Pocket Knives as gifts for non knife people

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katguy

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Aug 19, 2024
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I sometimes give knives to friends and family who are non-knife people. Over the years, I have concluded that lock backs are the safest choice. They have a sturdy lock and everyone understands how to open and close them safely with two hands. For people who are a bit more advanced, I may give them a Spyderco Delica or a Buck Spitfire for one hand opening.

I'm curious what others think about this? Would you give a slip-joint, liner lock or some other knife to your non-knife friends and not worry about it?
 
A back lock is easy to understand but not easy to close without fingers in the path of the blade, so it takes some time to figure out how to do it safely. As an alternative I would suggest shark lock knives. Not as intuitive as a back lock but just as easy to use and safer. The Demko Shark Cub and Flytanium Arcade are in the $100-200 range.
 
I tend to gift 91mm SAKs. Anyone can operate a SAK and most already know what one is. If I really like you, you get a Delica or Buck 112, also easy to operate. People get confused with fancier stuff, but it usually only takes about 5 minutes to fix that.

I quit giving REALLY NICE knives to non-knife people, because it isn’t their thing and they don’t “get it” really. As such it’s a waste for everyone.
 
Non-knife people are non-knife people. The last guy I offered a knife said he didn't need one. Plastic Victorinox Bantam is a good bet. They might carry it for the bottle opener. If you really like the person, get the alox version.
 
I gave a Benchmade mini grip to my dad quite a few years ago and he still carries it. That's about my only successful gifting of a knife to a non-knife person. I tried gifting a few others over the years but I find that the people I gave them to simply don't carry them, regardless of ease of use, because, well, they're not knife people. They don't think of carrying one every day. So I've stopped gifting knives.
 
I give out swiss army knives or cheap folders to my nieces and nephews, friends kids, etc. My favorite way to gift them is to bring the knives an a family camping or fishing trip and wait until they are trying to cut bait or make a marshmallow stick or open a package and hand them a knife. I show them how to use it and tell them to make sure it's OK with their parents. Then I tell them to keep it.

My 11 year old son has had knives for years and uses them all the time so on a camping/fishing trip he was making something, walking sticks maybe. He was using a Swiss Army knife saw and my niece and nephew are a few years older were watching him like they wanted to do it too. So I gave them swiss army knives then.
 
Unless they are a child, they would already have a knife in their pocket if they wanted one there.

Combine that with the fact that you have no idea what type of knife they would like if they did want one, it’s a pretty long shot.

If a knife must be gifted, I suggest a gift card from a knife dealer. Let them pick one out themselves. Browsing the website just might spark an interest that they didn’t know existed.
 
I have given a few knives away over the decades. If I had the wallet I would gift them more often.

I would now lean towards SAKs and recently gave a Victorinox Trekker to an older lady. SAKs have real quality, useful tools in addition to the blade, and are very reasonably priced.
 
katguy said:
I have concluded that lock backs are the safest choice. They have a sturdy lock and everyone understands how to open and close them safely with two hands
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Good point. I never thought about it before, but interestingly (and embarrassingly for them lol) I have handed liner locking knives to people before, and when they try to close it, a number of them have pushed on the back — even when there's no lock mechanism there! So weird.

katguy said:
I'm curious what others think about this? Would you give a slip-joint, liner lock or some other knife to your non-knife friends and not worry about it?
Click to expand...

Yeah, if someone can follow instructions, then they can close any knife. Some people have been too chicken to try to close the Okapi style knives though, even with demonstration and reassurance.

Crag the Brewer said:
Non-knife people get kitchen knives.
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Solid choice, and I agree and do the same often enough. Everyone has a use for that.
 
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