I hate you all...lol...

My boss is a super frugal guy, so much so that he squeaks when he walks.
He's had the same pair of shoes going on 3 years. (they look super worn)
Wears the same khaki pants and blue button down short every day. (does laundry maybe once a week)
His lunches consist of green tea, peanut butter, and an apple. (will nhot spend any money of a normal lunch)

He does carry a SAK though. Disappointment washed over me like the tide at the beach one day. I was working on some thing one day and I asked him for his knife, he quickly pulled out his Tinker and handed me the knife. I opened the blade and when I tried cutting, it was not even remotely sharp. Rather than struggle and tear the material with an unsafe tool. I handed it back to him. I pulled out the regular S30V Military and made the difficult cut within a second.
His eyes glazed over when he saw the mirror edge and the overall efficiency of the maneuver with one handed opening and closing. I always hesitate opening a folder that size in front of his due to the potential mood he may be in and the reaction/conclusions he can jump to later. I've offered to sharpen his knife and he politely declined citing the smaller blades were still very sharp.
 
RevDevil said:
My boss is a super frugal guy, so much so that he squeaks when he walks.
.
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You know that really bad and pathetic thing is they have no idea how really pathetic they sound and act. They think it's a good thing etc being that cheap.
 
What really freaks me out is that he makes a rather high 6 figure salary, with quarterly bonuses, and many other perks. He has resorted to using screw drivers to open boxes and do other things that would otherwise require a knife.
/facepalm
 
RevDevil said:
What really freaks me out is that he makes a rather high 6 figure salary, with quarterly bonuses, and many other perks. He has resorted to using screw drivers to open boxes and do other things that would otherwise require a knife.
/facepalm
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That's exactly the type I am talking about.
 
Some people are frugal because they want to spend money on things that matter to them. I got a coworker who is pretty careful with money, but her family goes on a cruise or lengthy disney trip every single year. Then there are people being frugal for the sake of being frugal, these people simply can't enjoy life.

I think you should buy him something nice, but not top of the line. Get him another chinese made knife, but from companies that produce quality like Kershaw or Spyderco. For the biggest bang for the buck you can get him something from Sanrenmu, which is Spyderco's contractor in China.
 
BP Green said:
Think how proud he'll be if you get him something nice he wouldn't ordinarily buy for himself? A lot of older guys are like that; I know my father was. They'll buy nice things for others but not for themselves.


So true BP Green. My father was a farmer & I grew up watching this strange trait. He would think nothing of spending $30,000 on a tractor (hey, it was in the late 60's-early 70's ok?), but thought he was getting robbed if he had to pay $4,000.00 for a new truck. He drove the same 1973 Ford pick-up he bought used until the day he passed away in 1993. And what is really strange, my son is starting to say the same thing about me . . . :)
Be safe.
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Sep said:
Some people are frugal because they want to spend money on things that matter to them. I got a coworker who is pretty careful with money, but her family goes on a cruise or lengthy disney trip every single year. Then there are people being frugal for the sake of being frugal, these people simply can't enjoy life.

I think you should buy him something nice, but not top of the line. Get him another chinese made knife, but from companies that produce quality like Kershaw or Spyderco. For the biggest bang for the buck you can get him something from Sanrenmu, which is Spyderco's contractor in China.
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Yeah I can understand being careful with the money etc for normal people when they are saving up for something.

But like you said being frugal just to be frugal and if they really do have money etc that is just pathetic. I think it's a sickness or something.
 
My dad would go out to shovel snow in a ragged pair of sneakers. I got sick of it and bought him a pair of $250.00 boots.

When he died we found them in the original box in the back of his closet. My mom said he said they were too nice to mess up by shoveling snow in them.
 
My father always carried small cheap lock back knives, so I bought him a Delica 4 and he carries it everywhere.

Sometimes they do just need a push.
 
Wow...it looks like I really started a firestorm with this thread!

My father in law is the kind of guy that will definitely use a gift and not sell it. I like the idea of getting him a good but not great knife for Christmas. Maybe a Mini-Grip or a Spyderco or something like that.

Thanks for the great commentary, guys!

Nick
 
Get him a decent knife as a gift that he will apprecaite.

My father grew up real poor so he had to work hard and did find himself a good job, spent 30years doing it and is now retired. He isn't "cheap" but he will only purchase he "needs" and never the "wants". He's worked hard all his life and made some good investmeants, I wouldnt be surpised if he's sitting on a million dollars with his savings, land, and investments. you'd never know it though, he drive a 14year old pickup and wont spend a dime more than he needs to. I've given/gifted him a few quality multitools in the past and I know he's impressed and can tell qaulity, he isnt stupid after all...
 
When you get him a good knife, introduce him to forums like this so that he builds interest rather quickly. Makes him realize the value of a good knife and less likely to sell it.

I know it was the case with me. Carried a small no-name knife for two years before being given a better one by my dad. Was googling on how I could sharpen it when I came across a forum for knives, started reading and was hooked ever since!
 
Buy him a good knife for Christmas with his initials on it. Then it won't be a throw away and he can learn what good steel has to offer.
 
newbie_nick said:
You guys are 100% correct. My father in law is a sportsman, hunter, outdoorsman, and I am fortunate that he and I share that passion. We normally talk guns/hunting/knives, but I just can't convince him to buy "good stuff"...he is always on the cheap side of everything. He considers knives as throw-away items.

Good comments though...
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interstingly, most of the hunters i know feel the same way. those not on this forum, that is.

$3000 rifle, $15 knife. even though the knife sees far more work and use than the rifle.

it's just a matter of what one feels is a valid way to spend their money, i suppose.

i know one hunter who uses two doziers to skin. he typically can skin deer or pigs without resharpening, while his friends resharpen several times. regardless, they still would rather not spend their money on a better knife.

i see the logic and desire to own the expensive rifle.

ill never understand the logic and desire in not owning a good and reliable knife.
 
newbie_nick said:
Wow...it looks like I really started a firestorm with this thread!

My father in law is the kind of guy that will definitely use a gift and not sell it. I like the idea of getting him a good but not great knife for Christmas. Maybe a Mini-Grip or a Spyderco or something like that.

Thanks for the great commentary, guys!

Nick
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You might want to be careful. If he's used to $20 knife and your gifted $60 Mini Grip doesn't obviously look like something 3X better, he might dismiss it as unnecessary extra cost. How about Buck Vantage Pro? It's a lot of knife for the money, and it's made in USA to boot.
 
Sep said:
You might want to be careful. If he's used to $20 knife and your gifted $60 Mini Grip doesn't obviously look like something 3X better, he might dismiss it as unnecessary extra cost. How about Buck Vantage Pro? It's a lot of knife for the money, and it's made in USA to boot.
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Sep, is right, some of the more expensive knives, really don't appear like there worth more than $20.00.
 
newbie_nick said:
Ya know....I started this thread to be a smart @ss, but honestly, its made me think a bit. Maybe I just need to buy him a good knife for Christmas with the hope that he will use and appreciate it. Hmm....
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There you go. Chances are, he'll be bitten just as hard as the rest of us were the first time we felt what a proper lockup was all about. And Christmas is all but upon us!

Taylor

P.S. - Be prepared to relinquish all emotional attachment when you present the gift. I gave my cousin, who's more like a brother to me, a Spyderco Delica for an EDC years ago. We went fishing a while back and when I went rooting through his tackle box, I found it laying in the bottom, speckled with rust...
 
newbie_nick said:
Yes...you have successfully turned me into a "knife snob". My father in law was showing me his new knife the other day (some Chinese made folder), and I just couldn't even try to be interested in it. He was so proud of his new purchase, and it was a genuine piece of crap. I politely handed it back to him and changed the topic.

Thanks guys... lol...

N
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If you are becoming a "knife snob", you're doing it wrong.

The point is never to learn so you can look down on someone else or their knife. It is always to learn so you enjoy your own purchases more.
 
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