Knife for 12 year old

S

Shann

Joined
Sep 2, 2004
Messages
5,250
I'm getting my nephew a knife for X-Mas. He has a little "collection" that he has gathered that's mostly complete junk. All folders. The kind of stuff we all had when we were kids.

I'm thinking about $25.00 budget. He is in the cub scouts and loves being outdoors. He's gone hunting with a neighbor a couple of times but his Dad doesn't hunt, so I don't know how much he's actually going to hunt.

I'm thinkin SAK, but are there decent boy scout knives out there too?
 
A good Victorinox Swiss Army knife is about as good as it gets IMO. I still carry one after years of buying many other various brands and single blades that come and go but after 10 or more years that same old SAK still rides in my pocket all the time.
 
STR said:
A good Victorinox Swiss Army knife is about as good as it gets IMO. I still carry one after years of buying many other various brands and single blades that come and go but after 10 or more years that same old SAK still rides in my pocket all the time.
Click to expand...


Yep, really hard to go wrong with a Vic, maybe something simple like a Tinker. The only other suggestion might be a Camillus 5 blade camp/Boy Scout knife. Though the Vic Tinker will probably fit better in the pocket of a 12 year old. The knife I had at that age was a stockman and it was fine.
 
yam said:
Yep, really hard to go wrong with a Vic, maybe something simple like a Tinker. The only other suggestion might be a Camillus 5 blade camp/Boy Scout knife. Though the Vic Tinker will probably fit better in the pocket of a 12 year old. The knife I had at that age was a stockman and it was fine.
Click to expand...


This is a big boy. His Dad's 6'3", 325 (or so he says, right and I'm Tinkerbelle). His Uncle (me) is 6', 320. He comes by his size naturally! Thanks for the advise. I'll check both out!
 
There's so many good choices available here. . . You could get him an Opinel. Great and useful blade for about $10. If you'd like to offer him a fixed blade, you could go with a Mora. Another useful blade for about $10.

Other alternatives would be a Buck Stockman. Retail is a little higher than $25, but you can find them for under $30 just by googling (froogle.google.com). I like the Case CV Stockman's, too. They're also in that price range.

Finally, if he wants something that's a little less traditional, you could get him a Spyderco Byrd knife, or a Benchmade Pika. They both run for under $25, and while they may not match up in quality with the higher end Spydercos and Benchmades, they're still a lot of knife for the cost, and a solid deal.
 
Regardless of his size the SAK is a great choice. I tend to be very conservative when it comes to knives and weapons. My own son thought terribly of me when his first gun was a single shot 410 shotgun instead of the semi auto 22LR he really wanted but my thoughts were that I knew when I was his age if I had 7 + 1 in the chamber I was gonna shoot seven plus one whether I needed to or not. Not that I didn't want him to enjoy shooting but the single shot was my way of containing the built in urge of a young teenage boy to get carried away by making him have to focus and concentrate and learn to make one shot count.

Same with a knife I guess. The one hand openers with a pocket clip are great and all but very tempting to keep from hauling off to places they shouldn't be hauled off to and perhaps harder to keep under wraps or show off to all his friends too. SAKs are so useful in so many ways besides a knife that it seems to wear enough hats to keep him entertained and also make it so he has to take his time and open it the old fashioned way like we did. Nothing wrong with starting out slow. IMO

STR
 
A SAK Alox Farmer is nice for about $30. Something with a lock, like a Benchmade Monochrome, Pika, or Ambush is great too. I have a few of the Camillus Boy Scout knives and they really arn't that good. The best ones were discontinued. The "Whittler's Knife" is probibly the best. But...

A better choice if you want to go traditonal is something by Queen (Their D2 knives are great) or Case (for something stainless), but you have to check it out ahead of time as every once in a while a bad one slips through (weak springs or a little blade play). However, they are usually more in the $50 range.
 
I'd recommend the Opinel. Simple knife with a great blade and a lock. Feels great in the hand and the price is unbeatable.

They offer the No. 7 in a children's model with a rounded point.
 
As much as i agree with the SAK idea, i must suggest the Buck 55. It's a mini 110 with very nice bolsters, as well as a lock (a very nice design and size for a youngster). But a non locking SAK would help him learn to respect a folders advantages and disadvantages. That and you can choose the right set of extra tools for him.
 
In your price range a Victorinox SAK is the right choice. I own well over 200 knives and a SAK keeps finding it's way into EDC rotation.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top