child's 1st knife suggestions

There's nothing wrong with a boy getting a finger cut, even if it takes stitches. It just improves the educational value of the knife.
Click to expand...

Stitches are one thing.

I cut the tendon of my index finger with a freshly steeled SAK when I was 14. My fault, lesson learned. I took 12 weeks in a splint to heal (a whole adolescent summer!)

*BUT* a touch more pressure would have severed said tendon completely, resulting in surgery. As it is its a permanent injury.

A knife is no good to anyone if they can't open it, hold it or articulate it.

Some lessons are just too expensive. Its like saying "I'll buy him a car without a seatbelt so he can learn the importance of not crashing".

Sometimes the experience of others is the only way to learn the lesson in time.

The best way to teach him is time (yours) and gradual experience (his). If he's never really handled a knife before, you should probably limit his access to it to supervised sessions only to begin with, even at nine years old. I wish I'd had someone to *show* me the best way to do things when I was younger.

To paraphrase Mr. Eastwood... " A boy (or girl) has got to know his limitations" - and those of his equipment.

I'd recommend one of the smaller Opinels, no. 6 or 7. Carbon steel, simple lock, good grip, requires care but will illustrate the power of a good knife. Inexpensive (read "cheap") so easily replaced in case of loss or breakage. No reason not to supplement it with an SAK, though.

I'd also recommend teaching him basic first aid for cuts and making it an unequivocal rule to carry a first aid kit (even a cursory one) whenever he has his knife with him.

Good luck

Dom


[This message has been edited by Little claw (edited 10 December 1999).]

[This message has been edited by Little claw (edited 10 December 1999).]
 
Little Claw,

How did you cut your finger that bad? Would a lock have made you any safer in that case? I generally consider a lock-blade more dangerous in unskilled hands because people try and do stupider things with them--such as trying to stab them into things. A few months ago I loaned my lock-bladed, razor sharp, Adventurer SAK to a store clerk to cut a cable tie. The obvious way to do it was to slip the tip into the loop of the tie and lever the edge against the plastic. Instead he inserted the tip through the loop pointing towards himself. Before I could stop him he pulled the knife through the plastic and stabbed himself in the left hand. Off he went to the emergency room for many stitches.

The lock blade did him no good. (some people need to have clippers). I still consider the injury minor. What scared me is that he could just have easily put the blade in his abdomen. The 3.25" blade length on the Adventurer would have been bad to stab yourself with. I think blade length is likely to be more dangerous than a lock or lack of a lock.

I don't think anyone ever gave me a knife as a boy, I got them for myself. I got points as a Cub Scout for learning to sharpen knives and took over all the family knives by the time I was 10. I always figured a sharp knife was safer than a dull knife. A short knife is always easier to control than a long knife. My biggest problem with folding knives when young was opening them. Locking knives are generally a little easier to open.

My teenage son has about 6 knives, but the one he uses the most is his multitool. He can even get away with bringing it to school. Utica makes an interesting one:

http://www.knifecenter.com/knifecenter/utica/multi2.html


[This message has been edited by Jeff Clark (edited 10 December 1999).]
 
I, too, have seen people do stupid stuff with locking blades. Jeff is right; some people really are better off with clippers... then again, there are those who shouldn't have more than the blunt safety scissors you got in school when young. I guess I can see where the lock-necessary view comes from for some of you. It's just that I never got cut from the blade folding on me; actually trying that rubber band test tonight, I grabbed a large non-locking folder and tried... REAL close. Wudda hurt too. I have hurt myself from juggling- or rather ATTEMPTING to- etc. Overall, I guess maybe you guys are right; get a locking blade. I STILL say that Camillus US Army knife is a great knife though!
smile.gif


Howie
 
BUCK 110

------------------
I mean, if I went around saying I was an Emperor because some
moistened bint had lobbed a scimitar at me, people would put me away!

 
If you want something small, safe, and sturdy, and he wants something "cool," try a Gerber Magnum LST Junior. Small, light, hi-tech looking. Great knife. I'm a big boy now, and I still have mine!

Gator
 
I think a Spyderco Delica or Native would be an ideal first knife.
Want smaller? A Dragonfly.

------------------
So, what IS the speed of dark?



[This message has been edited by misque (edited 11 December 1999).]
 
My sons first knife was a SAK. For his second knife, this Christmas, I bought him an Old Timer Bearhead. Three inches closed lockback. I wanted him to have a locking knife for the same reason you mentioned in your original post but I think learning to treat all knives as if they didn't have a lock is a great lesson. Along the same line as treat all guns as if they were loaded and the safety doesn't work.

------------------
Pete
"Mishaps are like knives, that either serve us or cut us, as we grasp them by the blade or the handle."

 
you can't do anything with those dinky swiss army knives, try a large lockblade with a 3.5-4" blade.
 
E C,
You beat me to the punch. A SAK, is the right knife, and that's the right reason, and you put it perfectly.

Magnum,
I don't agree, there's a lot a kid or even an adult, can do with a SAK. Not all of us go gopher hunting with a 12 gauge.
 
well when I was about 7 or 8 I had gotten my first knife. it is a German made lock back with olive drab handels, but I don't know the manufacture name, because it is not printed on there

all it says on the blade is

stainless
Solingen
Germany
10-353

 
I would suggest a reasonable quality smaller sheath knife, that way it will be good for camping as he goes on to Boy Scouts and be less likely for him to sneak to school in his pocket, you know how things are in schools today.
 
The trouble with a sheath knife as a starter knife is that there is very little to do with it around the house. They are a bit long and heavy for whittling or other casual uses. If you go hunting or camping real often then the knife gets used constructively. The old saying that "Idle hands are the devil's worktools" is much more true when you substitute "kids' knives" for hands. A sheath knife is really likely to get stabbed into things or thrown. Furniture and walls get damaged and bounce-back is hazardous.
 
SAK's are great, but for safety's sake why not get him a lock back? I still have scars from my first SAK.
 
i agree something that locks, becuase sak's move around. they also snap shut unexpectedly, that cuts fingers. and i know a knife snapping closed on your finger cuts very deep. you could ask him if he likes sak's or lockblades.
 
I wouldn't hand an adult one of my knives without explaining how to use it, and what to look out for. I sure wouldn't hand anything sharp to a child, without a full tutorial. Anything less than that, is criminal. Are kids going to cut themselves? Sometimes it's part of the learning process, and they might burn themselves with a match. Sometimes you just can't over protect them. That's when we can use that great line, "I told you so!"

I think it's a great idea, to ask the kid, "What do you want?" I wish my Mom would have asked me, but then I wouldn't have had any socks.
 
This is an easy one! Busse Basic 9 of course! Actually you can put me in the Victorinox camp. I carry an Explorer daily with the Boy Scout emblem on the handle. I checked out the new Cyber model this weekend and that would be a good choice also.

phantom4

------------------
who dares, wins


 
Actually, Jake, guess what... The Boy Scouts don't allow sheath knives anymore!!! Pisser, huh? The BOY SCOUTS OF AMERICA, of all people! We can't even do "Gray Squirrel" (a popular method of posession-retrieval-embarrassment and good fun)! It is absolutely ridiculous, not that I can't understand where they're coming from- it really could cause trouble. Knife-owners just aren't the same these days. EGADS, NO! Not that HORRIBLE Cyber! I can't stand those monster SAK's! I was once carrying one for a friend, fell, and damn near broke myself into about a billion pieces.
I figured out the solution! You should definitely stick with a multi-functional knife of some sort- that is almost unanimous. It's then a matter of locking blades. You can always get him something spiffier when he gets first class or life. Keep him in Scouting! It's been the most important thing in my life, be it regarding good friends, character development, or teaching skills.

Howie
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top