New Spydie Knife Idea, Tell Me What You Think

Kaizen1

Kaizen1

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Jan 4, 2006
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Don't know if they already have a knife that was designed with this purpose, but I thought it would be cool- An introductory-type knife for children. Like the "My 1st Victorinox" knife. Just thought I'd throw this out there.

Woo Hoo! 500th post in the name of Spyderco!
 
That would be a very fine Idea... But you could also get a Delica Trainer....;)

Simon
 
Rather than designing an introductory knife for beginners, I would prefer to see Spyderco devote that effort to designing/refining new tactical models. Things like the FRN Caly 3, Superhawk, and Samaritan come to mind.

I think that a Delica trainer was a good suggestion.
 
No a bad idea. Maybe some kind of small Wharncliffe/sheepsfoot, like a baby Byrd pelican?

I'm not too wild about the rounded blades on the Vic and Opinel kid's knives. I think a useful blade should have a sharp corner tip somewhere.
 
I have to admit that when I first read the first post, I thought, "forget it, Spyderco has better things to do". Then I thought about my first knife and it was a cheap non-locking camp knife from K-mart when I was about 10. I cut myself pretty bad because the blade folded on my finger like non-locking blades tend to do. I would break the end of my thumb nail off everytime I tried to open it and closing it was scary because it had a strong spring that brought back memory of blood everytime it whacked closed.

I was so excited about getting the knife but after a while, I started to hate the damn thing. Eventually it get enough sand and grit in it that it was too much trouble to try and open and close and I stopped carrying it. I don't know what happened to it but I do know that the black plastic scales would burn like a flare if contacted by an open flame.

Anyway, I think introducing kids to a nice modern knife like a Spyderco is a good way to start them off. I would have been into knives a lot sooner if I had a good start with a nice knife instead of a cheap dangerous POS. A D-4 seems like a perfect boys knife to me. It is not as pointy as a D-3 so in a way it is safer. I also think all the Spyderco dads would rush out and get their kid a "My First Spyderco" rather than anything else. In short, I think it is a good idea as long as it is still high quality and still a knife that everyone could use. If it is just a cheap dull toy, I think it is a bad idea.
 
I think the Jester and the Ladybug would make fine 1st knives. I guess the first step would be to identify what features would be ideal for an introductory knife to see if they have one with all of those features. The obvious issue will be, what's ideal? What would you guys/gals want for your kid's 1st knife?
 
i will be making the first knives the kids get and it shall be whatever they will need fro hobbies /sports (there life at the time ) and when there ready i will make then there "life" knife
my sister knows that her kids will be getting the same treatment (when she thinks ther ready to have one even if that means under watch)
 
One of the best, while they're still available, is the all stainless Kiwi. The handle is thin enough and narrow enough for small hands to grip both securely and comfortably. The extreme choil makes it one of the most difficult to cut yourself with. The wharncliffe blade makes it easy to learn how to sharpen. And it looks enough like a traditional pocket knife that only the most ignorantly fanatical, and the British government, will perceive it as a weapon rather than a tool.
 
butcher_block said:
i will be making the first knives the kids get and it shall be whatever they will need fro hobbies /sports (there life at the time ) and when there ready i will make then there "life" knife
my sister knows that her kids will be getting the same treatment (when she thinks ther ready to have one even if that means under watch)
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I just ckecked out your website. Coincidentally, I'm pretty sure that you're either my dad or my uncle- Can I have my knife now:D ? Great looking knives...
 
The Deacon said:
One of the best, while they're still available, is the all stainless Kiwi. The handle is thin enough and narrow enough for small hands to grip both securely and comfortably. The extreme choil makes it one of the most difficult to cut yourself with. The wharncliffe blade makes it easy to learn how to sharpen. And it looks enough like a traditional pocket knife that only the most ignorantly fanatical, and the British government, will perceive it as a weapon rather than a tool.
Click to expand...

Great answer. You gave reasons for each feature on the knife. If you had to design one from scratch, would you say that it couldn't be any better than the Kiwi?
 
This is an interesting subject and one which has much more depth than is first apparent. I'v thought of these questions for many years: first knife, "Boy/Girl Scout" knife. Young person's knife, etc.

If you are going to introduce a 7 year old to knives, I don't think we make anything that would be ideal. A knife can be a ptentially dangerous thing and a Spyderco knife, such as a Ladybug or Jester is, IMO, too much knife for the average 7 year old. I would appreciate your opinions on that.

a 10 year old is another story. Now we're into "scout" age and a greater understanding is available.

I would love to create a "first knife", "Scout" knife and other "young" people's knife that did the job, and was socially responsible.

What would you "ideally" want your kid's "first Knife" to be? Keeping in mind, friends, schools, potential harm, etc.

thoughts?

sal
 
Sal Glesser said:
This is an interesting subject and one which has much more depth than is first apparent. I'v thought of these questions for many years: first knife, "Boy/Girl Scout" knife. Young person's knife, etc.

If you are going to introduce a 7 year old to knives, I don't think we make anything that would be ideal. A knife can be a ptentially dangerous thing and a Spyderco knife, such as a Ladybug or Jester is, IMO, too much knife for the average 7 year old. I would appreciate your opinions on that.

a 10 year old is another story. Now we're into "scout" age and a greater understanding is available.

I would love to create a "first knife", "Scout" knife and other "young" people's knife that did the job, and was socially responsible.

What would you "ideally" want your kid's "first Knife" to be? Keeping in mind, friends, schools, potential harm, etc.

thoughts?

sal
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Now we're talking! Sal's joined the party. Sal, I'm sure you get this all the time, but I commend you on constantly communicating with the community (that sentence had a lot of C's). A couple of things that come to mind:

-Should it have a point or not?
-It's gonna have to be sharp right? So there's always a possiblity of injury or self-cuttingness present. Have you ever considered an instructional video or booklet on how to teach young children about safe knife usage?
-Should it have a clip? I'd say at least a removable one.
-Is there a certain handle or blade shape or feature that actually makes it harder for someone to accidentally cut him/herself?
 
A young kids knife should not be flickable, easy to manipulate lock( a lockback),wharncliff style blade(no points),no more than 2 1/2 inch blade partly serrated.
 
ignoramus said:
I just tried to register. Spyderco forums doesn't accept any of my email addresses. Maybe you should post it there.
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has to do with free online-email adresses. spyderco.com doesn't accept emailadd's like gmail/freemail/hotmail. send moderator/administrator at large TazKristi a message and she'll get you registered in no time.

best of all options though: use your REAL email-address from your ISP.

in the meantime, i'll post your suggestion on the forum, no prob.

hope to see you soon on the forum, we need more people.

denn

edited: post posted on spyderco's official forum ('general discussion')
 
Sal Glesser said:
This is an interesting subject and one which has much more depth than is first apparent. I'v thought of these questions for many years: first knife, "Boy/Girl Scout" knife. Young person's knife, etc.

If you are going to introduce a 7 year old to knives, I don't think we make anything that would be ideal. A knife can be a ptentially dangerous thing and a Spyderco knife, such as a Ladybug or Jester is, IMO, too much knife for the average 7 year old. I would appreciate your opinions on that.

a 10 year old is another story. Now we're into "scout" age and a greater understanding is available.

I would love to create a "first knife", "Scout" knife and other "young" people's knife that did the job, and was socially responsible.

What would you "ideally" want your kid's "first Knife" to be? Keeping in mind, friends, schools, potential harm, etc.

thoughts?

sal
Click to expand...


-blunt/wide tip or no tip at all (rounded). no needle points
-grippy handle, but kids-proof material. i'd go for textured FRN.
-short bladelength
-plain edge
-big round-hole opener (15/16mm), as near to the spine as possible
-front-lock (midlock, backlock, you know the 'usual')
-sharp, but not spyderco-sharp
-include an funnny but serious "muzzy-like" instructional dvd for parental guidance and a flashy "kids-style" pamflet with general pointers and warnings to kids and knives in general
-sale restriction: parents only and/or over 16 yrs.old

something like that you mean Sal?

denn
 
No serrations and no clip. That's just my $.02. I wouldn't encourage them to saw with a knife - teach them to use a saw. I wouldn't encourage them to carry the knife with them everywhere clipped in their pocket - teach them to recognize that they cannot rely on tools that are banned from certain facilities (schools, gov't buildings, etc) always being with them.
 
dennis75 said:
has to do with free online-email adresses. spyderco.com doesn't accept emailadd's like gmail/freemail/hotmail. send moderator/administrator at large TazKristi a message and she'll get you registered in no time.

best of all options though: use your REAL email-address from your ISP.

in the meantime, i'll post your suggestion on the forum, no prob.

hope to see you soon on the forum, we need more people.

denn

edited: post posted on spyderco's official forum ('general discussion')
Click to expand...

My roomate is the one who's name is on the internet. I don't have no email addresses you gotsta pays for:o .
 
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