Need help choosing a gift knife.

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simplespeed

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Jan 12, 2011
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My dads birthday is coming up in a couple months. He likes knives and uses them pretty hard no matter the cost. I grew up using and carrying knives because of him. He always had leathermans, oldtimers and saks. He was religious about carrying a knife, just like me. With that being said, he will never buy himself an expensive knife no matter the quality, he is very unselfish and would rather buy my mom or one of his two boys(me and my bro) something, but he deserves it. So, he is a shipping and recieving manager but hes the type of manager that likes to get out of the office a lot and he helps his guys load and unload trucks, drives trucks and forklifts and stuff like that where he finds alot of use for his knife and he puts in a lot of long nights and overtime in. Hes tough as nails with skin like leather. On his free time he does alot of fishing, mostly freshwater. We're a big camping and outdoors family. Now, he also goes to church 2 or 3 times a week also but not sure if a gentlemans forder is what im looking for. I think he sleeps once in a while but im not sure lol. So now you know a little about what type of guy he is.

I gave him a griptilian a while back, drop point, black with satin blade and plain edge. He loves it and uses it daily. Its beat to hell though and id like to get him something nicer this time around. He uses them hard and might even abuse them a little, which is fine with me. He doesnt keep a razor edge on his knives like me. He does sharpen it once in a while but will use a working edge until its no longer working most of the time. To him knives are mostly a tool with cool factor not being too important to him although i know he would enjoy a cool knife. Size is something im also not sure about. Hes a big guy but dont think he would wanna carry a very large or heavy blade, but im not 100% on that. I guess something similar in size to the grip? Anyway, your thoughts? What knives have you gifted your fathers?

I guess im looking for a $200 or less knife but will consider anything. Also not sure about what kind of steel to look for?
 
I would say something like a Spyderco Military, plain edge S30V would work well for him because it cuts very well, it's strong and S30V keeps a working edge for a very long time.
 
Yea i was leaning towards something in s30v and thought about a pm2. Im worried he would break the tip though lol. Considering a new style zt 550 but not sure if it would be too big or not.
 
It's not $200 or less, but a Three Sisters Forge Beast sounds like his type of knife...
 
buy him something from his youth. go over to the traditionals and ask around. be year- and place-specific from your father's point-of-view.
 
ZT 200. Under $200 and built like a tank. It may be a little big though. Steel is 154CM, takes and holds a good edge and is not hard to sharpen. If it is too big look at the ZT 300 series. About $100 more, S30V steel, slightly shorter but also heavier by an ounce or so. I think they are assisted also, he may or may not like that. Great warranty and unbeatable customer service.

Forgot about the ZT350. Shorter and lighter than the 200 with S30V and assisted opening. About the same price as the 200.
 
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I have a couple of 0350's. Nice, solid flippers. And not a lot of money.
Sonnydaze
 
I wouldn't go for a PM2...PM2's are great, but you have to realize the tip is more fragile than some knives and take that into account when using it. Based on what you said, I'd go with a Kershaw Blur in S30V. The S30V will hold a more than working edge for a long time for him, which I think would be great for him. A brand new one can be had for $85, or a blem from kershawguy is $55. I have a blem and there was absolutely nothing wrong with it besides very faint tooling marks on the blade...barely noticeable. That being said, for a gift I'd assume you want to go with a brand new one, which is fine, it's still a great buy for $85. I'd suggest a plain edge with stonewashed finish.
 
My first thought was the Spyderco Paramilitary 2 or ZT 0550.
Or make him a Custom Griptilian on the Benchmade site, since he loves his current one so much?
I would consider s30v steel, black blade, clip, screws, axis, 550 version with sheepsfoot(no super pointy tip to break) and the thumb hole(easy to open). And then his favorite colored handles.
 
A Fallkniven U2 might be up his alley. Laminate powder steel blade, kind of classic old school styling and function
 
I came to post the same question! I've been looking at the crkt m16 knives for my dad. also the sog flash 2 but those may not be what you're looking for.
 
Does it have to be a folder? Small fixed blades are pretty handy. And they're way simpler, tougher, and easier to both clean and maintain, something which would be nice if you father uses his knife for fishing. No pivots, (or anything else,) to get gunked up. There're a bunch of really nice handmade ones that easily fall within your price range, and even more factory ones that are significantly under it, and in all kinds of steels, too.
 
Dan57 said:
Does it have to be a folder? Small fixed blades are pretty handy. And they're way simpler, tougher, and easier to both clean and maintain, something which would be nice if you father uses his knife for fishing. No pivots, (or anything else,) to get gunked up. There're a bunch of really nice handmade ones that easily fall within your price range, and even more factory ones that are significantly under it, and in all kinds of steels, too.
Click to expand...

can you post some examples? very interested in these, too.
 
BladeChick777 said:
My first thought was the Spyderco Paramilitary 2 or ZT 0550.
Or make him a Custom Griptilian on the Benchmade site, since he loves his current one so much?
I would consider s30v steel, black blade, clip, screws, axis, 550 version with sheepsfoot(no super pointy tip to break) and the thumb hole(easy to open). And then his favorite colored handles.
Click to expand...

I did think about that and am still considering it. I think a sheepsfoot would be perfect for him.

Theres a few brands here that im not familiar with so i got some research to do. Thanks for the help guys! What about a bradley alias ? I wouldnt want him to tear up a sabenza but a bradley wouldnt be so bad lol.
 
If your father wouldn't mind a little blade maintenance (mostly just drying the blade), the spyderco gayle Bradley or benchmade 810 would make excellent choices.
 
simplespeed said:
So now you know a little about what type of guy he is. ...

I guess im looking for a $200 or less knife but will consider anything. Also not sure about what kind of steel to look for?
Click to expand...

I'd highly recommend Great Eastern Cutlery's model 73 (single blade). Great old school design. Solid-as-a-rock construction. Small enough to be pocketable, but large enough to really dig into some work (i.e. it ain't no pen knife). In your price range, you'd have a wide range of scale options, including some really knife looking bone or exotic woods, etc. They offer some SS, but mostly a superb type of 1095 carbon steel. Let us know what you go with, and how Dad likes it. He sounds like a great guy. :thumbup:
 
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