KOTY, probably the thread I look forward to most all year.
The 2023 KOTY was a two-horse contest for me. It was essentially a match race, other knives need not apply.
2nd place went to a knife that would have been a winner any other year. As
CelloDan
reminded me, I've been looking for this knife for over 15 years. A custom made Argentine
puñal, this is everything I wanted in a gaucho knife, including the very traditional rawhide sheath.
My 2023 KOTY is a continuation of a mild obsession I picked up last year, French knives with particular attention paid to the
laguiole. What makes this knife special is that it was a Father's Day present from my wife and daughter. Earlier this year I lost my longtime primary carry, a stag covered GEC #73 that I actually EDC'd for several years. Coincidentally, that knife was also a Father's Day present from my then little girl. To say I was bothered by its disappearance is an understatement, I was very attached to that knife.
Noticing my sense of loss my daughter offered to get me another. I told her thanks, that I appreciated the gesture, but that old knife was special and irreplaceable. Refusing to take no for an answer, she sensibly told me that it was just a knife, and that I could make more memories with another.
This is what she got me, an older carbon steel bladed laguiole with full stag covers. My daughter and my wife even threw in a Belgian Blue Whetstone for good measure.
I've picked up a few laguioles over the past year, but this is the one that's lived in my pocket. It's become my new EDC, my daily companion ever since June.
I'll make sure to hold on to this one.