Knize Ten (1924)
by Knize

After all the hype about the rarity and excellence of Knize Ten, the heralded old Austrian gem of yore, I decided to try it. I was disappointed. It smells like tar, leather, and more tar. Also, the florals are astringent and overbearing for modern usage.

As a lover of leather scents i had been wanting to try Knize 10, but the revierws on Basenotes and the Net were so varied that I had no idea of what to expect until I got my hands on a 4 ml decant. On me, knize 10 smells a lot like Serge Luten's Cuir Mauresque with a little Tabac Blond layered over it. At some point I'm also reminded of Chanel's Cuir de Russie, but Knize is a little more powdery and smidgen sweeter.However, even with the powderiness it never loses it's smoky edge.This is considered to be as a men's scent, but any one who loves TB and CM sould try this.

I sampled this yesterday with no preconceptions since I have already read the many reviews. I don't love leather frags nor do I hate them. On me , some are very good and some are not.

Knize Ten falls into the "NOT" camp. I didn't even wait for the base to really kick in since I washed it off after 30 minutes. I get an intense rubber aura. The cheap, synthetic rubber smell like an overused fake leather jacket that's been dipped in petroleum.

The listed accords in this case mean nothing to me since dissecting this particular scent is a waste of my time. I can't stand it. I'm glad I sampled it so I never have to wonder what the infamous Knize Ten smells like. Next time I bring my car in for an oil change, the garage will give me all the Knize Ten I can handle.

This was once my favorite fragrance, but over time, my tastes have changed, and it isn't down to reformulation.

Knize Ten opens with a strong leather, somewhat tarry and rooty at the same time. The top notes are brief, quickly morphing into a fragrance that's much cleaner, fairly soapy, and heavily powdery, the leather note backed up by an ambery-floral accord. It's quite rich, tenacious, and powerful.

I probably could have written volumes on this fragrance when I loved it, but I feel indifferent to it now that I've smelled - in my opinion - more fragrances and much better leathers.

I sampled Knize Ten for the first time about a month ago. Being a fan of classic fragrances, I looked forward to trying it and I really expected to love Knize Ten. Besides, there seems to be a view amongst some critics and enthusiasts that "If you're a true perfume aficionado, you gotta love Knize Ten". Well, I don't. I hate it. I have to believe all the hoopla is really over the fact that it's such an old scent and that it was out of stock for such a long time, because this is one overrated fragrance. Knize Ten is a perfect lesson that just because something has been around for a long time doesn't necessarily mean it's a classic. Knize Ten smells old and way outdated, plain and simple. It smells like an old, musty can of shoe polish dropped in a cardboard box full of talcum powder and moth balls. I don't smell any leather or smokiness - I smell death. It makes me think of being at a wake, standing next to the open casket and smelling everyone's shoe polish. Perhaps I'll develop a liking for it later in life, but for now Knize Ten is uptight and fussy, and just plain awful.

A really dark leather scent, which is primarily accompanied by an interesting floral (rose) and a rich amber note.
Like Trebor and Squirt I notice a whiff of petroleum/turpentine right from the start, too. This might be due to the
combination of the extraordinarily high amount of amber and leather notes in combination with the bitter petitgrain.
The opening is very harsh and aggressive, which is typical for this genre I think. I prefer the softer version like in Dzing! as
an example. But the real leather rooter can't ignore KT.