I have a real mixed mind on this issue myself. I have to remember that I am a construction worker with 40 years of job site work. I am in an outside environment a lot where a good work knife is a necessary tool, and I am in a business that one expects to see working sized knives at the ready. As a kid, I was an active kiddo that camped, canoed, Boy Scouted, hunted, hiked, and started all of that at a young age. Raised in South Texas, I had a BSA knife in my pocket at 5 that taken away for cutting something I shouldn't have, then returned permanently to me at 6.
I didn't regularly carry a knife to school until my Dad was sure I wouldn't pull it out during the day for any reason, at about 13. At that time I was already an experienced camper and hiker, and used my knife for all manner of things. Starting in construction for a summer at the age of 16, I was never without a knife in my pocket after that since I started using it a lot for work. It stayed in my pocket all through high school without any incident.
Today's kids don't have that kind of freedom, nor do they have the opportunity to carry and use a knife like I did. Sure, it would be nice to have a "Rockwell Moment" of a wide eyed kid at the foot of Grandpa's evening chair giving a child a knife while they enjoyed the warmth of a nice fire. It would be nice to think a youngster would be around other men that were more outdoorsy that worked a lot with their hands (not at keyboards) making things. Or hunting, fishing, etc.
It isn't that way now for most boys. To my absolute, complete horror and unbounding disappointment, my nephew isn't really concerned about pocket knives one way or another. He sees a lot of downside; although he has his own Totin' Chip, he knows that under certain circumstances he could be in more trouble than he could get out of if he pulled out his knife to cut up an apple. Or cut a piece of string or open a package. So he hasn't formed an understanding of how handing a knife can be. He understands the responsibility of carrying a knife, and his understanding that in carrying one you incur a lot downside, just like carrying a weapon. So he makes his life easier and doesn't carry a knife unless he is camping or doing other BSA activities that he encounters on his way to Eagle.
He sees his SAK "Forester" as a camp tool, and takes it camping with him when he goes once a month or so. Since he can't figure out where he could carry the slipjoint I bought him without raising an eyebrow or two, he doesn't carry it.
All his pals are the same way. A bunch of tow headed 12, and 13 year olds, they don't ever build the familiarity of with the knife as a tool that I already had years before them. They may never. (Man it pains me to think of that...)
So in the few times that he gets the knife out a year for some good use, do we leave on the safety device that could help protect him in case he makes mistake, misjudges, or just has and accident of some sort that a 13 year old could make? Would that be wise? Or should we make sure conforms to what some would think is right and only use a knife without a lock so he will learn valuable lessons when injured. I would hate to see him without a finger, or worse, because he needed to be "taught right".
"Yessir... that boy over there missing a finger is mine. He did that to his own stupid self, but I'll bet he never does that again!" doesn't prove much. I don't know that some of today's kids have much of a chance to learn proficiency with knives and to build complete confidence in their use. Our culture has changed so much, and kids just don't need a good knife in their pockets anymore so they don't have them. Nor do their fathers.
On the other hand, when I almost amputated my own finger with my BSA knife, my Dad was really very pleased. I was cutting a divot out of a board to make a hole for my fire bow, and in my 8 year old hands, the knife slipped and I clamped it shut on my finger. I had cut down to the bone and nicked a tendon, which bled a ton and required a lot of medical attention. Dad was really pleased because the painful lessons we learn are the ones we remember, so since I had no permanent damage in the end, he felt it was a win for all. At 58, that scar is still easy to see. I am lucky I didn't remove my finger.
So I don't know... I think some kids would respond better to knives with locks than others. I just don't think we should judge today's kids by yesterday's standards. ESPECIALLY not our romanticized memories of "the way things used to be". Maybe it should be a case by case thing, with the parents judging each kid individually...
Robert
