New EDC folder for me and young boys first knife recommendations and smkw opinions

S

Sitcomdad83

Joined
Jan 17, 2022
Messages
186
I'm heading to Georgia next week and will stop by smoky mountain knifeworks. My young boys will get their first folding knives.
Here's the goal
Stay under 100 for my knife and 20 for theirs. I'd like the strongest beefiest folder I can get with a good lock. For the boys id like something simple and it doesn't have to be a locking knife. My boys are 8 and 10 and responsible and will mainly carry on hikes, learn sharpening and do some fireprep. I'd love some opinions if smkw too since I've never been there. Thanks in advance.
 
We go to SMKW often. It is absolutely huge and most of the workers there are amazing. You will find thousands of knives under 100 dollars and thousands of knives under 20 haha. I could recommend you 10000 different things but go look and enjoy and pick what you want. 😁
 
Can’t go wrong with a SAK for the boys, IMO, that should be any boys first knife. go look on their website to see the different models and go from there.
For yourself, can’t go wrong with Buck or Spyderco.
 
Cold Steel 4 Max Scout for Dad . Strongest lock and folder for anywhere near your price .

For the boys maybe a Tuff Lite or other sheep foot . Or anything not too stabby .

Like on a table knife , rounded point . Done to keep the drunken dinner guests from murdering each other .
 
For your price, each of the boys could do a whole lot with an Opinel No. 7 or No. 8. Maybe not as exciting as a colorful, flippy thing with a liner lock, but far better than a jar-benza at or below $20.00.

If you up their budget to $40-$50, the boys will have many more good options. An SAK Tinker runs about $30 these days.
 
There isn’t much available for under $20 these days. Rough Ryder is the only thing that comes to mind and one of their models would be a good choice for young boys. They offer quite a selection and many of them are $19.99 at SMKW.

Have fun! SMKW is great! I was just there 2 years ago myself.
 
DocJD said:
Cold Steel 4 Max Scout for Dad . Strongest lock and folder for anywhere near your price .

For the boys maybe a Tuff Lite or other sheep foot . Or anything not too stabby .

Like on a table knife , rounded point . Done to keep the drunken dinner guests from murdering each other .
Click to expand...
I really like this idea!
 
All great ideas and suggestions being posted here!!
Supervised knife safety too. 👍
John 😎
 
I agree with the Cold Steel and SAK suggestions.

CS Ultimate Hunter, AD-10 Lite, and Large Voyager are all under $100. CS 4-Max Scout is $110. A SAK tinker is $25; the Voyager and AD-10 both leave enough room in your budget for +5$ for your boys to cover the difference.

I've owned all those CS knives but the Lite AD-10 (I had the regular, though), and they're great. My daughter's first knife was a Tinker and she's gotten great mileage out of it.
 
Sitcomdad83 said:
I'm heading to Georgia next week and will stop by smoky mountain knifeworks. My young boys will get their first folding knives.
Here's the goal
Stay under 100 for my knife and 20 for theirs. I'd like the strongest beefiest folder I can get with a good lock. For the boys id like something simple and it doesn't have to be a locking knife. My boys are 8 and 10 and responsible and will mainly carry on hikes, learn sharpening and do some fireprep. I'd love some opinions if smkw too since I've never been there. Thanks in advance.
Click to expand...
Let me give you a piece of advice, as a parent. Get yourself the same knife you get your boys. Instead of spending $100 on yourself and $40 on them, buy a $45-50 knife, the same model, for all of you. Your boys will be proud to know they carry the same knife as their father. And I would suggest a Victorinox Swiss Army Knife. Teach them how to safely use a traditional, slip joint pocket knife.
 
S Sitcomdad83 - Sounds like you guys are going to have good day. So many excellent options from the members above. I think the 3 of you guys would do well with the SAK suggestion, you may find different color schemes on each of them as well. My first real knife was a two bladed Swiss army from a surplus store in Omaha NE.. I loved that knife, served me well for many years. Whatever you guys wind up with, post some pics ! Have fun man.

*Buck knives might make a nice trio as well.. can’t go wrong with the classics.
 
Last edited:
Tensaw said:
A quick search on SMKW's site shows 746 folding knives in stock between $12 and $20.
Click to expand...
They probably have more than that in the store not listed on the website. That place is massive, and I definitely recommend it for anyone who has never been there. Almost like a Disney World for outdoorsmen, but with a focus on everything to do with knives. There are some things you cant really find there (some European stuff like A. Wright) but they have lots of most brands in stock
 
fuyume said:
Let me give you a piece of advice, as a parent. Get yourself the same knife you get your boys. Instead of spending $100 on yourself and $40 on them, buy a $45-50 knife, the same model, for all of you. Your boys will be proud to know they carry the same knife as their father. And I would suggest a Victorinox Swiss Army Knife. Teach them how to safely use a traditional, slip joint pocket knife.
Click to expand...
Forget what I said and do what ☝️ said. An absolutely capital idea.
 
If you're looking for tough and under $100.- I'd go with a Cold Steel Voyager or some other model with the Tri-Ad lock.

And for the wee ones, a SAK makes a fantastic first knife that will be useful for decades. I think the Recruit is about $20. Slipjoints are great to learn folding knife safety, the steel on Vics is quite forgiving (easy to sharpen and rust resistant) and they are covered by a lifelong warranty.

If you prefer to get them a single blade folder, Opinels are a good option. The #6 comes in different colours for a bit under $20.
 
fuyume said:
Let me give you a piece of advice, as a parent. Get yourself the same knife you get your boys. Instead of spending $100 on yourself and $40 on them, buy a $45-50 knife, the same model, for all of you. Your boys will be proud to know they carry the same knife as their father. And I would suggest a Victorinox Swiss Army Knife. Teach them how to safely use a traditional, slip joint pocket knife.
Click to expand...

oldmanwilly said:
Forget what I said and do what ☝️ said. An absolutely capital idea.
Click to expand...
Ok, these blokes are right. For 140 dollars you can get three cool SAKs, like Hikers or Super Tinkers.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top