First knife for a 7 year old girl

I started working with knives in the kitchen with my daughter at 7. That truly is the best place to learn. Knives with locks can teach bad blade habits when using a folder. A sak is a great way to start with pocket knives. My daughter is older now and has a sak and native 5 she uses on outings, along with her choice of our small fixed blades. Basically, if your daughter is going to use a knife she will get cut. Kitchen, sak, locking folder, fixed blade, getting cut is inevitable. Might as well learn from it. The scar on my pinky from my first sak has kept me from doing what I did to get it since then.
 
Thanks for all of the suggestions and advice everyone. I think I'm leaning towards the opinel at the moment.
 
blade dude said:
Anyone against saks for kids, let me ask you, did your first knife lock or was it dads ole slip joint or sak? If you're worried about slip joint get her a fixed blade. Otherwise a schrade stockman is my suggestion
Click to expand...

My first knife was a Cub Scout "issue" liner lock:
281536-Camillus%20Official%20Cub%20Scout%203%20blade%203%20%203-8%20inch%20knife.JPG


I eventually lost it, and then got a SAK Tinker, which I had several near misses with the blade closing unexpectedly. This wasn't because I had a lock blade first, it was because I was 8 and doing stuff you shouldn't do with a little pen knife.

It is much easier to get a 10 year old to follow procedures than it is to take your 7 year old to the ER for more than "scar on the pinky" when you could have just bought a knife with a lock. Creating a more dangerous environment doesn't teach anything and it will certainly not foster enjoyment of cutlery if something did happen.


I frankly think it is weird to argue AGAINST a safety feature on a knife intended for a child who wants to carve wood. I still avoid wood carving with the tip of any knife that doesn't have more than a spring keeping the blade in place. What is the possible downside to having a safety feature that only increases the carving performance AND safety, when you can get that feature on just about any possible type of knife????
 
RX-79G said:
....It is much easier to get a 10 year old to follow procedures than it is to take your 7 year old to the ER for more than "scar on the pinky" when you could have just bought a knife with a lock. Creating a more dangerous environment doesn't teach anything and it will certainly not foster enjoyment of cutlery if something did happen.


I frankly think it is weird to argue AGAINST a safety feature on a knife intended for a child who wants to carve wood. I still avoid wood carving with the tip of any knife that doesn't have more than a spring keeping the blade in place. What is the possible downside to having a safety feature that only increases the carving performance AND safety, when you can get that feature on just about any possible type of knife????
Click to expand...

Are you also going to equip her with chain-mail gloves, a rounded point, finger cots and wrap pillows to her ass where she sits? And if she still cuts herself are you a negligent parent for not covering something else and then limit her to kiddie scissors until she's 18?

The OP seemed to emphasize learning. I don't see where a locking blade is a "safety feature" in every case. Opinions vary but I'd still rather teach a child on a traditional as opposed to a locking blade. It necessarily puts more emphasis on the safety aspect of the learning. Plus, they aren't THAT dangerous, esp. under supervision. I don't see where whittling runs a big risk of blade slapback anyway. People, including kids, have carved with traditionals for 100 years.

Nothing was ever so ingrained in my muscle memory as keeping my fingers clear of the slot when closing a folder at a young age. It's 100% due to my learning on a traditional folder.
 
The kids opinel seems like a good idea. I like the fact that there is no point on the blade.
 
I'm currently making a knife for my 6 year old girl. Had her help in the design choices and picking the materials. Surprisingly she didn't go for Pink....usually she does.

I'd say involve her in the process and she might surprise you on what she picks.
 
EChoil said:
Are you also going to equip her with chain-mail gloves, a rounded point, finger cots and wrap pillows to her ass where she sits? And if she still cuts herself are you a negligent parent for not covering something else and then limit her to kiddie scissors until she's 18?

The OP seemed to emphasize learning. I don't see where a locking blade is a "safety feature" in every case. Opinions vary but I'd still rather teach a child on a traditional as opposed to a locking blade. It necessarily puts more emphasis on the safety aspect of the learning. Plus, they aren't THAT dangerous, esp. under supervision. I don't see where whittling runs a big risk of blade slapback anyway. People, including kids, have carved with traditionals for 100 years.

Nothing was ever so ingrained in my muscle memory as keeping my fingers clear of the slot when closing a folder at a young age. It's 100% due to my learning on a traditional folder.
Click to expand...

Exactly^^^.

Show me a knife user who has never cut themselves and I'll show you someone who hasn't used knives enough. When learning to use knives for whatever reason or whatever type of knife a kid will cut themselves. How bad depends on the parenting and teaching of the parent.

First time my daughter cut herself was with a kitchen knife. This was after months and months of me watching every cut telling her what to do or not. A month or so on her own (not a real help in the kitchen if I have to watch every cut) she nicked her index finger. She learned to pay attention better. Two years later no more cuts in the kitchen, though that won't last, everyone cuts themselves no matter their experience. Second cut she got was with a locking folder. She was moving too fast while whittling. She has never cut herself with her SAK. I overly emphasized the non-locking aspect with a description and visual of how I cut myself. She respects that knife like nothing else.

Can't wrap them in bubble wrap forever. And if you think knife training is hard or a SAK an unsafe option, wait until the teen years and then college. The worries get much greater than a little cut on the finger......
 
opinel is a great choice. You might also want to consider a mini peasant.
If you're thinking about a fixed blade, Mora's classic scout comes with a guard, blunted tip and leather sheath for right around $20
 
Last edited:
My first knife as a little girl, and I received mine when I was 7-8 years old, was a Buck 110, from my Mom. And don't assume all girls like pink! But, it all depends on the child. You could always get her one of Victorinox's "My first Victorinox's" That might be a good choice.
 
If she likes to whittle, I would think a Buck 303 would be a good place to start. It is a simple slip joint and the spring tension is not heavy.

303cw.jpg


Another option, since she is probably small, would be a Spyderco Dragonfly in orange, purple, or black (you can find pink but they are over priced). My tiny wife loves hers (and so does Sal's wife).

c28ppr2.jpg
 
EChoil said:
... I don't see where a locking blade is a "safety feature" in every case...
Click to expand...

:confused:
In what case is it NOT a safety feature?

I learned to ride a bicycle without a helmet, so did lots of other kids, rode around in cars that lacked harnesses, lots of other things. I didn't get seriously injured. But you know what? Some other kids did. Chance injuries that could have been avoided entirely.

I've cut myself a number of times on slip-joints closing suddenly/unexpectedly, cuts with fixed-blades and lock-blades have been very few and never in a way that wasn't ALSO a hazard with any slip-joint.

Show me a case where a slip-joint is EVER safer than a lock-blade with otherwise similar structural properties and blade-geometry. I am curious to hear examples of this...
 
Last edited:
 
If you decide to go fixed make sure the knife has a bigger more robust gaurd. Ask me how I know
 
Isn't the Spyderco Junior specifically designed for precisely this kind of role?

The big guard/choil makes it very safe at the front.
 
I gave my 6-year-old niece a multicolor Victorinox Classic. With her parent's permission, of course. She absolutely loves it, and she knows not to get it out without first getting approval from an adult family member to do so, and under their supervision.
 
When my grandson showed an interest in whittling, I gave him my old Opinel No.7, because I had it with me. His next knife was a Marttiini Little Classic.
 
Growing up in the Adirondacks with a sister 2 years older than I, we both were given a SAK classic (sd?) when I was 7 and she was 9. This was awesome, mostly because when our parents gave them to us they said we could use them relatively unsupervised. Naturally the first thing my sister did was slip cutting a raspberry shoot and closed the blade on her finger tip, making a decent cut.

Personally I would suggest a locking blade for peace of mind. I also think a single blade knife has benefits because the primary focus is on the knife and safety whenever the knife is out. Don't get me wrong multitools are fantastic, but the plethora of tools can be misleading in a first knife situation.
 
I give children the Vic Classic on a paracord lanyard. They come in all sorts of colors and designs. The scissors, toothpick and tweezers are also a hit. The lanyard is to help them not lose it (it works too.) However, I tell them not worry if it's lost, that's just life and I will buy them a new one when it happens.

After they learn how to use a knife, they graduate to a Delica, their choice, serrated, partial serrated of plain edge. It comes in colors.

Then comes the leatherman. The girls find this weird at first, but it's so useful, they love it after awhile.

When they get old enough to need protection...the Matriarch :)
 
For a kid that young I would avoid a slipjoint so they don't snap the blade shut on their finger. I would go with the knives ship free buck lockback! My daughter cut herself the first day but is now used to the knife and loves it:)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top