What's a good folder to start an urban 8-year-old?

Small Leatherman tool.

Squirt or one of the smaller Juices. Fun colors, lots of functions and pliers for weak little kid fingers.
 
I think that there is no need for an 8 years old kid to carry a knife of any kind on him while in the city. If he is into hiking it is a whole different matter but he should be only allowed to carry it while outdoors.

That said I think that a SAK is the knife to go. OHT if you want to steer away from nail-nick openers, but let me tell you I don't like the blade serrations and chisel grind at all. VICs are sheeple friendly (being the green handled OHT the LEAST shepple friendly at all), and with so many different blades on them are more prone to be seen like tools instead of weapons.

So far my all time favourite VIC is the Rucksack but there are plenty to chose among.

Mikel
 
My dad started me with a DULL(REALLY DULL) knife at around 6 years old. I didn't get anything sharp till I demonstrated the ability to handle a folding knife safely over a long period(till about 10 if I recall correctly).
Still gave me the fun of having a knife like dad, without getting stupid cuts at the get go.:thumbup:
 
Old Codger voice Back in '59 a real jerk who lived on the other side of the creek actually threw a little 3 blade stockman at me with the main blade out. He missed but he never got the knife back. I've had a pocket knife on me from then on. My son got a SAK Tinker at about age 7 and he was shown the proper way to handle a knife. He had 3 stitches in his index finger within a week. That is just the way he is.
 
Mikel_24 said:
I think that there is no need for an 8 years old kid to carry a knife of any kind on him while in the city. If he is into hiking it is a whole different matter but he should be only allowed to carry it while outdoors.

That said I think that a SAK is the knife to go. OHT if you want to steer away from nail-nick openers, but let me tell you I don't like the blade serrations and chisel grind at all. VICs are sheeple friendly (being the green handled OHT the LEAST shepple friendly at all), and with so many different blades on them are more prone to be seen like tools instead of weapons.

So far my all time favourite VIC is the Rucksack but there are plenty to chose among.

Mikel
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Mike, you could make the argument that many adults don't need to carry a knife in the city. The point is should he, and the rest of us, have the liberty to carry a knife? Carry a knife in the city and in the woods.
 
I think a kid's first knife should be the same or similar to one that he sees dad using. That way, he won't feel like it's just another toy, or a "kids knife." If he has a knife "just like dad's," he'll want to use it properly and take good care of it just like he sees his dad doing.
 
ducksoup said:
I think a kid's first knife should be the same or similar to one that he sees dad using. That way, he won't feel like it's just another toy, or a "kids knife." If he has a knife "just like dad's," he'll want to use it properly and take good care of it just like he sees his dad doing.
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Exactly!

Kids are way more perseptive than we think, and pick up on all sorts of clues. I'm against the rounded end "kids" knives for just that reason. giving a kid a butter knife looking thing while daddy has a "real" one sends a message that you don't trust them.

For many, many generations, a pocket knife was a gift that said to a son, "You're growing up now, so I'm trusting you with this pocket knife." That gift knife did not look anything like a butter knife, if anything it was a version of what dad carried.

Either you trust them or you don't, they are mature enough for a pocket knife or they aren't. Don't insult the kid with a Kid's knife. What is dad carrying? That should settle the whole issue.
 
Originally Posted by Mikel_24 View Post
I think that there is no need for an 8 years old kid to carry a knife of any kind on him while in the city. If he is into hiking it is a whole different matter but he should be only allowed to carry it while outdoors.
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Rich357 said:
Mike, you could make the argument that many adults don't need to carry a knife in the city. The point is should he, and the rest of us, have the liberty to carry a knife? Carry a knife in the city and in the woods.
Click to expand...

The obvious solution is this: an 8-year-old has no need to be in a city! Take that poor kid out into a place where there are woods and streams and fields and mountains and let him play around on them. He may skin his knees a few times, and get the occasional mosquito bite, but he'll end up healthier, happier, and more of a benefit to society that way.

Of course, if he's out there in the woods, he'll need to have a knife with him.:D
 
Wow, a lot of great advise on this thread (thanks everybody) but...

THIS:

ducksoup said:
I think a kid's first knife should be the same or similar to one that he sees dad using. That way, he won't feel like it's just another toy, or a "kids knife." If he has a knife "just like dad's," he'll want to use it properly and take good care of it just like he sees his dad doing.
Click to expand...

has to be the best advise I've read here.
I bought his dad a "waved" Delica.
That really opens up a lot of options for the kid for similar but smaller spyderco models.

Even though I liked all the SAK feedback too. Heck, that was my first knife at 7 years old. The Youth Model looks good.

I'll pass all this on to his dad. Thanks!:):):)
 
Rich357 said:
Mike, you could make the argument that many adults don't need to carry a knife in the city. The point is should he, and the rest of us, have the liberty to carry a knife? Carry a knife in the city and in the woods.
Click to expand...

Oh please give me a break, the constitutional or other rights of an 8 year old are definitely not the point nor are they the same as an adult. And the legality and practicality of carry in the city vs carry in the wilderness are very different.
 
An 8 y/o in an urban environment and you want to give him/her a knife??? Totally irresponsible adult and life threating for the kid. Jeees.
 
My First blade at 8 yrs old was a cub scout pocket knife (Utica I think). I won the knife at a pine wood derby race. My Dad gave me his Swiss Army knife at about the same time. You had to take the tote & chip knife safety class before you could carry the knife in scouts. I think the safety aspect was a good thing. I bought my son a Swiss Army knife for his first blade and he still has it. It is a good all around general purpose knife for a young person to learn with.
RLTW
Rich
 
Quote: Mikel 24
"I think that there is no need for an 8 years old kid to carry a knife of any kind on him while in the city. If he is into hiking it is a whole different matter but he should be only allowed to carry it while outdoors."

Quote: Rich N.
"Mike, you could make the argument that many adults don't need to carry a knife in the city. The point is should he, and the rest of us, have the liberty to carry a knife? Carry a knife in the city and in the woods."

Quote: Vjb.knife
"Oh please give me a break, the constitutional or other rights of an 8 year old are definitely not the point nor are they the same as an adult. And the legality and practicality of carry in the city vs carry in the wilderness are very different."
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I wasn't making a constitutional argument.

Mike had said that there is no need to carry and I don't like that reason for not letting a kid a knife in the city. Most of the time I don't "need" to use a knife when I'm walking around in town. When I was a kid, and I was in town, I often had a pocket knife with me. I appreciste the freedom I had to carry or not as I wished.

I'm concerned that we are training our kids to not do something, like carry a knife in town, for a poor reason. Need shouldn't be an issue. When they get to be adults they may well be more likely to accept someone saying 'you don't need to carry a knife in town'.

When I was a kid we had much more freedom in grade school and high school. For example, we could bring asprins and use them when we felt like it. Kids can't do that now. Imho, rules like we now have, where you must go to a school nurse to get your meds, are training our kids to rely on government and not to trust themselves. We are training out kids to accept less liberty, less freedom.

Rich
 
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I just went thru the same process & was dead set on a Vic. SAK but then these guys gave me some more ideas. I decided on a Case Calibur (not sure of the model #) It was the small plastic camo handle lockback:thumbup: Kinda like a Gerber Mini LST . The reason for a lock back is I don't worry about him accidently closing it on his fingers :D & It's small so its Sheeple Friendly :p
If he shows me I can trust him with this knife then I'm going to get him a SAK & Mora clipper (camping combo) Next summer ! He is 9
 
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Rich357 said:
Quote: Mikel 24
"I think that there is no need for an 8 years old kid to carry a knife of any kind on him while in the city. If he is into hiking it is a whole different matter but he should be only allowed to carry it while outdoors."

Quote: Rich N.
"Mike, you could make the argument that many adults don't need to carry a knife in the city. The point is should he, and the rest of us, have the liberty to carry a knife? Carry a knife in the city and in the woods."

Quote: Vjb.knife
"Oh please give me a break, the constitutional or other rights of an 8 year old are definitely not the point nor are they the same as an adult. And the legality and practicality of carry in the city vs carry in the wilderness are very different."
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

I wasn't making a constitutional argument.

Mike had said that there is no need to carry and I don't like that reason for not letting a kid a knife in the city. Most of the time I don't "need" to use a knife when I'm walking around in town. When I was a kid, and I was in town, I often had a pocket knife with me. I appreciste the freedom I had to carry or not as I wished.

I'm concerned that we are training our kids to not do something, like carry a knife in town, for a poor reason. Need shouldn't be an issue. When they get to be adults they may well be more likely to accept someone saying 'you don't need to carry a knife in town'.

When I was a kid we had much more freedom in grade school and high school. For example, we could bring asprins and use them when we felt like it. Kids can't do that now. Imho, rules like we now have, where you must go to a school nurse to get your meds, are training our kids to rely on government and not to trust themselves. We are training out kids to accept less liberty, less freedom.

Rich
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Right and when I was a kid is not a valid argument because twenty years ago or more a kid with a pocket knife was a kid and the worst thing that would happen is he would cut himself or an addult would take it away.

Now a kid with a pocket knife is a crazed maniac and is arrested. At 8 yo kids do not know discretion or when it is appropiate to use a knife esspecially in an urban setting.

My point is that even besides my opinion that 8 is too young to let a kid carry a knife unsupervised that he may get into legal trouble or worse yet some type of violent situation. I am not unfamiliar with this having grown up on the edge of Washington DC.

An adult or at least an older kid has a little more awareness of his situation and surroundings.

It is of course the parents call but it is none the less a poor one at best.
 
You are missing the point. You can use some other reason to not let your 8 year old carry a pocket knife, an honest reason. But, I think it is a bad idea to use the "need" argument. Using "need" as a reason not to let someone, anyone, do soemthing, is a bit Marxist, IMHO and is not a good lesson to teach the young.
 
I'm also not suggesting it is good to use kids to push a political point, but the more we
accept the what the anti knife, anti gun people are pushing the more we lose.

No reasonable citizen needs a sharp pointed knife. /s
 
Rich357 said:
I'm also not suggesting it is good to use kids to push a political point, but the more we
accept the what the anti knife, anti gun people are pushing the more we lose.

No reasonable citizen needs a sharp pointed knife. /s
Click to expand...

I don't accept the notion that there should be any restrictions on gun or knife ownership. I believe that every gun or knife law ever written is un-constitutional. I believe that any resonable citizen should be allowed to carry whatever he wants and there we have the disagreement. An 8 yo does not meet my definition of a reasonable citizen carrying full and complete rights. They can't drink, they can't vote, they can't drive, they can't own a firearm, or posses one without parental supervision and there are many other things that a child at this age does not have the right to do. This is one 'right' where the parents have to make the call and I am just stating my reasons why I think it is a bad idea, take them or leave them.

One reason we have so many laws restricting our rights is because of irresponsible use of things like knives and firearms and like it or not the truth is that the younger a child is the more likely he/she is to do something wrong or stupid with that knife. The more often things like that happen the more often we have the people opposed to possession of these things dragging them out as examples of why nobody should be allowed to own them. Why do you think automatics and other types of knives are illegal in so many states now?
 
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