Stepson is graduating and thought it would be nice to have a knife custom made for him. What knife style would you get for a gift? Knowing him he will end up using it so function is more important than looks

Fixed blade or folder?

A nice folding blade knife is the most useful to me. I have a separate fixed blade for skinning and cleaning animals but i only use it for that. I have a pocket knife with me everyday

I'm usually a drop point or tanto guy but a wharncliff style is definitely growing on me after seeing and using a few now.

Fixed blade

Take a look at Skallywag.

5.5" drop point. No more than 3/16 thick. I regularly get people asking me to make a gift knife and they usually say 7-9" at least 1/4" thick. That is a useless blade unless serious bush crafting.

I would go with a nice drop-point skinnermaybe 2 1/2 inch blade.

Pietruszka knives make a solid knife. We won a couple knives off his FB page, and they are nicely weighted and beautifully finished. I'll be ordering a custom bull cutter this spring that will be put to use.

The six-inch blade we won is a very useful knife.

I'd get a drop point "hunter" style knife with nice leather sheath out of a really good modern powder metallurgy super stainless like S30V, S35VN, etc with a 3-4" blade length and 7-8" overall length and micarta or G10 scales.This is a very useful all around config. You could opt for exotic wood burl, mammoth, bone, stag antler, etc scales for a fancier, more "presentation" knife.

I personally like fixed blades from custom makers Bret Dowell, Gene Ingram, Rick Menefee, And David Winston. There are numerous other really good custom knife makers, but those are my favorites in terms of design, craftsmanship, and reasonable price for what you get. I have multiple knives from the first 3.

You can often find knives for sale from these makers online, but demand is very high for them due to their reputation for quality. Therefore, you may have to wait up to 4 months or so to get a custom knife from one of these guys if you don't find what you like online from one of the custom knife outlets.

P.U.T.U said:

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Fixed blade

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A drop point hunter or a skinner would be first and second my list. They will likely get the most actual use.

Consider a "gentleman's knife." They make excellent graduation and right of passage gifts for a young man. Something they can carry daily the rest of their life.
https://cutsandcarves.com/what-is-a-gentlemans-knife/

I suggest a classic drop point for the most versatility, and Diamondblades are spectacular. I've never sharpened mine and cleaned 2 elk and several more deer with it. The edge is as sharp as it was out of the box.

https://www.diamondbladeknives.com/Store/heritage/heritage---ironwood

I have a Diamondblade knife, a Goddard Traditional Hunter with Ironwood scales, a model they don't offer anymore. It has a similar drop point blade shape as that Heritage model. I've had it for about 15 years now, and its field dressed a lot of deer and pigs. It does hold an edge well, and it's a good knife. I do think they are overpriced compared to what you can get from a good custom knife maker for $150 or so less, however. In my opinion, the "friction forged" D2 blade truthfully doesn't hold an edge any better than one of the premier "super stainless" knife steels available today, properly heat-treated. Modern super stainless blades will also resist rust better than D2 as well.

Probably not what you want, but if you like to compare options, Buck has an online custom knife shop. I used them once and was happy.

https://www.buckknives.com/custom-knife-shop/

Guy in Brenham custom engraves knives and other items as another thought.

https://www.ssoriginals.com/knives

I'm looking for a good carbon steel 6" trailing point personally.

These things are expensive but badass.

http://www.eversforgeworks.com/