If you have little kids around: how sharp do you sharpen?

[johnniet]

Did anyone ever start sharpening differently for child safety reasons?

I have a Fallkniven White Whale in VG-10; I use a 15 degree primary bevel sharpened on 2000 grit sandpaper.
The other day, I was putting it back into its edge guard when it slipped just the littlest bit, not much weight or speed behind it, and I got a small cut on my thumb. Fine.
With one of my wife’s knives it wouldn’t have cut me, even though they’re pretty usable in general.

But I have a 3-year-old who is getting taller. What if he ran in some time and pulled down a cutting board? Any thoughts?

 

[InThePocket]

Sharper is safer for kitchen knives. You've just got to keep them out of reach and teach the kiddos what not to do. I get the concern, my youngest is 3 and she's a hellion, we've had close calls in the kitchen. But I wouldn't be relying on a dull knife edge for safety... it can still cut, and it might be a worse cut.

 

[jbmonkey]

sharp knives are safer...kids or no kids. kids have to be watched at all times. dulling a kitchen knife won't work on safety for children.

 

[johnniet]

Now I don’t want it dull…just maybe put on a secondary bevel and back down to 800-1000 grit.
But thanks for the considerations.
Actually, I always thought that the safety problem with dull knives was the temptation to use force—and you cut yourself when the knife either slips or finally cuts through. Will they also cut worse if you weren’t using it, but you get cut if the knife falls or other accidental contact?

 

[johnniet]

The other thing I’ve thought of is to make more use of my shorter, lighter, still very sharp knives. There should be less force if they slide against someone by accident.

 

[oldmanwilly]

I sharpen them to the best edge I can give them, then focus on education and training to keep my 4-year old daughter safe. She knows I like knives and frequently asks to see them, so I made sure to teach her all the relevant parts and how to safely handle a knife. She loves to help me chop vegetables in the kitchen. When asked, she'll recite the parts (point, edge, spine, handle, pommel) and hand it back to me handle-first.

I also drilled it into her to always ask before touching anything on, or reaching onto, kitchen counters as she may not be able to see something hot or sharp until it's too late. I do my best to stop and accommodate her whenever she asks to touch a knife so that I remove the mystery around them and let her know she won't just be denied every time she asks.

At some point she's going to slip up and get cut, like I did and continue to do on a (thankfully) infrequent basis. But it seems to work for now.

 

[johnniet]

That point about having ask before touching *anything* on a kitchen counter is very well-put. We've been worried about the burners too, now that he's tall enough he might reach one (even if he's really reaching for something else).

 

[oldmanwilly]

Ja, we don't have 100% compliance but it's a start; impulse control is hard. She learned a healthy respect for the stove after she once grazed her arm against a heated skillet on the stovetop, so she's perfectly aware of the danger.

 

[SimplyMinded]

Extremely sharp, I'm going for the Gerber Baby Insurance policy payoff. $5000 is a lot of money!
Seriously though by the time a kid is tall enough to reach the knife block or drawer I'd hope they know better. I've never kept anything dangerous within reach of a small child.

 

[InThePocket]

One thing this puts me in mind of is, by the time I was 6 or 7 I was carrying around a pocketknife and whittling and stuff. I have a couple of scars from it, and I learned how to not cut myself. When they're toddlers it feels like it's going to last forever, but it's really a very short window of time where you have to protect them and get them used to the concept of danger and safety, and then before you know it they have their first Opinel or whatever and they're slicing their index finger to the bone anyway.