Proper age for giving a kid a knife

I bought my first knife when I started to get an allowance in the 2nd grade. It was tiny (SAK Classic size). Got a larger one as I grew and finally adult type knives probably when I was 10 or so. (Victorinox makes a kids knife with a serrated edge and not pointy if that would be of interest to you.) I was trapping then and skinning animals (mostly muskrats and racoons) by that time on my own, so I needed a good knife for cutting stakes and skinning. At 14, I was hunting (Dad's rule) and use my knife a lot for that task as well as walks in the woods. Never really had any supervision that I recall. But I was not an authority challenging kid in general.
 
I had knives young, before I was in the double digits. These days i think it really depends on where you live.
Some places are just not knife friendly....
 
I got a scout knife at about age 12 and have really appreciated folding knves since that time. Gave my son his first folder , a Griptilian, at about age 15. he seemed to really like it , but hasn t really shown too much interest since.
 
At my 6 year olds school, possession of a knife is automatic expulsion.

I say this because I took knives to school at 7-8 years old....I was Sharpening popsicle sticks and tanbark before that.
 
my oldest is 17. if she shows some maturity, at 18 she might get her first fixed blade. might. having said that, i gave my niece her first sak at 10.

depends on the kid.
 
I got my first knife when I was around 9-10, I think. I was in the scouts, and it was a scout knife. Small blades, non-aggressive, etc. Seemed appropriate, and my dad talked me through responsible knife use, how not to cut myself, etc. Moved on to locking SAKs in my early teens, and more tactical-ish folders (and butterflies!) by the end of highschool. I don't think I got a good fixed blade or an axe until I was around 21? I think it would have been fine to have gotten them at a younger age if I'd been taught to use them properly. Maturity was not the issue.
 
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