Cool Gifts for Men That Still Look Cool a Year Later

Cool is the word people use when they mean the gift should get a reaction. Not a polite thank-you: a pause, a second look, a question about where it came from. Gadgets try to do this and last a week. A four-foot Damascus scimitar does it for as long as it is on the wall.

This is the reaction list. Everything on it is hand-forged or hand-made, most of it is unusual enough that he has never seen one in a store, and all of it is real: full tang steel, buffalo horn, marble. Nothing here is a novelty, which is what keeps it cool after the first week.

Under $100: the ones that get picked up

• Viking Mug with Ship Etching, Horn Mug, from $39.99. A real horn mug with a longship etched into it. The cheapest thing here and the most photographed.
• Horn Goblet, 4 oz, Gold, $99.99. The villain's cup. Small, ornate, and nobody else at the party has one.
• Dragon Wall Mount, $99.99. A dragon that holds a sword. If he already owns a blade, this is the cool part he is missing.
• Dragon Sword Stand, $99.99. The tabletop version, for a desk.
• Tracker Knife, Damascus, $99.99. The survival-show knife, in patterned steel. It looks like a tool from a film because that is where most people have seen one.

$100 to $200: the ones that go on a wall

• Double Bladed Tracker Knife, Damascus, $149.99. Two edges, one handle. The knife people stop to ask about.
• Fantasy Knife, 17", Curved, $179.99. A wide, curved fantasy blade at knife length. Looks like it belongs to a character; is actually 1095 steel.
• Dragon Gurkha Kukri, 19", Damascus, $189.99. A real kukri with a dragon worked into it. The forward curve alone gets the reaction.
• Dragon Longsword, 29", Damascus, $199.99. A dragon hilt on a patterned blade. The most-asked-about sword we make under $200.
• Viking Throwing Axe, 21", Damascus, $199.99. Pattern-welded steel, and it is meant to be thrown. A stump in the yard turns into the best part of a barbecue.
• Splitting Axe, 32", Damascus Steel, $199.99. A splitting axe with a Damascus head. Useful and ridiculous at the same time, which is the definition of cool.
• Spartan Shield, 24", Metal, $199.99. A full-size metal round shield. It does not need a sword next to it to change a room.
• Roman Galea Helmet, Metal, $199.99. A steel legionary helmet. Wearable. Most of them end up on a shelf being stared at.
• Gentleman's Lockback Folding Knife, 7", 1095 Steel, $199.99. The cool version of an everyday carry, for a man who dresses well.

$300 and up: the ones that get a reaction from across the room

• Dragon Sword, Han Jian, 39", 1095 Steel, $299.99. The Chinese straight sword with a dragon fitting. Elegant where the longsword is blunt.
• Chifu Sword, 21", Red Damascus, $319.99. Red-toned Damascus. Nobody expects the pattern to be that color, and that is the gift.
• Scutum, Roman Shield, 35", Metal, $399.99. The curved legionary shield, full size. It is a wall by itself.
• Fantasy Scimitar, 48", Damascus, $529.99. Four feet of curved Damascus. The single most dramatic object we sell under $1,000.

The coolest option is the one nobody else can have

Customize Your Sword, $199.99, builds a sword to your specification: blade profile, steel, guard, grip, pommel, scabbard, and engraving cut in our own Illinois workshop. His name, a line from something he loves, a design of his own. Three to eight weeks, expedited two to three on request, and it ships unsharpened unless the sharpening option is selected. Inside that window, pick a stock piece above and have it engraved.

When to buy something else

• He wants tech. Some men mean gadgets when they say cool. Nothing here has a battery.
• He has nowhere to put it. A shared apartment, a dorm, a place with no wall he controls. The mug, the goblet and the folding knife are the list.
• He is under eighteen. Blades ship to adults. The mug and the shield are the list.
• You are inside three weeks and want custom. Buy from stock and add engraving.

Also worth thirty seconds: blade laws vary by state and city, most stock blades ship sharpened, and nothing here goes in carry-on. Ship to a home address.

Frequently asked questions

What are cool gifts for men under $100?
A horn mug with a longship etched into it from $39.99, a horn goblet at $99.99, a dragon wall mount at $99.99, or a Damascus tracker knife at $99.99.

What is the coolest thing here?
The 48-inch Damascus scimitar at $529.99 if he has the wall. The Damascus throwing axe at $199.99 if he has the yard. The custom sword with his name on it if he has three months.

Are these real or decorative?
Real. Hand-forged, full tang, 1095 high carbon or Damascus steel. They hang on a wall and they are not toys, which is why the blade laws and the age note apply.