It’s not that I don’t like knives, it’s just that we already have a nice set of kitchen knives and I have a full set of craft knives in various sizes and two Leathermans. In other words, I have all the knives I want or need. If you got me a knife as a gift, I would smile, thank you, tell you what a nice knife it is…and send it straight to Goodwill.
I love knives, but I’m usually too cheap to by one for myself. I’ve got a cheap pocketknife I keep on my keychain mostly for opening boxes, and some blades for RenFaire that are mostly hip-hangers (iow, for display purposes only). I think even my kitchen knives are cheap.
If somebody bought me some nice knives, for anything, I’d be thrilled.
Yup. In many cultures, giving a knife or similar sharp object as an outright gift is considered an insult. It’s the opposite of our phrase “burying the hatchet.” I have a lovely letter opener, silver with amber like everything else Poles make, from my Polish aunt, and that was sent to me with a zloty or maybe a groszek taped to it.
That said, Mr. Horseshoe loves to give and receive knives in particular (he works at a place that sells very high-quality stuff so he can get discounts, which he also loves to do) and I am a pragmatic type who likes useful gifts anyway.
I am glad I do live where a good knife is most useful and sometimes necessary, over & above carving, steak and string & tape cutting devices are the only use for sharp blades.
TriPolar got it best, hand grenade would make my day… 
The way I’ve heard it is as a superstition, originated in an area famous for their knives: if you give a knife, that will cut the friendship. Therefore, if someone gives you a knife, you pay them a symbolic amount.
My mother doesn’t like knives at all, which I guess helps explain why most of hers can’t cut anything more solid than air. It has the advantage of keeping her away from my good ones (well, they’re not particularly good, two ceramic ones from IKEA, but they sure cut much better than anything of hers).
Middlebro loves knifes. Swiss army knives, decorated knifes, chopping knifes. He likes tools in general, but a knife with an excuse attached? Glory.
Littlebro has asked Middlebro to get him “a small pocketknife with a lantern”, which apparently Middlebro has already lovingly selected but insists is actually a tiny lantern with an even-tinier folding blade. Other than that he is pretty indiferent to knives.
Middlebro’s wife was complaining about her husband’s knives and I pointed out “well, I guess it’s a good thing you finally didn’t go for a surgical specialty then!” She’s an MD. She started saying “but a bisturí isn’t… oh… I guess it is, really…” (why tell it with the Spanish word? Because in Spanish ‘surgical knife’ happens to be a single word and does not include the word for ‘knife’). She still doesn’t like knives, but then, she doesn’t like drills or screwdrivers either…
My best friend got me a set of good kitchen knives one Christmas. It was the best present I didn’t even know I wanted. She had heard me whining about my knives at one point and picked up on it.
It’s a reasonable gift if the person will enjoy it. But that goes for just about anything.
Nava, the word you’re looking for is scalpel.
Not sure about that, we have both escalpelos and bisturíes and they’re different. Does scalpel cover all kinds of surgical knives?
I give pocketknives or multi-tools as gifts all the time. Many people won’t spend the money it takes to acquire a good quality knife, and most folks have no idea the variety and capabilities of them.
I hate guys who say “oh, I just carry this 3 dollar knife in case I lose it.” They’re cheap, dull, and unsafe. I’m not saying I’ve **never **lost a knife in 40 years, but I can count them on 2 fingers!
A quality knife will last a lifetime or more, and I have many people tell me they think of me every time they open a package or stab a crack dealer who has been pestering them:D
I certainly see fewer women willing to carry a pocketknife, but a little yellow or pink SAK, or a Squirt has always gotten me a hug and a thank you!
BTW, don’t Google just “squirt” images until the kids have gone to bed.:smack:
My EDC basketis big, and I pick and choose 2 or 3 every day, depending on my mood and/or plans.
OK, not a chick, but you just posted the two that are always in my pocket, depending on which vehicle I happen to have driven that day. Squirt on one keyring, Classic SD (in red) on the other.
I was at a furniture store-opening once with my mother and father - the store was giving each male customer a pocket knife and each female customer a hand mirror; my mother insisted on getting a pocket knife for herself (and succeeded).
A knife seems like a fairly personal gift to me, other than a kitchen knife or steak knife set. Maybe a swiss-style multi-tool would be cool, I guess I did get one of those as a gift, and I do carry it in my bag. (female here) When I was choosing my locking-blade byrd knife, it was a pretty personal thing and I don’t think I would have been happy with any knife someone else chose for me.
But, I’m not a “knife person” really. I did give my dad a little knife-in-cork floating keychain for his boat keys one Christmas. If someone not really close to me, with whom I had never had a conversation about knives, gave me one as a gift, I would probably think it was a little odd. Unless I was known as a collector.
So, along with the rest of the above wishy-washy opinion, I guess it just depends on how good a friend this birthday friend is, and whether you know them well enough to give the right kind of knife.
After all these posts, I’m a little reluctant to be the first one to say, “I don’t like knives.” I’m just uncomfortable around them. I’ve only had minor cuts, but I’m always aware of the dangers and don’t like being around anything sharp.
I was just explaining to someone why I don’t want a shredder. I just see it as an accident waiting to happen.
In my house, I have four fairly dull, serrated steak knives that I use when I need to slice food. I don’t really cook, though.
I think if someone gave me a knife as a gift, I would probably thank them politely and then find an opportunity to regift it.
That said, my mother loves her mini Swiss army knife, and I’ve been thinking I might like one – mainly for the tools (scissors, tweezers, file, etc.) rather than for an actual knife blade, which I don’t think I would use.
I think it all depends on the person. If I got a present like that, I would feign excitement and say thank you, but I would probably put it in a drawer and forget all about it.
If someone gave me a knife, I’d be baffled.
I would get someone a knife they were having a housewarming party for moving from somewhere that had no kitchen to a place that did. Or if they’re relatively young and learning to cook. But for my parents or friends who have established households? Not unless they had recently remarked that they’d lost/destroyed/irreparably dulled their favorite knife.
Yeah. I mean, I have a cheap multi tool, and I suppose I’d like a better one because I use the thing at least twice a decade. But if someone thought “What Paul really wants is a knife!” I would think they didn’t know me.
Fair enough–and believe me, as much as I like knives, I’m very careful with them. I’ve had more than enough cuts to last me a lifetime.
This troubles me, though. Generally speaking, you’re actually more likely to cut yourself with a dull knife than with a sharp one, because you have to apply more force, and it’s less consistent. Cuts from a dull blade are often nastier, too. You’re probably better off using a sharp knife and handling it carefully.
Pretty much this. I like knives but I have all that I need already. I’ve got a few quality pocket knives and multitool. I have a full set of good (though rather utilitarian) kitchen knives. A gifted knife would end up in a drawer, unless it was significantly better than the knives I have normally use. And I doubt anyone is going to spontaneously drop $100 on a gift for me without knowing what I already have…
So as a sort of standard gift idea, knives would work for a few groups of people: people who collect knives and will never have enough, and people that might like a knife but never thought of buying one before.
Though now that I think of it, my Leatherman Wave is too clunky to carry every day, so if any of y’all are looking for gift ideas, I’d appreciate a Squirt or Juice…
Pretty much yeah. If I’ve got a need for a blade then I probably already have the right one.
X-acto knives are what I use for work and craft (No. 1 and 2s). The kitchen knife set is more than adequate. On the garage workbench a utility knife handles the cutting and carving.
About six months ago my wife was give a pair of hunting style knives from the father of a friend. One for her and one for me. In theory I should like such a thing --I played with toy soldiers as a kid-- but I don’t skin animals and I’d prefer a club or gun for self-defense. So, the thing is sitting on my bookshelf. The only function it has is to make me worried that someday there might be a screaming domestic dispute in my house and the knife will make a dramatic appearance.