Girls first knife?

I would recommend a SAK for a couple reasons.

First, it's sheeple friendly, which might not matter to most of us, but when it's a child with a knife I think it matters more because it tends makes people nervous.

Second SAK's help to reinforce the idea that knives are, first and foremost, tools.

Third, I am a firm believer that having a slipjoint for a first knife teaches children to handle knives with proper caution and respect, rather than relying upon locking mechanisms to keep their fingers attached to their hands.

Lastly, SAKs are just far more useful than any plain old knife.

I recommend the Victorinox Explorer Plus, it was my first knife and I can tell you from experience that it is loaded with all sorts of things that kids will love and use every day. I had lots of fun with the small but very powerful magnifying glass, which was great for examining bugs and plants, but I did get into quite a bit of trouble for starting a small fire with it in the backyard :D
 
Im a believer that a non locking blade is much safer. One of the best things is to have the knife snap and cut you. You see, if that happens with a sak, it likely wont be a terrible cut. If you make a lock blade fail (because you havent learned to respect the blade) you can be very seriously injured.

I got cut in my youth from a sak, and I learned to be much more careful about how I use a knife. I think respecting a blade is something that is often only learned through practice. Once you get cut, youll be more careful next time. It is also very important to supervise your child. My nephew is learned to use his first knife, and only uses it with me around. No cuts yet, but itll happen :D
 
My son will turn 6 in May and I plan on getting him the Opinel "my first knife". I like the locked open/closed feature and Opinel makes good stuff IMO. It's also customizable and I intend to have it engraved with his name for about $5 extra. Couple all that with the fact that if he loses it, it costs like $15 total.
 
There is a specialized version of the SAK that seems like it would be great for children.

It's called "My First Victorinox" and here is a link to what it looks like (http://www.victorinox.com/product/1/100/1000/0.2373.T)

The great thing about it is it has most of the stuff a regular SAK has, but it has a shorter and blunted blade which seems like a good choice since kids seem to be pretty interested in shiny and pointy stuff. It also includes a saw, but if you go camping it could be a good way to show how useful a SAK can be.

Good luck, hope you find something awesome.

Edit: Turns out there are two versions, one with and one without the saw. I can only seem to find the model on the European version of the Victorinox site but it seems like you can buy them online for about 20-25 dollars.
 
Thalestin said:
Im a believer that a non locking blade is much safer. One of the best things is to have the knife snap and cut you. You see, if that happens with a sak, it likely wont be a terrible cut. If you make a lock blade fail (because you havent learned to respect the blade) you can be very seriously injured.

I got cut in my youth from a sak, and I learned to be much more careful about how I use a knife. I think respecting a blade is something that is often only learned through practice. Once you get cut, youll be more careful next time. It is also very important to supervise your child. My nephew is learned to use his first knife, and only uses it with me around. No cuts yet, but itll happen :D
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This. I totally agree. A kid with a slipjoint learns safe knife handling, and it also tends to prevent stabbing things, which locking blades encourage, "because you can."

No child should be given a knife without also getting a lot of hands-on time with the knife-savvy parent, learning how and where to use it, and how to be safe. Later on, they can learn to sharpen, a skill that is useful for a lifetime.
 
The Byrd Finch, Ladybug, and the locking Opinel are all good suggestions, and I think any of them would be good.

My first knife was a small Pakistani lockback, and I never got cut on it. When I got a Wenger SAK, I cut myself on that because the slipjoint spring tension was so great for my young hands. I'd definitely stick with easy to release locking knives.
 
An Opinel was my first knife (6 or 7yrs old), they're very good and cheap. But get one wet and the blade becomes very stiff to open and close. Also, the worst cut I've ever had came from that knife. I was about 8yrs old, cutting carpet to put in my den and I'd forgotten to turn the locking collar, the result was 3 stitches to my forefinger.

I would recommend a SAK with saw and scissors, you could replace the toothpick with a pen. A knife like this is great for children because they can do so much tinkering with it.

My nephew and niece

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In my opinion,If you teach little ones how to properly use a slip joint safely,they will be able to handle any other type blade that comes along.
 
Either:

pink ESEE Izula - small, foolproof fixed blade, small handle, tough, will last, easy to sharpen, will not break the bank and pink!

Or,

purple Spyderco Delica FFG - small, fanastic ergos, easy to open thumb hole, reliable lock, easy to sharpen, will not break the bank and purple!

These were the first two knives I bought my fiancé to try to get her hooked... It worked :D
 
I believe a fixed blade is safest; no opening/closing, no locking etc. you can teach basic skills like baton technique also. I got my 7yr old a pink izula for Christmas, her first knife. The only concern is the withdraw from the sheath is quite dangerous due to potential for hand slice if done wrong. it also takes some effort and her hands are not too strong. we'll be working on it:

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I also got my 8yr old his first knives for Christmas, one is the SAK Tinker, the other is a custom made necker from Pmoore.
 
for what its worth, I agree that the izula sheath is to tight (for drawing) I got a Poff kydex after a painfull cut. Im an old man not a young girl, but I remember my first scout knife being hard to release the liner lock with my 8 yr old fingers. The can/bottle/awl tools seems to me to not as useful as the "stuff" you can pick on various SAKs. Letting her chose from a previously narrowed down list is a good idea.
 
I've decided to go with a SAK of some sort. I want to go with a slip joint because, despite all the stupid things I did with mine as a kid I still have my fingers. And I learned to respect knives. And how to handle them properly.
 
another vote for a SAK or an Opinel.

or look at a Fallkniven WM1 for a fixed blade?

just because she's a girl doesn't mean her knife has to be pink. bleagh.
 
Just as a side note here, make absolutely certain that they never, ever bring them to school. I used to carry a little lockback when I was 13, and I got "caught" with it (I didn't think of it as a big deal, but the school administrators sure did). I was suspended for a week and put on 6 months of informal probation. I had to put on an orange vest and clean up trash with the gang member kids. All cause I carried a 2.5" lockback.

And no, I didn't threaten anyone with it or anything, no would I ever have intended to. It just fell out of my pocket in front of the teacher.
 
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