Stuck, first knife for my daughter main blade question

rockgolfer

rockgolfer

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Mar 1, 2008
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OK so my oldest is going to be 10 soon. She is very interested in camping, fishing and is finally showing me she can use a knife responsibly when I let her use one. After talking with her, showing her my knives and trying to figure out what would suit her needs well, we have it narrowed down to two knives. Both are exactly the same length, single spring with a pen secondary blade. The covers are even the same lol. The one thing I cant decide is which main blade would be better for a general purpose knife for hopefully her life(will hope she doesnt loose it). One is a spear, one a wharnie. She wants the wharnie, feels it would suit her better for whittling and be easier to sharpen. I lean towards the spear because of the belly and from my experience better utility. Any thoughts on the subject are greatly appreciated, thanks.


Jeff
 
One thing to keep in mind, in my experience and based on the posts of others, the ergonomics and lines of a spear blade can lead to its more easily be closed while in use.

Even without the above, I'd give her the knife she wants. :) Sounds like she'll have a straight and bellied blade. If she finds she prefers the pen blade over time, she'll know what to look for next time. Heh.

~ P.
 
Get the girl what she wants. You said the spear blade shape is better suited, by your taste, for a utility blade. A knife is a utility tool so all blade shapes are doing to utilitarian jobs, but it's up to the user to judge what they like and don't like. Let her handle them and see which she likes. Buy both knives, and tell you mistress you had to, for your daughters sake. haha Win, win situation bud! Your daughter is happy and has a new knife, and you're happy with a new knife!
 
Good point about the spear closing easier P, didnt think about that. I know I need to just get her the one she wants. I actually prefer a straight blade most of the time but my needs are different then hers obviously. Guess I wanted to ask my knife pals theyre opinion on a girls first knife. The patterns are both from GEC, looking at the canoe or the Half-whit.
 
Get her what she wants. If my dad would have bought me a knife that I didn't want, I never would have forgiven him. It came close too. I still remember that feeling of thinking I wasn't going to get what I wanted. They both cut. Let her get the one she wants.
 
thisone07 said:
If my dad would have bought me a knife that I didn't want, I never would have forgiven him..
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Harsh! Did he ever send you to bed early?! :D

thisone07 said:
I still remember that feeling of thinking I wasn't going to get what I wanted.
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Me too, EVERY DAY! :D

But I agree, get her the Wharncliffe, or you could always buy her a couple of less expensive knives to play around with first, see how she like them.
 
Jack Black said:
you could always buy her a couple of less expensive knives to play around with first, see how she like them.
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I am trying to not give her the knife bug lol. She likes both and would use either I am sure. I will show her them again in a few days and see if her opinion has changed.

She liked the boys knife as well only for the glow in the dark aspect. I told her I would not get it for her because I did not want it to become a toy because it glows in the dark. I explain they are tools all the time when I use them. Anyone see a problem with her wanting it because its cool?
 
You could consider the new GEC 55 Houndstooth. Single Blade,either Wharncliffe or Spear with Linerlock. Coming to a Distributor near you this week!
The Red Jigged Bone is AWESOME!
 
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i would go with the wharnie my man. I dont have kids, but i know that the wharnie is awesome for whittling, opening up packages etc etc, plus she wont be tempted to use it as a screwdriver. which is a plus for kids.
 
oneNdone said:
If you've got the money, a Benchmade Griptillian can be customized to her liking. They're terrific knives, very sturdy and reliable. Here's a link to the customization page, and one with testimonials to BM's quality.

http://www.benchmade.com/customize/default.aspx
http://www.benchmade.com/company/testimonials.aspx
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But this is the Traditional forum, and Mr Rockgolfer is after a traditional knife for his daughter (otherwise he'd have asked the question elsewhere) :)
 
Yep, pretty much what she wants - especially the one that easier to sharpen so that doesn't become a frustration for her. And for sure she should know it's not the last knife you will buy her. I positioned knife purchases with my kids as, "let's see if it works well for you. And then we'll try something different because of what we learned." All 3 of my kids ended up with a new knife each year as we learned what fit them. Folders, to Moras + Marttiini's , to Beckers for my boys, and my daughter stayed with folders, each a bit better than the one before. (Next on her list are kitchen knifes. Yippee. I don't know squat about kitchen knifes.)
 
Jack Black said:
But this is the Traditional forum, and Mr Rockgolfer is after a traditional knife for his daughter (otherwise he'd have asked the question elsewhere) :)
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You are correct Sir! She can decide if OHO's are for her later down the road, I want to introduce her to function with grace. Form can come into play more when she has her own knife allowance ;)


Great way to approach things Geneh2001. I know this wont be the only one but I did want the first one to be a little special.
 
You might present her the possibility of a stockman knife with a sheepsfoot blade and a clip point. I don't know of any with a spear point combined with sheepsfoot though (what an idea!).

Maybe also show her the Boker Whittler knives that have a clip point main blade and a coping blade. Bought my niece one for Christmas and was quite impressed with the quality.
 
I also think you should get her what she wants. I personally don't care for the Wharncliffe blade but many people love them so more power to them. I also think it is really cool that your daughter wants a knife and thinks enough of it to make a intelligent choice. Choosing what she thinks will work best for her. That is good stuff in my humble opinion. I would love to see a picture of her choice and maybe hear her thoughts about it once she has it in her hand.
Jim
 
I guess I don't know why a spear would close easier on one than a wharncliffe. If you put pressure the wrong way on a slipjoint, it will close on you regardless of which type blade it has. I've only had one bad experience when I was young with a blade closing one me and that was a clip blade on a stockman.

In any case, she will have to be taught proper handling of slipjoint knives. If she thinks she wants a wharncliffe, then get her that one. If she finds she is not happy with it, just get a different type. But, good on both of you for getting her interested in knives. We will all be better off for it.

Ed J
 
TLARbb said:
I guess I don't know why a spear would close easier on one than a wharncliffe.
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Ed, I'm mostly recalling the discussion here. Specifically,
yablanowitz said:
I usually pass on a knife with a spearpoint main. I've only had two blades fold on my finger in use, and both were spearpoints. After the second time I figured out why. On a piecing cut, the sharp edge cuts through the material and the flat spine doesn't. On a clip point, that's no big deal. On a spearpoint, it can push the blade down enough to fold it.
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Obsessed with Edges said:
That's part of the reason I mentioned the 'thickness' of the tips on many spearpoints. I don't recall having one fold on me, but I have noticed the blade get 'pushed' downward in a piercing cut, because the relatively wide & flat spine, near the tip, creates a lot more resistance in material being cut. I was comparing two of my knives today; one was my Schrade 8OT Old Timer (clip main, very thin tip), and a Camillus TL-29 (spear main, rather thick & stout, and very flat on the spine near the tip). The thought occurred to me, a well-executed swedge on the spear's spine, run fully to the tip, could or should alleviate some of the issues otherwise created by the wide, flat spine near the tip.
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zippofan said:
I hadn't really thought about this until now, but your explanation of a blade folding under use explains why so many Cub Scouts get cut on their first knife, which is usually a SAK spear. The Cub knives sold in Scout shops are liner locks but many parents opt for a SAK or SAK knock off (more often). I guess it is because the spear point looks less 'threatening' than a concave clip.
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Perhaps more anecdotal than conclusive, but I do know that one of my spear blades is the only one I've managed to close mid-use, so the above caught my attention-- adding to anecdote. ;)

TLARbb said:
But, good on both of you for getting her interested in knives. We will all be better off for it.
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Agreed! :)

~ P.
 
I don't have many wharcliffe blades as folders but after looking at the two. I'd say get her what she would like and have the other one handy if she'd like to compare/contrast. Personally I like the spear blade on the boy's knife much better than the canoe's. I also don't know if the less expensive canoe's blade has the same swedge on it that the more expensive canoe does. If the less expensive canoe spear's swedge is the same - I'd definitely give her the wharncliffe. I'd like to give a more "squared up spine" spear blade to a newer user.
 
I would say go with the Half Whitt. Or maybe show your daughter a Conductor that has a coping secondary. My thinking is that, being her first knife, one straight and one curved blade will give her a taste of what both styles have to offer. There's great utility in both, but both have their advantages in different tasks. I would even go so far as suggesting looking at a hawbaker muskrat or wharncliffe trapper, if she sees one she likes. You can find single-spring hawbakers from Queen, Schatt and Morgan, Robeson (both made by Queen), and Canal Street all over the internet if you just look for them. A Case mini wharncliffe trapper will be thicker than the single-spring knives you're looking at, but it's still fairly small and pocketable. However, none of these are in carbon steel, which the GECs you're thinking of are, so might I assume as well as knife safety, you're teaching your daughter care and maintenance? GEC does offer a hawbaker or wharncliffe trapper of sorts in the 53 pattern, but it's rather large.
 
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