Suggest a pattern for a 9 year old boy

I would say a mid sized SAK, but if you want a blade only then a buckite max medium.

My knife progression as a youngster went

SAK
Toothpick
Imitation 110
Mora #1
 
I would give a Mini Trapper to him. Handy and well balanced. It´s got two blade... One for food, the other one for the "dirty" jobs...

Kind regards
Andi
 
If you don't want a multitool sak, how about one of the single blade Victorinox knives? The Gardener is a nice size, and even smaller is the Solo. A small two blade would be the Pocket Pal. The Solo comes in alox, so you could attach an eClipse if you want a pocket clip.
 
I think you're on the right track with an Opinel. A Vic Farmer would be a good choice too. Better made than the old Camp Kings. Probably not as easy to sharpen though.
 
My first pocket knife was a Barlow, given to me by my Step-Grandfather. My Dad wouldn't let me use it until I got my Whittlin' Chit in Cub Scouts.
A locking Opinel would be a good choice, too.
 
There are a lot of recommendations for an Opinel here. I'm not so sure it's a good choice. When my Opinel gets damp, the wood swells and the twist ring to lock the blade gets very hard to move.
roland
 
Get him a boy scout knife. You want to make sure his first knife has that rounded blade tip, or else you're asking for trouble. Odds are about 99% that he'll be tempted to throw it at a piece ofg wood sooner or later, and besides that rounded tip being much safer, it is far better suited to that kind of abuse. just my 2 bits.
 
jamesbeat said:
An Opinel! Why didn't I think of that?
That's perfect guys, thanks for your help.
I'll order a carbon steel model right away...
Click to expand...

Good choice. :thumbup: Let us know how it works out.

If he likes the Opi as much as my son likes my 34OT stockman, you'll have one happy camper on your hands ...

34OT.jpg


-- Mark
 
I had a nice classic coast lockback as a kid, I still have it today, I would reccomend something with a lock like a smaller Buck or Boker lockback. Something small. But if you are set on a slipjoint a Sodbuster as many have said is an excelent choice.
 
Slider, not to harp on the subject, but this is a 9 year old boy's first knife, and in my extremely humble and admittedly aged opinion, it represent a first learning experience. There is much to be learned by a slip joint which can't be learned by a lockback. Just simple things like what pressure to put on the blade, on the point if you're stabbing, etc., are fuctions of physics which only a slipjoint teaches. They are simply not taught by a lockback. By the way, twenty dollars to a doughnut that pointy blade in the picture will snap the first few times the boy shows off to his friends and throws it at a barn door. A round blade will function fine. A sodbuster blade would be a stone cold drag for a kid I think, as he can't stick a point like that in much.
 
James, e-mail sent to you. I have a knife for your son. I'll get it off to you soon as I get your address.

Carl.
 
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