Looking for a traditional gentlemen's knife

[Woodrow F Call]

A Case Peanut is a great little knife. GEC has the Pemberton, Esquire, and Magnum which are similar in size.

A Canoe is another great option.

 

[Buzzbait]

If you really want to knife to do double duty as a gent's knife and a scout knife, I'd take a serious look at the Victorinox Pioneer. It is, after all, a scout pattern. Lots of useful tools for camping, with an awl that's to die for. If you move up to a Vic Farmer, then you have an outdoor powerhouse, with an included wood saw. Either of these knives will do just fine in an office environment. Nobody ever really looks at a swiss army knife as "a knife", but they are more than capable of knife duty. The alox is really quite elegant looking, yet amazingly durable.

Also, the Pioneer and Farmer have a key ring, so you can use a belt hanger to hang the knife down into your pocket, instead of having a brick in the bottom of your pocket. That's the downside of most traditionals, if you don't like the pocket imprint they impart.

When I stepped down from tacticals to traditional knives, I went with the Pioneer. For some reason, it was a much easier adjustment, going to an alox SAK than to a more US traditional slipjoint. Probably because the more streamlined styling of the SAKs, the beefiness of the 91mm line of knives, along with the superlative Victorinox quality control. It was an easy adjustment once I got used to not having a locking blade.

 

[kamagong]

What do you mean exactly by the term "gentlemen's knife?" Do you mean one with fancy covers or do you mean a smaller knife?

 

[btmccutcheon]

I love this little guy. The GEC #22 is a lot of knife in a tiny package.

 

[soldik]

Laguiole - a few stylish traditional knives

nilte QUIETE - modern friendly design gentleman's knife (one of my favorite)

LionSteel TiSpine Damascus

Boker Thorn Mokuti (also one of my favorite)

 

[Peregrin]

Let's keep this to Traditional Knives only guys. This is the traditional forum and the OP specifically asked for recommendations on traditional knives.
If you need a reminder on what is considered traditional, please read the forum guidelines.

 

[kootenay joe]

Hiro in Japan makes very high quality knives. Here is a 3 1/8" with inlaid Abalone:

Moki also in Japan makes very fine Gent's knives. This 3 5/8" LB in "Amber Bone" has a Jess Horn look to it. Very Nice !

And, along the vintage lines this large, 4 5/8" 2 blade Pearl Double End Jack is a rather impressive Gent's knife, suitable for an impressive Gent:

And here are these 3 plus the Rock Creek from my post on page 1:

kj

 

[rye_a]

Just carry a Tennessee toothpick around for a few days. After that your coworkers won't bat an eye at your Benchmade.

 

[afishhunter]

SAK Tinker/Super Tinker or maybe a Peanut or canoe pattern. You might also consider a congress pattern. Ol' Abe Lincoln carried a pearl handle 4 blade congress. Some would consider him a gentleman.

 

[silenthunterstudios]

Case peanut, GEC conductor, Queen peanut.

 

[kamagong]

Ol' Abe Lincoln carried a pearl handle 4 blade congress. Some would consider him a gentleman.

The covers were ivory.

 

[justsomedude]

And it was a 6-blade. No pedantism intended, it was just a really sweet knife. And I think one can buy a replica of it...

 

[afishhunter]

my bad, sorry.

 

[Dr-Mabuse]

I have to recommend my favorite the Northfield Presidential. At 4" inches long this has all the blade you need, yet it's wharncliffe secondary is great for more discrete office use. Did I mention it's very slim? It's my thinnest trad, you'll never feel it in your pocket.

Oh and it looks real nice.

 

[qncygnnr]

Another pitch for the split back whittler pattern. GEC's #33 is slightly shorter than the Queen pattern. Either rides well in the pocket and a large variety of cover materials are available. Not great pictures, but adequate.

View attachment 530698 View attachment 530699

 

[cinnamochoil]

You can never go wrong with a case slip joint.

 

[jc57]

Northwoods Norfolk is another good option if the price tag ($130-ish) doesn't put you off the idea.

 

[dannyp]

There has been a lot of good advice given here so far. I do have to agree with Pete. If you are looking for a knife to carry instead of the Grip, then you would be better served with a medium to large Stockman or two bladed Jack. They're available in a variety of blade configurations and steels.

If you want a knife to carry along with the BM, a smaller Peanut sized knife is a good option as it's super easy to carry. That's not to say the Peanut or similar knives aren't capable enough to be a solo carry, but it does take a bit of an adjustment period if you're used to a large knife.

 

[cchu518]

Rough rider half whittler, Northwoods Norfolk whittler or an alox sak for the pocket. For bigger jobs I keep a trapper or sometimes an opinel 8 stainless in the office. The 8 isn't my favorite opinel the 9 is. But the 8 is more office friendly. That's for cutting sandwiches and such!

 

[liamstrain]

Hard to go wrong with an EO teardrop jack. Convenient size, and blade configuration. Big enough to do some work, small enough to not weight down your pockets too much.