Knives for boyscouts?

Anything made by Mora would be great for boy scouts and they are excellent knives for excellent prices. Also ESEE 4 would be a good knife for them. It's around 80 dollars but it's a great knife. both are carbon steel but Mora does make some stainless models. Not sure exactly what the Moras are made of but the ESEE is 1095 with a Rowen heat treat, powdercoated blade, canvas micarta scales, and an excellent kydex sheath. ESEE also ahs a no questions asked warranty. If it breaks, they replace it, regardless fo how many hands its passed through or how long ago it was bought. If the boys are a bit older a BK&T BK2 would also be an excellent knife. It's around 70 dollars, 1095 CROVAN with a MAR temper(i think) and is coated and has a polymer sheath. Good old MKII Kabar would of course serve great. I hope this helped
 
Having spent a number of years as a scout leader, I think your budget is too high. I know most knifeknuts like us would have no problem spending that much on a scout knife for our own son, but the majority of scouts I have worked with came from families that just didn't understand why it was necessary to spend more than $10 on a knife. For them, it took some education before they would even consider the typical swiss army knife. So it is best to use that as your base unit, there are many models available to fit most budgets and take care of just about anything a scout will need. For those who are inclined to want a locking knife, something like a Kershaw Skyline, Buck Folding Hunter or Vantage Select or Avid, or a Byrd Spyderco is relatively easy to coax out of the typical parent. And for those parents who do appreciate that a quality knife costs money and is worth spending a bit more, then you can direct them to the better lines offered by Spyderco, Buck, Kershaw, Benchmade, etc.
 
I don't think anyone has said Buck 110.

Edit: Oh, nope, someone beat me to it.

BTW: In Scouts I carried a SAK and a Kershaw Skyline.
 
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I got my Eagle 10 years ago, and my whole time in scouts I carried either my Spyderco Endura, Rescue, or one of my two Delica's. They were GREAT for me. Now with their Tenacious line being so cheap, that's probably what I would suggest. The Ontario Rat1 is also a great folder, stout, cheap, looks cool. In scouts we had really good leaders that weren't afraid to teach us how to safely use a knife for everything, these guys carried one every day and knew their usefulness.

Best of luck!
John
 
Minibear464 said:
Yea. I'm currently working on my eagle. I was at Philmont last year too! Had to chase a bear. Haha, memories.
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No, there is no national 'rule' about fixed blades. They aren't allowed at Philmont though, as I recall. They also aren't allowed at some District or Council events, or at some troops. So why get something you can't use everywhere?
 
Minibear464 said:
I'm pretty sure we'll allow them. I have no idea why they shouldn't be allowed.
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The trend away from fixed blades is nothing new. Talking to a long-time professional scouter / volunteer gave me some insight on this:
The little brats couldn't be trusted to not throw the knives into trees;
Mumblypeg;
Increasing competition among scouts as to which kid could bring the largest, most useless knife.
 
I made Eagle back in 82' ( btw I hope you eagles have your hard cover eagle roll book )
I would have loved to have had a leatherman, fits the scout motto to a "T"
 
We had to carry official BSA folders as a young Cub Scout, they were the equivalent of Vic Soldier or Farmer. In Boy Scouts we carried anything and everything that was considered a folding pocket knife, mostly guys had a Case or a SAK. Whenever camping/hiking, we could carry fixed blades as long as they were 7 inches or less. When camping we had to bring wire cutters, saws, axes and various tools, now days there are so many more options with multi-tools. I would say every kid, scout or not, should learn with a traditional slip joint so that they could demonstrate proper knife handling before moving on to modern lock blades.
 
I had a Camillus pilot's survival knife, a swiss army knife, and the Plumb scout hatchet back in the scouts.
Did the job just fine.
 
Any decent quality locking knife will work. You can get any number of locking SAK's nowadays, or even some semi-decent blades from Wal-Mart that will do the job. Our troop has the "no fixed blades" policy, but it is due to years of inertia, not any one specific thing. I have heard explained like Bob mentioned above though, they kept trying to outdo each other with bigger and bigger knives is why most places banned them. However, coupled with saw and axe, there is little that cannot be accomplished with that combo. The boy is wanting a Kershaw to go with his Fiskars hatchet and folding saw. Good luck OP!
 
I'd recommend a SAK or something like a Kershaw Skyline. Good steel, good warranty. In my troop we couldn't have fixed blades. Most guys had something cheap. A few had Spydercos. I'd say something like a $25 Vic Farmer would be an excellent choice. I'd also recommend getting some neon colored paracord to make lanyards or even just to tie some on so if someone drops their knife it'll be easy to spot it.
 
when I was at the World scout jamboree in 1981 or 82 they had us make DH Russel belt knife kits and tooled the leather as well.
Great knives those #2's, a mora in stainless and rubber handle would be perfect though and cheap.
 
We've had this conversation in our Troop a few times, especially with the parents of the Cub Scouts that crossed over to our Troop this year. I was going to put together a presentation for them but decided against it, I figure the boys would be bored to tears about blade steels, blade types etc.

I tell the parents to get the best knife they can afford, preferably not a cheap piece of china junk but at least a Swiss Army without too many blades (though I always have a Swiss Champ in my BOB), and try to keep it <4" to start. We've talked about the advantages and disadvantages of slipjoint vs. locking folders too. Most of the boys' dads are outdoors types and have their own knife preferences.

I gave my sons Case when they earned their Totin Chip. They got a Hobo for camping and each got to pick a general purpose carry knife. My older son chose a Swiss Army BSA Tinker, my younger son chose a Case BSA medium Stockman.

I just gave my older son, who made Eagle late last year, a special Buck 500 engraved with the Eagle logo, his name, Troop and date he passed his board. Beautiful knife, I could tell by the way he looked at it that it will be his go to from now on.

The BSA and our Troop don't ban fixed blade knives but our summer camp does so we don't encourage them.
 
A Victorinox Swiss Army knife, such as a Farmer or Huntsman or Camper. Learning with a slipjoint teaches proper knife use and common sense. A SAK also has a ton of other useful items, such as a saw, scissors, can opener, awl, tweezers, etc.

If you can use fixed blades, Moras are good and cheap.
 
The B.S.A. does have a published rule about knives and has had one for many years. It changed in 2011 and I have put the new language in italics.

A sharp pocketknife with a can opener on it is an invaluable backcountry tool. Keep it clean, sharp, and handy. Avoid large sheath knives. They are heavy and awkward to carry, and unnecessary for most camp chores except for cleaning fish. Since its inception, Boy Scouting has relied heavily on an outdoor program to achieve its objectives. This program meets more of the purposes of Scouting than any other single feature. We believe we have a duty to instill in our members, youth and adult, the knowledge of how to use, handle, and store legally owned knives with the highest concern for safety and responsibility.
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[lack of hyphen in the original].

Note that it does not say "some legally-owned knives" or "folding legally-owned knives."

I read the new language as an effort by BSA to deal with the phobia against fixed-blade knives - a class of tools "legally owned" in most jurisdictions, still sold by BSA (as cooking tools), still a routine part of summer camp equipment (for wood-carving and Fishing MB), and part of the environment for most youth. (I would say an "irrational phobia," but that would be like "dishonest politician.")
 
A good Swiss Army Knife or Case knife would fit the bill. I got through the scouts back in the 70's just fine with my BSA Imperial knife.
 
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