The first knife to give your kid

My son's 1st knife was a Theo Kline toy swiss army knife I got him when he was 2 or 3, just to get the gist of it and have fun...
*(not sure where that one got to though, somewhere in his playroom I'm sure).

These are subsequently, bottom to top, the rest of his current knife collection.
(Can you tell what his favorite color is?)
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Bottom to Top
-A plastic Klecker kit; he put it together himself and could have fun with it. (Age 5)
-my first opinel no.7; Needed a bit of wd40 to loosen up the twist-lock, but is a real sharp as a laser slicer, without the pokey-poke tip. It was great to learn basic slicing and edge respect under supervision. (Age 6 w/ supervision)
-Rough Rider doctor's knife; has a great easy pull for his little fingers, (something you'll want to test with any slipjoint given to a child). (age 7) His current "go-to" when he needs it, although he still asks 1st and I oversee him in action.
-Ka Bar small Dozier; his thumb strength and dexterity still isn't "quite" ready for it 100%. He fumbles a bit with closing it, but he's real close to having it down. I'll let him pocket it on walks.
-Mora safe knife; full fixed blade version of the 1st opinel no.7, sharp as a mora should be, but without the stabby-stab. Still working on proper fixed blade handling.

At 7, (his birthday was 1 mos. ago) all of them are in a desk where he can access them. He will still ask before he just goes and grabs them, and I'll still watch him as he uses them, but he knows where they are and I'll continue to trust him until he gives me reason not to. Most likely, if that day ever comes, (hopefully not but "if"), it will probably also be the day he learns 1st hand the very valuable lesson(s) about knives and knife safety that I've been preaching for his entire short little life...

As for "the right age", that has to be a child by child decision that only the parent/guardian can really decide. Some kids are more mature then others, more intuitive, more trustworthy, etc. Whereas others might be wreckless, careless, wild child, etc. So only the person(s) in that position can really make that determination of whether or not they feel that their child is ready or not.
 
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I do remember KnivesShipFree doing a giveaway of the smaller Buck Bantam for kids. They come in bright colors and were small enough to be used. I would obviously echo the same sentiments of supervised use that many other members have suggested.
 
i had more tools than toys as a kid and I like building and destruction
so I was aloud them young and it was a 5inch Sheffield bowie knife with a guard about age 5 roughly but likely could have been younger don't know because I carnt ask my grandad been dead 12 years now ,but i had axes hammers screwdrivers like I said tools from being very young the pc police now would have passed out at me when i was a kid chopping wood and making fire chopping nettels and thorn bushes down with a mechete or helping with DIY or building things I was supervised but I was trusted i was brought up by my grandad so I was always doing somthing with him or my uncle
as others have said I think it depends on the kids and there personality or interests but a sheath knife is safer than any folder
 
This is a tough one because it depends on the kid, their maturity level, where you live, and what activities you do. In my situation where we live in the mountains and are outdoorsmen and hunt and fish, it would probably be a Buck 110. If the kid didn’t like to hunt and fish it might be something like a mini-stockman.
 
kaos 13 said:
i had more tools than toys as a kid and I like building and destruction
so I was aloud them young and it was a 5inch Sheffield bowie knife with a guard about age 5 roughly but likely could have been younger don't know because I carnt ask my grandad been dead 12 years now ,but i had axes hammers screwdrivers like I said tools from being very young the pc police now would have passed out at me when i was a kid chopping wood and making fire chopping nettels and thorn bushes down with a mechete or helping with DIY or building things I was supervised but I was trusted i was brought up by my grandad so I was always doing somthing with him or my uncle
as others have said I think it depends on the kids and there personality or interests but a sheath knife is safer than any folder
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Not quite as young as you but I asked for tools for Christmas when I was 6 and got a full toolbox with real tools in it. I still have and use some of them. I was given a hatchet to use when I was not much older maybe 8 or 9. Still have that too. Don't recall ever hurting myself with them.
But I have a nephew who is 10 and I was told to get a knife for him and I refused because I don't think he is mature (or intelligent) enough for one especially after his reply when I asked him why he wanted one. His younger sister I would give one to though and she is 7.
 
My oldest was around 12 or 13 and the kershaw leek was his first knife,he still carries a leek at work and he’s 28(not same one)I want to thank DangerZone98 for reminding me how old I am
 
strategy9 said:
Well don't leave us all hanging like that...... What was his reply?
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To keep himself safe he said first when I asked what he meant by that he said to defend himself from bad guys!
I expected him to say something normal a kid would say like den building, fishing, sharpening pencils, helping his grandfather or myself on our farms. You know normal kid stuff. That is probably what he would have done with it but I'm not going to take the chance. He and his friend had some troubles with bullies and the friend had apparently carried his in case they got trouble again... I showed him how to hit someone instead and he hasn't had any troubles since. I don't think he has hit anyone but the confidence of having an idea how to do it seems to have made a difference to him.
 
Welshie12 said:
Not quite as young as you but I asked for tools for Christmas when I was 6 and got a full toolbox with real tools in it. I still have and use some of them. I was given a hatchet to use when I was not much older maybe 8 or 9. Still have that too. Don't recall ever hurting myself with them.
But I have a nephew who is 10 and I was told to get a knife for him and I refused because I don't think he is mature (or intelligent) enough for one especially after his reply when I asked him why he wanted one. His younger sister I would give one to though and she is 7.
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I will agree I don't remember hurting my self with any of the tools i was given when young
the first time I did get my self was a slip joint I didn't get a folder some slip joint till I was older about 8 to 9 and I knocked the back of the blade doing somthing in the woods and got my self I remember my grandad saying folders were a novelty and not to be trusted and took it off me saying it was not safe thay are made to brake
I still had my bowie and a 7 inch one too by then so I did not care but it did put me off folding knives and saws for a while
 
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I haven't read through the whole 3 pages of this thread (will do, eventualy) but I got my daugther for Christmas a MORA SAFE (green handle, blunt/flat/tip, carbon steel) as her first knife... at the age of 4. She uses it in our camper van to help with food prep, always under supervision. At home she uses regular kitchen knives to help peel (Victorinox serrated potato peeler) and slice/dice fruits and veggies.

I have lot's of knives and sharp tools arround (at the shop) so I think she must be familiar with them instead of being told just no to touch them. Because she will, eventually, be grabbing them. Better for her to know how to handle them properly.

What I don't let her do yet is to filet anything. I don't want her to split her hand palm in half. While peeling, dicing, etc she sometimes gets nicks, but nothing that requires a surgeon.

A folder for her is out of the question. Only one I would consider is MY FIRST OPINEL because it has also a blunt roundish (butter knife like) tip and NO SPRING AT ALL. I think that a the spring on any slipjoint, backlock, etc could mean trouble if it snaps shut while holding it the wrong way.

Fixed blades are much safer in this area.

My first knife was probably a single blade plastic handle slipjoint from the Spanish maker AITOR when I was arround 10 so I could cut line, split lead shot, etc for fishing chores. I recall having also a cheapo non-Victorinox SAK (green handles) when being a bit older. First decent SAK was a Vic Rucksack (big size, saw, locking blade and all those goodies).

Mikel
 
AntDog said:
I let my 8 year old daughter choose her own (with my guidance, of course). She chose well.

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She started with a wooden kit knife a year or two before that:

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Excellent progression there. Wooden knife models are an excellent way to get the youngsters started on this sickness of ours, lol.
 
Mikel_24 said:
I haven't read through the whole 3 pages of this thread (will do, eventualy) but I got my daugther for Christmas a MORA SAFE (green handle, blunt/flat/tip, carbon steel) as her first knife... at the age of 4. She uses it in our camper van to help with food prep, always under supervision. At home she uses regular kitchen knives to help peel (Victorinox serrated potato peeler) and slice/dice fruits and veggies.

I have lot's of knives and sharp tools arround (at the shop) so I think she must be familiar with them instead of being told just no to touch them. Because she will, eventually, be grabbing them. Better for her to know how to handle them properly.

What I don't let her do yet is to filet anything. I don't want her to split her hand palm in half. While peeling, dicing, etc she sometimes gets nicks, but nothing that requires a surgeon.

A folder for her is out of the question. Only one I would consider is MY FIRST OPINEL because it has also a blunt roundish (butter knife like) tip and NO SPRING AT ALL. I think that a the spring on any slipjoint, backlock, etc could mean trouble if it snaps shut while holding it the wrong way.

Fixed blades are much safer in this area.

My first knife was probably a single blade plastic handle slipjoint from the Spanish maker AITOR when I was arround 10 so I could cut line, split lead shot, etc for fishing chores. I recall having also a cheapo non-Victorinox SAK (green handles) when being a bit older. First decent SAK was a Vic Rucksack (big size, saw, locking blade and all those goodies).

Mikel
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I never expected this thread to reach three pages lol. Then again I’m new here.

I do agree that small fixed blades generally seem to safer in this area. But holy crap, at the age of four? That’s interesting. As long as there’s supervision anyway, I suppose it’s a good way to accumulate knife experience early. With fixed blades, teach them to respect the edge and the tip, and you’re good to go. With folders, there’s the added chance of closing the blade on one’s fingers.

Mora’s an excellent choice. If I have kids someday, I might also consider an Izula or a small bushcraft knife. But as the other commenters shared here, it’s important to consider if the kids show interest as well. Personally, I think knives, under supervision as you said, can help teach personal responsibility and smart tool usage.
 
All of our 4 kids got a Mora for children scoutknife + a toolbox. They matured at differrent age and the first was only 4,5 years and the last was 11 years old.
Today they are all adults, but they still have their childhood Mora's and also use them from time to time.
Later this summer in july and august, two of them will become parents themselves.
I'm certain that they will know how to introduce knives to their kids, when that day arrives.
Regards
Mikael
 
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Welshie12 said:
To keep himself safe he said first when I asked what he meant by that he said to defend himself from bad guys!
I expected him to say something normal a kid would say like den building, fishing, sharpening pencils, helping his grandfather or myself on our farms. You know normal kid stuff. That is probably what he would have done with it but I'm not going to take the chance. He and his friend had some troubles with bullies and the friend had apparently carried his in case they got trouble again... I showed him how to hit someone instead and he hasn't had any troubles since. I don't think he has hit anyone but the confidence of having an idea how to do it seems to have made a difference to him.
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Perhaps martial arts would be a good outlet for him? But in addition to proper striking and grappling, it’s important to convey the preference for avoidance. If his first response to bullies is to beat the ever living daylights out of them, that probably wouldn’t go well. Hit only as a last resort; but if you have to, hit first and hit hard.
 
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