This has been a very good year for me when it came to knives, starting with this lambsfoot that I received for Christmas last year. This knife checks so many boxes -- beautiful stag, superlative craftmanship, impeccable design. Best of all, it was was a present, made just for me by a friend. It's priceless. Alas, it doesn't quite meet the parameters. I've carried and used it a few times, but not near enough to qualify as KOTY.
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image by KnifeHead
This second knife was also a contender. I have wanted it for a while, but never put much effort into acquiring one. On a lark I checked the Exchange, and in a fortuitous turn, found this gorgeous antique bone Case/Bose Norfolk. Here was the One, I had finally found my Case knife. The thing is, it's still a little too precious to me and I haven't been able to bring myself to use it.
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My 2025 Knife Of The Year doesn't objectively compare to the two listed above, but it's been in my pocket ever since I bought it from an actual knife shop of all places. I was on vacation with my family in April, and on the way home stopped by an old store I used to visit when I lived in Los Angeles many years ago. This Case swayback jack with chestnut bone covers and CV blades made my eyes go big when I saw it in the display. It's been discontinued for a few years now, so finding one in a retail setting was quite surpring.
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It's a very nice knife, very nice indeed considering it's a production piece. What makes it my KOTY is that this is the knife that made me carry a 2nd. For EDC, I've always been a one knife man. While some may carry multiple sharps, I never saw the need. I work in an office, there's never been a cutting task that my #73, my laguioles, or my Ohta couldn't handle. On the other hand, my current workplace is very knife unfriendly, and all those knives listed above are goodly-sized. The Case swayback is a diminutive knife, and no one raises an eyebrow when I use the pen blade to cut open a bale of paper. I now carry it in addition to my primary knife, which can be anything from a Mustang to a KHnutbuster to a lambsfoot.
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