First knife for my son

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k2mykel

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Nov 30, 2009
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My son is growing up and I am almost ready to buy his first knife. Any suggestions and why? We have a farm and he is in Scouts so he thinks that he'd like a multi-tool kinda knife.

Thanks.
 
My first was a victorinox swisschamp; that particular model might be a little excessive, but anything from victorinox is good quality and value in my opinion.
 
Hm, I'll tell ya your about to get a plethora of options from everyone on here, but coming from a Life Scout, my first liner locking knife with a thumbstud was really really awesome. It was very cheap though, look into some of the recommendations that will follow that meet those guidelines priced $30-50 or more and it will be a quality knife as well.

As far as a multitool, I had a friend in scouts that had a Leatherman, and I only wish I had gotten one before 8 months or so ago. I carry it everywhere and it's usually more handy that the folder I carry. Back in scouts I traded for one of the Gerber multitools where the pliers slid out of the frame...it was cool to flick out like a knife but soon got very tight and eventually barely made it out at all.

I carry the Leatherman Rebar, all tools lock into place and it's the cheaper of the full size models.

Good luck and good luck to your son on his journey through scouting, the thing I regret most is not getting my Eagle.

Hope this helps!
 
I just got a SOG Powerlock multi -tool and am impressed with it. Very smooth,comfortable,and great tools. Much better quality than my Leatherman Rebar. I would get him a multi-tool from SOG.
 
Depending on how big of a knife you want him to have you could always get him a multitool and maybe a small fixed blade. I've used my gerber diesel for years and beat the crap out of it and it still works fine.
Gerber Diesel
And then you could always get him a mora knife? Mora Knife If you didn't want to get him a fixed blade, I'd go with a basic swiss army knife.
 
A lot of guys I work with (film industry) use the leatherman wave and quite happy w/ it. I always carry my ZT560 & LM Wave w/ me but when it comes to more use, the Wave is the winner. It really is a handy piece of kit and it gets used for more projects than my tool box. I just think its a great first knife for a kid. In fact, one of the kids I work w/ is having his 13th birthday this week, I am getting him a multi tool. Perfect for boy adventures!
 
k2mykel said:
My son is growing up and I am almost ready to buy his first knife. Any suggestions and why? We have a farm and he is in Scouts so he thinks that he'd like a multi-tool kinda knife.

Thanks.
Click to expand...

Victorinox Alox Cadet!

alox-1.jpg
 
You definitely can't go wrong with a Swiss Army Knife.
If you're not dead-set on a multitool I would suggest you take a look at the Svord Mini Peasant. They're pretty basic but they're tough, simple, easy to maintain and take a great edge. They're not stainless and they dismantle easily, which means they require some care (a good thing if you want to teach your son to look after his knife) and are easy to maintain and/or tinker with.
It's also always a good time to introduce someone to the pure joy that is Opinel :)
 
Just gonna echo I think, but you can't really go wrong with any flavor SAK, Cadet, Climber, Camper, Tinker and the one the model with a thumb drive(don't remember than name now, and not much of a scouting tool lol) are my personal favorite models. Tho honestly I carry my Leatherman Juice Xe6 more than any of them.
 
Congrats.I would suggest the Victorinox Farmer. It has an excellent saw and awl.With some outdoor skills this knife can easily handle tasks such as shelter making,fire craft and making traps just to name a few.The main blade is of adequate size and easy to sharpen.I gifted one to a young man that works the pipe lines in the wilderness last month and he is highly impressed with it.I ordered from knife works and had his name engraved on the main blade so it doesn't accidentally walk off from him knowing people in his crew would want to borrow it. Lol,they do and he tells them to buy a knife! / P.S. I carry one myself.
 
My first was a Swiss Army knife. Check enough that if it gets broken or lost it can be replaced and has many different functions.
 
I'd recommend a Victorinox Trekker its pretty reliable or maybe a Leatherman Crunch (My dad owns one) he loves it and its his work knife. If he doesn't need a multi-tool, people recommended me the Ontario Rat 1 so go with that. I also have a Victorinox Sport that sees a lot of use mostly because its not intimidating and strangely it came with flat burgundy scales instead of shiny red so it doesn't attract attention. People here know a lot more than me but don't go buy him a Sabenza;)
 
Just because he small doesn't mean he shouldn't start with a real knife, he's a scout, BK9!
 
I'm 37. I can still vividly remember when my dad got me an SAK and a 3 blade slip joint. He had an old SAK that came out of the junk drawer on occasion. I thought it was incredibly cool, and I thought I was just like dad when I got mine. That was a very big deal. He had a coworker do some work on the blades of the slip joint before I got it in hand. It was wicked sharp. Great memories.

The point is, being involved and sharing some of your time and knife thoughts with him will probably outweigh the specific blade, though the item will be the anchor for the memory. Maybe get him an SAK and tell him why you chose that specific one.

Whatever you do, good on you for being the kind of man who actively thinks about his kids.
 
Swiss Army Knives are great for kids. Neat tools, easy to open, and 'fun'. In my experience SAKs are not only the most common knife carried by Scouts, but the most common single item carried by serious hikers and backpackers. And with a lanyard tied to the bail, they are reasonable loss-resistant.

For work around the farm, perhaps a small fixed blade too? Mora makes a youth model with guards that's just the right size and weight for a young boy. There's also a really nice Bird and Trout sized hunting knife in the Queen Light Hunter series.
I'm also quite impressed with the Bird and Trout from KaBar with stacked leather handles. The knife is made overseas and the sheath (very durable thick leather) is made in Mexico.

Happy shopping!
 
I guess it depends on what kind of kid he is too. Does he like traditional or does he like more modern knives? If he likes traditional I'm sure he'd be happy with a SAK if he's not picking. My Grandmother gave me my first knife a SAK and used it for awhile then lost interest cause i didn't find anything "cool" about it. Still really wish i had it cause she passed about 4 months ago. But that's the thing i lost interest and lost it cause as a kid didn't find anything espeically cool about it . I'd still say a SOG Powerlock for a multi tool. Can find them for like $40-50 new . I just picture a kid liking it more than a SAK or even get a Leatherman for that matter. Out on a farm the pliers will come in handy. For a small fixed knife would get a Becker BK24. Put the whole BK24 setup together for $60 with sheath. Here's pics of both the SOG and the BK24. And the picture of the SOG doesn't do it justice.:)

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I'd go with a multi-tool from leatherman, victorinox or sog.

Or if you really want to spoil him you can get the Emerson multitasker.
 
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