A knife for a lady- need advice???

[Grayfox]

I have decided that one of the things I want to give my girlfriend for Christmas is a good pocket knife. Yeah, there's a story, maybe I'll tell it later.
I'm looking for a simple folding knife of decent quality. Let's say in the $100 or less range. Blade about 2 1/2" no more than 3". But I want it to be attractive to a woman. Something she'd be proud to own. In other words pretty.
After spending several hours scouring the internet, I've come to a few conclusions.
1. Most knives are designed for men.
2. Pretty knives are few and far between.
3. I have absolutely not taste at all.
4. After all these years, I'm still totally mystified as to what the female of our species likes.

I do remember that several years ago I got a knife catalog in the mail. In it was an absolutely lovely pocket knife with white scales with roses on them. It stuck in my mind because it was so darned pretty. The problem is that I can't remember who made it and can't find one like it on the internet anywhere.

I did find a few that I think she might like, but like I said, I have no taste.

So in total desperation, I ask for help. Ladies of the forum, tell me what kind of knives you like? Men, please ask your wives.
How about colors? I've seen quite a few in pink, blue, purple and many other colors. Do ladies like these or not? Which colors do you prefer?
A single blade? two or three? Lock or not?

HEY! I'm open to suggestions here! Ladies please help a dumb, old man out.

 

[Philadelphia Patriot]

My girlfriend and I like Spyderco. I carry a Delica 4 and she carries a Ladybug. For your needs, I suggest a Delica 4 in purple.

 

[WTN1271]

Agree with the Spyderco suggestion. Many models, good quality at reasonable prices. Delica4 is my edc knife. Some of the smaller knives do not have a pocket clip but can use a lanyard. The plain edge is easier to maintain vs the combo or full serrated. Most models are manually opened via the 'spyder hole'; quite easy once you get used to it.

Kershaw also makes some nice models with the 'speed safe' assisted opening feature. Very easy and quick to operate with the flipper tab. The Scallion and Chive models are on the smaller side and are offered in various colors and designs. I used a Scallion for many years without issue.

 

[M1A]

Although "ladies" traditionally use a dagger on unwanted lovers, I would also suggest Spyderco.

 

[Texas Star]

My adult daughter likes the Victorinox Executive model. The tool most used is the scissors, and other women I've asked like scissors. Remember, most women see the knife as a tool. They aren't Modesty Blaise or Lucretia Borgia.

Contact Swiss Army Brands and see which handles they offer. One has indeed had roses, and they've had other feminine styles, also in the even smaller Classic model. The Classic is the knife most often gifted to women, I think and you can get pink, yellow and other scales, some with decorations like flowers. I have one with an edelweiss design.

Be advised that real pearl is heavy and fragile. And expensive!

I think that Victorinox may have an export catalog offering knives not imported here. The options dropped off a lot after 9-11-01 because so many places, not just airlines, banned carrying knives.
The company has several pocketknives suited for purses, like the Ambassador and some of the small ones have a lot of tools. I suggest the Executive, which has an excellent selection of blades without being too thick. I have a couple and love them. Gave the daughter one. She carries it, too.

Try to get her a leather or velvet pouch. Women throw things in their purses and they'll get scratched up if not protected. I once saw a woman asking a clerk at a sporting goods store to refinish and re-lens her small Zeiss binocular. She was carrying it loose in a purse! I told her to contact Zeiss's own excellent repair dept. I'm sure they fixed it. But a minimum wage store clerk is NOT the man to repair an expensive binocular. Zeiss supplies a good case. I have no idea why this woman wasn't using it.

If you do opt for a Spyderco Delica, I think it meets your stated blade length. I can't find my ruler just now to measure my Delica's blade. Be advised that this knife is not long enough to kill an attacking cougar with stabs. I know this because a dad at a national park in west Texas tried it with a Spyderco that looked on the news to be a Delica. If he'd cut the cat's throat, I think that's the way to go; the blade won't reach the heart. He did drive off the cat and save his mauled son, who recovered. I think the boy was six.

I'm being a bit tongue-in-cheek here, but if a wild animal might attack (or a dog), she needs to know where to cut or stab it. Same holds for a human attacker. PRACTICE opening a Spyderco rapidly, in case of need.

Fallkniven offers a Woman's Knife, I think the WM-1 model . Hit their site and click all the buttons. You can find handsome handles for some folders, I think some with abalone shell. Same caveats as with pearl, though. Prices are in Swedish kroner. But US dealers often offer deep discounts. I think the WM-1 may be available for around $100US.

I'd try to buy from a dealer who allows exchanges if your lady wants a different handle color. Do not get the Garm. It's a dagger, so will usually be illegal, despite the small size.

Think how your woman will carry and use the knife. I'd sure start with a small Swiss Army knife.
Address the Export Director at Victorinox (Carl Elsener Messerfabrik), CH- 6438, Ibach-Schwyz, Switzerland. The ED will have English skills. They've been very helpful to me in the past, and will sell directly. You won't have to go through Swiss Army Brands, unless that's changed. And you'll get some pretty Swiss stamps on the reply envelope. BTW, their sole Swiss rival, Wenger, no longer makes knives.

It'll be way beyond your stated price, but you could hand pick a Puma Hunter's Pal at a big show, selecting matched, colorful, stag scales. This would be for a lady who hunts or fishes. That Puma model is an elegant accompaniment to a fly rod or a fine 20 ga. shotgun. You can carefully hand dye and polish the tan sheath.

Avoid the crude, "tactical" looking knives often chosen by men who post on gun boards. She'll want something prettier and that looks less like something made from parts of an erector set.

Also beyond your price range, but a fine choice, is Benchmades' Model 705. Check the blade length if that three inches is a legal limit where you live.

Before giving a woman a knife with a one-handed opening feature, consider her motor skills and mindset. She can get cut if she opens a blade clumsily. And long fingernails will preclude using some blade nicks well. Teach her what NOT to cut, like wire and frozen food.

Good luck.

 

[Ivan the Butcher]

My wife and daughter carry Swiss Army Knives (SAK). The wife has been hauling one in her purse since I gave her one when we were dating. She got upgrades at the 10th & 25th anniversaries. She also has belt pouches for her knives which she uses in her purse. My daughter carries a SAK in her pocket for everyday use and a "Camper" in a belt pouch when camping. She is the mother of triplets and often need the knife right now, not when she can get to her purse.

One of my daughter's-in-law carries a SOG folding combat knife in her pocket most of the time and a SAK with lots of functions in her purse. She is a PhD candidate and has had some middle eastern male students get nasty with her. They think all western women are soft and easily intimidated, They KNEW differently when security hauled them away!

My German daughter-in-law also carries a knife (she is slowly warming to the idea of a gun), but discussing what knife she carries is considered to be in poor taste. My son tells me it isn't a folder and she has shaved some places he missed a couple of times!

I don't know if the newest D-I-L carries a knife or not. The live in PRNJ (Peoples Republic of New Jersey), so I have no idea of any rules regarding carrying pocket knives.

Ivan

 

[TOM BECKWITH]

Agree the Swiss Army with basic tools - BUT check with her first.

 

[Bob R]

The first thing to remember is a knife is a tool. What she plans on doing with it should help you go in the right direction for selection.

bob

 

[GatorFarmer]

Check the Walmart gift tin knives for the holidays. Increasingly they tend to offer a pink themed one.

 

[kozmic]

My wife has a Kershaw "Rainbow" Chive. It's small (1.9"+/-) and there's a bit of a learning curve to the assist open and unlock, but it's a safe, well built, cool little edc. They also make a Scallion and a Leek model. Both are larger. I paid 45 bucks for the rainbow Chive (delivered). These Kershaws are Ken Onion design and are made in the USA. They have a few different colors, but the rainbow finish is very durable are quite striking!

Also, Benchmade makes the Mini Griptilian in a few colors and blade materials. You can even go on line and build your own. Cabelas has a pink one for right about $100. I think it is the perfect edc. I've carried mine for years without issue and use it almost every day. Again made in USA!

Both the Chive/Leek/Scallion and Mini Grip have pocket clips that can be moved or removed.

 

[30-30remchester]

One bit of advise not yet conveyed, how about a real old time folder. Case knives started the knife revolution in the US way back in the 1800's. They offer an American made folder with about every kind of handle material known. From fancy synthetic to fossilized mammoth ivory. They have many different patterns, blades and sizes. When your sweetie unlimbers her pocket knife in a crowded room, she may have the only original bone handled folder in the room. My wife carries a Case 2 blade peanut pattern folder with bone handles. A classy knife carried by a classy lady.

 

[Cyrano]

She might like a Laguiole; show her this photo. This Fontenille-Pataud has about a three inch blade. The scales on this one are antler but others are available. It comes with its own leather case. It's a lockblade, and the blade opens very easily, which is nice for weaker fingers and longer fingernails. I imagine their catalog is available at Couteaux Laguiole et couteaux pliants - Laguiole Fontenille-Pataud

 

[snuffy51]

Just don't ever let your wife get hold of your favorite knife. I lost a Buck #102 case knife I bought in 1972 to her. She decided about 20 years ago she wanted a knife and that was the smallest one I had and let her try it out. End of story.

 

[wogentry]

I gave my wife a W.R. Case pocket knife. They aren't "tactical" but they are old timey and the closest you will get to functional jewelry. They are one of the most collectible knife around. With scales of jigged bone they come in lots of colors and patterns. Another suggestion would be Great Eastern Cutlery or Tidioute Cutlery. All the above are made in the USA. The attached photo is my every day Case XX Sowbelly with Chrome Vanadium (Their version of carbon steel) cutlery steel. I collect Stockman, Trapper, Sowbelly, and Folding Hunter patterns.

 

[Marshwheeling]

Women will differ as much as men as to their taste in knives. In addition there is an incredible variety available. And you don't tell us what she wants to do with a knife. So here are a few of my favorites, plus those of some women I know.

My stepdaughter had no interest in carrying the Opinel I gave her, dismissing it as a "cheese knife", but she loves the Kershaw Cryo, an assisted flipper. Kershaw makes a number of variations of assisted knives, including the US-made Ken Onion patterns mentioned above, Chive, Scallion, Leek and Shallot. My favorite is the Leek.

My wife prefers American slip-joint traditionals, like the Case trapper and stockman patterns. Right now she has a Rough Rider camp knife in her purse, same four tools as a basic Swiss Army knife, with red jigged bone scales. Rough Riders have incredible fit and finish; it is hard to believe they sell for around ten bucks.

If you think she would like a traditional, look at the Rough Rider patterns on Amazon, or someplace like Smoky Mountain Knife Works. There are a lot od patterns in a variety of finishes. If she finds she prefers a particular pattern, she can consider an upgrade to something even more nicely finished from Case or great Eastern Cutlery. Or she may be happy to stick with Rough Rider, which are some of the sharpest out of the box that I have encountered.

The Benchmade Mini Griptilian is a nice size, with one of the slickest actions available. Not assisted, but doesn't really need it. That is right around a hundred bucks or just below. A favorite of many.

Another favorite in a smaller size is the BM Mini Barrage, a tough little hard-working assisted-opener. It is a bit over your limit, but not much, and the people who like it really like it. I have two.

 

[Fat Frank]

Have a look at Great Eastern Cutlery website. They make many different patterns under different names, but the "French Kate" line might fit your requirements. These are very good quality, American made knives. In the "Kate" version, the "shoe" end (heel) doubles as a bottle opener.

#281115 French Kate, Black Pearl, Great Eastern Cutlery's Pocket Knife Shop

 

[Rangerpat]

A lot of excellent suggestions... as Texas Star mentioned, consider how your lady will carry the knife and if she has the motor skills to easily open a folding knife.

Another vote for the Spyderco Delica, the pocket clip is ambidextrous and can be easily changed around or removed. Your girlfriend may want to clip it to a pocket in her purse where it can be easily accessed. The thumb hole opener is easy to master and should not be a problem with long fingernails.

 

[H Richard]

Some jewelry stores carry designer pocket knives. MOP scales, abalone, engraved, quality nickle silver, etc. But, might be higher than your $100 limit. My wife has carried a little Victorinox with the finger nail file, and scissors for many years, and it has been replaced a few times, it gets used.

 

[KSDeputy]

Check out SOG, CRKT, also A.G. Russell catalog.

 

[Monte_Northam]

The Kershaw Leek is a good knife for a lady. Slim, well made, and several finish options. Assisted opening, with a safety. SAK's are always good as well. Benchmade and Spyderco are better knives, but not as pretty You decide.