Buying a pocket knife for someone who isn't into them

Thalestin said:
SAK classic for sure so he can throw it with his keys. He may find it quite useful. If it's something separate in the pocket don't bother
Click to expand...

Completely agree with jackknife and Thalestin here. Once a classic is on your key ring you completely forget about it till it's needed. Depending on whether you think the toothpick/tweezers will get use, either opt for the standard or alox version.
 
Put your curiosity to rest and get him a really nice "HQ" knife. For all you know, it may pique his interest in knives and start an obsession or have no effect at all. Either way, you'll be able to say you did your part as a knife missionary, trying to convert the non-believers.
 
MDQBox said:
Put your curiosity to rest and get him a really nice "HQ" knife. For all you know, it may pique his interest in knives and start an obsession or have no effect at all. Either way, you'll be able to say you did your part as a knife missionary, trying to convert the non-believers.
Click to expand...
+1 :thumbup:

I would go with something like the Northfield White Owl in stag. That choice may be counterintuitive, but I think most non-knife people (if given the chance to choose) would pick a White Owl in stag over a SAK 9 out of 10 times. I'm not saying they would buy one over the other... only that if they had a choice of being gifted one or the other, the White Owl (or something similar) wins. I think most people (knife knut or not) appreciate quality... and beauty.
 
IMO he would probably never use a pocket knife.

id suggest SAK, since it can open beer cans. Football and beer go hand in hand.
 
I think the Victorinox Cadet is a great choice, as is the Bantam. A larger SAK like the Pioneer/Solder is definitely more useful, but a non-knife person is going to be less likely to carry it because of its size/heft. The smaller size of the Cadet or Bantam makes it easy to carry in a pocket or on a keychain.

The Midnight Manager is also a great idea. Great keychain tool, since it has a LED flashlight, pen, screwdrivers, nail file, bottle opener, scissors, and of course a blade. It'd be a good "gateway" knife, since he'd be more likely to carry it and realize that a sharp blade comes in handy, and perhaps move on to larger knives.
 
Another SAK recommendation. IMO they have a certain coolness factor that even a younger non-knife person could appreciate and require little maintenance other than occasional oiling of pivots
 
Here's yet another recommendation for a SAK - specifically the Cadet.

I gave my brother-in-law (who doesn't carry a pocket knife) one just this weekend for his birthday, and he called me back a couple of hours later to tell me he had already used it for opening boxes and a blister pack. What I did - and I think this is a good thing to do when giving someone a tool like this that they've never had - was to tell him a lot of the things that the Cadet could be used for. Sharing all the ways that I use mine seemed to help him spur his imagination, and he now seems on his way to wondering how he ever got along without it.
 
How about a Classic AND a Cadet.
$50 (probably less) for both.
That's the ticket!
 
Being 21, he might really prefer an auto-assist vs a traditional... like a leek or something similar.

Just a thought.

Cheers, Ed
 
Stelth said:
Be prepared to be disappointed. It's hard to convert nonknifers.
Click to expand...

This is in line my experience both giving AND RECEIVING. Other than the Ulster BSA I got as a kid, I don't think I've ever carried a knife that was given to me. The things that have ended up on my pocket have always been the ones I've picked out. I've come to see knives as being as personal as shoes.

This leads me to pursuing of of the following options when gifting knives...

Most commonly, I give them *my* knife with the low expectation that it will almost certainly end up in a shoe box or desk drawer where it will, at least, remind them of me. I carry an Opinel almost every day. People who know me know it is my knife and for this reason, it's the knife I gift most frequently.

EDC Pair by Pinnah, on Flickr


Another option that I often go with is to gift people a key-chain type multi-tool. The one I most often gift is in the picture above.

This brings up a tricky subject for me. You've asked this question in the traditional forum and fair enough, the camper and lobster patterns are certainly traditional and it's common for SAKs both large and small to get discussed here in this forum. But, I honestly have a hard time regarding the modern SAKs as being traditional, really. If we're going to discuss multi-tools either key chain or pocket in size, the pros and cons are much better discussed in the Multi-Tool and Multi-Purpose forum, imo. I'm not going to push things too far here in the Traditional sub-forum but suffice to say that for pocket carry or heavy key ring carry, I gift the tool pictured above and for pure key ring carry, the same manufacturer makes a small knife that is lighter than the Victorinox Classic, has the same tool/blade selection (with the exception of the toothpick) with the additional benefit that all the tools are on the same end away from the key ring, which makes a tremendous amount of sense.

Yet another option that I sometimes do is to gift a pocket or pocket+ sized multi-tool/SAK type knife. When giving these types of knives/tools, my expectation is that the person will NOT carry it but will store it away in their desk drawer or camping stuff or maybe in their day pack. The Victorinox SAK is a very safe bet, easily recognized as being "nice" and usually well received. But, for certain people, almost always guys, I think non-SAK multi-tools make more sense.

Last option, which doesn't sound right for your situation, is to sit down with the recipient and go over a lot of different knives to find what they are attracted to. No surprise in that approach.
 
In my experience, you should get something inexpensive and functional. The best appreciation starts from functional use. Quality, fit & finish, materials, etc come afterwards.
 
Maybe get him a Alox SAK with a USB drive - not sure if one of the assemblers on here could build you one of those, or not.

He may view that as more useful than the knife.
 
FLymon said:
How about a Classic AND a Cadet.
Click to expand...

+1. One for his keyring, the other one for his pocket (I suggest the alox version of the Cadet).
It's always a long shot, especially if he never showed any interest in knives, but I agree with Stu, that would be your best bet.
And if you get the chance to do it, when you give them to him, ask him for his keys and immediately put the Classic there. The odds are, he won't feel the need to take it off, and hopefully someday he will remember he has a useful tool in his pocket when he needs it.

Fausto
:cool:
 
Lefty923 said:
OK, I'm a knife junky, that's a given. I like HQ well made knives.
I'm considering buying a traditional folder for my step son. ............
Thoughts?
Click to expand...

Let's keep it on topic folks.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top