children and knives

Shangchi108, I agree. I am of the mindset, which differs from the wifes, that learning the hard way works. If he cuts his finger messing around, then he wont mess around the next time.
 
nodh your completely right. ive used knives and hammers for years. and i can tell you i have hit my thumb with a hammer more often than i have cut my finger. and im using my knife multiple times a day. granted i have had to get stitches a couple time for knife cuts but o well
 
Here's a story:

When I was about 10, I was building a model of an attack Helicopter (a Lockheed AH-56 Cheyenne). I was using a box cutter to trim the plastic pieces. While I was doing something else, I put the open knife on the floor next to me and eventually shifted until I was sitting on it. When I looked around and couldn't see it, I foolishly started feeling under my legs. Well, I found it. Slashed the tips of three of my fingers pretty deeply.

Fortunately, I lived, and I learned never to put a knife down without making sure it's either closed, or in its sheath, or put away so it won't hurt anyone, especially me. As some have already noted, pain IS a great teacher, if you live through it.
 
Loosearrow said:
Nice collection. I was thinking about a wave multitool needing a sheath and wanted a ferro rod attachment to it. I think you gave me a good idea with the folder and the ferro rod pictured.
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It is a neat setup...but

That isn't a folder. The firesteel added to the sheath wasn't even my idea. John (Stomper) did that for my son without telling us.:thumbup:

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Depending on the kid he should be ready to start learning. I had my first one at about 6 or 7. Get him his own blade, you keep it for him and spend some regular time with him training with it until he is ready to be trufted with it on his own.
I think keeping to tight a wall around kids to "Protect " them is a serious mistake, it raises a world full of wimps that think its ok to limit what the next guy can do in order to "Protect" him. I grew up carrying and I might have cut myself once. My brothers on the other hand couldn't get a blade out of the package without getting cut, but thats another story.
Teach the kid to be a wimp and he will surprisingly be a wimp, Teach him to be a man and he a very good chance of being a man.
 
I was about five when I got my first slipjoint, a Schrade Old Timer. My dad told me not to fool around with it because I'd cut myself and it would hurt. I fooled around with it anyway and cut myself and, you guessed it, it hurt. Never fooled around with it again. In fact, the knife was only ever on my person when I was playing in the woods alone because I knew that the other kids my age would want to 'see' it and would end up getting it taken away from me. Nothing in the world was worse than having stuff my dad gave me get taken away because I usually never saw it again (like my first wrist rocket). Even so young, I knew that most of the other kids I knew were not responsible enough to have access to a knife.
 
good point Blais, as my Dad used to tell me, one boy is a boy, two boys are half a boy, and three boys aren't a boy at all, which is why there were a lot of things I was allowed to do alone, that I wasn't when friends were over. no showing off that way. plus by the time I got the "teen aged stupids" I had enough ingrained in me that my hair-brained ideas had at least a small margin of safety. but I did some dumb stuff, felt bad when I broke knives, and eventually smartened up.... a little.
 
My Son, Austin, is now 7. My wife and I don't lock anything up ( except G&A ).

We taught him from square one what's dangerous and sharp, and he has an inherent instinct to respect things he doesn't know anything about.

Knife training started last summer, and is continuing.well. No cuts yet. I have taken him .22 - ing , and he's even shot my 12 Ga. Mossberg. He respects all wildlife.

Definately a good candidate to inheret my vast collection.



Pete
 
dbltap45acp said:
If he cuts his finger messing around, then he wont mess around the next time.
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A hundred warnings won't phase a seven year old. One good cut, and he'll learn the same lesson for life. Well, it's lasted a couple of years so far, anyway...
 
Here's a unique answer I bet no one else has thought of:

I got my 4-year old grandson an Opinel No. 7. It's light, strong, durable, inexpensive, and won't rust. Here's the key: I filed off the edge and point so he can't cut himself. but THE BLADE IS SO THIN IT WILL STILL CUT SOFT ITEMS NICELY. Bread, butter, apples, pancakes.

He loves to use it. But, like a sharp pencil, if he falls on it, it will go into him, so "I keep it for him" and when we use it we "use it together".
 
Here is the first knife my daughter got shortly after she turned two (my wife gave it to her):
firstknife2.jpg



We knew that she was ready to learn proper knife handling skills when at a restaurant and she asked to see the butterknife, and after being given it she properly started cutting up her supper. She has been brought up in a knife environment, knows the rules about knives, and has proven that she knows when and where to use them. I looked at Juli and we both knew that she deserved the real thing.

A couple of days later at age 2 here she is doing it all by herself:
ANANDACUTS2.jpg


I love that little girl- and am starting on her brother too!
 
I made leif his first kitchen knife at 4- but it was very specifically for cutting melon and nannas, with a 45 degree edge. As he's grown (he's 6 now) he's gotten a finer and finer edge on it. He's getting a new, larger handled one, soon.

He has an SAK, got it for his 6th birthday, and a leatherman (last christmas.)- He's careful and supervised when using knife blades, but we pretty much let him go to town with the other tools.

All if this was introduced with maximum attention to hand safety and respect, and it's all fine. But all kids are different- he has friends I don't trust with plastic scissors!!!!
 
I've worked with many kids on knife skills as a scout leader, and there isn't a magical age. I think that from 8-10, they might be allowed to have their own knife and they'd only be allowed to use it if i were supervising. at 11 is when they'd be allowed to qualify for a "knife permit"... i.e. show me they can use it safely and i'll let them use it unsupervised.

these age guidelines are probably based more on policy and liability. as a private individual (and with the mother's permission), you could probably make an assessment that a kid is responsible enough to work with a knife unsupervised at a younger age, or even own one at a younger age.

Some basic rules to ingrain into the kids when teaching them knife safety are
(1) if it's a folding knife, keep it folded when you're not using it. if it's a fixed blade, keep it sheathed.
(2) dont leave it lying around. don't get it wet (or dry it once you do).
(3) keep it sharp. (but teaching them how to sharpen is another step...maybe teach them how to test for sharpness but cutting paper or the fingernail test).
(4) when cutting, always keep your eyes on the knife.
(5) when cutting, always cut AWAY from yourself, your fingers, and other people. <--probably the most important rule.
(6) to hand your knife to someone (assuming it can't be closed or sheathed first), give the handle (and not the blade) side to the recipient. ask them if they've got it before letting go.
(7) and the usual... knife is not a toy, don't throw it, stab random things, etc.
 
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