HELP! BF's birthday, hes a collector, Im not- Need gift ideas

T

TinyBlackLungs

Joined
Jun 6, 2015
Messages
1
Hello, I am completely new to these forums and I need some gift advice on choosing a knife. My boyfriend is a pretty serious collector and i am less than an amateur, though trying to learn. His birthday is coming up and i wanted to get him a new EDC folding knife and ideally i wanted to get the handle engraved with his initials- nothing flashy, just two letters. The biggest problem is that i don't know enough to make a smart purchase or what type of knife would be best for engraving. My boyfriend is about 6'7 and has large hands, so he needs it to be around 9in total length and have a "thicker" or "beefier" handle maybe 0.5-.75in. His current EDC is about this large but frankly is a cheap knife, and I want to get him something with lasting quality and usability. I am hoping to keep this under $200 or less. Below are a few if his specifics. Any knife suggestions and any info about engraving would be amazing, thanks!


blade length: 3.5-4in
handle length: 4-5.5in
handle width:0.5-0.75in
total length: 8-9in
preferably assisted
blade material:154CM stainless steel, S30v/S60v, CPM-S30v, 1095 carbon
-No tanto blades
 
You just described the Zero Tolerance 300 series (300, 301, 302, 303). I have a 302 and love it, it's just too big for me to EDC, but I am nowhere near 6'7"!! It might be just a hair over the budget if you buy new, but that knife needs a big guy.
 
Spyderco Military or Paramilitary2. The PM2 has a slightly shorter blade than your desired lengths, but it doesn't feel like it. Any ZT, they have assisted and non assisted, but there non assisted is just as fast(and a tad bit more $). The ZTs are definitely beefy too. Other companies to look at would be Reate, various other spydercos(they have an almost unlimited selection), or you could just take a gander through the edc thread and if you spot something that interests you just ask which model it is.
Good luck.
 
There aren't so many quality assisted knives with 3.5"+ blades around $200 that I can think of.
Zero Tolerance 0300 series definitely, but that is very beefy and has a recurved blade, dunno if he's ok with either.
Benchmade Barrage 580 or 581 (581 has awesome M390 steel). Also BM makes the 890 Torrent, and the 665 APB. The steel in all these knives is good stuff.
The Cold Steel 22AB Swift II would be a great option but it hasn't been released yet.
If he's willing to do without the assist there are tons more options. A head-spinning number actually.
BUT you should wander into a knife shop with him to see what designs he prefers, since personal tastes vary.
 
Last edited:
I would say Spyderco PM2, Military, or Manix 2 or XL. If you really want a nice customizable option, check out Benchmade's website. They will let you build your own knife with engravings and such, it is only good for the Griptilian series and the Barrage series though but you should be able to keep it under $200.
 
Spyderco Military or Manix 2 XL. Highly functional larger EDC folders.
BM Barrage 581 is assisted with the excellent M390 blade steel and fits in at ~ $200.

I have and use these and I'm confidant any of them would please him.
 
I would advise against the initials being engraved. It's a nice gesture and shows you want to personalize the gift but many collectors (you certainly know him better than I) Frown upon it. He may not but I would be sure about this before you make the call. The trouble with knives is we who collect them are a quirky bunch. Some people have serious deal breakers such as blades that are coated. But given your specs I would say you are looking at something from zero tolerance or kershaw. Do you know of any of the knives he currently has? Knowing a few of those can help gauge his preferences. If he likes assisted knives and has never had a flipper knife with a bearing system they can be just as much fun. My tastes evolved from assisteds to bearing flippers as they achieve the same goal (being as fast as a switchblade without the risks) yet are completely manual knives relying on intuitive set up rather than a spring based technology to fire the blade. If it was me and I knew someone wanted to get me a knife but they admittedly were new to the hobby I would gladly take a gift certificate to a well known retail spot like bladehq.
 
Cursum Perficio said:
Spyderco Military or Manix 2 XL. Highly functional larger EDC folders.
BM Barrage 581 is assisted with the excellent M390 blade steel and fits in at ~ $200.
Click to expand...

PURPLEDC
I would advise against the initials being engraved.

I agree with the two posts above. The choice of those three folders is something you cannot read his mind on, but any one of them is a good choice.
But don't get his initials engraved...That means, because HE loves you, that he will have to keep it forever. Imagine him trying to pick out a purse for you...with your initials on it.
You're a good lady to do this for him. But don't restrict him to one knife for his life...when you're looking.
best regards...
 
That's tough.
I know at my collecting high point there basically wasn't anything I wanted that I didn't have.

The trouble with the value perspective is that your average $20 knife is the best value you can get. It's a long way between needing to scrape open a package and shaping millions of things in an industrial process (the application most of our blade steels are made for). We appreciate materials for what they are, but it's not entirely practical (don't tell anyone I said that).

Ahem, but if you're going to say "large hands" and "nice EDC" my answer is "Spyderco Military".
 
I advise against the gift card. My favorite knife for the longest time was an old style Spyderco Native because my girlfriend gave it to me. Even though I don't carry it much because we're no longer together, it still has fond memories connected to it.
 
TinyBlackLungs said:
blade length: 3.5-4in
handle length: 4-5.5in
handle width:0.5-0.75in
total length: 8-9in
preferably assisted
blade material:154CM stainless steel, S30v/S60v, CPM-S30v, 1095 carbon
-No tanto blades
Click to expand...

ZT 0300 series (I'm partial to the 0301 myself). From the specs on the ZT site: 3.75" blade, 5.1" handle, 8.6" overall length, assisted-opening, CPM-S30V blade. The handles on mine measure 14.85mm (0.585") at the middle/thickest point (it is slightly rounded, so it gets thinner towards the edge).

If you're willing to do without the assisted-opening, there's also the ZT 0560 or 0200. The 0560 has a 3.75" blade, 5" handle, 8.8" overall, Elmax steel, and a handle thickness of about 0.54". The 0200 has a 4" blade, 5.25" handle, 8.75" overall, 154CM blade, and handle thickness of about 0.72".

One of my co-workers showed me his Ontario XM-1, and that was quite beefy as well. It's a bit shorter (blade and handle) than the ZT's mentioned above, but the handle is thicker (found a couple of descriptions listing it at 0.85" thick). It uses N690Co for the blade, which some of compared to VG-10 (also a great steel). He also has a Benchmade Adamas, which is also quite beefy. I didn't get a chance to play around with that one though.

Kershawguy has some good prices right now on the 0300BW, 0560, and 0200.
 
A couple of thoughts...if he's a pretty serious collector he may have most or all of the knives being suggested. I am a pretty serious collector and I have most of the knives suggested here and both of the knives I am suggesting to you. Do you know what he has already? Has he possibly moved on from production knives to customs?

If he doesn't have them already and he is into production folders I would suggest the ZT0562cf or the ZT 0452cf.

I wouldn't engrave anything until you know he likes it and doesn't already have it.

Good luck!:thumbup:
 
I have seen the Spyderco Military suggested a few times in this thread and I completely agree. I just wanted to add that even though it may not look like it, the G10 handle can be engraved.
 
VBP_1051.JPG
benchmade contigo and adamas. Use some gunzilla to made it almost stainless
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top