Small, Relevant, and Unexpected
Small, Relevant, and Unexpected
I have heard it said that the best gifts are small, relevant, and unexpected.
That’s why this year you should consider getting your mom or other woman of importance in your life an easily carried, well-made, and pretty little knife for Christmas.
Our moms probably do more actual cutting than anyone else in our lives.
My mom has been cooking family meals every night for 60 or so years. She knows what she’s doing with a blade; she just doesn’t talk and obsess about it.
We tend to find uses for new tools we acquire, especially if they are as elemental as a blade and as easily carried.
I have gotten my mom a number of cool knives; I even made her one for self-defense, but the knife I’ve gotten her that she uses the most is an Opinel No. 8, a classic, inexpensive do-it-all folder sporting similar edge geometry to that of a kitchen knife.
So, though I want my mom to be able to protect herself, the Opinel is a relevant gift that thusly gets used more and is valued higher.
Take a quick moment to think about the women in your life and how they might benefit from a small, relevant, and unexpected gift like a knife for a purse or pocket. Think about her likes, her desires, and her drives, then choose accordingly.
I would caution against anything too tactical, and if they know you’re a fully-fledged knife guy, don’t make it the only gift, or they will think you just bought it for yourself.
This year, in addition to giving the ladies in my life a blade, I am buying them pepper spray.
Again, small, relevant, and unexpected.
Bob
J. Neilson and Shelley Jack: The Knife Junkie Podcast (Episode 463)
J. Neilson and Shelley Jack are featured this week on Episode 463 of The Knife Junkie Podcast.
J. is an ABS Master Bladesmith working out of his Mountain Hollow Forge in the wilds of Pennsylvania and a judge on the History Channel show '“Forged in Fire,” the wildly popular knifemaking competition show.
Shelley, a nurse and ceramicist from Texas, met J. on a plane and had never even considered the existence of custom-made knives. As their relationship grew, her planned ceramics studio evolved into a knife shop.
Learn more about this knife power couple on this week’s show.
Find J. online at www.mountainhollow.net and on Instagram at www.instagram.com/j.neilsonknives. Find Shelley and Gypsy Soul Knives on Instagram at www.instagram.com/justshelley_thegypsysoul and on Facebook.
