Young Mans First Blade

[glockman99]

I gave my Son and Daughter "my first victorinox" series swiss army knife. It has a rounded tip so they cannot stab each other with it.

Do they also dull the blade so badly that it won't even cut warm butter?...If the blade is razor-sharp (as are the blades on my Vics), what would be the "point" of having a rounded point?...I imagine that a cut would be worse than a stab.

 

[ryba-mech]

I think a kid should get something that is not too expensive the first time, at the same time being quite durable since he is (judging by my own experience) probably going to use it for something he is not supposed to, like prying or even throwing before he learns to treat the KNIFE with respect. I would go with traditional Bucks. He has to learn how to sharpen a knife, so an hi-tech steel would be a waste. 420 HC is easy to sharpen. The Kabar folder line with AUS8 looks nice too to start his knifeducation.

 

[NDallyn]

I'm not sure what my first knife was. I grew up on the farm so I always had access to grandpa and dad's hand-me-downs. I'm pretty sure it was a multi-blade barlow pattern. I would have killed for a SAK!! Whatever you do, make sure it's sharp. My parents made the mistake of dulling the edges on my knives when I was a kid, and I have the scar halfway around my index finger on my off-hand to prove it (blade slipped when cutting - dull edge, too much pressure - that's all it takes for steel to meet bone). One thing my parents did right was to teach me knife safety first and lay out the consequences if I didn't follow it (basically I would not have a knife anymore).

Sak, and a decent sharpening stone.
Just my thoughts,
Nathan

 

[NDallyn]

I think a kid should get something that is not too expensive the first time, at the same time being quite durable since he is (judging by my own experience) probably going to use it for something he is not supposed to, like prying or even throwing before he learns to treat the KNIFE with respect. I would go with traditional Bucks. He has to learn how to sharpen a knife, so an hi-tech steel would be a waste. 420 HC is easy to sharpen. The Kabar folder line with AUS8 looks nice too to start his knifeducation.

So that's why I got all those worn out knives I look at all the knives I broke when I was a kid as "materials and design testing". As for the couple I lost, I'm still not convinced my brothers had nothing to do with it.

 

[offsetlover]

add yet another to the list saying SAK. i got my first knife while in cub scouts. i still have her and still use her.

 

[bushman14]

I must have been 10 or 11 when I got my first, the ol' Buck 110. Big for a kid, but just right with millions of acres of wild Alaska outside. A SAK might have been ideal.

 

[OwenM]

I'll probably give my godson a Victorinox Recruit. He's seven, so it's about that time. I had several knives and a rifle before I was that age.