Groomsmen Gifts...

Mr Vandercar,
I would look at Case or G.E.C.. The Esquire just came out and is a small but NEAT useful knife.
My buddy and I were at the Great Eastern Cutlery factory five weeks ago as they were starting the Esquire.
I ordered the grey pearl acrylic and the blue denim acrylic in the the Tidioute brand, and the mother of pearl in the Northfield brand.
When they arrive I will post some photos. G.E.C. makes a Really Nice Knife.
 
Mr Vandercar,
One more thought, CONGRATULATIONS on YOUR ENGAGEMENT.
I wish You and Your Fiance all the VERY BEST.
 
Firstly, congratulations sir.

As for the knife, I can only suggest one maker, MC Cognet, the knife, a Douk Douk of course!

Small, inexpensive, unique shape and very gentlemanly.
 
Nice gesture on your part!

I would suggest a CASE Medium Stockman in stainless, pretty and versatile knives or the new CASE Sodbuster in Chestnut Bone/CV which will be available soon.

Another idea, any GEC 25 knife, these are beauties and scream quality. If GEC release a new run before next year then snap them up.

Thanks, Will
 
Case Peanuts or Victorinox Cadets (in color if you can find them) would be great gifts.

I gave mine Leatherman Micras.
 
Congratulations on your upcoming nuptials!

Woodrow F Call said:
Case Peanuts or Victorinox Cadets (in color if you can find them) would be great gifts.
Click to expand...

This is just what I was about to suggest. Peanuts come in infinite varieties, so they can be custom-tailored to each person's taste. The Cadet gives you the engraving option, if you want to go in that direction. Both of these are budget-friendly and are generally appreciated by both serious and casual knife users.

Your $100 budget certainly opens other doors, too, so you could pick a GEC pattern unique to each person if that suited your fancy. I think it's important to consider the recipient, as you seem to have done already.

Case in point -- when my buddy got his PhD, I gave him a Case pen with his initials engraved on the bolsters. I felt that it was big enough to be useful for almost anything, small enough to be 'safe' in an academic office environment, and slim enough that he would have little excuse to leave it at home.

Good luck on your search!
 
I agree. GEC's are great knives, but unless your groomsmen are into knives, they won't know or care that you paid 2-3x more for it than you would have for a Peanut or Cadet.

Woodrow F Call said:
Case Peanuts or Victorinox Cadets (in color if you can find them) would be great gifts.

I gave mine Leatherman Micras.
Click to expand...
 
I think you have to gear your decision towards the non-knife nut, a person who doesn't care if a knife is carbon, 12c27, 420HC, 440(A,B,C,) or 154cm etc. so that being said I would stick with Case, as much as I really like the Peanut, we have seen here on the forum it's not for everyone, so maybe go with something slightly bigger like the 87 Jack, or Swayback Jack, Mini Copperhead, Seahorse Whittler, all of which are well under $100, you could mix it up a different pattern for each (maybe with the wedding colors)or all the same pattern. You want it to be something they will want to carry and be useful to them, plus Case has good customer service, you have enough time that you can purchase, inspect etc. and if you happen to get one that may have a flaw ( I have not yet experienced ) it can be exchanged by vendor, or fixed in time by Case, least amount of hassle before a wedding the better.

Congrats to you and the future misses.

Pete
 
Engraved Opinels?

Opinel USA has an engraving service. Just get your names and the date of the wedding etc. Could get folders or kitchen knifes in carbon or SS.
 
I think you have received good advice so far, and you are probably further from a decision than you were when you started, but I thought I'd throw my two cents in anyhow. First off, congratulations! Secondly, what knife do you think you will be carrying on the day of your wedding? that could help you make a decision. In my experience, I never go to a wedding without a SAK. The reason for this is that at some point during the event I find the need to open a beer myself. Also, the additional tools come in handy for on the spot repairs to equipment etc. I suggest a Vic Cadet, because your groomsman will be able to start using it the day they get, and might develop a bond/warm fuzzies for the thing.

Good luck!
 
I second the Buck Knives suggestion. They make a ton of economical folders that are top notch for the money.
 
MrVandercar said:
Hey all. I'll be getting hitched in the spring of 2015 and I'm planning on giving knives to my four groomsmen along with pennies that I'm having a friend make into either lapel pins or tie clips. The question is WHAT KNIVES?
Click to expand...

We need to know at least a little about the guys. Mainly, are they knife carriers now? If not, I'd go with a small SAK of some sort, engraved of course. If they DO carry knives, consider Opinel no. 6 in stainless with a fancy-wood handle. You can get them engraved as well, like so ...



I LOVE peanuts, but I'm not sure they're for everyone.

Congratulations on the engagement, by the way!

-- Mark
 
Last edited:
I got my groomsmen Al Mar Hawks with white micarta. They were under $70 each when I got married and still a great buy.
 
I'd look at the Case senator pen knife if I had to do it all over again. But if they are not knife guys the case will simply sit in a drawer. IMO a non knife type is more likely to carry and use a SAK. So the Case Senator is a bit fancier, but the SAK has a better chance of seeing use.
 
If they don't know what a good knife is I stick to brands they probably heard of before so they feel like their getting a great quality knife just by the name. So I be looking at Victorinox alox knives, Buck USA made knives (check their website, USA ones are 420HC for slipjoints), and Case. To me (my opinion) swiss army knives = practical, Buck slipjoints = old school knives that last forever, Case = classy. Personally I go with a Case as you have a lot of choices in what pattern to get and scales, and after that I go one step further and get it personalized and get it engraved. Personally I like the looks of the mini copperlock, but there are a lot of nice choices.

Other option with your budget is Bucks custom store on their website, you can get a custom made Buck 110 or different lockback ranging from 420HC or S30V, I go with 420HC unless their knife enthusiests as it's a little bit more difficult to sharpen the S30V to my understanding. From what I hear their Fit/Finish is quite good comming from there and you can get engravings, choose scales, choice of steel/finish, brass/nickle bolsters, finger grooves, etc. Actually I would probably go this route and get a sheath for it too, it's quite a bit harder to lose a knife when you have a sheath.

And congratulations on getting married I wish you both the best.
 
I got married ten days ago. I had already given my bestman a Victorinox Tinker some years ago as a gift. He's a sound engineer for BBC radio and wouldn't use any other knife anyway, so he got an engraved hip flask (like me, he's into whisky). The only other groomsman was my wife's brother, being the first time he had ever worn a kilt I got him a sgian dubh so that he didn't have to wear the awful imitation things that they get sold with nowadays. Handled in stag with ebony end cap, insert and legside, it made for a nice gift that he was pleased with. The blade is a 440 something steel (unknown), but seeing as he won't be using it to cut anything it doesn't matter. I had toyed with the idea of getting SFO's and approached GEC about it, but it really wouldn't have been worth the expense considering I'm the only knife nut who would have appreciated it. The two Dad's each got gifts appropriate for them. My father is a wine buff, so he got a couple of bottles of some really special italian stuff that an old sommelier pal of mine sorted out for me (i know nothing about wine.... it was red), and my father-in-law received a quaich which was so that we could drink a toast together as we have rubbed shoulders in the past.

I would think hard about each person. I almost bought knives for everyone, but then I thought, what is the point if they're not into them. I have given knives before (nice ones too) as gifts that I know have probably gone into drawers to be lost forever, or rusting on a damp shed shelf, or maybe even given away to a charity shop or sold in a car boot sale. I wanted to give nice knives to the guys because they are special to me, both the people and the knives, but in the end I realised that it is my passion, not theirs. Think about it, and don't jump too soon. There is nothing worse than seeing that all too familiar look (think christmas morning) on someones face when they receive an unwanted gift from you and try to pretend that they like it.

Never the less, if they would go for it, and you know they'll like it, get a sequential series of serial numbered GEC's. That would be the dogs wotsits! Many congratulations my friend :)!

Paul
 
Just an idea -- get them Case folders with matching handles but a different pattern for each -- e.g. one gets a trapper, one gets a stockman, one gets a toothpick or a muskrat.... you get the idea. Case makes a lot of nice knives that can be had for 50 to 70 bucks.
 
Pmeisel, that is a great idea. And for anyone that didn't return to my original post, I edited it to add more info about my buddies. In addition to what I wrote already, my best man is the only one that would greatly appreciate a really nice knife(he spent a good deal of time checking out my Indian River Jack when I was visiting home last summer). The others would still like one, they may or may not put the same value in it. So maybe three cases and a gec...

I owned a Cadet for awhile, and loved it, but it fell in the drink while I was fishing. I never replaced it, although I've thought about it numerous times. When it comes down to it I just like wood/bone covers more. All said and done, I don't think I would give them a Victorinox or whatnot.

Thanks for all the great suggestions and well wishes folks! I've picked up a handful of great ideas.
 
I would also go the SAK route. They are affordable, useful and classic in their own right. When I got married 3 years ago I gave my groomsmen Vic alox bantams. There perfect combo of blade and bottle opener. Plus I got them engraved with each guys initials. Not sure if you can still find them in alox but even the regular ones are a great choice.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top