need a an EDC for WWII Marine

D

dan oliver

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Jul 8, 2006
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My father is nearly 87, a WWII Marine and the best. Would like to buy him an EDC. His hand strength and dexterity is not very good anymore. What do you think of a Mini-Grip with the Spyderco hole? Other ideas? By the way, if you ever have a chance to talk with a WWII Vet, you will be uplifted. What they did for us is a wonderful thing. The greatest generation...I think so.

Thank you for your consideration.
 
for a folder, maybe a spyderco military, good ergonomics, easy to open/close
for a fixed blade, a fallkniven F1 with micarta, wood handle...
 
Ka-bar folder.Ka-bar makes great folding knives and being a WW2 Marine he'd recognize the brand.
 
Hum, a knife for a wwii marine. My guess is he has his own ideas of what a knife should be. Unless it's to be a surprise gift, I'd take hime to a knife shop so he can handel the knives and see what feature he likes. I'm not a big fan of assisted opens, but if hand strenght is a problem, one may be just the ticket.
 
Kershaw assisted openers are made in the US and come in a variety of sizes and cofigurations.
 
Ask him, or let him pick one out. He probably won't value the things us modern knife nuts think are "important".
I picked out a few knives for my grandfather, and he never carried the ones that I thought would suit him. He didn't like a fancy looking slipjoint with mirror polished blades that I bought him, either. I have it now, and it's still brand new.
The little Tree brand pen knife with bone scales that I bought after looking at the older slipjoints that he still carried...that went straight into his pocket, and the blade shows marks from use and sharpening.
He was very close to my grandmother's parents.
When I emptied his pockets after his death, it was a slipjoint of his father-in-law's(who died 47 years earlier) that he was carrying.
 
I'd stick withsomething traditional and classy. Canal Street or Case.

My 89 year old WWII vet grandfather carries a old Schrade that he's had since I can rememeber. Three blades.

Bear and Sons may have something too.
 
I say a spyderco tenacious. It's only $38 on newgraham and it's a sweet little knife from what they say. Stay clear from assisted openers or autos because if he's old he might have difficulty closing them with the tension. Look at any spyderco, they seem very ergonomical and easy to open. (I have yet to get a spydie, I want a tenacious so bad.)
 
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Unless he has a certain knife style preference (ie slipjoint, etc), then I think the griptilian is a great choice. I don't think assisted openers are really necessary, especially when the axis lock knives are so easy to open and close.
 
My father is 82+ years old. I showed him my Shallot tonight, and while gently trying to open it, the knife flipped open and landed in his crotch. It scared him to death.

This is a man that has carried a knife since he was about 7. Dad probably has about 75 or so knives to his name now, but carries a little Puma I bought him years ago since it is easy open, easy close. No locking or assist of any type. He doesn't have the hand strength or coordination to handle the assisted aspect of opening, and the liner lock mechanism of my Shallot was physically impossible for him. He no longer carries the frame lock knives he has since he cannot disengage the blade without a lot of problems.

I would say nothing with any kind of assist or lock.

But the I personally think the best advice was given above. Take the old gentleman to a knife store and let him pick. I am sure he would enjoy the time out and the opportunity to find that perfect knife.

Robert
 
How about an easy open jack?

But I'd second the advice 'bout taking him to a knife store.

Peter
 
although well intentioned I'm sure, I think some here have missed the point.

sure, taking him to pick something out will ensure he got what he wanted, sometimes it's just nice to surprise someone with something they weren't expecting. If I offered to take my 82 yr old, WWII vet dad to a knife shop, he'd try to talk me out of spending the money because he comes from the generation that lived through the Great Depression, a time when you didn't spend money on frills. He would give me all of the reasons why he doesn't need a knife, all to prevent me from parting with the cash.

imagine the look in your dad's eye when he opens up your gift and realizes it was given in love. there is no substitute for that, and it really doesn't matter if it was something "he would have picked out". I think you are on the right track in trying to identify something his old hands can manage, but outside of that, get him a surprise that will tell him "I love you".:thumbup:

I too like the spydercos. have you considered their limited edition knives like
http://newgraham.com/store/product/3942/Micro-Dyad-Jigged-Bone-P-S/
 
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You've got to take his age into consideration. I'm not 87, though I'm probably older than most of you guys, and I don't much go for all this modern stuff myself. Forget the fancy-schmancy G10 and carbon fibre handles and go for a nice older-style folder in wood or maybe stag. If it were me, I'd look pretty hard at a Buck 110 (there are some nice ones out there in stag, elk and ram's horn these days), and I'll bet it would make his whole week. The folks who have mentioned the old-timey slippies are on the right track too.
 
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During WW2, i would have figured that a good many marines would have wanted an imperial japanese army sword...
but it's it seems that age has a way of making people forget things or wish for some way to forget about things they would rather not remember.
the twilight years truly is time for one to put most things to rest.
gathering more material possessions isn't normally top of the activities list.
the thing that keeps em goin' is memories of what was.
appreciating company and every ready to share their life's experience as a means of reassure their existence.
extending a hand of friendship and taking keen interest in a senior citizen's well being is probably the best gift that money can't even hope to buy.
it would be nice to extend your time with them.
and if you wish to surprise you dad with a timeless gift, may i suggest a case Russlock knife; which was designed by an old timer btw.
-http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AREzjswcKUs
 
dan oliver said:
My father is nearly 87, a WWII Marine and the best. Would like to buy him an EDC. His hand strength and dexterity is not very good anymore. What do you think of a Mini-Grip with the Spyderco hole? Other ideas? By the way, if you ever have a chance to talk with a WWII Vet, you will be uplifted. What they did for us is a wonderful thing. The greatest generation...I think so.

Thank you for your consideration.
Click to expand...

Would there be any intrest in a small fixed blade? Maybe one that could be carried in a pocket?

That way theres no opening \closing\fumbleing \ lock to contend with.
Just a thought.

http://www.grahamknives.com/ These may be alittle big/overbuiult for what your looking for but you get my drift.http://www.grahamknives.com/pocket.jpg
 
Have you considered getting him a swiss army knife? Like many have said, people of that generation are more practical than being concerned with bells and whistles. I think a nice basic SAK (e.g., Tinker, Spartan, Compact) would be great. It's utilitarian and doesn't cost all that much - not saying you wouldn't spend more or anything, but he may appreciate the fact that you didn't break the bank to get him a knife. Also maybe consider one of the Alox models, he may find it fancier and more unique than the traditional red cellidor scaled ones he has seen so often - a Cadet or Soldier maybe. Although I don't know how well he would deal with the nail nick deployment, that's up for you to decide whether he'd be able to use them easily enough.
 
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