A first knife for my son

I'd personally go with a delica 4 or endura 4. Any suggestions you get will be purely personal preference (alliteration is fun!), but I like the FFG and light weight of the delicas and enduras for an every day carry blade.

 

Hm, I Just Got My FFG Endura 4, And I Absolutely Love It. The Fact That It Comes In My Favorite Color(Blue) Just Topped It Off. Great Knife, But For A Kid, Not Sure I'd Go With The Endura, Because It IS A BIG Knife. I Have A LOT Of Suggestions.

Spyderco Delica 4 - Colored, He Would Love It.
Spyderco Dragonfly - The Foliage G-10 One Would Send Him Over The Top I'm Sure.
Spyderco Cricket - It's Useful, And Has a Cool Unique Look, What Kid Wouldn't Love It?
Spyderco Ladybug - It's Small, It Locks, It's Useful, And Comes In Many Colors. - Get Him The Yellow Salt Version - Rust Free Blade And A Bright Color In Case It Gets Dropped In The Woods.
Spyderco Native - Just A Great Knife.
Spyderco Persistence - Not Too Big, Not Too Small, Grippy G-10 Handles, Great Price, And A Great Knife.
Spyderco Tenacious - Same As The Persistence Just A Bit Bigger.
Spyderco UKPK - G-10 Or FRN, It's A Slipit, But It's A Great Knife - Many Different Blade Shapes, Colors, Handle Types.
You Also Can't Go Wrong With A Spyderco Byrd.

Kershaw Nerve - Cheap, Good Knife, And He Would Love It.
Kershaw Scamp - My Personal Favorite Cheap Knife - Frame Lock, Nice Blade, Grippy G-10, And Tie Him A Lanyard - I Suggest Adding Tufglide Though.
Kershaw Skyline - It Has a Flipper, Awesome G-10, Not Too Large, Not Too Small, And USA Made.
There Are Many Other Kershaws, Scallion, Leek, OD-1, Packrat, JYD-1, And Many Others.

CRKT M16 Or M21, But Make Sure It's A Good Variant.
CRKT Drifter - I Have The G-10 One.

Benchmade Mini Grip
Benchmade Mini Pika
Benchmade Mini Ambush
Benchmade Pika II
Benchmade H&K Mini Ascender
And There Are Many Others.

Buck Nobleman - Perfect For a Boy.

Vic. Super Tinker - Great Knife, I Have A Brand New One, And I Love It, I Just Haven't Found a Use For It, But A Kid Would Use The Hell Out Of It.

Vic Classic - You Can't Go Wrong With A Classic Right?

And Many Others I Can't Think Of At The Moment.

 

But If You Want A Large Knife For Him, I Have A List Of Those Too.

 

if yor son is going to be stabbing trees in the woods, get him a buck bucklite, or bucklite max, great sturdy, and cheap knife, plus it works great. if you wan't to get him something expensive, get him a recon 1 tanto from cold steel, that will last him a lifetime. but if you want a smaller knife, consider the sog flash 1

 

+ 1 for Victorinox One-Hand Trekker if you insist on a locking blade. Better yet, get the military issue model of either the Swiss or German army and present that as a background story. Imagine millions of soldiers depending on this very model of knife.

If that's too big, then the next step down would be Victorinox Farmer. Similar complement of tools, but smaller and without locking blade. This is what I would personally choose as a first knife to a boy. I think a slipjoint is safer for a kid because he might lack the dexterity / strength to operate knife locking mechanism safely. The aluminum scales are near indestructible, and the low price wouldn't make you scream at him if he loses it (very likely).

 

+1 get something that locks

 

I have no idea of how old is your son, so that might change my suggestions.
Generally, I agree about going smaller for his first knife.
A slipjoint or a SAK is what I would give him. Or, a small fixed blade if he's just going to carry it in the woods.
And even if it comes without saying, I think that a very very important thing is that he got his first knife along with some knowledge and education about using it (safety, tasks he can handle, maintenance, and so on).

 

A stockman of some sort. Maybe a Buck 303 or Case Stockman. If you want the inexpensive route, get a Rough Rider. You can't go wrong with one of those for $8-$10

 

My dads first knife, mine, my brothers, my daughters and my sons when he is old enough, Buck 110. My Dad and brother have cut people out of cars with theirs in the fire department, I cut everything else with mine in the army, I can only imagine where my son's will go.

 

Hahaha, I love it that you always post a whole store's inventory when someone asks for any recommendation.

 

Buck 110, suitable for a multitude of tasks and a knife everyone should have.

 

For me, it would depend on his age. If he's young and likely to lose the knife, or even if he's not, an opinel in carbon steel is an excellent low cost knife that actually cuts very well. The ring lock they use works well, and using it instills a little bit of thought into the opening/closing of the blade IMHO. Vic tinker is another good choice. If he's a little older, or won't have the knife with him unless he is with you, I would give a plus one to the mini grip, or delica, and will throw the mini barrage into the ring.

 

A Case or an SAK

 

Cant go wrong with a SAK. gotta teach your son about the dangers of them folding on your fingers though. I learned THAT lesson the hard way. still got the scar to prove it

 

I'd go with something similar to what you carry, scaled down for smaller hands. Most any kid wants to be just like his old man...until they become teenagers at least. teaching by example is alot better than pure instruction. Just explain why you do the things that you do. (cutting away from yourself, not throwing the knife, (he'll still do that but when you aren't around) etc.) And don't be too upset if/when he loses it. make him earn the money for a replacement and he'll learn that lesson quick. Congrats and good luck.

Grizz

 

Whenever I go camping with my nephew, I let him use my Boker Trance. I picked that one not only because its a great overall knife, but it is a little smaller and the finger guard is perfect for a novice.

 

it would help if we knew how old he was. I got my first knife when i was 7 from selling popcorn in cubscouts. It was a cheap little red 2 bladed slipjoint, and it was in my pocket every where i went no matter what for probably 4-5 years. I beat the hell out of it and cut a lot of things that im not so sure id want to use a knife for now, but it was a great learning knife. I learned about cutting away from yourself, how to hold it, how to sharpen it, etc. When i was 11 or 12 my parents let me buy my first larger knife of my choice and i got a SOG Flash II. If your son is younger, id suggest a smaller slip joint, but if hes around 12 or so a good lockback would be best in my opinion

 

Has anyone said "Sebenza" yet?

Seriously though...My first son got a Spyderco Salt 1 as his first (actually his first was a Case whittler, but he had a hard time opening it, so I handed him the Salt 1 I was carrying and I never got it back).

My second son got his first when he was younger and he lacked the strength for a mid-lock, so I started him with a ParaMilitary and it works very well for him.

If you have a decent shop in the area, why not take him shopping? It will be fun for both of you. I will never forget going with my dad for my first picket knife (I was allowed to pick any knife I wanted...wow, what an experience!)

 

I agree...take him knife shopping and let him pick what he wants. That should be fun for both of you and you can even surprise him by not telling him where you are going until you get there. He'll be like a kid in a candy store. It works for us I'm sure it would have the same effect on him!! LOL

 

Humm, The last knife store I took my son to he wanted a leatherman Squirt. Maybe dad should use his taste and better judgement anyway. That will give junior some time to develop one of his own .