Giving gifts to other people can be hard. You鈥檙e guessing their sizes, you鈥檙e taking a gamble on stuff they might already own, and if you鈥檙e buying a piece of gear to help someone with their hobby, you risk a gap between their knowledge and your own. In other words, you might give them something they think is lame. But I have one go-to gift that has never let me down: a聽knife.
I gave my fianc茅e her second knife for the first birthday she celebrated shortly after we got together. I actually spent that birthday away from her, visiting my family in France, so I wanted to make sure my presence was felt stateside. I had a knife shipped to her sister, so she could wrap it for me. When it was opened, her sister remarked, 鈥淚 guess you鈥檝e finally met someone as weird as you.鈥
The knife with the right amount of splash? . It鈥檚 as good to use as it is to look at, and she still uses it almost every day, two years later.
I actually got the idea for the Helle from my friend Griff. We met each other in a bar when I lived in Los Angeles聽and he lived in Seattle. We decided to become friends on the spot, but living so far apart, our second date had to involve an airplane ride. That was a big gamble for both of us,聽so unbeknownst to each other, we both got each other friendship presents. The gift each of us chose independently to communicate the sincerity of our feelings? Knives, obviously. I gave him a big ol鈥 , while he got me a pretty little . We both still have them.
My daily carry is actually , also given as a second-date present from a friend. A few years ago, I invited one of my favorite authors, Robert Young Pelton, on a camping trip. I was nervous when I showed up at his house to pick him up, but my fear of not being cool enough disappeared when he pulled his own knife (one聽he designed) out of his pocket聽and handed it to me. I was overcome with loss when I misplaced that knife a couple months ago鈥攁nd聽awash in relief when it finally turned up.
I was really bummed last year when I had to miss my friend Ty鈥檚 40th birthday party. And I wanted to make sure he felt appreciated anyway. Ty鈥檚 an amazing cook聽and always makes amazing meals on the camping trips we take together, so I got him . Now he can carry a good kitchen knife with him聽a little more easily.
These are just a few such stories. If you know me, odds are I鈥檝e given you a knife at some point, too. I figure that by doing so聽I鈥檓 giving you something useful聽and also hopefully something that makes you feel a little more empowered outdoors. And you鈥檝e probably given me a knife, too.
The good thing about giving knives as gifts is that you really can鈥檛 get it wrong. I write about knives, and like using fancy ones, but I鈥檓 as happy opening a box with a simple Swiss Army knife in it as I am getting something custom. One of the most unexpected, and most appreciated, gifts I鈥檝e ever received聽was a thank-you present from a guy I鈥檝e never met but who I鈥檝e enjoyed an Internet friendship with for a few years. He had my name on a knife he picked out, after reading an article I鈥檇 written about picking out good knives. How cool is that?