Whats too young?(kids and knives lol)

Before I opened this thread and read it I thought your were going to ask us dating advice :D

My dad gave me an old-timer folder when I was seven or eight but in the house/environment I grew up in there were knives/hatches/machetes all over the place that I had access to if I really wanted to use one. I think the second day I had it I broke the tip off. I was really sad. But I learned at a very early age that a knife is not a pry bar. Something that many adults don't even know ;)

I remember thinking at the time that I better not screw this up or my Dad was going to take it away and I loved having that thing so I followed all the rules. I cut one of my fingers pretty bad when I was 10 with a different knife. I had to get stitches and I didn't like that at all so from then on I remember being a lot more careful and paying close attention to the next safety lesson. I still have the knife today in a box somewhere. I need to find that thing....

I don't have kids of my own but someday I will and I plan on teaching them about guns and knives from an early age IF they are the kind of kids equipped to handle them. I've encountered some children that I would be scared to give a knife to.
 
If you think he's ready, then go ahead. I can't speak from personal experience about when it's the right time to give a child a knife, seeing as I had to by them myself and tell my parents about them and show them how I used them after the fact.

What I have seen is the difference between respect for a knife and respect for nothing. If you give your son a chance to prove he's capable and errs on the side of caution with it (from the picture of him using a 2 to baton through a tree split with Thor's Hammer I would say you trust him), I would say he respects the knife the way he should.

I have seen many more "mature" people in Scouts take a knife and treat it like a toy, and let's just say they won't ever get a yes if they ask to borrow my knife.

I have also seen an entire Cub Scout Pack who carry fixed blade knives about 3"-6" (each one was different) and ages ranged from 6 to 10, they treated their knives with more respect than anyone should or could expect from them.

Bottom line, if he's ready, start him with what you feel comfortable with, and then instead of that, go one step further. If your perfectly comfortable with him carrying a nice SAK, then give him an 11 or 14 or a folder, which should be just within your comfort zone (correct me if I'm wrong, I'm going with the picture of him using a 5 1/4" long 1/4" thick knife weighing in over 1 lbs), and that will tell you if he is truly ready for more than a SAK or small folder.

My job is taking people outside their comfort zone so they learn what and what not to do.
 
My boy is 5 and not ready. He's a great kid: very well mannered, polite, and doesn't horse around too much. But he simply doesn't have the focus that I would need to have peace of mind. He is curious about guns and knives and making fires and camping, and I expose him to them all when ever I can. But when it comes down to the task at hand, his mind likes to wonder. He would have watched your boy batton while reaching for Thors hammer expecting it to obidiently come to him.

I have bought a few knives for him, and took the edge and point off of a Rough Rider. When he's ready to use a knife, I'll give that to him along with a stone, when he can learn how to sharpen it, he can have it. And if it gets trashed while he's learning, there minimal monetary loss, but his gain of knowledge will pay dividends later in life.

If your son is ready, he's ready. You also may want to consider talking to his mother, at the very least make her aware so if and when he gets cut it doesn't look like he was playing with one of dads knives.

Just my two cents.

Vr

Grand
 
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i agree with moose, every child is different. coordination and mental acuity are the prime factors here to avoid an accident, which is of course inevitable. another important question is, does he know what to do if he does have an accident? first aid should go hand in hand with responsible instruction. best regards.
 
I would agree with what crypt said. Maybe teach what to do when/if you cut yourself. I'm 31 and I cut myself more often then I should and I'm pretty coordinated and cautious I just use my knives a lot and accidents are bound to happen. We are all human after all. At least most of us I think....
 
I'll go with the general consensuses and say his actual age isn't important as long as he's responsible. I've been around a lot of kids and some are more responsible than some adults.
 
Thanks folks! I had no intentions of ever stopping teaching him, I just wanted to know what you guys thought, and to see if you had any pointers or real experiences. Thanks a ton!
 
I got a victorinox camper swiss army knife when I was about 8, but the blade on that is nothing compared to a becker. Maybe if you are at all concerned about it you should get him a smaller knife that is his to own but something he can't get in trouble with. It sounds like you are handling this like a responsible parent.
 
amp281 said:
I got a victorinox camper swiss army knife when I was about 8, but the blade on that is nothing compared to a becker. Maybe if you are at all concerned about it you should get him a smaller knife that is his to own but something he can't get in trouble with. It sounds like you are handling this like a responsible parent.
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The 2 is mine really. But the kids had claimed all my knives lol. I actually got him a Vic Super Tink himself.
 
Well not being a parent but basically being a big kid (college student) I'd agree with the parent knows best idea. If you think he's really ready there's no harm in teaching him as early as you can, I know a lot of guys that weren't exposed to any knives besides the ones on the kitchen counter and look at my 16 like its a sword, they don't respect the tool and don't understand that a knife is just that, a tool. While personally I'd wait till my kid was about 8 (about the same age as my first knife) to let them have a knife that they could keep (used under supervision of course), mostly because all my nieces nephews and little cousins were and are definitely not ready at that age that could just be my family lol. On the other hand there are some good kids out there these days and I'm sure your boy is a one of em. And talking it over with mom never hurts either :D
 
My son is 4 and has been sporting a knife all summer long! It's by one of our own, Mr Alan Davis, and it is a small fixed blade I bought as an EDC for myself.

He calls it his "knife that stays open all the time". I monitor every second he has it on his belt and he knows how to pass it to someone, use it for basic fun stuff like cutting a piece of rope but mainly, he uses it for meal time. No sissy,baby knives for him. From pizza to omelette s this comes out to cut.Now that we are back in the burbs, it has been put aside for only certain times. He wanted to bring it to pre k and the playground but I felt that might be a source of concern for the other parents and teachers. He is planning to bring it to a show and tell session but that's still under debate.

If it were upstate, then not an issue, here in Jersey, I'd probably get arrested for endangering the welfare of a child.

BTW, the blade is now rather on the dull side and the tip is gone from one of his excursions searching for salamanders and thats the way it will stay until he's a bit older.

In my opinion, the age is relevant to the child. Mine has even pulled the trigger on my 10-22 sevral times this summer and I am considering a "Chipmunk" for his 5th birthday.
 
Of course there is such a thing as too young, but I think as soon as they start showing an interest in what we do is a good time to start fostering that mindset as best we can. For the most part kids are interested in what we are doing right up to the point we shove them away and tell them they are too young and don't let them be involved at all. Then hollywood and our school systems are more than willing to take over, filling our kid's heads with their own agendas. Both of my daughters have wanted to help me in the kitchen at a young age so I started them on simple things and let them get a feel for a knife in a relaxed environment. To me food prep has always been the best place to start knife use with kids because it is something done every day. That way they get their first lessons in the real value of knife skills and the knife as an honest tool in a real world every day setting with no opportunity for it to be stigmatized by outsiders should the conversation come up elsewhere. Then I move forward from there over time.

My youngest is still at the food prep stage as of yet, but we will be working on other skills this cold season.


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And with any luck she'll be like her older sister before too long. This is her older sister starting fire after a rain using a knife, some fatwood, and a ferro rod at age 15

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I'm glad to see you out there passing the skills on to your boy, keep up the good work!






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You know your kids better than anybody, so if you think they're ready, they're ready. I had my first knife (a SAK) somewhere around 1st grade, and I was just fine, so I think kids can handle it a little better than we give them credit for.
 
I've worked with kids for a few years, taught a few fairly hazardous activities, climbing, archery, air guns. A couple things I've learned, kids forget safety as the excitement ramps up, so a kid who sees a knife every day, uses a knife (or bow, or gun) doesn't let the excitement of the special occasion cloud his judgement as much. That said, constant reminders are important for the first while. Also don't be surprised if the maturity level drops off after a while, (I worked with 12 year olds who got real dumb about age 14!) And something my dad said that has been proved time and time again
One boy is a boy
two boys are half a boy
and three boys aren't a boy at all.
When the friends come over to play, there is nothing wrong with putting the sharp things up on a high shelf and letting them go a little nuts on their own. There were lots of things I was allowed to do alone growing up, that I was not allowed to do when other kids came over, and it was definitely for the better.

Give your kids the credit and you'll be rewarded. for the most part, the kids that people trusted were the best to work with, and the kids that no one would ever trust, never gave anyone reason too.
 
Mine were about 4-5 when they got their first, I carried them into the woods, they got to have them on the belt when there, then I took it back when we got to the car...
Now they are 6 and 10, first thing they strap on when they hear we are heading out is the knives. (Hey dad..!! Can you check if my knife is sharp today!!????)

Cam: Guess it was my youngest you saw with the 9 Madeleine m kniven.jpg She handled it like it was just a little scout-knife, LOL....
 
Bobber said:
Mine were about 4-5 when they got their first, I carried them into the woods, they got to have them on the belt when there, then I took it back when we got to the car...
Now they are 6 and 10, first thing they strap on when they hear we are heading out is the knives. (Hey dad..!! Can you check if my knife is sharp today!!????)

Cam: Guess it was my youngest you saw with the 9 View attachment 307287 She handled it like it was just a little scout-knife, LOL....
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I've been thinking today, what should be my boys first fixed blade? You have pretty much answered that for me! I believe I'm going with a 9, or give him a 2 to match with daddy. He can honestly handle my 2 like a champ, so thats probably where I'm going.
 
I think it depends on if they are raised around people who are safe with and appreciate knives. I got my first knife when I was about 7, I am 13 now and would consider myself old enough :D. I guess it depends on the kid and the parent.
 
What a great thread........A lot of good advice.......Some real truths as well......Gadgetgeek posted a mouthfull with the kids who are not trusted can not be trusted comment.......Yes all kids are different......My son,John, started shooting around five which is when I started......He grew up going to the range when I was teaching and used a lot of different firearms including full auto stuff from an early age....John has always been a bit cautious which helps a bunch and quite responsible........Knives were a constant.....His "job" was to build one match fires to make the coals for the grill.....I grill a lot.......Knife, wood, one match.......I got my first hatchet at seven and used belt knives from about age five or six.....Big bro did what teaching there was about knives and he was self taught and learned little.......Mostly I learned from Jaeger's Wildwood Wisdom.....Had a few major screwups (oops----learning experiences)......Still having those!!!!!!!......You and the mother of your child know your child like no other and you gotta go with your instincts about where he is....Moose was right on about being repetitive on both safety and technique.......

Being taught to shoot at five was a HUGE turning point in my development......I was being trusted by the ADULTS to do something that I COULD NOT SCREW UP!!!!!!!!!!.....Having to concentrate on NOT SCREWING UP with a real live gun helped me immensely later in life when there were other things that I could NOT SCREW UP.... The smell of .22 rimfire powder and Hoppe's solvent is,to me, the smell of first REAL responsibility.....the first manly act of my life.....

Just my two cents......

Enjoy the time and it sounds like you and the boy are doing just fine.....

Ethan
 
In an old photo album my father has there is a picture of me were I was two years old and chopping lightly with an axe. I have used knives and axes all my life, and I am happy my father let me start that early. Because of it I have good technique and know how to handle these tools. When I was in the army I met plenty of people who claimed to be outdoors people and that they were good with these tools. Yet, when they started chopping with an axe to gather some firewood it was immediately clear that they simply didn't have the gross motor skills that can only be thought at childhood.

In my mind there is no such thing as being too young to use a knife. Of course safety is a concern, and you can be certain that the child is going to cut himself. But that is to be expected. Hell, I still cut myself from time to time. It's just something that can't be avoided. So I personally think it is better to let them use a knife and risk them cutting themselves, and let them learn from their own experiences. That way they are less likely to seriously injure themselves later on.
 
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