Age to buy Son his first knife - and what type of knife?

Diomedes Industries

Diomedes Industries

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I know - I know - this has been done to death - but I would love your feedback on what age to buy your son a knife.

Mine is 4.5 and will be 5 in December.

Also - what to look for, lock back - no lock back - blade type - size - all that...

Thanks so much for you input.

TF
 
The age of first knife, IMO, depends entirely on the specific kid. Some are really mature when they're six or seven, and then there are fifteen year olds I wouldn't trust with a stick. But if you're even asking the question you probably think yours is ready or pretty near!

As far as what blade, I think your safest bet is a good fixed blade. Folders can be a little more dangerous in that you have to do more handling to get them open, and actual blade handling at that. A fixed blade doesn't have any moving parts, and you never really need to be touching the blade.

I think this would make a superb first knife:
511.jpg


Inexpensive, easy to sharpen, has a guard (I'm not normally a fan, but it makes sense for a young'n, and on a first knife). Also quite lightweight.
 
My 8 year old has a swiss army recruit. My 10 year old got his first when he was 8 too, also got a bb gun that year. His first was a kershaw lockback of some kind. He now has a glock field knife, a full size kabar, a swiss army soldier, a sog flashII, the kershaw, and a cold steel frontier hawk. I got him his first .22 this year as well. I think you just have to gauge your own kids maturity level. I think that 8 was a good year to start them both.
Swiss army makes a first knife for kids, I think swiss army knives make awesome first knives. It was my first. My boys take real good care with their tools and have never had an issue.
 
I would say that it depends on your specific child, you'll know when he/she is ready. My dad's rule was knife at 10, gun at 12, but I think I will go younger depending on my kids.

BTW: My first was a classic victronix swiss army knife when I was 10.
 
In general
I would say whenever they start giving knives to Cub Scouts
8-9 yrs old???
I got my 1st Camillus Cub Scout knife around age 9 and I seem to have turned out alright :eek:
 
Both my boys had Cub Scout knives at around age 8. While in Scouts they were taught knife safety and I reinforced it at home.
I think a SAK and/or a Mora are great choices. Both are good knives and can teach a young boy what to do and what not to do. Watch him carefully when you go out in the field and never hesitate to point out if he's doing anything foolish.
He will learn what is appropriate and will understand you have a lot to teach him. You sound like a great dad, have fun whatever your choice!
 
my first knife was a swiss army knife and honestly i hated it my fingers were too clumsy to open all the blades and it was just not right for me, i got myself a small lock back folder that was better for me than a SAK. 5 seems a bit early to be but hes your son you know him best ;)
 
SpookyPistolero said:
The age of first knife, IMO, depends entirely on the specific kid. Some are really mature when they're six or seven, and then there are fifteen year olds I wouldn't trust with a stick. But if you're even asking the question you probably think yours is ready or pretty near!

As far as what blade, I think your safest bet is a good fixed blade. Folders can be a little more dangerous in that you have to do more handling to get them open, and actual blade handling at that. A fixed blade doesn't have any moving parts, and you never really need to be touching the blade.

I think this would make a superb first knife:
511.jpg


Inexpensive, easy to sharpen, has a guard (I'm not normally a fan, but it makes sense for a young'n, and on a first knife). Also quite lightweight.
Click to expand...

i agree - sheath knife rather than a pocket knife. hopefully you've been passing a knife to your son and letting him handle it - both to instruct him as well as observe how much care he takes. personally, i believe a five year old who behaves maturely around things that require care and responsibility is old enough to possess his own knife.

i also agree with spooky's choice for a superb first knife - because it's exactly what i got for my son when he becomes old enough to handle a knife (except with the blue handle and stainless blade)
 
I totally agree that a fixed blade would be best- opening is easier, easier to teach how to sharpen, better blade to handle ratio IMO. I would say that what to get should be something that you have already that you could give, that way it will have a bit more meaning. If you don't have something now- buy something and let your child see you working with it. Use "Dad as a hero" to instill more trust and honor into the first knife. IMO only.
 
I dont know, but if it i had one, i would get him a mikro canadian from bark river, and to be honest i have no experience whatsover with bark river, but i will soon get my new baby bravo-1.
my reasoning behind the mikro canadian is that it will teach him how to do fine work with the blade, the handle being small might fit his hand well.
and if he does injure him self the blade is less than 2 inches, so nothing really that serious.
 
Age eight has been a tradition in my family for some time. I remember the day my Dad took my older sister to get her first knife, and the day I went. Did the same with both of mine. We got them small lockbacks, as they are easier to open. Both now prefer SAKs though. My son thinks that his Recruit is cool, because it has a can opener and such, and he's seen me using similar knives his whole life, while my daughter likes the Classics and Escorts, because they are small enough to fit in any pocket she has, and are a nice fit in her hands.
 
Get him a fixed blade, and if you do get him a folder, get him a good one that's easy to pull out, my dad got me a crappy SAK that was too tight, and i just found it last month again and i just threw it away lol.
 
SpookyPistolero said:
The age of first knife, IMO, depends entirely on the specific kid. Some are really mature when they're six or seven, and then there are fifteen year olds I wouldn't trust with a stick. But if you're even asking the question you probably think yours is ready or pretty near!

As far as what blade, I think your safest bet is a good fixed blade. Folders can be a little more dangerous in that you have to do more handling to get them open, and actual blade handling at that. A fixed blade doesn't have any moving parts, and you never really need to be touching the blade.

I think this would make a superb first knife:
511.jpg


Inexpensive, easy to sharpen, has a guard (I'm not normally a fan, but it makes sense for a young'n, and on a first knife). Also quite lightweight.
Click to expand...
I agree with everything said here. I would like to add, do you feel son is responsable enough to deal with the aftermath of a cut. I only mention this because my cousin cut himself with his first pocket knife and didnt tell his parents because he thought they would take it away. He ended up getting an infection before his parents found out and ended up with loss of feeling in his finger.
From my youth I would say a finger guard is a must on a first blade. SAK's are a good choice if you feel the need for a can opener or perhaps a saw but other than that a good quality fixed blade is hard to beat (and yes i am still young enough to remember my childhood:p )
 
While I don't have kids yet I can say that I got my first knife at around 9 years old in the scouts. It was a slip joint knife which forced me to learn proper knife safety.
 
LOL... I bought my son a BK9 before he was born. He won't see it till he's old enuf to handle it. Put away till then. Think I had mine first knife about 8 years of age, but again, depends on the kid.
 
For those who have given their kids knives, at what age do you allow them to keep the knife in their rooms and use them unsupervised? Do you set strict rules about when and where the knife can be used?
 
We started early in my family.
At 5 you got a knife and BB gun.
If you could handle those, at 6 you got a .22 rifle.

My first was ye olde slipjoint Boy Scout knife. I never cut myself with it (I was so in awe of being allowed to have it, I was supremely careful. It was only when I was older and sure I knew everything about knife handling that I started cutting myself).

Tyhe progression where I grew up was you first got a slipjoint: BSA knife, or SAK. You were one of the boys when you "graduated" to a Buck 110. We wore those leather sheaths with real pride. After that it was usually a leather-handle Estwing hatchet. When you started hunting "for real" (meaning deer with a shotgun around age 13), you got a fixed blade, usually either a Buck Vanguard or Ka-Bar USMC.

CUTS LIKE A KRIS said:
I would say that what to get should be something that you have already that you could give, that way it will have a bit more meaning. If you don't have something now- buy something and let your child see you working with it. Use "Dad as a hero" to instill more trust and honor into the first knife. IMO only.
Click to expand...

Now THAT is excellent advice. We would always be "Jonesing" for whatever our dads had. I wanted a Vanguard so bad I could taste it because my dad had it and my dad only had the best. I think I even remember a fistfight with my best friend at the time over which was better: Vanguard or Ka-Bar. (Side note: I think it's funny these days with kids cutting/stabbing/shooting each other. We were always able to resolve our problems with a good fistfight, never thinking to pull out the knive that were on our belts, or shoot each other with the .22s or later shotguns.)

If you're going to give him something at 5 (if he's mature enough it's no problem, like I said, that's when I got started out), spend the next few months showing him how to use knives for various things, and let him use yours (again good idea if it's the same model as you're getting him. Even if you have to buy two, one for you to use and one to give him. I liked my dad's stuff, but was always happy to have a brand new one, that way, all its history was mine.). Then when you give him his, he'll already have the basics down, and will feel like it's not just a gift, but something he's earned the right to have.

As for what to get, I really think a Buck 109 (smaller than the 110) would be good. If you want to give a fixed blade, I like the Jarvenpaa knives better than Moras, and specifically this model: Utility puukko with safety grip
http://www.ragweedforge.com/FinnishKnifeCatalog.html
7386.jpg


Good size, has the bump to keep from slipping over the blade, and a neat looking sheath.

Oh, don't forget to get him a sharpening stone he can use, and show him how to use it.
 
I'd recommend a Koster Monster Nessie at age 5:D. Just kidding....My son got an SAK when he turned 7, but the decision was based on his development, not his age. I use the Scout knife safety/promise as a teaching tool. He has only been allowed to use or handle it under supervision, but this summer I will probably start letting him carry it around the property. In the cub scouts, we do give multi-tools and knives to boys as rewards at age 7, for whatever it is worth.... but I do tell them that they have to talk with Akela as to the rules in their home.
 
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