Looking to get my dad the perfect 'companion' knife.

D

direstrats220

Joined
Sep 29, 2012
Messages
42
My dad has been the single biggest, most positive influence on my life. He is an old school no-nonsense hardass with a heart of gold who has constantly sacrificed for our family. He is the kind of guy who will use the same beat up scratched up piece of junk gerber fixed blade, simply because the money to get a new knife could go to me or my sister's schooling. He's the guy who has had the same pair of Carolina work boots for 20 years, and a big tool shed where everything has its exact spot. He can tell if I've moved a box of nails. He is an old school, traditional kind of guy and I would like to get him a knife that fits that persona. I've tried doing this before and always failed because he can be picky, and never wants me to spend money. I am living on my own now, so nah nah nah I can spend a bunch of money on a knife.

He hates drop points.
Bowie shaped blade or nothing.
4.8-5.5" blade.
Wood, stag, or stacked leather handle.
Leather sheath with good retention. he loves tooled leather so that would be a big plus.
Good steel. Preferably something like A2, although stainless like 154cm or ATS-34 is not out of the question.

I am willing to spend $150 on this. Maybe more if I can scrounge it up.

any suggestions?
 
Just hold tight and you will get a bunch of different ideas I'm sure.
check out Bark River knives as well.
 
There are lots of amazing makers that post their wares for sale on the exchange. I'd encourage you to look at the "For Sale: Fixed Blades" section of the Exchange. Even if there's not anything currently available that grabs your attention, you can look through previous knives that have sold; see what you like, what it sold for; and contact the maker to see if they can make something similar for you. Again, lots of great makers, but I'll drop a recommendation for Chris Bowden at KFU. He makes great fixed blades at very fair prices in my opinion. Here's a link:

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/forumdisplay.php/754-For-Sale-Fixed-Blades
 
I don't own one but Western made one fine bowie knife. They are no longer in business but like new examples can still be found all over the internet.
 
Definitely sounds like a Blackjack would fit the bill. Good on you for getting him something nice.
 
I think we have the same father. :D


There are many knives that will fit the bill for you. But for my dollars, and understanding the that your ol man is tough to impress... I would recommend going with a custom. A one of a kind knife build just for him. Not something made in batches by a factory, but something built by hand... by an artisan... for one man by one man.

Believe it or not a custom is not out of your price range. My personal recommendation is a maker by the name of Bruce Culberson. He is a member here and his 52100 knives are amazing in their performance. You can spend a lot more and get far less. Contact him and tell him what you want. My bet is he can do it.

.
 
kdstrick said:
Believe it or not a custom is not out of your price range. My personal recommendation is a maker by the name of Bruce Culberson. He is a member here and his 52100 knives are amazing in their performance. You can spend a lot more and get far less. Contact him and tell him what you want. My bet is he can do it.
Click to expand...

I would second this. Bruce's prices border on unfair...to him! And he's just a pleasure to work with and in my experience has always been very open to customer designs. You'd have a chance to really personalize the knife, and probably for not much over your price limit.
 
If your dad is real old school he probably doesn't want a bark river with a full convex grind. I could be very wrong but I would bet he would be most comfortable maintaining a nice full flat grind or even hollow ground knife.
 
direstrats220 said:
He hates drop points.
Bowie shaped blade or nothing.
4.8-5.5" blade.
?
Click to expand...

What does he consider a bowie and also a drop point?

Personally, this will blow your budget out of the water, but I would save longer and look into Randall.
 
direstrats220 said:
My dad has been the single biggest, most positive influence on my life. He is an old school no-nonsense hardass with a heart of gold who has constantly sacrificed for our family. He is the kind of guy who will use the same beat up scratched up piece of junk gerber fixed blade, simply because the money to get a new knife could go to me or my sister's schooling. He's the guy who has had the same pair of Carolina work boots for 20 years, and a big tool shed where everything has its exact spot. He can tell if I've moved a box of nails. He is an old school, traditional kind of guy and I would like to get him a knife that fits that persona. I've tried doing this before and always failed because he can be picky, and never wants me to spend money. I am living on my own now, so nah nah nah I can spend a bunch of money on a knife.

He hates drop points.
Bowie shaped blade or nothing.
4.8-5.5" blade.
Wood, stag, or stacked leather handle.
Leather sheath with good retention. he loves tooled leather so that would be a big plus.
Good steel. Preferably something like A2, although stainless like 154cm or ATS-34 is not out of the question.

I am willing to spend $150 on this. Maybe more if I can scrounge it up.

any suggestions?
Click to expand...


Do you like it when you're gifted a knife? I admit, I don't like it actually. It's like being gifted shoes. I'll pick out my own, thank you very much.

Are you very sure his old Gerber is junk? Once upon a time they made very nice knives.

When gifting to people who their way around their own shop, I think there's only 2 reasonable approaches.

The first is to give him something that *you* like as a keepsake or memento of you. Just expect that it might stay on his dresser next his picture of you, or some place like that.

The second is to sit him down and inform him you are going to spend $100 on a knife for him because you love him and there's nothing he can do to stop it. Only choice he has is which knife. Then sit down with him and choose it with him.

He might surprise you. Might be that he bonded with that Gerber in ways we all understand and that what he really wants is something he's only ever dreamed about but never wanted to spend the money on, like a super nice pocket knife.

I've gifted knives both ways.
 
Take a look at the old marbles fine knives. Hess knives came about from them but they don't make much more than 4 inch blades Jake
 
I truely love my Blackjack classic 125. This would fit the bill very well
 
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