Age to buy Son his first knife - and what type of knife?

i gave my brother a small lockback folder two days after he turned 9...he was mature enough but i don't think he is that interested because he almost never uses it. he got a lockback becuase when i was teaching him to use a knife, he tried to cut with the wrong side of the blade and i worried about him closing a slipjoint on his hand.

he also lacks some fine motor control so its a little difficult for him to use knives precisely...that will come with practice though.

i would suggest a plastic handled mora...folding knives are tricky for small fingers, and i always get nervous with the closing action...it is so easy to let a finger hang in the closing zone a moment too long and then there can be trouble.

also get him a stone, as was said. let him practice on some cheap beater for a while, just like most people learning to sharpen. this will save his good knife for when he gets the hang of it and can put a sharp edge on...
 
Mneedham:

Can you fill me in on the scout safety promise? I have a scout manual - is it in there?

What is Akela?


It is looking like a Mora might be the way to go. I already carry a Frosts that has has a safety notch - I will get one for Lambert (my oldest) when I think he is ready.

THanks

TF
 
I agree with SP here. I bought my 8 yr old son and 10 yr old daughter each one of these; they are just right. Right now, they don't "get" them, but they do get to handle them under my supervision. They remain locked up with the rest of my knives and guns. Every time I take them out, their faces light up over their $8 knife.

I remember my first knife was a Old Timer 3 blade stockman. As any kid, I fiddled with opening and closing because of the "mysteriousness" of it all. Cut myself several times doing that. After I got into scouting, I was given more non-locking folders and didn't like them much. I finally cleaned up an old Ka Bar I found in my Dad's fishing bucket he had used in the past to cut bait. Viola'!! It was exactly what I needed.

SpookyPistolero said:
The age of first knife, IMO, depends entirely on the specific kid. Some are really mature when they're six or seven, and then there are fifteen year olds I wouldn't trust with a stick. But if you're even asking the question you probably think yours is ready or pretty near!

As far as what blade, I think your safest bet is a good fixed blade. Folders can be a little more dangerous in that you have to do more handling to get them open, and actual blade handling at that. A fixed blade doesn't have any moving parts, and you never really need to be touching the blade.

I think this would make a superb first knife:
511.jpg


Inexpensive, easy to sharpen, has a guard (I'm not normally a fan, but it makes sense for a young'n, and on a first knife). Also quite lightweight.
Click to expand...
 
My son was using knives under my supervision since he was about 4 years old (he was shooting his .22LR Chipmunk when he was 3.5 years old:D); of course this is highly dependent on the level of maturity, interest and adult supervision and patience.

My son's (and daughter's) knife collection includes:

Mora Clipper
SAK Rucksack (locking blade and excellent wood saw)
Benchmade Mini-Griptilian

I started them both with the inexpensive Mora for a few reasons. First, they're inexpensive if lost or if they leave them out in the rain for a few days and they make great knives to teach sharpening with; Secondly, their higher-carbon content teaches them to care for their blade as "dad" will quickly see their lack of knife-care. Lastly, I had a couple of Kydex sheaths made (more expensive than the knife!) and I have a dozen or so "spare" knives to fill the sheaths if something unfortunate happens to their knife (no issues yet after a couple years' worth of use).

KidsFB2.jpg

KidsFB1.jpg


The SAK Rucksack is a great starter folding knife. The safety of the locking blade is a big plus, and it also has the great little saw that gets a lot of use. Make sure you add a good belt pouch and fob; the bright red aids in recovery if dropped.

The first "real" folding knife for both my kids was the Benchmade mini Griptilian. I like the axis lock for safety, pocket clip for pocket carry and they come in some nice, bright colors to help if it's dropped.

You must teach proper knife handling, knife uses and how to properly cut, shave/carve and batton...always making sure your knife strokes are aimed away from your body (basics, not more advanced bushcrafting techniques). Their knives stay in my knife collection until we go out for a hiking or camping trip; sometimes we'll do some practice in the backward with fallen branches or practice battoning with the firewood.

My son still needs to practice on his sharpening and that will be my focus for him for this next year. Biggest problem is just basic knife care; cleaning the blade or folding action and keeping it dry. That's why I love the Mora...do some kitchen work or gut a fish and put the used blade in the sheath without cleaning and wiping dry and show your kids what it looks like the next day:eek: They know they'll get scolded and lose privileges if I find their knives like that when we go camping...

ROCK6
 
Talfuchre, I remember, vividly, getting and carrying my Totin' Chip in Boy Scouts. I'm sure it is packed away somewhere! I remeber if someone of higher rank caught a card holder practicing improper safety with edged tools, a corner would be torn off. If all four got torn off, the card was invalid and the scout had to re-take the course. This is a good program for anyone to use to teach youngsters about edged tool safety, and you can alter different aspects of it, such as the sharpening, etc.:

http://www.scoutingaround.com/boy_scouts/totinchip/index.php
 
most kids i know have a swiss army / leatherman type knife, from around when they become cub scout's. past that only a few have anything else, but then alot of scout leaders can be somewhat anti even the swiss army knives. a few older boys (15+) have something a bit larger (myself included (im still just under 18)) but most just use swiss army knives. seems to work for us.

Out of interest as far as i understand it, akela is the term for the senior uniformed cub-scout leader, akin to "skipper" in sea scouts. (round here we still refer to my old akela as akela even though she doesn't do the job anymore)
 
SAK "hiker" and gave to him at 8 and now that he is 10 and shows respect for the knife and other property, I picked him up the Northstar w/Yellow G10 scales with matching firesteel...also have put up for him NWA BF knife,purchased a pair matching one for him and Me...
 
I gave my now 11 year old, then 8 year old a Victorinox a "My First Victorinox Plus" and later a smaller version of the Buck 119, and Now a Gossman PSK.
 
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