first knife suggestions

B

Band-aid

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Jun 8, 2000
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i'm thinking its time to let my 2 oldest sons try having a first knife. the misses is already having a fit over it because she thinks they are too young, 6&7, but i was 6 when i got my first plus this is me giving them an opportunity to show me they can have an EDC knife on them.

problem is i can't settle on just the right knife. my original plan was to make them each a folder but i am not going to have the time. so i have been jumping around from sak to leatherman to any number of small single and multi blade folders. i tried getting an idea of what they would be interested in by letting them show me what they liked online but they kept picking out swords and axes and united fantasy junk....(where did i go wrong...?)

anyway, the only thing i have to go on is $50.00 ea and under price range. and they may not be ready for liner locks, other than that..

what would y'all suggest?
 
my first knife was a sak. a gift from my dad when i was about 9. i loved that knife!
also a case slip joint would be great, any buck lockback. the 110, i believe thats the model, is a great first knife for a youngster and wont set you back too far.
 
I cant believe I am saying this but I would buy them them some of these wal-mart special made in china junk.:eek: The only reason I say that is I remember being that old and I used my knives for cutting everthing from rope and carboard to rocks and sticks. I would throw them at trees. My knives were used for digging and prying. I was always breaking or losing them. Some of the cheap knives are made of junk steel but they will hold up for a good while. If you only spend $10 total or apiece then you can afford to replace them when they get broken or lost in 2 weeks. After 6 months if the knives havnt been broken from abuse or lost then invest in a quality knife for each of them such as a kershaw or sog or leatherman. This will teach them responsibility and value. They will put more value in a $50 knife after using imported junk. Thus the quality knife is more likely to be taken care of and charished. This is just my experience. I have been a knife nut since my first on my 5th b-day. I never took care of my knives or used them properly till I had to buy my own. I now know what is good quality and bad quality from years of experience and hard use. This is my 2 cents hope it helps. feel free to contact me if you need further info or advise on the matter.:D
 
o my first was also a SAK and I havent and most likely will not own another. This will make some mad but I think the are crap compared to a good multi tool like sog or leatherman.
 
ashtxsniper said:
o my first was also a SAK and I havent and most likely will not own another. This will make some mad but I think the are crap compared to a good multi tool like sog or leatherman.
Click to expand...

i agree leatherman tools have taken over this market. but i got mine over 25 years ago, and sak's were the only quality 'multi-tools' around. and i think, still, for the price, a great choice.
 
I just have had a lot of problems with SAK's over the years. I guess everyone else has had better luck.
 
a cheap wally world starter knife. thats not a bad idea at all. huh.. why didn't i think of that? i guess i'm just so knife nutty that the idea of buying junk knives has been programmed out or something. but that is certainly worth more thought. thanks!
 
I'd say grab a cheap SAK knockoff for now...it's probably going to come under lots of abuse not intended for an EDC knife..throwing them at trees and rocks like someone mentioned..

And one kid might come home from school with a bag of Doritos, and tell you he traded his knife for them...better off losing a cheapie than a decent knife:D

Don't tell the kids they are cheap though..play it up and make them seem like the greatest knives ever..maybe the'd lay off the tree throwing..give them something old to take apart with the screwdriver heads; make it more of a TOOL rather than just a knife blade..
 
Yeah I dont care for cheap knives but that is what I get for young males in the family for there first knives. If they take care of them and respect them they get a quality knife next birthday. I just remember being preteen with a knife. My knife was a multi-tool. My pocket knife was my shovel, axe, throwing knife, my spear on the end of a wooden stick, my tree limb saw. I sharpened it with a file. Young men are hard on knives. I have never seen a young male under the age of 13 that didnt throw his knife at trees or stir camp fires with it. They always get destroyed. I garantee they will cut the hell out of themselves with it. I did. Thats one more reason to go with a duller 420 china steel knife over a razor sharp sog or spyderco. A lot of people I know actualy dull the edge of there kids first knife to a butterknife like edge to help them learn safe knife handling from use and still keep all their fingers. The only good thing is thats how they learn. I have learned everything I know about knives from trial and error.
 
yup kids are hard on knives, as they are on most everything. i always took pretty good care of my stuff as a kid, but beat the hell out of my knives. i appreciated them more since they were of good quality, but dug, pried, and threw nonetheless.

and i still have the buck 6 inch hunter i got about a year after the sak, another gift from my father. i will never sell or trade it, even though the tip is bent, the blade chipped, and in general pretty beat up. it holds tremendous sentimental value and has held up all these years because of the craftsmanship. just my .02:)
 
Based on my own experiences, a locking blade will save some unecessary cuts and close calls. Camillus makes a 3 blade Cub Scout Camp knive # BAS885.
2 1/4 spear locking spear blade, screwdirver/can opener and locking leather punch. list $36.
 
my first was a SAK.
I'd personally wait until they were a little older (10 has a good ring to it) but I don't want to impose my views on you.
 
A cheap Wal-Mart is the way to go IMO. I remember my first one was a Gerber. It's kind of a cross between a cheapo and a decent knife. Why not go that route? Only my 2 cents.
 
Its funny because,A cheap Wally World knife could be a Gerber Gator. That was my first folder years ago.A friend sharpened it and it became my best friend until it grew legs. I think it was around $30. Otherwise, cheaper yet and you don't have to feel bad about them learning to sharpen the blade.

MPE
 
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