I’m looking for a classy pen knife for a gift. Something well made and simple. Is there anything better than the humble Victorinox pocket pal?

Opinel?

http://www.penknives-and-scissors.co.uk/

HTH

Have a look at moonraker knives or English handmade knives for nice folding knives. Hth

Something simple you say?

http://www.heinnie.com/william-henry-morpheus-twilight

Or maybe this: http://www.heinnie.com/boker-thorn-damascus-olive-wood

http://www.michaelmorrisknives.com

You can spec exactly what shape and finish you want. Bit of a wait though.

I have a lovely Trevor Ablett penknife. Google him – he makes them in Sheffield.

I have an opinel. Pretty sure it would be illegal to carry it on the street so just gets used for cutting cheese of a Friday night mainly. Beautiful penknife, super sharp and held its edge (may be due to its light useage),

Had an opinel I liked the simplicity of it.

Something like a Spyderco Pingo, with custom scales by Custom Scale Division in Germany:
http://cuscadi.de/spyderco-pingo-custom-scales-nordic/
This is the stock knife:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Pingo-Slipit-Black-FRN-Plainedge/dp/B009LKJ3RQ
The thing with this knife is it’s designed to be legal to carry in Denmark, which has stricter laws than we do, in that one-handed opening is illegal, while a regular Spyderco slipit knife like the Squeak or UK Penknife can be opened single-handed.
Custom Scales will put any type of scale on the knife, as you can see from their photos. Carbon Micarta, exotic wood, G10; I’d be thrilled with a Pingo fitted with olive wood scales, or figured walnut.
You can’t go far wrong with a Spyderco knife.
There’s some photos here of Spyderco knives, a Squeak and a Pingo, with custom scales
http://www.britishblades.com/forums/showthread.php?180676-Spyderco-SlipIt-Mods-in-Wood/page6

Whilst the standard ones are decent Opinel make a range of stainless bladed knives also with various wood types in a variety of sizes and shapes.

You can get Opinel with different handles, I bought my Dad one with a lovely olive wood handle.

Opinel. Lovely knives.

Remember seeing some Laguiole ones once in a tool shop (John Boddy at Boroughbridge, possibly?)

Bit spendy but bloody nice…

http://www.heinnie.com/boker-plus-knives-xs

or

http://www.heinnie.com/boker-plus-anti-mc

you can also get “legal” non locking Opinel knives, which are of course inherently more dangerous. But that’s UK silly law for you! 🙂

TBH, you’re not going to get in trouble with a locking knife as long as you dont have it anywhere stupid. I always remember to take mine out of my pocket before driving into the local town, even if I have been working with it and I’m still in my work clothes. It’s unlikely it would ever be an issue but the hassle factor could be massive.

Had an opinel I liked the simplicity of it.

Opinel – simple, good looking, functional, cheap, reliable.

As a slight aside, my boss bought me an Opinel knife as a Christmas bonus after I had mentioned I’d lost mine in a (mis)adventure. I thought it was a nice gesture but was expecting a bit of cash. I was very lucky to notice the £200 in notes in the cardboard box before I threw it away. It’s a lovely knife though.

I got given this recently. tbh though we have a few opinels that get well used.
[url=https://flic.kr/p/tazFbf]Untitled[/url] by tangwyn, on Flickr

you can also get “legal” non locking Opinel knives, which are of course inherently more dangerous. But that’s UK silly law for you!

That’s where the Spyderco slipit knives work so well, they’re designed so the finger choils prevent the blade from closing up on the fingers in regular use. The Squeak, UK Penkife and the Pingo have this. Works really well, and they’re very comfortable to hold because of the handle shape.
Here I am trying to force the blade on my Squeak closed on my finger, unsuccessfully:

Love the link to the modded spyderco blades. Now I know what my next project is going to be!!!

I have an opinel one too.

Opinel also do a knife which you can shape the handle yourself, I think it’s called ebauchel. Moon raker knives sell them. I had one as a gift, enjoyed planning and making my custom knife.