Boy's Knife, child's first knife

draggat said:
I have to say, I totally agree with this, although there probably are some exceptions. My son is 7 and I don't think he is ready for a pocket knife yet. Aside from that, he currently has zero interest in pocket knives, unless you count a Microtech OTF. He LOVES that one because of the way it opens and that it has a blue dlc blade. Besides the fact that he absolutely isn't getting that knife, he isn't strong enough to actuate it anyway. 😂

I'm going to start him off on a fixed blade for the kitchen, something not too pointy. First pocket knife will probably be around 9, if he's interested by then. That's how old I was when my dad gave me a SAK. Second knife was a 110 at 12. I still have both!

I suppose YMMV, but I don't see a point in giving a knife to a kid who isn't interested.
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maybe one of those otf combs for christmas if hes a really good boy!
 
mrknife said:
maybe one of those otf combs for christmas if hes a really good boy!
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I got him one of those combs for Christmas last year and he liked that quite a bit.

I actually remember when I was his age, my dad had an Italian Stiletto that I was in love with, but the rest of his knives I could've cared less about. It was the wow factor for sure!

My theory is not to force it, but rather lead by example and hopefully the interest will grow
 
draggat said:
I got him one of those combs for Christmas last year and he liked that quite a bit.

I actually remember when I was his age, my dad had an Italian Stiletto that I was in love with, but the rest of his knives I could've cared less about. It was the wow factor for sure!

My theory is not to force it, but rather lead by example and hopefully the interest will grow
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i remember my otf days. it seemed so novel at the time. also considering they are highly illegal to carry in my state/city except some grey interpretation of the law. Definitely that wow factor.
 
draggat said:
I got him one of those combs for Christmas last year and he liked that quite a bit.

I actually remember when I was his age, my dad had an Italian Stiletto that I was in love with, but the rest of his knives I could've cared less about. It was the wow factor for sure!

My theory is not to force it, but rather lead by example and hopefully the interest will grow
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Best advise ever!
My first knife (8ish) was a green handle fishing knife…it looked like a switchblade.
IMO, love of knives begins with them being toys.
Kids don’t really need tools.
I had toy trucks, I never hit my friends with them, nor did any of us stab one another.
After having said that…I can’t imagine the irate phone calls, because your kid offered to cut the pizza with his switchblade!🤣
 
Drop bear said:
The issue might be the non locking and the snap back? Whatever it is that dragged the knife in to the handle.

And it closing on his fingers.

Which for us was part of doing business but there are other options now.

Otherwise maby a hawkbill or a yacht style sheep's foot. That will give the kid heaps of blade to grab when he opens and closes it.

And you can generally get them cheap.

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A hawkbill is defintely NOT a good first knife for a child. They usually have strong springs and a wicked sharp point. I guarantee that it'll close on the poor kids hand and he'll go screaming to his parents with that beak closed tight screaming to get it off, then off to the hospital for stiches.

A small cheap knife with weak springs and a spear point blade makes a perfect first knife.

Eric
 
Drop bear said:
Well they cost almost nothing so are good to experiment with.

Otherwise camilus do a couple of nice sheepsfoots.

This one looks like a two hand opener with a lock.

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Interesting video alright, the guy demonstrating certainly gave it some horrific tasks yet the edge held up, scales cracked though :eek:I'm tempted to look into one of them myself. But obviously it's not suitable for a kid, too big and has a liner-lock calling for dexterity. It is straight edge and not too pointed so that's a useful thing for a kid who's 'learning the trade'

I think I've heard of people giving children a small single blade that's been completely blunted so that they can get used to the handling process, not getting fingers trapped by not pushing against the blade , just getting used to the feel of a knife. Then if they're interested and things go OK they can graduate to a properly edged knife. I suppose any knife with moderate spring pull will do, preferably not half-stop though as this could cause it to be dropped...a straight edge would be best but they're all bigger types, my GEC 25 EZ-Opener would be ideal except I don't want it lost, it has a tough spring even for adults and an arrestingly fearsome half-stop :eek::D

Looks like a single blade Alox SAK could be the answer or a single blade Old Timer around Peanut size, these are cheap plentiful and easy to replace as it will get lost....Good luck with your quest and good for you introducing the young to the positive side of knife carry.

Thanks, Will
 
I grew up with cheap plastic friction folders for model building as early as 7. It was plastic frame with a cheap razor blade (like a box cutter) that you can buy at stores for a nickel. I would hold the parts on my left and cut towards my left hand or my right thumb. I constantly walked around with band aids on my left index finger and my right thumb 🤣 Otherwise, I would cut the parts against the floor on a thin card board and end up cutting the floor (oh my mother didn't care about my fingers but the floor! 😆). Btw, there was no supervision...

Funny, because I gave my daughter her first knife (SAK classic sd) when she was 9 but you should have seen me constantly hovering...I couldn't bear the thought of that little finger getting cut!!! Now she is twelve and she has three knives, including the scout from abbydaddy abbydaddy wonderful GAW.

My son on the other hand, he is now 9 going on 10 could careless about knives. Just the other day, I was rummaging through my collection, my son walked by and asked what I was doing. While, I was trying to explain, he just walked past and went to his room 🤣 My daughter came by and says, "oh, going through your knives to see which ones you will give me?" 🤪 and looked through the stash with me :thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:
 
BradleySmall said:
I seem to remember something called a "Boy's Knife" which as I recall was basically a single blade or possibly a 2 blade non-locking jack with the main blade being a sheep's foot. As I started looking I am also seeing something like Opinel's "My First Knife", which looks something like a sharpened butter knife.

Anyway, my grandson is 7 and I am thinking somewhere between now and age 10 (as long as his parents agree, of course) would be a good time to introduce him to responsible knife safety use and ownership. I am even considering making his first knife (as long as it isn't a SAK ... life is too short for that many blades :) ).
I am not a fan of toy weaponry or tools. I question because of that the wooden ones, although they do seem like they might be fun projects.

I even have a camilus cub scout camp knife that I plan on refurbishing. Sadly it has lost its shield, even though the plastic material of the handles is still in great shape. I have considered that would be a great first knife. Anywhere I can get the replacement or similar shield? Pretty sure it is a perfect square, but wouldn't mind the proper one it was made with. Anyway, I am getting off topic.

What is your opinion on what age a boy not in scouting should get his first knife. And what kind of knife should it be? This is an opinion question, so there really is no wrong answer. I am just interested in hearing what others think, even if it is to tell me that I am a horrible monster for even thinking a child should have a knife.
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I have given each of my Grandsons a Stag handled GEC and some of my neighbor's boys a knife , but I will always ask for their parents consent first . Age does not necessarily tell when a person is responsible enough to carry a knife .

Harry
 
A few overall thoughts about first knives for kids .......... I think kids need to learn right away how to safely handle a slipjoint, whether it's a one-, two- or three-blader, or Swiss Army knife.

They need to know that knives are tools, not toys and what better way than to get a little nip from a blade if it comes to that. That might sound harsh, I know, but let's face it - kids learning to use knives are GOING to get cut. I think learning with the aid of a locking blade will promote a false sense of security. Afterall, whether it has a lock or not, a folding knife is just that .... a knife that will fold. And it's a knife that will fold up on the user if he or she is not careful.

I think I was around 10 or so when I got my first pocketknife. Can't remember exactly. I know we were on a cross-country trip and I bugged my parents about it the whole way to Colorado. Finally, at a campgound store there, my mom consented and bought me a little peanut-style folder from, I think, Colonial. Not a good knife to be sure, but I thought it was the greatest ever. I wasn't allowed to open it unless I was with my mom or dad and they pretty quickly taught me the same basic principles that make up the Boy Scouts' Totin' Chip. Still, it was, I guess, the second day of owning the knife that I gave myself a pretty gnarly gash on my thumb while whittling. I cried, my mom cleaned it up and put on a Band-Aid, and asked if I'd learned anything. I had.

-- Mark
 
BradleySmall said:
What is your opinion on what age a boy not in scouting should get his first knife. And what kind of knife should it be? This is an opinion question, so there really is no wrong answer. I am just interested in hearing what others think, even if it is to tell me that I am a horrible monster for even thinking a child should have a knife.
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In addition to the suggestions you get in this thread, you might find this thread to have some relevance:
https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/what-and-who-got-you-into-knives.1887271/

draggat said:
I have to say, I totally agree with this, although there probably are some exceptions. My son is 7 and I don't think he is ready for a pocket knife yet. Aside from that, he currently has zero interest in pocket knives, unless you count a Microtech OTF. He LOVES that one because of the way it opens and that it has a blue dlc blade. Besides the fact that he absolutely isn't getting that knife, he isn't strong enough to actuate it anyway. 😂
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I had NO idea what "OTF" meant in the context of knives (or combs), so off to Google I went. Turns out that "OTF" has lots of meanings, depending on the context. Always good to learn some new stuff!

- GT
 
I for one am a big proponent of the classic scout knife as a first knife for a kid. In fact, I do a GAW every year to give scout knives to kids. I've already done this year's GAW (you can find it here https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/scout-knife-memorial-gaw-2022.1830512/), but I encourage you to enter this next January when I do the next one. Unfortunately, these days, it is hard to find a BSA branded classic scout pattern knife, but I will probably be buying some of the Deluxe Scout pattern knives, as well as a Cub Scout pattern (and W willintheweeds has been donating made in the USA Bear and Son Cub Scout knives to my GAW for years now!). I am currently a little low on scout knives, I was hoping to be able to scour the OKCA show for good condition scouts this year, but once again the pandemic put off the show. Hopefully in 2023 we can get back to having the show here in my hometown.

There are certainly arguments to be made for a variety of different knives. I like the use of slipjoints for first knives because a) if the kid can't get them open safely, they are too young for the knife, and b) the lack of a lock teaches good safety habits (though those lessons can certainly come with a little blood). The scout knife is just a good all around knife that can be useful at all ages. I keep one in my backpack all the time (in fact I just changed my backpack knife from an old USA made Camillus to a Sheffield made scout knife given to me by Johnnythefox Johnnythefox ).

As far as the right age, I think that depends on the kid. I felt fine letting my oldest daughter use a knife under close supervision at 3.5, my son is currently 5.5 and I still don't let him use a knife even under supervision. My oldest daughter is 8 now, and has her own small knife collection, and I don't worry about it. At the rate my son is going, I think he might be a legal adult before I am fine letting him have his own knives. We'll see how I feel about my youngest daughter having knives when she gets a little bit older. They are all very different people.
full
 
baxtrom said:
My 8 year old son has both of those too 😉
And a Morakniv kid’s scout knife which comes with a blunt point

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My 8 year-old had an archery camp that included some whittling this summer, and they used Moras for that. She was thrilled to get to use a proper belt knife, and that she gets to borrow my Mora for whittling now. Moras are hard to beat for a no-nonsense, comfortable use, affordable knife.
 
draggat said:
I got him one of those combs for Christmas last year and he liked that quite a bit.

I actually remember when I was his age, my dad had an Italian Stiletto that I was in love with, but the rest of his knives I could've cared less about. It was the wow factor for sure!

My theory is not to force it, but rather lead by example and hopefully the interest will grow
Click to expand...
Honestly, even people who don't like knives in general, are still impressed with the F.Beltrame mechanism. There is something about it.. primal almost. I have a tiny little OTF double edged thingie at my desk that I play with from time to time. But I am not nearly as impressed with that as I am with the Italian style switchblades. That said, nearly as scary as the sound of a stun gun going off... is big loud old Spanish Navaja. I will probably make at least one of each of those some day. Just not quite yet. But definitely not for the kiddo :)
 
ea42 said:
A hawkbill is defintely NOT a good first knife for a child. They usually have strong springs and a wicked sharp point. I guarantee that it'll close on the poor kids hand and he'll go screaming to his parents with that beak closed tight screaming to get it off, then off to the hospital for stiches.

A small cheap knife with weak springs and a spear point blade makes a perfect first knife.

Eric
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Why the love of the spear point over say sheep/lamb's foot, or the "butter knife skinner" end, like the Opinel "My First Knife"? Seems something with a point, would be encourage the poking over slicing. Never going to close it on your fingers slicing, almost always due to poking or twisting.
 
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