Upgrading family members.

Hickory n steel

Hickory n steel

Gold Member
Joined
Feb 11, 2016
Messages
21,287
Have you ever bought someone a nicer / better quality knife or multitool...ect as a gift simply because you're tired of seeing them use " junk " even though they're generally perfectly happy with what they've been using ?
Is there anyone you know just would never appreciate the added quality ?

My dad's been using a cheap $20 Dewalt multitool for work the past few years , it's held up ok for him but I know it's really not that great.
The 3rd cheap replacement sheath is on it's last legs so I figured it was time for me to upgrade him and I knew it would make a great early christmas gift.
My bank card is currently being replaced, so I just went to the local hardware store and picked up a Leatherman super tool 300. I had to shell out $79.99 + tax but I don't mind spending more there because it's locally owned and because they're nice people.
I got it to him asap and he absolutely loves it, beyond the obvious quality and features he especially loves the sturdy leather sheath it came with.
 
he probably love it cause ya got it for him. not so much the tool itself. as if he loved the higher quality tools he would have bought one on his own.

you're a good son giving your Pa a better tool than he had.
 
My brother is a Chicago Police Officer and he bought a decent knife to carry, but the tip made it such that it was not a good thrusting weapon. I pointed out the deficiencies and gave him my new ZT 0452 CF. He really likes it but I want him out of a folder and back to a fixed blade, a Bradford Guardian 4 in M390. I'm trying to come up with the funds and will give it to him for Christmas. He will wear it all the time, incl at work.

My mom was never in to knives but I worry abt her safety when I'm not around so I bought 6 CRKT Crawford Kasper Dragon Combat Knife, and gave her 2, and I also gave her a Bark River Knives Aurora LT, in ELMAX. I also made sure her handgun was operable and had a fresh set of rounds in it.
 
Tommy-Chi said:
My mom was never in to knives but I worry abt her safety when I'm not around so I bought 6 CRKT Crawford Kasper Dragon Combat Knife, and gave her 2, and I also gave her a Bark River Knives Aurora LT, in ELMAX. I also made sure her handgun was operable and had a fresh set of rounds in it.
Click to expand...

Get your mom a can of hornet spray and a Victorinox Classic.
 
This is a great idea in theory , but only if you don't get hurt feelings if the recipient fails to really appreciate or take proper care of said upgrade .
 
jbmonkey said:
he probably love it cause ya got it for him. not so much the tool itself. as if he loved the higher quality tools he would have bought one on his own.

you're a good son giving your Pa a better tool than he had.
Click to expand...
Thanks.
He really was impressed by the tool when he opened it up because he hasn't held a good one in years.
He knows at least a decent multitool because he had an original Gerber MP when I was a little kid, but I think he's just gotten " trifty " over the years.
He has looked at the Leatherman wingman before, but I think he figured it's nylon sheath would probably just fail as well.
They were on sale for $25 one time and if it came with a leather sheath he probably would've bought it.
 
My wife was carrying a Kershaw Ken Onion Leek, both as her EDC and when we hiked. I bought her a White River M1 Backpacker (black Ionbond coated blade / black paracord handle wrap). The sheath can be configured to carry horizontally on the back of the belt for a side draw, which makes it a discreet knife on the trail. She's glad to have a better knife now for the woods.

Also, my father used to state that you should always have a knife and a handkerchief with you. Because I was carrying a Kilimanjaro Gear DW (Daniel Winkler) Folder for work this past year, and really liked it, I bought three more and gave them to my nephews that would use them.

Thanks for the post, Hickory n steel.
 
DocJD said:
This is a great idea in theory , but only if you don't get hurt feelings if the recipient fails to really appreciate or take proper care of said upgrade .
Click to expand...
That can be a problem.
If someone is carrying gas station knives you wouldn't want to give them a ZT or something, but if you bought them something like a kabar Dozier when their current knife is about to fall apart they might eventually be telling you it didn't fall apart on them and they wanna know where you bought it.
 
Crimson Cloud said:
My wife was carrying a Kershaw Ken Onion Leek, both as her EDC and when we hiked. I bought her a White River M1 Backpacker (black Ionbond coated blade / black paracord handle wrap). The sheath can be configured to carry horizontally on the back of the belt for a side draw, which makes it a discreet knife on the trail. She's glad to have a better knife now for the woods.

Also, my father used to state that you should always have a knife and a handkerchief with you. Because I was carrying a Kilimanjaro Gear DW (Daniel Winkler) Folder for work this past year, and really liked it, I bought three more and gave them to my nephews that would use them.

Thanks for the post, Hickory n steel.
Click to expand...
Thanks, that sounds like a well received upgrade.
Since I was a kid my dad has always had a handkerchief in his pocket and at least when he was working he always had some kind of knife a multitool and his old worn out camo minimag.
 
I have bought my son quite a few knives over the years. I don’t expect him to carry or even appreciate all of them. In some cases I am just introducing him to knives I find interesting. Some are quite inexpensive.

One of the first was a Mini Grip. The cost was toward the upper end of what I am willing to spend on a knife. He carries it pretty regularly, enough that I know the money was not wasted.
 
Henry Beige said:
I have bought my son quite a few knives over the years. I don’t expect him to carry or even appreciate all of them. In some cases I am just introducing him to knives I find interesting. Some are quite inexpensive.

One of the first was a Mini Grip. The cost was toward the upper end of what I am willing to spend on a knife. He carries it pretty regularly, enough that I know the money was not wasted.
Click to expand...

I was always happy seeing someone actually using something I gifted them
If they appreciate the thought and use a gift for that reason alone at least they're using it, but when they generally just love something it feels even better because you know you just got the perfect gift.
 
I bought my cousin a S&W cheapo Knife YEARS ago - long before we found our career paths. Now he’s a State Trooper. I was shocked to see him pull that S&W knife from his waistband behind his duty belt a couple years ago. It was obviously well used. He’s not a knife nut but I am. So it was incumbent (I felt) for me to get him an upgrade. I gave him my lightly used BM Rift. Always makes me smile when I see him carrying it....
 
This actually happened with me and my dad. He is into knife collecting, but more on the budget Budk side of things, and he carried a really beat up Gerber one handed multi tool. We got on the subject of knives and I was showing him all the stuff I had recently got and he was really impressed with my blades. And he really loved my Leatherman Skeletool. He was telling me he wanted a Leatherman but they are out of his price range, and understandably so.

So what I did was I gave him this Defcon bladeworks knife I had. It was decent, but way too tacticool for my liking, but he loves the thing. Big D2 blade, nice and comfortable handle, bearing flipper. The thing isn't breaking. A month later for his birthday I decided to get him a proper Leatherman OTH and he puts that thing to work. I saw him using it recently and he has already worn through the DLC coating on the pliers.

I don't feel like I had to give him the upgrades to calm my nerves, but it felt right. He couldn't justify spending 100 on a knife, and 80 for a multitool but I can. He has both the knife and OHT riding on his belt every day and its really cool to see
 
My brother is my best friend. That said, he does not understand my love for knives, and quite frankly thinks im crazy. I gave him a byrd raven a long time ago and he carried it all the time...until he lost it in a river while whitewater kayaking, his phone too. Lol. I gave him A Spyderco Manix from my collection afterwards, and he carries and uses it at work and play.
That being said, both of those knives i bought for myself and gifted to him when i got bored of them...not really a "thoughtful gift" per say.
When i bought my first CRK Sebenza my brother said, "you paid how much for that! A knife is a knife, man. You have a problem."
I got married a few years ago and my brother was my best man. Guess what i got him as a gift?? Yup, large CRK Sebenza 21 Tanto Micarta. He has carried it for play and when outdoors but wont carry at work cause he is afraid to ruin it! Oh my, are the winds a changing? Ive cleaned it once, on his request. :) He loves it!
Last weekend, on a duck hunt, he turns to me out of the blue and says, "You know what i want to buy? One of those shiny, wood burl inlay Sebenzas like you have. They are so nice."
My brother was a one knife guy, now he is appreciating quality and beauty! Man, did my heart ever swell when he told me that!
Anywho, sorry for the lengthy post, its just so exciting for me.

Also...he still thinks i have too many knives. Lol.
Thanks for letting me share my story in your thread.
 
Unfortunately, my experience was not so great as the aforementioned. :( I got my two brothers-in law a few decent knives because they only had crap knives. I also got them one of those cheap pull through sharpeners because I knew they would never bother with anything else. :rolleyes: Anyway, they got word to me through my wife that they LOVED the sharpener :confused: but to please not give them any more knives. Oh well!
 
I guess it can be considered an upgrade, but like a year or so ago I got my sister a can of mace/pepper spray which she could carry with her when she was walking home late evenings. Her Ex BF thought it was a good idea to give her a very illegal tiny push dagger. Also gave her a few of my more budget-y knives she could use at home.
 
Ive done this before, but nothing has had as much impact as gifting a goo kitchen knife. Because people tend to use it everyday they are really amazed and can appreciate the difference a quality tool can make. My usual gift is a Shun 8 in chefs knife. It quickly becomes the recipients favorite.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top