How to tell someone you're not into those knives...

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This is an easy one. ALL I get every year for birthdays or Xmas is crap I don't want or need. You say thank you and you appreciate that someone cared enough about you to get you something.
 
I feel ya.. I used to have to deal with this. It's more the fact I don't want people wasting their hard earned money on stuff I don't need, nor want. I'd rather they get me a beer and have some conversation. If the guy doesn't get the hint, just say. Hey, lets stop doing gifts and start doing a night out for beers or dinner instead. It's a win/win.. you both get good food and good times.

Oh I forgot, and if you don't really like the guy, don't show for the dinner/beers. He'll for sure stop getting you gifts from then on. :-)
 
I say be gracious and accept the knife. Try to point him in the right direction throughout the year. (I mark the ____ catalog for my wife and tell her that I marked the ones that I might like to have one day but also tell her that the most expensive knife isn't the one I want the most. I have to point out that I feels certain models are too expensive for what you get and to pay attention to size. I also throw away catalogs I don't want to get knives from!) If you can, without hurting the person's feelings, find people to give these entry level knives to that will appreciate them, use them until they break/fail, as tools - not instruments.

I don't buy my step-son knives as his tastes vary wildly from mine. He probably would think the world of a BudK knife. I have a co-worker that heard I bought my pastor and groomsmen engraved Kershaw Leeks for wedding gifts and she and her fiancé went and bought $9 BudK specials for their attendants - I kept my mouth shut! My step-son gets Leeks from suppliers his company deals with and he uses them as sharpened screwdrivers. Different strokes for different folks.

Best of luck.

Happy New Year.
 
do a giveaway, and if he asks to see your knife collection tell him that you used what he gave but it broke.

...and that it cut you. badly. Tell him that it was sharp for a little while, but just didn't hold up.

Then show him some quality stuff and explain what makes them so.
 
Thanks for all the great advice everyone:.I'll give a more detailed response when I'm back on my pc....posting from phone now.
Very much appreciated.
 
I alway's just say thanks, much appreciated. It's the thought that counts. I have a buddy who before I met him had no clue what a quality knife was. He had some cheap Smith and Wesson folders, one of which was broken and he was still using it. So, I first gave him a Spyderco Endura. The last knife I gave him was a ZT 350. And, he asked what it costs. I just told him to look it up on line. The next time he saw me he gave me a big ole bear hug, and couldn't thank me enough. He now knows a little about what a good knife is. I think I made a knife nut out of him.:D
 
Put a new tampon in and throw them in a junk drawer you ungrateful bastard!! J/k but not really
 
Kru03 said:
This is an easy one. ALL I get every year for birthdays or Xmas is crap I don't want or need. You say thank you and you appreciate that someone cared enough about you to get you something.
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This is dead on correct and what I do every year also.
 
I got it. Sell all those ones he gave you, buy him a nice knife, educate him on the knife scene, then tell him to join blade forums.


Common sense tells you not to buy gas station cigars for a cigar connoisseur
 
I'd just give me away here or donate else ware. If he asks just say they broke real quick at work and that your really tough on knives. Explain that x brand seems to make the best knives that last longest for you.
 
Just stab him in the thigh with the next cheap knife he gives you. That'll end things PDQ. :D
Seriously, just accept the blades, use some as beaters, give some to other folks who might appreciate them, etc.
 
This thread has given me some good laughs!
I can totally relate to the OP.
My Brother has always been into knives. Well...gas station, budk knives.
It's actually because of him that I always had an interest in sharp things.
But unlike him, I actually appreciate a well made knife.
My Brother is one of the most generous souls I've ever met. Great guy with a big heart.
When he finally realized I was getting into knife collecting, he was pretty stoked.
So anytime I see him, he deems it appropriate to give me a knife or two.
Now let me tell you...this stuff is crap. Absolute garbage. Stuff I wouldn't use in fear of hurting myself.
There's no way I could ever tell him that. I always accept gratefully.
So I figured I would try what a few members here have mentioned.
I gave him a good knife. Good steel, sharp edge, nice sheath.
The next time I saw him I was like, "Hey, you still got that knife I gave to you?"
He says, "Nope. I traded it for theese sweet throwing knives."
They were not sweet throwing knives. They were junk.
But hey, he was happy with them, so in the big picture that's all that really matters.
I won't give him any of my good knives anymore.
Instead, I'll wait till he has a few beers and then give him back the stuff he gave me! Win, win says I.
 
I think you need to thank him/her, show the person what is good and not so good about the knife. Diplomatically compare it to one you have that is good but also not expensive and overpriced. Faiaoga
 
Some of my friends are the same way but i wised them up on what makes a quality knife little by little. They all rocked their S&W but now they have benchmades/kershaws/spydercos because i let them know about the warranty and that they would keep a good edge as long as they learned to take care of them and use them as intended. Of course they are not like me and are buying knives that cost a couple hundred dollars or some that cost a more than that, but they are very happy that i took the time to show them what a good knife was. That is a very awesome gesture by your friend, but maybe if he likes knives too you should take some time and talk to him about the general stuff like steels, material, F&F etc. Some people find all the information really interesting so maybe you could get him into the hobby!
 
I don't get why people are telling the OP to suck it up and be appreciative, it doesn't sound like they aren't doing either. They are just seeking constructive advice on if there is a way to approach someone about not having them spend their hard earned money on buying them things they don't actually want. No need to cast judgement on them, they are asking for help and advice not cutting criticism.
 
I would accept it graciously, explain why it sucks as a knife, then treasure it as a gift.
 
Strigamort said:
Ugh... that's a tough one. I'm the type that would just keep taking them and saying thank you.

The thing I'm wondering about though is why he keeps buying these gifts for you. What is the root cause? Is he just an opportunist when he sees a cheap knife at a garage sale and he can't pass it up, or is he seeking your approval or friendship?
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I think it's the latter part "approval or friendship".We had a falling out about ten years ago.He was a major PITA(lying,cheating,stealing) back then.He's a lot better now though,but I still don't trust him.There could be an ulterior motive.

Giveaway's not an option.He's over here a lot & I know it would hurt his feelings if I gave them away or even traded/sold them.Then I would hear it from my wife(but mostly her family) about how ungracious I am.

I'm going to try and explain to him the differences in quality & materials & that's really ONLY what I'm into.

I don't think there's any gentle way out of this.When I put myself in his shoes,anything I come up with would be hurtful or sound snobby or ungracious.

Those cheap "Ridgerunner" knives actually aren't that bad.I could keep one in the kitchen drawer,one in the bathroom...etc.I think I'm just going to 'suck it up'.Things could be worse.;)

Here's one of the things he got me for Christmas.Think I should wear it?:eek::foot::D

gothic_cross_neck_knife_540.jpg
 
I'm in the "just say thanks" camp. Every year, I go up to see my aunt and uncle in the woods of New Hampshire, and my aunt always gives me some uber-cheesy thing she saw in one of those T.V. commercials that try to make it look like you're buying a rare collector's item. This year it was a "German" automatic watch. I don't even remember the brand as I threw it away at the first pit stop on the highway back home. It was marked "Made in China," and a quick internet search revealed that the company gets universally canned by the watch community as a total sham that makes horrible watches (and it retailed at about $50). I would have preferred a box of her homemade cookies or a nice card.

But while I was at my aunt's house, of course, it was the most beautiful watch I'd ever seen which of course I'd proudly wear to work and show off to all my friends what a beautiful, one-of-a-kind German automatic watch my aunt gave me because my aunt spoils me so much, really, auntie. Why do you buy me such nice things? :cool:
 
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