Yes, and it is one of the few gifts that gets used for decades. The things that make it land are picking for the person rather than the specification, keeping it modest in size, and choosing something they can maintain. The things that sink it are buying the biggest or most tactical option available.
A pocket knife is used, not stored. It becomes associated with the giver in a way that most gifts do not, and a good one outlasts almost anything else at the same price.
It also scales: there is a genuinely good knife at $30 and a genuinely good knife at $300, and the difference is refinement rather than function.
Think about what they actually cut. Somebody opening parcels wants a light folder with a drop point. Somebody in the outdoors wants something sturdier. Somebody traditional may want a slip joint in jigged bone rather than anything modern.
Modest size wins. A three-inch folder gets carried; a five-inch one gets admired and left in a drawer.
Rules on giving knives to minors vary by state. See minimum age.
Keep the order confirmation in case it needs to go back. See returning a gift knife, and the penny tradition if the recipient is superstitious.