When I was very young I heard that I well dressed man is never without a pocket knife. And at the very least it should be a gentleman folder. So what is a gentleman folder? To me it is still a knife and needs to be above all else a practical cutting tool. I’ve no interest in ornamentation for the sake of pretty, but that being said I want a knife that appeals to my eye. It should be of a shape and size to fit comfortably in the bottom of my pocket. I would abstain from a pocket clip yet one I’ve purchased has it. (And that I am working to remedy.) Preferably I would like a single blade, but if done right it could be two, opening with a nick and two hands. The blade should lend itself to those small cutting tasks like letter opening, the hanging thread, opening a package, or occasionally food prep. But I want to be able to push it if I need a little more. Lastly, it should draw comment, when presented, of a favorable kind. It would not intimidate but instead draw interest and curiosity. I would like people to think what a great idea and ‘I should carry a knife too’. That is my idea of a gentleman folder. Here is my medley. Let’s see yours. A Case Texas Jack - something my Grandpa would have carried 50 years ago. A Victorinox Pocket Pal - I carried throughout school 40 years ago. An A.G. Russell Jess Horn - which was the first time I spent more than $100 for a knife. I bought it for carrying at work where I had to wear a suit. Man I really like this knife (purchased 1997) And latest iteration a CRK Mnandi in cocobolo -- that I seriously bought for the memories of a knife I owned and lost long ago with a wooden insert very similar to this. Here they are all together. My little evolution. I hope you guys post some as well. This is a sentimental category for me. Thanks for looking.
I will get to the knife part in turn. I love me an HP 12C though. It's no 17BII, which was the best calculator ever made. I bought one in college and finally had to throw it away cause I couldn't come up with any more creative ways of keeping the darn battery door shut. I use a 10bII now, which does the job but nothing like the 17BII. The beauty of the 17BII was you could save your own formulas, like dividend discount, CAPM, etc., and other narrative. Maybe I'll start a separate thread for financial calculator nerds...back to your gentlemen folder thread...
i've lusted after a northwoods fremont jack for years now... maybe there'll be a batch made when i have money to waste. (image ripped from google)
Only the Mnandi checks all those boxes for me. A gentlemen a folder needs to be gentle and elegant. I do think that a simple Alox comes close to all the requirements as long as it's a basic one. Anything G10 is out. Micarta is a probably not, a shade tree burlap treatment could probably make it. Most certainly no plastic. Flippers, and spydie hole are out. Thumb studs might work but they would have to be very simple and subdued. Metal and natural materials, its the purest form of a knife. The shape can be sleek/sexy but it must also be simple. Two blades are also a very tough sell imo. That turns it quickly into a working knife instead of a gentleman's folder. I also don't like metal bolsters. A simple preference I suppose but that ruins a lot of knives for me. Oh, and no stiff back springs. A lot of slip joints and back locks suffer from stiff action that prevent them from qualifying as a gentleman's folder. While we are at it, let's add serviceability to the requirements. I am not a fan of a folding knife that can't be adjusted and cleaned. There aren't a ton of what I would consider a gentleman's knife out there.
@Slade -- that is a pretty high bar that you've set for your gentleman folder criteria. But I really like hearing these kinds of opinions to offer some perspective. For one thing, it's not a very common topic on here, but for years as the population moved to the urban areas from the farmlands, the gentleman folder evolved into the knife of choice for many working class people in an urban environment. But in today's world it has become almost irrelevant. Fewer people carry knives, and those that do, generally want a more substantial knife than this category would offer. The modern EDC has muscled out these knives with all their associated features that you eschew in your description (e.g. thumb studs, flippers, plastic, etc.) not to even mention mostly larger sizes as well. The AG Russell Horn meets all your criteria but serviceability. But that knife is the epitome of a gentleman folder and so nice whether in hand or in pocket.
I think a Small Sebenza 21 probably makes the cut also. It has clean lines and is simple. The thumb stud is basic and not obtrusive. Just a variation on a thumb knick really. A Large Sebenza risks being intimidating. Something Insingo shaped instead of drop point probably also furthers the chance at making it a good gentlemen's folder. I think the stiffness of a back spring requires users to value the utility over ease of use and I think many peoples first experience with pocket knives being with back spring/slip joints makes them see pocket knives as something difficult and unwieldy/dangerous to use. They take force small hands have trouble with to open and usually have an abrupt spring action closing and could bite you. That doesn't have to be the case any more.
The small Sebenza has been my pocket EDC for most of the last two years. But I didn't include it in the list because of size and non-traditional styling even though it is not overly tactical looking.
J. Oeser has a ton of knives i'd consider gentleman folders. But they're horrendously expensive (for me)
You know what i'm waiting on someone to make right: a gentleman's fixed blade. Something of similar class and elegence and simplicity as what you would call a gentleman's folder, but in a slim fixed blade package. Something with a similar size to the CR 2.5 with a nice exotic handle. Anyone know of anything like that?!
I saw one called the Dozier Canoe, that was close. Not to derail the thread anyway. Good to see that Mnandi getting some love
These days a gentleman's folder should be blade-less to avoid cutting yourself and should only include built-in pen to fill all the butt-hurt reports.
I have just what you are looking for. But you'll have to wait until this evening when I get home so I can take a pic and post it.
