Knize Ten

Bought a splash 225ml Bottle of this masterpiece in 2021, the greatest drydown I’ve ever seen, felt and sensed. Starts harsh with plenty of cinnamon and leathery notes, dries down extremely smoothly and from harsh goes to soothing. A masterpiece, I enjoy its drydown each second (most exciting three hours ever).

Both OG and the Golden Edition are very similar with the later has some freshness. After an hour both smell similar to YSL Korous... way too animalic and too much castoreum ... not for me ^No Wars - Free Palestine^

First impression: after trying at least twenty 50+ years old famous perfumes in their current formulations, Knize Ten is the first one that immediately felt like a touch of old world luxury. I haven't seen it mentioned anywhere, but the combination of a lasting citrus top and a smooth but slightly dirty base reminded me of Jicky, though Knize Ten is of course much more masculine and balanced differently.

Wow. This makes me feel like such a handsome dashing young fellow who cuts quite the figure in my clean lined vintage leather blazer with a crisp white large collar shirt peaking out and framing my face. This leather is clean yet also kinda earthy. I get a sort of rooty vetiver type of smell too though I don’t think anyone else has mentioned that so it’s maybe just my skin. I’m wearing the new stuff so I can only imagine what this originally smelt like. 10/10 to me regardless

How can a fragrance that's over a century old and pretty much unchanged still be so outstanding in today's world! It's such a wonderful scent that will make any modern man stand out amongst the crowd. A powerful leather, animalic chypre that performs strongly all around. Delivering an initial blast of citrus, geranium, aromatics and carnation with the myriad of heart and base notes already very detectable too, waiting in the wings to take centre stage. The magic of Knize ten is that the opening never fully leaves as it morphs into a heart of florals, woods, spices and so much more . At this stage there is a strong violet note to me, although not in the official ingredients! Then the big, bold beautiful base of this incredible piece of art becomes more prominent, still somehow never fully overpowering the gorgeous opening and mid notes. Make no bones though, you'll not escape the leather, oakmoss, castoreum and musk but wonderfully balanced with amber and a touch of vanilla I think! The leather note is quite possibly the finest of any Chypre, in fact any scent I've encountered. If you like modern, generic profiles this may not be for you but if you are open minded, like a touch (or massive hit) of the classics then you may strike gold, I did. It's not the same but has essences of RP Polo, Kouros, anteus as well as the delicate florals and citrus notes of brands like Floris! It's none of these and yet all of them. Intrigued? You should be, truly a one off creation. It's blended to perfection and beyond, offering an aroma and performance that any high end niche house would be proud of. It's just sublime. This is definitely a man's scent, a fellow who's all about excellence and has a strong identity. This is going to sound contradictory but I believe it's truly for a man 30 upwards who has done well for himself and will continue to do so! Why the contradiction? I have to fight my 18 year old daughter over this scent, especially when it's temperate weather, she is smitten and is buying herself a bottle....at my request. 😆 Knize ten excels anytime except extreme heat. Now, I wear this whenever I get the opportunity. Even just at home as it's so amazing in its refinement and craft, it lifts my soul. If I'm going anywhere at all, this is always right at the top for consideration, often winning. Truly one of the very best perfumes ever created in my opinion, of course you may not agree...and that is the beauty of perfumery. It's incredible value and worth seeking out but definitely not a blind buy, is any fragrance! In summary, it's very distinctive, great performing and sits right at the top of the perfumery tree.

I got a sample from lucky scent. It's nice but it smells almost exactly like L'huer Bleu by Guerlain.

This is seriously old school — and I mean that in the best way. It’s kind of wild to think it’s been around for over 100 years. Right from the first spray, you get a sharp, spicy hit of geranium, rosemary, and citrus. It really does feel like a blast from the past. Pretty quickly, a classic, vintage-style patchouli comes through, backed by powdery florals that give it that unmistakable old-school barbershop vibe. As it dries down, it settles into a woody base with a touch of leather. That said, I was expecting more leather — it’s there, but it doesn’t really take center stage. Maybe I’m just too used to modern niche fragrances with harsher, more industrial, synthetic leather accords. Or maybe it’s the lack of oud, which shows up in almost every modern leathery composition these days. Instead, the fragrance leans more into powdery, floral, slightly aldehydic territory. It smells super familiar — like something your dad, uncle, or grandfather might’ve worn. There’s a strong nostalgic feel to it. It’s a solid, well-made fragrance: accessible, affordable, and perfect if you’re after that classic masculine style without it feeling completely outdated. That said, I can’t help but think it might’ve been even better in its original form, before so many ingredients got restricted. Not groundbreaking by today’s standards, but still a great example of timeless perfumery.

I'm getting tire rubber, tire rubber, burning tire rubber, and more tire rubber. It's pretty good. Think Antaeus minus the rose.

Knize Ten is pretty close to cuir mauresque but has a smokier profile. Im please having the two of them but I see why people would think it’s redundant having both. So if you are looking for a bubblegummy/ sweeter go for Cuir Mauresque. For a smokier version go with knize Ten. I also think CM has a better performance.

There were two things that pushed me to revisit this perfume: Luca Turin’s 5-star review, and the constant comparisons to Cuir Cannage, which to me is a reference for the genre. I don’t think they’re particularly similar - that’s not a criticism, more just an observation. Where Cannage is smoky and unmistakably pungent, this is polite and restrained. The powdery florals in Cannage can come off as feminine, while here everything leans distinctly opposite. I could keep comparing them, but it feels pointless as they’re different perfumes with their own identities, and neither needs to diminish the other. I sometimes feel like all the great leather perfumes have been stripped away. From Dior’s Leather Oud to Mona di Orio’s Cuir, we seem to have drifted from those big, unapologetic leathers into a phase dominated by suede accords. This isn’t that exactly, it sits somewhere in between. It’s as if the leather has been cushioned in a pillow of powdery florals: lovely and arguably more wearable, but lacking the brute force that some others smack you across the face with. All that said, this is a solid perfume. It’s accessible, affordable, and it definitely scratches the itch for anyone wanting a throwback to old-school men’s fragrances without feeling outdated. There just isn’t quite enough grunt in it for me, but that’s more a reflection of my own desire to be challenged than any real shortcoming of Knize. In any case, who am I to challenge Turin?

I kind of expected more from this--it's not bad, it doesn't really have enough leather in it to stand out, in which instead the powdery, floral, citrusy, slightly aldehydic (baby oil vibes) notes come out instead--a lot more feminine than I was expecting, and not really my cup of tea. The leather/cold notes a bit more pronounced on paper, but not by a large margin. I can somewhat understand the hype, but this is probably more of a "renowned " fragrance rather than a "niche" fragrance.

This one actually made me go back and smell Chanel N5 again. The first time I tried Knize Ten I thought they were almost identical, as if N5 had been inspired by it. But no, they’re close but not quite the same. It’s far more aldehydic, green, mossy and dry, cooler too, with that citrusy note leaning more towards orange than bergamot. It’s also less sweet, with much less vanilla. N5 comes across as much sweeter by comparison.

I’m running low, and it’s nearly impossible to find in the U.S., at a reasonable price.

I was surprised in Catania because it’s like a sparkling wall, offering something provocative. I didn’t sense much leather; maybe the idea is to make it sparkling and mask it with some geranium.

I'm working from a sample. I am not detecting any leather in this sample. The most dominant note in this fragrance is powdery. This is not the classic masculine and leathery scent described by so many others. Has Knize Ten been reformulated recently?

Knize Ten Knize (New Bottle) The segment, IBQ (isobutyl quinoline, 65442-31-1) leather fragrance was another bygone olfactive era. We are now transit to suede which leans more amber-woody than IBQ. IBQ is a scent from Leather industry. Use to Leather production, that why it reminisce the leather note in older years. Conjunction use in Woody-Fougere-Chypre tone. It defines the Masculine scent of pass era. Think like, Dior Savage but everyone smell like IBQ instead. Knize is classic, in balance between leather element and woody patchouli, sandalwood base. It is really good, I think it is nice if you sniff this for an experience, olfactive memory. I wish I have an vintage, where real Castoreum must be use as base for the scent. Must be so good. Knize in current bottle leans more of non-descriptive musk (Muscone). And Clean. (It's happen across all fragrance).

smells similar to shades wood by armaf with a less sweet tinge but if I had to try and recreate this I would add leather to Johnson and Johnson baby shampoo.

Created in 1924 for men’s clothing line Knize (pronounced, as I just learned, “kuh-nee-shuh”), Knize Ten is a sweetened, rich leather. I can feel the petitgrain and bergamot giving a little citrusy lift in the opening, but the main event is the leather, warmed with amber, grounded by castoreum. The sweetness seems almost fruity at times — Luca Turin claims there’s a strawberry topnote — but recedes smoothly to a rich brown depth. Knize Ten is pretty much the ultimate warm leather (as opposed to leather chypres, which marry the smoky-rich note with bitter oakmoss, in larger quantities than the accent of oakmoss here.) It’s perfectly androgynous, as 20’s perfumes tend to be; darkness and soft warmth are beautifully balanced. Lasts all day; radiates a musky buzz a foot away from skin.

If you like the thought of a gasoline-stained, faintly sweet but mostly sour piece of leather covered with dust and pollen that’s been sitting in your grandparents garage cabinet and used occasionally in odd jobs over the past 30 years, then give this one a try. I will say that the perfumer did an amazing impression of this piece of leather I described. I like the thought of it, but it would be the way I smelled just before I got into the shower at the end of a hard days work. It smooths out with some time to a more floral leather. Very similar, actually almost identical, to Cuir Mauresque by Serge Lutens, just lighter overall and drier. This one gives a better impression of leather in my opinion.

Quality scent with rugged floral leather and old-school charm. Becomes a bit soapy as it dries down. Great performance but feels dated, so I need to be in the right mood to wear it. Not very versatile for me.

As a wet shaving fan, having exposed myself to MANY aftershave classics and even new offerings from the niche/indy shaving brands, I am surprised I never dabbled in this house? Got this on a whim, expected very little. I put it on and was very surprised, opens a little citrus and faint diesel, leading me into a older style scent profile, but then a powdery leather turn as it settles into a masculine (rather linear) base. When I put my nose into it I get this underlying classic powdery fougere, with just a touch of sweetness. In the air, a much more masculine leather talc powder affair. For me, this is surprisingly good. It really just works in a way that screams signature scent, I almost feel that if I had discovered it sooner my collection may have stopped? I like the newer “gourmand” scents, I even love wearing them, but in the end I just don’t feel they fit me? I am too old for them, they are fun, but just a touch juvenile. I have multiple coats I bought for myself from the late 80’s to early 2000. I chose them carefully for function and some style, but not with the trends of the time. I throw these coats on from time to time and get compliments on them pretty much without fail. This fragrance is like that old coat that catches attention in current day trends, and surprises with just how well you can pull it off.

Fantastic. Instant love. Smells like Tabac Blond (my fav) but less spicy, less tabacco, more earthy. Also sort of like No. 5 but with leather. Totally unisex. I need a bottle, lest this masterpiece disappear. Contemporary leathers do not compare!!!

This legend (purportedly) turns 100 this year, so I thought that a little review on the centennial was in order; especially since I finally scored a bottle for myself. A bit of history first. In 1924, K10 was launched in one of the most vibrant, bustling, sexually exuberant, intellectually effervescent, and culturally influential metropolises in the Western world (a mere few years before it all went to fascist shit): Vienna. The commissioner: Joseph Kniže, founder of the house and tailor of the Royal Court. The noses: François Coty (father of all modern perfumery) and Vincent Roubert (eventual creator of Iris Gris). The original dream team. Fast forward a century. K10 is still in production, still in the game, still beloved by the faithful. Its legendary status notwithstanding, I wasn’t sure what to expect. On the one hand, it’s an institution: vaunted as the first dry leather masculine, on which all subsequent masculine leathers would be directly or indirectly based: the reference leather. On the other hand, it has innumerable disappointed detractors (scroll below) who claim that today’s juice has been irreparably corrupted, smelling more like a hot chemical mess or a cheap floral air freshener or a bunch of used urinal cakes in a highway rest stop (“but without the redeeming qualities of Kouros”), than the alleged “granddaddy of all leathers.” Ok. So what does it smell like? Ehem. I’m elated (and relieved) to report that I am resolutely not in the camp of the detractors. This. Juice. Smells. GREAT. It opens with a hesperidic burst of rosemary and citruses that are very subtly laced with petrol. [Parenthesis: there’s a red berry effect here that I admit reminds me of Tuscan Leather for a minute, before moving on. I haven’t seen anyone else point it out. Is it just me?] A bouquet of piquant flowers suddenly envelops you like velvet curtains: rose, indolic jasmine, clove carnation… as a chorus of animalics begins to growl and purr. The main act: a sultry, semi-sweet, full grain leather that is sweaty and sensual and oh-so-addictive. And that’s not all. I detect rubber. I don’t mean ironic or pretend rubber (hello, Tom of Finland), but actual, residing-in-a-1920s-Viennese-dungeon, skin tight, odorous, wet-and-slippery, inherently kinky, black, fucking rubber. I pledge allegiance.

Oh goody, another one where there are dozens of reviews complaining about how newer versions "just don't smell the same" without regard to the natural process of aging and how that might reflect in the top notes flattening and base notes intensifying in perhaps an unintended manner. I am so over these discussions as I have come to see them more as a pissing match of sorts: who can outdo others in having the authentic artifact. As someone who has spent much time and hard-earned money on vintages, often wasting said hard-earned money or spending far too much time at post offices with returns—if they are even permitted—I am over it. I am over caring. I have a 2018 bottle of Knize Ten and it's my first acquaintance with it and I love it for what it is. Warm, rich, vivacious top notes of bergamot and geranium blooming into that seminal IBQ leather and the castoreum accord (is it real castoreum? Whatever). It's potent, pungent, powdery, with rubbery florals, and I feel like a million bucks when wearing it. Simple enough, right? I think I've exhausted my desire to spout out a florid exegesis. I shall not pontificate here. I've done over a thousand written reviews and sometimes I just gotta K.I.S.S.: keep it simple, stupid. Wearing Knize Ten is stimulating my brain to be all giddy for the autumn season and now I am feeling sentimental for the holidays. This is what wearing fragrance should be all about.

Ha, what a pick up! Man, oh man, I about missed out on this party I didn't know prices had risen like they have... When I first sprayed this, mind you the modern version perhaps 2017-ish, I felt like I had smelled this before. It finally hit me, I feel like I'm wearing Dior's Cuir Cannage! Sure enough, I check and there I see it Cuir Cannage in the "Reminds Me Of" section. Now I REALLY want to try some deep vintage Knize Ten. I can really appreciate the complexity and depth older fragrances bring to the table. I'm happy for now though, especially since I missed out on the recently discontinued Cuir Cannage. Knize Ten prices are really starting to increase. If you were ever on the fence, I'd pick up this little legend of a fragrance. I bet you'll be glad you did.

I sort-of 'steeled myself' when this arrived and put this on, but I really needn't have bothered. It's nice enough, but it's not at all living up to its fierce reputation. I would very much echo Zaca's assessment immediately below me. Anyone interested in this will know vintage, animalics, and scent profiles that would never be sold today. Viewed in that context, KT just seemed 'thin.' I'm a man, and love wearing Bal à Versailles, and this isn't 1/10th as ballsy and expansive as that legendary gem. I can see that the legendary barbershop cologne, Alt Innsbruck (1953), took a lot of inspiration from this. (The notes for that one are completely wrong on here and Basenotes.) That product, explicitly marketed as an eau de cologne, lasts longer and projects further than Knize Ten, and has a related but more intriguing scent profile. The Knize made me appreciate what a remarkable scent the Alt Innsbruck is. This is *way* less animalic than, say, Kouros, or even Antaeus - and I've got vintage and modern Knize Ten on right now, a dab on each wrist. There is leather in the Knize Ten, but it's not as leathery as other perfumes making a leather play, such as, say, older scents like Fahrenheit and Krizia Moods, or newer ones like Patchouli Ardent and Encense Suprême. I've deliberately avoided any comparisons to 'full-throttle' leathers like TF Tuscan/Ombre Leather, or AdP Leather - they out-leather Knize Ten like a cowboy at a vegetarian knitting circle. I like the Knize Ten well enough. But it's difficult to get excited about. I thought it was going to be a feisty thoroughbred, but in reality it's a relatively poised traditional cologne. Go ahead - get some. But it's very much a kids' carousel, not Oblivion at Alton Towers. Krizia Moods, to take one example, is way more exciting than this. And if you read patiently through the reviews below, you'll find a number of them take this position...

Not as challenging as you might expect if you are accustomed to vintage fragrances. Opens with a rubbery, light castoreum and isobutyl quinoline which gives it a green nuance. Dries down to a gorgeous barbershop fragrance, which to me personally most resembles an oily (as in hair oil - not motor oil) Green Water of all things. I wouldn’t be surprised if Habit Rouge and Dior Fahrenheit were at least partially inspired by Knize Ten, in the same way as Elvis Presley and Charley Pride were inspired by Hank Williams. Beautiful vintage fragrance, just hard to find.

Seems like a joke, or maybe it should be. I just got a decant of this, and I am not joking when I tell you this smells like a photo-realistic urinal cake.

I'm not sure if I received the correct sample of this, because it turned into Prada Amber pour homme on my skin after a leathery/spicy opening. How strange...

This is definitely a unique scent that I had trouble figuring out at first. The first spray is a mix of syrupy sweet from the amber and vanilla which compliments the leather base, which is all muted by all of the powdery florals. There is immediately no doubt that this a a very old, classic scent and very very masculine. As far as leathery scents go, I would place this in the middle of the pack but obviously there are other things to like or dislike about the scent. Looking at the note breakdown, it's clear that there's a complex combination of citrus and floral notes here, although they combine to create a pretty simple scent, to me. Overall, I think this walks the line of being boldly masculine but also relatively wearable. It doesn't do anything special to me but I think it's nice. If you're in to old-school barbershop scents, you should definteiyl give this a try. I give it a 7.5/10.