Son joining Marines - Best knife for gift?????

M

MJB

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Nov 16, 1999
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My youngest is joining the Marines after graduating this next spring. For those with military experience, what would be the best possible knife (or whatever) that I could give to him that he could take and use?

Any help appreciated.

Mike
 
My money would go to Busse...

A Steel Heart is he prefers larger knives or a Badger Attack for something smaller.

Take care,
Brent...
:p
 
Your son will not be able to take anything to boot camp with him, but afterwards, a Leatherman supertool would be a great and useful gift.
 
DO NOT give him anything before he graduates boot, or it will be confiscated.

I think a small Axis folder would be classy, very useful and serve well, but I'd have to agree that a good multi tool will probabaly be the most useful item by far.
 
Well, I'm in the army, not the Marines, but the rules regarding knives are fairly similar from what I understand. First off, something really nice like a Reeve or Randall or any other good sized fixed blade will likely cause problems. I brought a Ka-Bar here to Korea with me based on erroneous advice and had it confiscated at customs. It won't be confiscated in the States, but it would have to be stored in the arms room. A very useful gift would be a multi-tool. They're ubiquitous within the service and you end up having a million and one uses for them. I carry a Swiss Tool and a Camillus EDC on a daily basis. Simplicity is the most important thing; fancy stuff will only break or be a hassle out in the field. I'm very happy with the performance of my EDC, so I would definitely reccomend one of those. However, I have a lot of experience sharpening and the recurve on the EDC would be difficult for a novice sharpener, unless he has a Sharpmaker. So I would base that decision on your son's skill and tools for sharpening, since a dull knife is basically useless. The M-16 Military series from CRKT looks really nice; I have one of the original aluminum handled M-16's and it's great. I don't know how your son feels about partial serrations though. They certainly have their uses, but it's all about personal preference. I'm having a hard time thinking of any others right now, but these are two I have personal experience with. I'll think a little more and post again later, I have to go back to work now. It would also help to know what your budget is. Oh, and whatever you get, DO NOT let him take it to boot camp!!! He won't keep it past the first hour, not without facing serious consequences. I would actually suggest giving it as a surprise gift at his graduation ceremony. At that point chances are good he could actually keep it with him. Best of luck to your son in the Marines.
 
Upon his graduation from "boot", present him with a SOG PowerLock. He will find that to be most useful.
 
Our boy is in the Navy and when he first went in, he bought himself a larger version of the small Cold Steel Voyager I had been carrying for a couple years.

Since then he's seemingly formed his own opinions on knives. He currently carries a hawkbill fully serrated blade Spyderco( don't know the model). It's about the last thing I'd pick, but he loves it. I offered him a Benchmade 943 recently and he remarked that he mostly likes likes non traditional blade shapes (my words, not his) and doesn't find the BM943 or 941 attractive or useful. From his small collection (4 or 5 knives) he seems to prefer the Tanto design. Our boy is a Gunner's mate so he does seem to have an interest in weapons.

YMMV

jmx
 
I second the SOG powerlock. BTW, there's also a SOG EOD powerlock with an added wire and blasting cap crimper. Perhaps engraved with his name so it doesn't wander away, would be a good idea also.

EnkiduEOT
 
Well, I'm in the army, not the Marines, but the rules regarding knives are fairly similar from what I understand. First off, something really nice like a Reeve or Randall or any other good sized fixed blade will likely cause problems. I brought a Ka-Bar here to Korea with me based on erroneous advice and had it confiscated at customs. It won't be confiscated in the States, but it would have to be stored in the arms room.
Click to expand...

hmmm....damn....thanks for the advice :-/

I'll be leaving for Army basic in a few months and was planning on buying a Battle Rat before I left...if I can't even LOOK at the damn thing (stored in arms room), wtf is the point in having it?:(:(

Is there a restriction on ALL fixed blades or what?

I have a Leatherman WAVE and a SOG Tomcat II...I'll probably get a more tactical, all weather style knife for my military EDC soon.

Warthog
 
I say a Nice fixed blade. Such as a Busse, Swamprat or Tops. Personally I would stay clear of Multi-tools as the gift. Not that I dislike them, But I think a nice knife makes a better gift :)
 
I agree with most of what has already been said. A large fixed blade might seem really cool, and I'm sure he would love it. But, your Son will get in trouble for having it in the barracks. Better to get him something that will be legal for him to carry on the base. One of the supertools(by a number of quality manufacturers) would work. My vote would be for a small Classic Sebenza. I believe the blade is just under the 3" limit allowed on bases, and your Son will definitely find it to be very cool also. He would also have a hard time messing it up, as the knife is built like a tank!
 
how about a usmc Kabar???

Or yyou could go with the ontario f/u but more than likely he may get one issued to him at some point. I did whe I was in the AF in Desert Shield/Storm.
 
I second the PowerLock. SOG multis are (IMHO) the best out there. I use mine all the time, and he won't catch any slack for it, no matter where he is posted. If you want to get him a good fixed blade, look at the Becker Combat/Utility 7. Great knife, great price, and he'll be allowed to have it anywhere a Ka-Bar is Kosher.
 
If your thinking of a folder rather than a fixed blade I personally I would second a CRK Sebenza, since for one, it would make a heck of a nice gift!

Plus, there is no recurve or serrations on the blade making it an easy knife to sharpen in the field, and also only 3 screws takes the knife completely apart for cleaning, so you can get rid of the gritty feel after its been dropped in the mud. On most other folders, even if you can get it apart, dissassembly voids the warranty. And lastly the lockup is so solid you will never have to worry about it closing shut on his fingers!
 
All of the above and depending how much you want to spend, I would consider Trace Rinaldi's new knife, Rob Simonich's Mid-tech, and Dennis Riley [ICC] has some great knives for servicemen. [Hell, the list is endless]

Of course I must add Strider to all the great suggestions already mentioned. Their AR/GB's and the new SnG are serious work knives.

Good luck to your son and I thank him for chosing to serve our great Country..........Ira
 
I second Ira's suggestion of a Strider folder. It would seem to me that any of the 3 would be a fine choice, AR, GB, or SnG.
 
A large Strider fixed blade. Maybe a Randall Made #14. Gotta keep an eye on these though. They get stolen pretty quickly sometimes, so I'm told....
 
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