Gentleman knife for best friend's 40th b-day

Spyderco GB Air for all the reasons cited by Sonnydaze above. Wonderful knife for the special event.
 
I have a nice Gold Class 531 by Benchmade. It's a decent knife. Seriously. I also have the 530 in grivory, and that thing is so light I'm scared I'll not remove it from my pants pockets before laundry. :)

The CRKT Ripple in either bronze or ultramarine anodize are amazing knives. I have both. I really like them. Not terribly tactical, though.

The Mnandi is another terrific gentleman's knife, but spendy. I got a little change back from my kilodollar, but mine has the mammoth ivory and Damascus.

For a small knife that's not terribly intimidating, I like the Dragonfly. I have one in ZDP-189 with a Nishijin handle. Suave and yet wickedly sharp!

There are hordes of small tactical looking knives. I have a Kershaw Cryo that I like, if you are a fan of the assisted opening feature (and I like them).

Another tactical looking small knife is the Strider PT. It's about $300.

On the borderline, so to speak, is the Zero Tolerance 0350. Not as big as the 0300, but more than big enough. Has the assisted opening and can be had with a tiger stripe blade, if you swing that way.

My personal favorite, though, is the Zero Tolerance 0777. Slick. Sweet. Gorgeous. Can be brutally used (I've used mine to cut aerospace aluminum alloys).
 
mp5423 said:
My best friend is the brother I didn't have. I would do anything for the guy and his family and he would do the same for me. His 40th b-day is coming up. I wanted to get him something meaningful. He's a guy that's got everything and has good taste so it's hard to find something that will be good for a big occasion like this. I think I decided on a nice pocket knife that he can carry on a dressy night out with his wife but also carry to work at his office. I would like to stay under $300. He's into functional over art. Loves aircraft, race cars and most of all Tactical. I'm thinking titanium or carbon fiber accents or handle. Folding lockable and or assisted opening is good. On the smaller side that's not going to scare people when used. Needs to be made in USA.


The nicest knifves I have is a Case and a Kershaw Chive so this is new territory to me. Been researching for a few days and not finding what I'm looking for. Looked at Benchmade and William Henry but not finding exactly what I want.

Thanks a lot.
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Hey bud. If you stretch your budget ever so slightly, you'll find yourself in Chris Reeve Small Sebenza 21 territory. You'll get a great blend of functionality and legendary CRK fit and finish.

21SBSM%5Blarge%5D.1324650500.jpg


If you're wanting to lean more towards the dressy side, a Chris Reeve Mnandi might be more up your alley - but you'll lose out on the functionality as far as ease of opening (nail nick vs thumb stud). The Mnandi has a killer pocket clip that really pops for dress occasions.

10MN1BC%5Blarge%5D.1386788240.jpg


And then there's always the one that I currently have (I'm holding this one for my wedding):

A Spyderco Caly 3 Damascus / Carbon Fiber

1E2687B0-099D-4CE1-8A8D-4A9818C21BA6_zpsfbfnibco.jpg
 
Not to go terribly far off topic, but I gave my girlfriend a Damascus Delica with the titanium bolsters and jigged bone scales. Gorgeous knife!
 
Whatever you get make sure you include a penny with it so he can "buy" it from you. Yes, I'm one of those people who believe giving a knife to someone will "cut" the friendship.
 
Putting the word Elegant and Gentleman Folder together,
I don't think there's any knife that can beat the Lionsteel TiSpine.

http://www.lionsteel.it/n/en/product/1639/tispine

lionsteel-tispine-folding-ts1-vs-shine-violet-large.jpg


It has Elmax blade, a monolithic titanium frame, which is made out of one single titanium block,
the lines and ergos of this knife are just beautiful.

Only there are two problems,
it's not made in the US,
and a little over your budget.
But you won't regret it.
 
Doesn't meet anywhere near all your requirements but take a look at the Case Carbon Fiber Sodbuster. Sodbusters are cheap working man knives but man does it clean up nice with some carbon fiber. I think there were some very nice somewhat tactical custom made Sodbusters I saw in the past but I can't remember who made them sadly.

This is pushing it even for me but a Kershaw Skyline Damascus. Mine came perfectly centered it opens easily enough with the flipper. Lightweight easily forgotten till you need it and the damascus adds a touch of class.

To me gentleman and tactical are 2 opposite things, so finding a vague overlap is hard.
 
My vote goes to the CRK Mnandi, hands down. May be a little more than 3-bills, but well well worth the money. Trust me on this. 2nd recommendation would be the WH knives as many here suggested. All good advice.
 
orixa said:
This second one is a custom friction folder I have, it's made by Filip deCoene, you can find him on google easily. He specializes in "modern art" minimal functional pieces.
photo_zpse700fb91.jpg
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I've wanted one of his knives for a while. Any tips on where to find them for sale would be much appreciated!

Thanks,

John
 
Quiff said:
Putting the word Elegant and Gentleman Folder together,
I don't think there's any knife that can beat the Lionsteel TiSpine.

http://www.lionsteel.it/n/en/product/1639/tispine

lionsteel-tispine-folding-ts1-vs-shine-violet-large.jpg


It has Elmax blade, a monolithic titanium frame, which is made out of one single titanium block,
the lines and ergos of this knife are just beautiful.

Only there are two problems,
it's not made in the US,
and a little over your budget.
But you won't regret it.
Click to expand...

You can top it with a LionSteel TiSpine Damascus. :D

ts1df_gm.jpg
 
Molle Ninja said:
I've wanted one of his knives for a while. Any tips on where to find them for sale would be much appreciated!

Thanks,

John
Click to expand...


John,

Filip has a new Facebook page under his name! New knives and new designs available...check it out!!
 
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