Gift for patriotic graduate...fixed blade recommendations

L

Loren Jones

Joined
Jun 26, 2019
Messages
97
Hi, I am new here. Thanks in advance for any and all advice.

My nephew just graduated from high school. He’s a very patriotic young man. He was considering joining the Marines and is now strongly considering joining the army with an eye towards a possible career in special forces.

I want to get him a really nice knife for his graduation. I am thinking no more than $350 absolute max.

I am thinking a fixed blade.

I am thinking in the 5 to 7 inch range. I don’t want something egregiously large that it is not feasible for carrying with his gear if he does end up in special forces but I feel like 4.5” or so is going to seem smaller than what I want.

I would like something that has good utility but also has some usefulness for possible combat role.

I would like something that is really top-notch quality and will last forever and can be handed down to his children. I would prefer something that has a little bit higher quality steel with moderate hardness in the 58 to 60 range preferred.

I am open to any and all suggestions. I have looked at Benchmade and the Adamas and Arvensis caught my eye. I’ve looked at Spartan and they have several that look interesting. I have looked at TOPS and they have some nice looking blades but I was hoping for something with a bit more special steel (I know it’s probably not a big deal). I looked at KaBar and some possible options there but I’m not sure they have that special level of quality I’m after.

Tell me what you would get your nephew if you were in the same sutuatuon.
 
Loren Jones said:
Hi, I am new here. Thanks in advance for any and all advice.

My nephew just graduated from high school. He’s a very patriotic young man. He was considering joining the Marines and is now strongly considering joining the army with an eye towards a possible career in special forces.

I want to get him a really nice knife for his graduation. I am thinking no more than $350 absolute max.

I am thinking a fixed blade.

I am thinking in the 5 to 7 inch range. I don’t want something egregiously large that it is not feasible for carrying with his gear if he does end up in special forces but I feel like 4.5” or so is going to seem smaller than what I want.

I would like something that has good utility but also has some usefulness for possible combat role.

I would like something that is really top-notch quality and will last forever and can be handed down to his children. I would prefer something that has a little bit higher quality steel with moderate hardness in the 58 to 60 range preferred.

I am open to any and all suggestions. I have looked at Benchmade and the Adamas and Arvensis caught my eye. I’ve looked at Spartan and they have several that look interesting. I have looked at TOPS and they have some nice looking blades but I was hoping for something with a bit more special steel (I know it’s probably not a big deal). I looked at KaBar and some possible options there but I’m not sure they have that special level of quality I’m after.

Tell me what you would get your nephew if you were in the same sutuatuon.
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Freeman Outdoor Gear 451 5.5" "Little Beast"

IMG_3611_large@2x.JPG


Comes in several color combinations. Great ergonomics. Great sheath. D2 steel. Feels special, but comes in well under budget.
 
Welcome. If you want to buy him something for when he serves, get him a really good Leatherman multitool. I have been here a while and by far its what the members who have served suggest.

A fixed blade he wont use. Until he gets home. For that I'd suggest browsing here

https://www.bladeforums.com/forums/for-sale-fixed-blades.754/

It wouldn't shock me if some of our member knifemakers had a discount for active military.
 
So hard to choose a knife especially if he has very large hands for any application. At that price range just about everything you get him is going to be quality. Question is what exactly does he want?

Maybe go with him to one of the many makers on the site and pick out something together with him?

You don't wanna put him in a spot where you buy him this amazing blade but it's just ever so slightly not his preference on this or that. Like how pronounced of a guard does he want? Is he the kinda guy who likes a clip point ? Or does he prefer something more substantial so it's a better pry bar or can help him open up a vehicle? Maybe he would prefer something that would look more at home on a hunters belt than anything tactical.

If I were you and was just gonna buy my nephew a blade no input from him. I would google something like "best knife for military forum" or something like that and just start reading. See what servicemen seem to think about blades. Try to learn from them because I don't know. And then go from there. See what modern servicemen thought were the best all around blade profiles, lengths, and steels. I'm not 100% that info is out there but there are probably threads on this site on the topic.

But I'd rather just ask my nephew I think and let him do the research. He's the one who is gonna use it. Better a perfect gift than a surprise if you can only have one.

edit - leatherman is also a good choice but doens't have that "wow nice gift unc" factor. I'd want to get him a blade probably
 
BigWillie said:
So hard to choose a knife especially if he has very large hands for any application. At that price range just about everything you get him is going to be quality. Question is what exactly does he want?

Maybe go with him to one of the many makers on the site and pick out something together with him?

You don't wanna put him in a spot where you buy him this amazing blade but it's just ever so slightly not his preference on this or that. Like how pronounced of a guard does he want? Is he the kinda guy who likes a clip point ? Or does he prefer something more substantial so it's a better pry bar or can help him open up a vehicle? Maybe he would prefer something that would look more at home on a hunters belt than anything tactical.

If I were you and was just gonna buy my nephew a blade no input from him. I would google something like "best knife for military forum" or something like that and just start reading. See what servicemen seem to think about blades. Try to learn from them because I don't know. And then go from there. See what modern servicemen thought were the best all around blade profiles, lengths, and steels. I'm not 100% that info is out there but there are probably threads on this site on the topic.

But I'd rather just ask my nephew I think and let him do the research. He's the one who is gonna use it. Better a perfect gift than a surprise if you can only have one.

edit - leatherman is also a good choice but doens't have that "wow nice gift unc" factor. I'd want to get him a blade probably
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That's why you get him a leatherman and a really nice blade. A Wave Max's out at like 99 bucks. Leaves a huge range for a really nice blade.
 
marcinek said:
Welcome. If you want to buy him something for when he serves, get him a really good Leatherman multitool. I have been here a while and by far its what the members who have served suggest.

A fixed blade he wont use. Until he gets home. For that I'd suggest browsing here

https://www.bladeforums.com/forums/for-sale-fixed-blades.754/

It wouldn't shock me if some of our member knifemakers had a discount for active military.
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I 2nd this. Lots of great custom blades to be had there.

I'm also partial to the Hinderer that McFeeli posted above. I own one but just got it so not any real world use with it yet.
 
I have the Winkler Spike and it is a fantastic tool. Winkler does a lot of custom stuff for the services and offers good discounts for military service personnel.

https://winklerknives.com/collections/frontpage?page=2

The Chris Reeve SF knife would seem to make sense if that is where his path is headed although it would probably be only ceremonial since I can’t imagine SF’s carrying anything in the field w/their (SF’s) name on it.

Then again, apparently fixed blades are no longer part of the standard kit for soldiers. An Emerson or other rock solid overbuilt folder may be the most practical option.
 
I'm no soldier but I am really impressed by the Winkler line. The Case/Winkler line also has some models designed by vets that are very cool.
 
DrRollinstein said:
All kinds of options at that price. Go for a leatherman wave and a Bradford Guardian. And then you have enough leftover for a nice folder too.
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As much as the enthusiast in me wants to say Chris Reeve Knives, I’d agree with the above.
Anything nice like a CRK will walk off one day. Get good useable high quality stuff like DrR mentioned above. It’ll last forever, work perfectly, and if it walks away it won’t cost him an arm and a leg to replace it if he’s grown used to it.
 
Never served but I hear most people who did a Leatherman is the way to go. Beyond that I would look at the Schrade Blackbird one of our members here designed it. It's not USA made but they made a post on small details they did and why they did, a lot of thought went into it's design. It would be one of the top knives on a very short list of considerations if I ever served.
 
I think a Leatherman or similar tool would get more use. I got my son a Boker Applegate-Fairbairn dagger and Gerber demolition pliers prior to Iraq, as he was a combat engineer. I doubt he ever used the dagger, and it turned out that the the pliers were standard issue. The ones with the blasting cap crimpers...

I managed to get them both back after he was killed in combat. I think a Swiss Army knife would have been more useful, day to day. Best things I sent him in Iraq were Skittles, Starburst and gummy bears candy.
 
USMCPOP said:
I think a Leatherman or similar tool would get more use. I got my son a Boker Applegate-Fairbairn dagger and Gerber demolition pliers prior to Iraq, as he was a combat engineer. I doubt he ever used the dagger, and it turned out that the the pliers were standard issue. The ones with the blasting cap crimpers...

I managed to get them both back after he was killed in combat. I think a Swiss Army knife would have been more useful, day to day. Best things I sent him in Iraq were Skittles, Starburst and gummy bears candy.
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I’m sorry for your loss and the sacrifice your family has made.
 
USMCPOP said:
I think a Leatherman or similar tool would get more use. I got my son a Boker Applegate-Fairbairn dagger and Gerber demolition pliers prior to Iraq, as he was a combat engineer. I doubt he ever used the dagger, and it turned out that the the pliers were standard issue. The ones with the blasting cap crimpers...

I managed to get them both back after he was killed in combat. I think a Swiss Army knife would have been more useful, day to day. Best things I sent him in Iraq were Skittles, Starburst and gummy bears candy.
Click to expand...

Thanks for sharing your experience. I’m very sorry for your loss. I can’t even fathom...
 
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