I would give the same sort of knife to a girl as I would to a guy. If a person needs a knife, I would reccomend one suited to their needs that I have had experience with. I don't see how genatalia enters the picture.
Anyway, by "daily carry" do you mean for defense or utility? If for defense, have you trained at all in any form of knife combatives that would favor particular features?
As a generalist folding knife that's modestly priced, high quality, and indeed the only folder I choose to carry even though I could afford something more expensive, I reccomend the Buck Titanium(XlTi) with the plain silver finish. The black gook they use on the coated model sucks.
It's a good strong knife that I have used to do everything from defense, to utility slicing, to chopping branches 1.5 inches in diameter(not in one fell swoop).
I has a clip pointed blade, a hair over 3.5 inches long, a comfortable finger-grooved titanium handle that will keep your fingers from slipping up onto the blade should you have to stick somebody with it, and is a lockback. It has a kinda "high-tech" look to it. Most of my friends are female,(I just get along better with women) and they like it.
However, I guess I should say that most of my female friends are also a little rough compared to some women. Not that they're not ladies, but they're the kind that could whoop a man in a toe-to-toe brawl. My last girlfriend was 6'1" or so(I'm 5'8") and weighed at good 30 or 40 pounds more than me(I'm 140). She wan't plump. I see women as equals, so I don't have hang-ups about dominance and superiority or whatever.
Anyway, so maybe my experience in this matter does not relfect the norm. Still a good knife though. I have a hard time believing that women are really so taken by pink and flowery things. I have an apreciation for beautiful things, I'm not saying everything should be stark and utilitarian, but I'm just not sure wether or not the stereotypes really reflect the tastes of the average woman.
It sells for somewhere around U.S.$60, and you can get one at
www.knifecenter.com, or check your local k-mart, Wal-mart, hardware store or somesuch.
I guess there is one situation where I would reccomend a different knife for a woman than a man, if she has long finger nails. Then you'd probably be best off with a thumbstudded or bladeholed knife. Because I otherwise see these things as unneccesary gimmicks, I am not in a good position to impartialy recomend one to you.
As a general rule of thumb, tanto points are servicable but more for cosmetics, same goes for chisel grinds, I have found lockbacks to be more reliable than linerlocks, and look for a knife that incorporates some sort of gaurd on it's bolster to keep your fingers from slipping onto the blade.
My preference in knives do not neccesarily reflect those of the average user. However, they are the product of much hard use, field experience and first-hand knowledge. I am also an a$$hole, not intentionaly, but it seems a lot of what I say comes off as abrassive. For that, all I can do is apologize. I try to be courtieous(sp?), but sometimes I slip. But if you want advice from someone who knows what he's talking about, feel free to e-mail me.
If you are a guy that's new to knives looking for something to give to a ladyfriend, I deeply and sincerely apologize for thinking you were a woman looking for a knife. I am unfamiliar with the name Ada, and I couldn't tell exactly what the situation was from the text. You can still e-mail me with questions though.
