Starting a kid out right!

CryoGuy5272

CryoGuy5272

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Jan 2, 2015
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So my sons 5th birthday is coming up. I decided when i started having children that i would get special gifts for them at certain ages like a right of passage. Well my first one is at 5, and you guessed it, he gonna get his first Spyderco.

Now i do not plan on just handing it to him and saying "hey, go have some fun". He us very interested when he sees me touching up my knives or maintaining them. So this one will stay with my knives. I will be teaching him about being safe, and with my guidance be allowed to do small cutting tasks on occasions. So im looking for sonething that eill be ergonomically sound for him now with little hands, but will continue to be useful as he gets older. Something to grow into, if you will.
Really my only requirement is a locking blade and a pocket clip.

Look forward to maybe hearing about how others have introduced their children to knives as well.
 
Cool. My Dad started teaching me about knives and letting me handle his at about that age. I think a Delica would be a great option. Dragonfly if you want something a bit smaller but honestly, I think the Delica handle will work perfectly, even in small hands.
 
Great idea. I'm doing something similar but started with a trainer model. How about a Native 5 LW to start? Great ergos and a small blade for control.
 
That's cool. My grandpa gave me my first swiss army knife at 8, same time we started learning to whittle in boy scouts. I'd say a dragonfly for size and ergonomics. Even as he grows he can appreciate a good compact utility knife like a dragonfly.
 
The Kiwi might be one to think about. It's a smaller blade but has nice finger grooves so it won't slip in his hand.
 
Obvious choice is the Junior if you can find one. It was designed to be a first knife for an adolescent. If not I would recommend the ARK fixed blade. Small and no risk of a fixed blade closing on fingers. Pingo would be a decent choice as well as the tip can pierce but is more sheepsfootish and it is probably good to start on a slipjoint for many reasons
 
I too was started at 8, by my grandfather, with a Swiss army knife..
So I told my dad to get my son one, for his 8th bday..
It wasn't anything special, by any means.. :(
But now that he's 10, he has his own small collection.

For my daughter, I'm taking over and snagged her up a purple FRN Dragonfly 2.
I have a couple myself and they can't be beat. Great ergo, solid lock up, and can take some abuse.
Spyderco also makes a Dragonfly 2, wood kit. Which at 6yrs old, she already has. :)
We got to sit down, build the knife together, talk about knife's, and teaches here knife safety thru use.

Spyderco also makes a plastic Delica, if I'm not mistaken on the Delica part, which would also be a great teaching tool!
 
my son's a little too young to do anything with knives (just over 1) but he's already made the connection that knives go in daddy's pocket and they come out when we need to slice food or cut open packages. I generally keep my EDC's out of reach with the exception of whatever knife I'm wearing for the day goes on the nightstand if I'm going to be giving him a bath or taking a nap with him. the other day, he's up from his nap and toddling around while I'm watching him, and he goes over to the nightstand, grabs my Delica (with me now like hovering on top of him to make sure he doesn't try to open it) and then turns around and hands it to me, pointing at my pocket. I still won't let him near a knife unsupervised for some years to come but it was a real cute moment.
 
I think 5 is a little young for any knife. Their hand coordination and judgement are not developed enough. Even if you supervise them, you only need to look away once...

I've had good success giving first knives at about 7 yo. I give swiss army knives, because kids have a need for tweezers, files and screwdrivers just as much as they do for knives. I give them a lanyard and they wear it around their neck or through a belt loop, that way it's not lost.

It really all depends upon the kid.
 
Maybe the enuff? Or one of the little fixed blades? If not the delica, dragonfly, spin, cat, Chicago are all cool knives. 5 doesent sound too young to me. I had knives young and inevitably cut myself, but dad was there to make it all better.. I started with a sak, the small keychain version, I forget The model.
 
sometimes I wonder if giving a kid a small knife is even the right way to start them out. I have occasionally let my 10 year old niece handle my EDCs under my supervision to open packages or perform other cutting tasks. when she uses a Cat or a Chaparral, she doesn't seem to have much respect for the knife and how sharp it is. when she's held a larger, weightier blade, she becomes very careful with how she is holding and using it. purely anecdotal, so I wonder if anyone else has noticed that with kids.
 
get him this and then
spydie flick together and drive mom crazy

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My kids first knife was a SAK

Now her second is going to be a Spyderco Cat.
 
If you give a kid a knife he will use it. If it only has a knife blade he will cut things...that he shouldn't. If it has a point he will poke things...that he shouldn't. If you give him a SAK he can do things like turn screws or pry things...which is usually less destructive. He can learn to pick an appropriate tool rather than prying things with a knife blade. Here is Victorinox Evolution Junior 9 SAK that has a lock, but no point. It has some extra tools, but not ones that poke things: http://www.all-things-swiss.com/pro...e-evolution-junior-9-delemont-collection-red/
 
brownshoe said:
I think 5 is a little young for any knife. Their hand coordination and judgement are not developed enough. Even if you supervise them, you only need to look away once...

I've had good success giving first knives at about 7 yo. I give swiss army knives, because kids have a need for tweezers, files and screwdrivers just as much as they do for knives. I give them a lanyard and they wear it around their neck or through a belt loop, that way it's not lost.

It really all depends upon the kid.
Click to expand...
This is more of a sentimental thing for his 5th birthday. He will not only have supervised use but also assisted when he is handling it. It won't be much later til he will be able to use it on his own under my watch.
Jeff Clark said:
If you give a kid a knife he will use it. If it only has a knife blade he will cut things...that he shouldn't. If it has a point he will poke things...that he shouldn't. If you give him a SAK he can do things like turn screws or pry things...which is usually less destructive. He can learn to pick an appropriate tool rather than prying things with a knife blade. Here is Victorinox Evolution Junior 9 SAK that has a lock, but no point. It has some extra tools, but not ones that poke things: http://www.all-things-swiss.com/pro...e-evolution-junior-9-delemont-collection-red/
Click to expand...
 
You can teach responsibility by demonstrating it yourself. My kids see my knives as tools because that's how I use them . My oldest uses a paring knife to cut vegetables (under close supervision) and he is 8; knives are no big deal because they see them all the time. You do have to be aware that they are easily distracted and hand eye coordination can be dicey . All that said, I would go with a dragonfly; he could use that one forever.
 
I fully agree Shanks..
There isn't a knife I own, I wouldn't/don't allow my son (10) to handle..
I'm actually more aware and hovering, when I hand some of my knife's to grown men!

Heck, I sold a Manix 2, to a friend of mine. He's 58, retired Navy seal, and it took him all of a hour to cut himself.
That was just him closing the knife! Lmao!!!
"He wasn't use to a blade dropping closed, when the lock is disengaged"..
 
My brother gave a Kershaw with a bottle opener at the back of handle to his 7 yr old. I thought that was a great gift for her and him. When I asked her about it, she proudly said, "it's bigger than my daddy's." He carries a ZDP-189 Ladybug, but just got his Manix 2 the other day. I'm getting him hooked.
 
uxo2 said:
get him this and then
spydie flick together and drive mom crazy

$_35.JPG



My kids first knife was a SAK

Now her second is going to be a Spyderco Cat.
Click to expand...

This is a good idea, especially because it teaches components on top of 'flick'
 
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