. I'm not sure about etsy, but most personalized name things I've seen on Amazon etc, are generally very poor quality and only done to offer an easy place to put a printed name. I think if its good quality he'll actually use it and he'll always remember the sentiment. If it was me I'd rather the initials be stamped into the blade, than printed on the handle.

My wife bought me a custom handmade leather sling for my rifle, every year I enjoy going hunting it makes me happy using it. It's a reminder of her and how much she loves me.
 
lemontwist said:
I appreciate all the replies I got. Hope to clear some things up.

2. I had looked at Buck brand knives, but Hunter was mentioned several times. Having a hard time finding the Hunter website.
Click to expand...

They probably mean the Buck 110 or 112 Folding Hunters. Knife people tend to refer to them by the number, while people not in the hobby as deep call them "hunters" or "folding hunters".
Looking at the knives you've given him, they'd be a good choice. The 112 is smaller, the 110 is bigger. They are both pretty heavy. At your $200 price point, you could even go something like a 110 and a 55, which is sorta like gentleman's version of the 110, being smaller, and lighter.

https://www.buckknives.com/product/110-folding-hunter-knife/ .
https://www.buckknives.com/product/0055-the-55-knife/?sku=0055BRS-B .
https://www.buckknives.com/product/ranger/?sku=0112BRS-B .

You could also go custom 110 -

https://www.buckknives.com/custom-knife/customizable-110-folding-hunter-knife/?sku=CKS110 .
 
Get him 3 knives and the remainder in cash:

Victorinox Alox Cadet - his favorite color

Opinel no.8

Mora Companion - any model - for camping needs (If you really want to impress him substitute a Marttiini Condor Timberjack Knife)

Then he will have even more $$$$$$$ and know you are the bossest aunt.

​

​

 
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Railsplitter said:
You have a ton of choices at a $200 budget. Too many to suggest so I will recommend a few brands instead of specific models:

Buck
Benchmade
Cold Steel
Spyderco
Civivi
Hogue

Keep the size of the knife in mind. Many locations have a blade length limit that you might want to consider.

Let us know what you decide on and welcome to the forum.
Click to expand...
I didn't know about the length limit. I am in Minnesota so I will find out what I can do. Thank you
 
abcdef said:
Get him 3 knives and the remainder in cash:

Victorinox Alox Cadet - his favorite color

Opinel no.8

Mora Companion - any model - for camping needs (If you really want to impress him substitute a Marttiini Condor Timberjack Knife)

Then he will have even more $$$$$$$ and know you are the bossest aunt.

​

​

Click to expand...
LOL I am the bossest!
 
tltt said:
They probably mean the Buck 110 or 112 Folding Hunters. Knife people tend to refer to them by the number, while people not in the hobby as deep call them "hunters" or "folding hunters".
Looking at the knives you've given him, they'd be a good choice. The 112 is smaller, the 110 is bigger. They are both pretty heavy. At your $200 price point, you could even go something like a 110 and a 55, which is sorta like gentleman's version of the 110, being smaller, and lighter.

https://www.buckknives.com/product/110-folding-hunter-knife/ .
https://www.buckknives.com/product/0055-the-55-knife/?sku=0055BRS-B .
https://www.buckknives.com/product/ranger/?sku=0112BRS-B .

You could also go custom 110 -

https://www.buckknives.com/custom-knife/customizable-110-folding-hunter-knife/?sku=CKS110 .
Click to expand...
I was looking at the custom options. So many choices!
 
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