knife gift you regret

Yes. I can think of one specific instance where I took pity on someone who was a member here years ago...professing to be a corrections officer in CA, who had suffered an alleged loss of a knife. (Don't remember the particulars.) I sent him a custom knife by a maker who was an LEO himself, but later turned out to have his own issues regarding character and reliability.

So, in the end, it was a match made in heaven, despite my regretting having taken pity on the ne'er-do-well at the time.

Maybe only one other instance where I gifted one here that I ended up regretting, but not worth mentioning.

Overall, I enjoy gifting knives, knowing they will be treasured by the recipient.
 
I've given a half-dozen pocket knives to a close relative who has either lost or destroyed all but one of them. I don't feel too bad about it because he's either (i) lost them due to a pocket clip getting hooked on a seatbelt, which pulls it out and falls somewhere out in the pasture (so not due to negligence), or (ii) the ones he's broken weren't super expensive and were replaceable. He knows how to properly use his various tools, but somehow he still manages to snap tips off of his folders. The most "expensive" one he lost was a Mini-Griptilian (which I got on sale for $50), and the only one he still has is a Delica I got in a trade. I just accept that he's going to need a new knife every so-often and it gives me a reason to keep my eyes open for a good deal on a user.
 
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I've only ever gifted knives to people who I knew needed one. In some cases, whether or not they truly appreciated the knife, and to what degree if any they valued it, I don't really know, although they all expressed gratitude when I gave it to them. But in some cases the recipients were thrilled.

My decision to gift a knife to someone whom I know is not a knife enthusiast is always based on need, and if I like them. I never expect or require other people to appreciate and value knives to the same degree that I do. But I will consider such factors when deciding what knife to gift them and how much to pay for it (if it's one I'm buying, rather than giving them one of mine).

My philosophy- The true value of a gift is in the generosity of the giving, not the level of appreciation shown by the recipient.

However, if the recipient clearly doesn't appreciate a gift, I won't be inclined to give them another.
 
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I have never sold a knife and have traded very, very few (mostly as it started out as a gift where something was sent to me in return). When I give one away, I care not what happens to it. It's no longer mine to covet. My brother USES his knives. I will give him a $200+ folder that I have carried and maybe used to open some boxes, and a week later I will see it scratched up with dirt in the crannies. He's not abusing it (but I mean he COULD clean it). It's in his pocket on the jobsite cutting tape and plastic and wood and whatever else. It's living the life a knife yearns for.

That said, I did give a knife away here about 4 years ago. It wasn't anything special. Just a Steel Will something or other. The guy was all thanking me and saying how it inspired him to turn his life around, blah blah blah. A few months later, he PMs me asking if I have any more that I want to give away😒. No... I do not. I'm guessing he didnt go back to school or turn his life around or anything else he said he would do. I didn't ask for him do to any of that. He just seemed like a guy without means that needed a knife better than a busted S&W, but I guess that makes me a meal ticket for throwing him a bone ;)
 
The last time it kind of went the other way. I gave some gerbers (his and hers) as a wedding gift due to a sort of gag that was being played.

(The bride didn't like going to circuses because she didn't feel she could escape the tent if there was a fire.)

And I was going to go one of the better prettier Chinese brands in a box. But got caught short and had to race out to our local Anaconda store and get the best I could.

Anyway they were far more impressed with them than I would have been.
 
I gave a pocket knife to a coworker that later on the clip caught his steering wheel ripping the cover and breaking the clip. I don't regret giving him the knife but it does stink a little.

As I proofread this I see now it's supposed to be someone that doesn't deserve one. Oh well. His steering wheel didn't deserve one...
 
I learned long ago, other than folks here...people won't really appreciate them or care about them or take care of them. I gift lots of Bucks to folks I work with......but I expect they'll lose or break them and most of them never let me down, in that regard.......
 
Gave my Dad a F1 for hunting. Years later I found it in his gun room in a drawer. The edge was all chipped out from using it on a single deer.

He don't want to tell me , thinking it would hurt my feelings lol. TBH, the knife ticked me off for performing like that.

I also gave him a FRN Kershaw Dividend. He carries it every day for the last 8 years. I felt bad, thinking I should have gave him something nicer. I tried to...but he loves the Dividend!
 
Oh, yeah. My father-in-law, my brother-in-law, my nephew, they all looked at me like I gave them a pet rock or something. Then they threw it in a drawer and forgot it only to ask to borrow my knife the next time they I saw them. On the other hand, I've given lots of knives to other people who were more than worthy. Altogether, I have no regrets.
 
I gave out Opinel #8s for Christmas some years back, and everyone still likes them - no regret there. Got a Helle Eggen for my brother who visits friends in Sweden regularly - no regret there either, though the slight irony may have not been understood.

Collected a few Laguioles and one particular knife - light-colored horn - caught the eye of my 85-year-old mother, so I gifted it to her instantly - absolutely no regret there either. She uses it mostly in the kitchen, but almost daily. I keep it sharp.

So - no regrets at all. Since I'm ahead here, I'm calling it quits. No more knife gifts, ever.
 
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