- Joined
- Oct 17, 2007
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- 4,266
I gave my 4 year old a pocket knife... is that too young? 
In all seriousness, I was recently reading some comments in another thread, and I simply couldn't believe the amount of comments that suggested 13 was too young for a knife. I don't know about anybody else, but at 13, I was hunting, fishing, and working in the summer on my grandfather's farm (and doing just about everything any full grown man could do on top of that). There wasn't a day that went by that somebody wasn't pulling out a knife to cut something, whether it was fishing line, a length of rope, a feed sack, or just peeling an apple from the tree in the back yard.
I was probably about 7 or 8 when my dad bought me a tiny single blade slipjoint from a vendor at an outdoor flea market. Sure, it was probably made in china, from steel that couldn't be sharpened worth a darn and would barely scrape butter, but I'll never forget the joy (and even unbelief) I felt when he handed to me, nor the pride I felt when I took it out of my pocket to admire, whittle the occasional stick, or saw through a piece of string.
If anything, it at least taught me at an early age how to properly and responsibly use a tool. Use it incorrectly, and you get cut, and I DID get cut. That said, it didn't kill me or cripple me... it only taught me to be more careful and how to use a knife correctly.
Another thing it helped to each me was a self sustainability. It was the very beginning of a life lesson that a man should have his own tools and be able to fix his own problems. I didn't have to call somebody else to help me tie a fishing lure, or to put an extra hole in a slightly oversized belt. It might not have been a good looking knot, or the roundest of holes, but knowing that at least had the tool to finish the job, gave me the confidence to at least to try and start it myself.
In my opinion, if you can use a knife a fork to eat, you ought to be old enough to carry and use a pocket knife. If anything, it's a rite of passage, and a vital part of learning to be a man.
What other justifications do we need?!
And no, I didn't really give my 4 year old a knife, though he is quite enthralled with my shiny, red victorinox SAK. We take it out and admire it often.
When he's old enough to open all of the tools himself, it will be his. Right now he can only open the Phillips screwdriver.
In all seriousness, I was recently reading some comments in another thread, and I simply couldn't believe the amount of comments that suggested 13 was too young for a knife. I don't know about anybody else, but at 13, I was hunting, fishing, and working in the summer on my grandfather's farm (and doing just about everything any full grown man could do on top of that). There wasn't a day that went by that somebody wasn't pulling out a knife to cut something, whether it was fishing line, a length of rope, a feed sack, or just peeling an apple from the tree in the back yard.
I was probably about 7 or 8 when my dad bought me a tiny single blade slipjoint from a vendor at an outdoor flea market. Sure, it was probably made in china, from steel that couldn't be sharpened worth a darn and would barely scrape butter, but I'll never forget the joy (and even unbelief) I felt when he handed to me, nor the pride I felt when I took it out of my pocket to admire, whittle the occasional stick, or saw through a piece of string.
If anything, it at least taught me at an early age how to properly and responsibly use a tool. Use it incorrectly, and you get cut, and I DID get cut. That said, it didn't kill me or cripple me... it only taught me to be more careful and how to use a knife correctly.
Another thing it helped to each me was a self sustainability. It was the very beginning of a life lesson that a man should have his own tools and be able to fix his own problems. I didn't have to call somebody else to help me tie a fishing lure, or to put an extra hole in a slightly oversized belt. It might not have been a good looking knot, or the roundest of holes, but knowing that at least had the tool to finish the job, gave me the confidence to at least to try and start it myself.
In my opinion, if you can use a knife a fork to eat, you ought to be old enough to carry and use a pocket knife. If anything, it's a rite of passage, and a vital part of learning to be a man.
What other justifications do we need?!
And no, I didn't really give my 4 year old a knife, though he is quite enthralled with my shiny, red victorinox SAK. We take it out and admire it often.
When he's old enough to open all of the tools himself, it will be his. Right now he can only open the Phillips screwdriver.
I don't remember my parents giving it to me, but they must have. I don't remember any big deal made of it as far as safety lectures, etc. But it was a different time, for sure. We didn't wear seatbelts or helmets, and toy trucks had sharp metal edges. 
