How old were your kids when you started letting them use knives?

It really depends on the kid, but somewhere between 6 and 10 seems to be the appropriate age range in my experience.

 

I was wood carving at 7. But I won the wood shop medal when graduating elementary school at 12 .Teach your kids , don't hold them back !!

 

http://www.factfiend.com/people-train-babies-use-machetes/

 

Daughter, 6 and son 8. Simply because that's when I become a part of their life. I'm a "bonusfather"

/ J

 

Mine is 4 years old. I give him knives for photo only

 

Like ChrisB507 mentioned in post#11, I bought my son a Cub Scout knife when he was around 8 or 9 years-old.

I taught him and his Den basic knife safety and how to carve by practicing on a bar of soap; I was happily amazed that not one of the boys cut themselves.

 

I was 6 or 7 when I got my first SAK and a Leatherman the SAK from my grandpa and the Leatherman from my dad. when I turned 9 I got a Buck for my birthday and since that day I've been going strong collecting. When I couldn't buy my parents bought for me and I paid them back.

 

I really can't remember when I first allowed my daughters to use knives
I do know that they were 7 and 8 when I bought them both Saks for our annual family camping trip
By that time they had been sharpening their own marshmallow sticks for a couple of years

I gave all of my nephews except 1 their first knife (his grandfather beat me to it)
In each case it was after discussing it with their parents first, they were all between 10 and 12

Everyone of them got the lecture from me, and only 1 needed me to follow through with my warning

 

My 9.5 year old girl just got her first that's not a future heirloom. I gave her a brand new Vic Classic in clear blue and she's in love. She has been using kitchen knives under supervision and practicing opening slip joints with me coaching her. I was her age when I got my first slippie and she's mature for her age with good fine motor skills.

 

Thanks :thumbup:

When I was 3 years old I almost removed my thumb while playing with my brother's ( who was 8 or 9 at the time) SAK. I was told not to touch it and that made me gravitate more towards it. I believe things may have been different if my parents took the time to explain proper use to me and let me use it with supervision. Fastforward to me being a parent, I would rather my children learn properly from me, and should they ask; take the time to do it with them, so they don't sneak off on their own and make the same mistake I did.

 

My son got his first knife at a month old.


He's not allowed to use it yet though

 

Sounds about right, really depends on the kid. Mine were about 8 I think.

 

My brother is good to use a knife in the 3 years. In 1980 I was 12 and my brother 3. He had a folding knife with a blade length of 4 and with a width of 1/3. When I walked into the kitchen, brother helped his mother peeling potatoes. I shot him in the face with a water gun. Brother stood silently, approached me and stabbed in the abdomen. I closed my belly hand. The knife hit me in the ring finger of his right hand. Brother was surprised that it has not reached the goal kick and hit again.
Daughter confidently use a knife to 6 years and throwing ax (brother taught).

 

Just this Christmas, two girls ages 10 and 13. I enjoyed watching them use their Mini Grip's to cut paper on a magizine for a project they were working on.

 

I was 7, when my mother gave me my first knife. I was starting the first grade and needed a knife to sharpen pencils. Every boy in my class had a knife to sharpen pencils. Many girls had knives or razor blades.
My son didn't need a knife to sharpen pencils, but I bought him a knife, when he was 8 years old cub-scout.

 

I don't have kids (and hopefully none in the foreseeable future) but my old man started letting me use a knife in boyscouts just for a little bit. Then not at all until I got into knives myself around 20. But at that time, I really didn't know what to look for in a knife, which led to some really bad knife purchases.

I always thought it was terribly ironic that he trusted me with a gun but not enough with a knife to gut the deer I shot. Now every trip home usually involved me sharpening his dull machete at some point.

 

My son is 5 and wants a "pocket-knife" for his next B-day. My wife thinks we should wait till he's in scouts and learns about knives in that. I personally don't think it matters where he learns about them as long as he does. He's quite a goof-ball though, so I am thinking 8 would be more appropriate for him. Case by case basis I guess.