Help me find a knife for my father

TheDandyLion

TheDandyLion

Joined
Mar 27, 2013
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764
My fathers birthday is coming up and I want to replace his old EDC, he as been whining about it for a while but hasn't replaced it yet, I figured it would make a perfect gift. He's very specific about his knives, It needs to have all of these qualifications:

-2.75-3.5" blade
-It CAN NOT be a liner/frame lock (He hates them, don't ask me why
-Folding only
-Decent steel/edge holding ability
-Simple-ish design
-EDIT: Doesn't have to be traditional, in fact he prefers modern designs

Just want some help choosing a gift. Keep in mind I'm on a tight budget so less is more when it comes to price.

Thanks,

Jake
 
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My father and I both enjoy traditionals even though I am a young man. I gave him a Kershaw Shallot for Father's Day. He likes it and is carrying it a bit more but it was hard to get used to at first and he misses a few things about traditionals.

I don't know if your dad is anything like mine, but my dad also likes simple time tested stuff. He enjoys being able to close a traditional on his pants leg, which he missed with the Shallot.

Now, I know Case isn't the best company when it comes to traditionals but they still make some darn fine ones at a very good price, and my dad grew up with them and passed on their love of them to me as well.

The Case Sod Buster or smaller Buster Jr. would in my opinion be great choices here, and very affordable. I'm sure others will come along with better suggestions. I know any traditional Case would thrill my father though.
 
So basically a traditional or a lockback....

What does he carry now that you are replacing? Maybe it would be best to just punt and get him a new one.

An automatic might amuse him if he's never had one. Protech and Microtech make some cool smaller autos.
 
EChoil said:
What does he carry now that you are replacing? Maybe it would be best to just punt and get him a new one.
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This is also a good suggestion. My dad would love just getting a new one of stuff he already likes. My girlfriend got her father the same model SAK he'd had for decades. He liked that a lot. It makes sense, even to me as a knut. I like to get new of stuff I've had that works, when I need it.
 
RedLynx said:
My father and I both enjoy traditionals even though I am a young man. I gave him a Kershaw Shallot for Father's Day. He likes it and is carrying it a bit more but it was hard to get used to at first and he misses a few things about traditionals.

I don't know if your dad is anything like mine, but my dad also likes simple time tested stuff. He enjoys being able to close a traditional on his pants leg, which he missed with the Shallot.

Now, I know Case isn't the best company when it comes to traditionals but they still make some darn fine ones at a very good price, and my dad grew up with them and passed on their love of them to me as well.

The Case Sod Buster or smaller Buster Jr. would in my opinion be great choices here, and very affordable. I'm sure others will come along with better suggestions. I know any traditional Case would thrill my father though.
Click to expand...

I posted here just the other day that my Case LSSP is every bit as good as my Buck 110. Have used both off and on for over 20 years. Nothing wrong with a Case. I have my father's Case's.
 
EChoil said:
I posted here just the other day that my Case LSSP is every bit as good as my Buck 110. Have used both off and on for over 20 years. Nothing wrong with a Case. I have my father's Case's.
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I didn't even know a lot of people thought they were "middle of the road" till I started frequenting forums. When I was a kid, Case was what the knife guys in my family thought of as quality working tools that married function and beauty together. My cousin collects Case knives in a very serious way, he loves to get them and add them to his collection but he'll never use them, they are very much show piece queens for him. Like I say I guess there are much better options, but I think of Case as quality still.

My dad is a knife guy. He probably couldn't tell you exact handle materials, blade steels, heat treats, or any of that stuff. Maybe that would make him not really a knife guy to some, I don't know. He probably doesn't know all of the technical stuff. But he uses pocket knives. He knows what works for him and like most of us, he can spot cheap crap at a glance, too. I've always admired him because he puts emphasis on being prepared and having the right tools for the job (he knows how to do lots more stuff than I do) but he can do that without needing to really know things like heat treat or hardness or blade steel, etc. He'd prefer Case to Buck for example, he just hasn't had the best experiences with Buck (for whatever reason).

My dad might not know all of the technical stuff but he knows what works for him in the real world, and I think that's great.
 
So I brought up my father and every one assumes a traditional... He like modern designs most, he's carried enough traditions he tells me
 
Spyderco Delica is a modern yet no frills design with good steel and meets the length requirements, I'd look into it. Or Griptilian (that was already suggested, as some modern knives were.
 
TheJeepster said:
Ontario RAT Folder, just because.
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Yeah I really like that one but it's got a liner lock as RedLynx said. I don't know why he hates them, he can work them he just doesn't want to. I guess one thing I surly inherited from him is my stubbornness:D
 
RedLynx said:
Spyderco Delica is a modern yet no frills design with good steel and meets the length requirements, I'd look into it. Or Griptilian (that was already suggested, as some modern knives were.
Click to expand...

Not sure your price range, but +1 on the Delica - don't own one (yet), but would seem to fit the bill for what you need. Also, I have a Spyderco Dragonfly 2 Salt that I love, but the blade is probably a bit short for your dad's needs - might consider the Salt 1.

Also, I have a Victorinox Electrician en route (silver alox) that is a sweet looking blade and comes with a reamer that could be great for undoing knots and such.
 
I reco the Spyderco line...it's my favorite.
First pic is the Caly series in ZDP-189, a great blade-steel, in 3" and 3.5" blade-length
Next pic is the Paramilitary 2...(GREAT compression lock, he'll love it) you can find these in S30V steel for $120. A great knife; 3.3" blade, loved by most of us.
Here is the last pic, the Sage series, (3"blades) a SAGE3 in carbon fiber and in blue g10, and a Sage 2 (framelock) in titanium.
These are all available for about $150 max. I'm much older than your dad, and I love these knives.



 
Sorta update: Just asked him why he doesn't like liner lock and this was his word for word response "I had a liner lock a while ago, It broke (Takes bite of BLT)"

My father, a man of few words and a lot of bacon
 
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