how old should my nephew be b4 he gets his first knife?

G

GoldCutter

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my nephew is only nine but he is very keen on knives allready since he was yonger even.....I'm beginning to think he's getting closer to being old enough to have his own little leatherman or pen knife since I was his age when I first had mine....allthough his mother will prolly kill me if I give him one without her permission but I want a real good valid arguement based on when he is old enough and why he should have one his dad isnt around and if she had it her way he'd be playing with dolls....I like the kid and he deserves to be part of the club as all bright young lads do. Or is it strictly a dad thing? After all I only see him on weekends.


:D
 
I got my first when I was 5... bday gift from my grandfather.

I plan to give my niece her first next year for her 5th.
 
I think you should leave that decision up to his parents. Unless you want to ask them and if they don't care you could hook him up. Although if they don't seem real keen on it I wouldn't push them. If someone tried to push me to give my kid something I wasn't ready to I'd want to slice their throat, relative or not. :)
 
ok so the kid misses out....ashame though.....but never the less he's not my responciblity and if he grows up to be a teenager and gets his first knife from a camping shop runs out and terrorizes people with it coz he wasnt brought up to understand how to be a responsible knife owner then at least I'm not to blame.
 
i started using knives at a very young age, although i did'nt actually own one until i was older. anyways i remember i cut myself a couple times but it was no big issue. my dad showed me how to cut things properly, as not to have an accident. children(like adults) are bound to sustain little cuts here and there.
 
I went through a similar deal recently, since he was 17 my Nephew has been bugging me to give him his first "really good" knife for XMASS, but due to his continuing pattern of drugs and criminal behavior, he just turned 21 and he still won't get one form me.

I had one at about 6, but it varies with the kid. I also would NOT give your Nephew a knife unless his parents OK it.
 
Perhaps My First Victorinox is in order? It's got a rounded-tip blade, so perhaps the parent would feel better about it.

Side note: My first pocketknife was when I was 6: Victorinox Spartan.
 
Depends on the kid. Five or six is probably the minimum, that's when I first got one. Got my first decent knife(Buck 303) at 13.

Gordon
 
Having been an independent child in many respect, I bought myself my first swiss army at the Grand Canyon at age 6. Then around age 9, I bout myself a multi-tool.

I think that if you ok it with the parents, a multi-tool or a SAK would be ok. I had a military father, so I grew up around knives and guns, and always had the correct educcation.

On that, I think that you should make sure your nephew understand the repsonsibilites and is porperly educated about knives and knife safety. He should espically know that he CANNOT take it to school to show off, and carry it with him everywhere...yet.
 
My son is 3 and 1/2 and just got his first knife from me. A little buck gentlemans knife. I completely dulled the blade and point, and he only has access to it when he is directly in my line of vision. I figure it's never too early to teach responsibility and safety. As for a sharp knife, It completely depends on the kid and his/her level of maturity.
 
If your looking for a SAK, I have a wenger that I got when I was probably 9. I think I had a campers knife that had the Church RA's name and stuff on it. But I would suggest maybe a stainless for his first, he wont have to take quite as much care as a CV or carbon blade.

Tyler
 
I got a Vnox Camper when I was around 6. I'd say 9 is a decent age to start, if he seems responsible enough.
 
Last fall, My best friend's oldest boy won a small lockback folder as a prize in Cub Scouts. He was in the 5th grade. Kids start to show real common sense and understand the consequences their actions by then. I think 10 or 11 is a good age.

I think SAK's are great for kids first knife because they reinforce the idea that a knife, any knife, Is first and foremost a tool. They also look non threatening so mom won't be so scared.

Drew
 
The problem with giving a boy any tool is that they will go out and use it all over the place. If you give him a hammer he will smash things. If you give him pliers he will twist and pull things apart. If you give him a screwdriver he will disassemble things and pry things apart. If you give him a hatchet he will chop things. If you give him a knife he will cut things. This is fundamental to a boy's learning process and is not understood by most mothers. If you give a boy any tool you will get blamed for the damage.

It is best to give a boy smaller tools at first so that he does smaller damage. You also want to give a boy some projects to work on at the same time as he gets the tool. So I suggest you give a boy an official Victorinox "Boy Scout Knife"; either the Tinker or the Mechanic model would be good. At the same time give him some old junk to take apart and maybe some kits to put together. At first give him things to do with the non-knife blades. He is less likely to cut himself (which is good PR) and it gets him thinking that the knife is a tool rather than a ninja weapon. Keep feeding him stuff to work on. Good places to get some junk are from garage sales or thrift stores like Salvation Army or Goodwill. Give the boy some screws and nuts so that he can fix things.

http://www.theledstore.com/scouting.html

PS: You will need to take time with the boy to show him how to do constructive and interesting things with his tools. He won't pick it up from TV or the internet. Invite him over to your place and have him help you with projects. You should do this before you give him any tools. Then let him use a similar tool at your place. Have him ask for one like he used at his uncle's.
 
Jeff Clark thanx that was just the response I was seeking.....sensible input

*murmers*wich is more I can say for another shameless thread I regretibly posted :grumpy: ...but anyway yeah ...well me and young james were working on one of his school projects one day ....making a toy car that was propelled buy a rubber band.....this kid is realy bright and has a good mechanical mind.....all I wanna do is send him on a good path....you should have seen his face when I took out my Benchmade Elishewitz to give this little creation of ours its final touch ups....."gee you sure do things proper" he said..

working with my dads tools in the backyard making all types of stuff really helped me immensely later in life.....I found I was leaps and bounds ahead of other jewellers in my industry for having a childhood background of making darts and ninja stars LOL when I was a kid.....but the first tool I was introduced to was a stanley knife....


but thats the thing isnt it....you really have to be around with em to have an impact ....his dads in and out of jail and all (what a wanker).....and you know what they say about apples.......thanks jeff you've given me an angle.
 
haha, if my mother had her way, I'd never own a knife. My first knife (not including SAKs) was a cheap $10 rambo style bowie, I was around 8 years old. It had the hollowed handle with "survival" gear inside. I loved that knife. My uncle bought it at a swap meet - never even asked my mother if it was okay. He just gave it to me. Then again he knew my mother wouldn't really say anything.. she didn't agree but didn't take my knife away either.

My nephew (age 11) is really keen on getting that same style knife. I'm still need to talk to his father to see if its okay. I might just help his dad pick one out - it's really a father son type thing. My father was never around really so my uncle giving me a knife wasn't a big deal. If you think the mother (and father) would be okay with it, one option is to buy a knife the kid will like - a cheap basic knife - and just dull it down. He's probably just going to carry the knife in his pocket and pretend he's rambo anyway.

Then you can just watch him, and see how he is with knives. You can wait a few years and if you see he's ready, you can give him a better knife.
 
I designed a Spyderco for my two oldest girls 7 and 6? i posted the knife on www.spyderco.com on the forum under, "my first custom Spyderco". It might be not to his liking but for my girls it shurely works. I call it the "Barbie spyder" but it might give u a good idea what u could modify to an existing knife to make it more childproof. Greetz :D
 
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