SAK. I'm rarely in a suit but in a suit or fancy crowd, a SAK won't freak anyone out. Plus the beer and wine opener might come in handy.
I like to bring to formal events those individually. But YMMV, those are my personal choices. Small and non threatening. A SAK is perfectly fine.
I’m new to the knife hobby, but as I’ve always done with watches, I’m finding that I’m buying knives to match specific situations/occasions. Tool, dress, casual etc. Ultimately, I’d like to purchase a Mnandi as my “dress” knife. In the meantime, I picked up an MKM Fara to see how I get along with wood handles. Love the knife, but I do wish it had a clip: I also stumbled upon these the other day and was really captivated by the graceful lines and styling, so I couldn’t resist pulling the trigger on the “Pocket” version. I suspect it’ll also serve as a dressier knife:
I have a GEC 62 (half Congress) in birdseye maple that I carry in formal dress. I also carry a carbon fiber inlaid Protech Newport, or Zieba MS3, clipped in an inside pocket of my suit jacket/blazer.
I don't wear suits but these are my classier, nice knives. I carry them all regularly. lionSTEEL Gitano and a Buck 501 with CollectorKnives pocket sip: A laguiole I also carry in a pocket slip: A "carved" Case Cheetah carried in a large CollectorKnives pocket slip: Case Medium Congress: Case Teardrop: Actually, most any of my Case knives would fill the roll well. Chambriard Compact:
Some seriously fancy knives here! To me, a S&T are my work cloths so given the lighter weight of the fabric and generally less substantial build quality of suit trousers or dress pants compared to jeans or 511-like cargo pants I just go with a lightweight Delica-Emerson. Perhaps I should up my game in the dress knife category after seeing what some of you gents are sporting.
The only suite I've ever owned in my life was issued to me over 50 years ago. When wearing my best jeans for a special occasion I've carried this on my belt several times.
While I don't wear suits, I do have a need to wear khakis or nicer pants fairly often. Because of the larger and looser pockets I like the pocket slips as they seem a touch more secure. Or just dropping a smaller Case down in there. People are also generally very intrigued if I pull out a nice knife and I often get a lot of questions.
An interesting question which hasn't really occurred to me, as I don't even own a "sport coat", let alone a suit. Last time I went to a fancy wedding I wore a black windbreaker and carried a Boker "Peanut" in 440C and ebony.
Nah. I had a digicam millie clipped to my pocket at my own wedding. I wouldn’t consider that a dress knife but then again I think “dress ware” is one of the worst styles out there. It’s the clothing equivalent of beige. To answer your question, William Henry is usually the brand that people recommend for dress knives. You could also look at Great Eastern. An ebony slippy would fit right into this role. I have a moose pattern in ebony that’s a nice looker but it just sits in its drawer. Have fun with whatever you land on.
