Leatherman leap

G

gsx-rboy750

Joined
Jul 3, 2014
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357
Friends,
Long story but I have a friend's 8 year old niece who is wanting a knife. My buddy was killed in a car crash 8 years ago so unfortunately I am finding myself in the uncle position with little experience.
She is begging for her hunters safety and wants to go fishing and hunting whenever it is mentioned. While sitting around the table grandma mentioned I was making knives and she wouldn't stop asking about the process and If I would eventually make her one or if she could help etc.
I was sitting here thinking about how I would design a knife for a youth and something she would want to continue using till say 16-18. Who knows 2-3years from now she may be completely opposite. While brainstorming I thought of the leatherman leap for this Christmas and give her a fixed blade either next year or when it is proper based on her skills.
Would the leap be tooo kidy for a 8-9 year old say thru 14? Would I be better getting her a larger adult model?
As some background these are up north people so driving, cutting wood, snowmobiling etc are learned early and this is not you average citidiot. They live in the sticks.
I understand supervision and knowledge are the primary points of importance however I am more concerned in this question about the tool.
I intend on getting her a ferro rod also and will be making her a smaller fixed blade for possibly next summer. I was handed a knife at roughly 4-5 but my parents are OLD SCHOO!
Any advice on a small fixed blade design is also welcome.
 
I think a Mora would fit the bill, maybe dull it so its not as sharp until she gets experience with it. Durable, easy to sharpen and cheap.
 
A small SAK (not sharpened to knife nut standards until she gets used to it) and the Kid friendly MORA with double guard?...

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She definitely wants a knife made for her. For a fixed blade I was thinking I was going to make her something with a 2.5 inch blade and a large finger guard, maybe something of a smaller slimmed down gavko handle. I got a shirt from her uncle that I was going to make some micarta out of.
I like the idea of a kid mora if she had not asked fifty times for her own made knife. Lol
The leatherman leap is a multitool meant for younger folks.

Funny I had to look up what a SAK knife was. The thing I dont like about those and remember myself cutting on was the non locking blade. That is one reason I liked leap is the locking attachments.
 
Yea non locking for a little girl might not be so good maybe when she's older. The micarta from her uncles shirt would be cool, it would last forever with a little care. Since she wants a custom knife the possibilities are endless. Pretty special kid to want her own knife made just for her. Good luck I'm sure she will like whatever you come up with because it comes from you.
 
A mora may be preferable because of the price
Just let her choose in a blade shop?
I was not given my dads knife until i was 18, maybe because i almost cut my ringfinger tip off with a mora i found under the sink
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I'm of the opinion that the leap wouldn't hold her attention much past her current age, but is safer than the adult models.

That said, it doesn't matter, they recalled them, and Leatherman has yet to have a new supply : http://www.cpsc.gov/en/Recalls/2015/Leatherman-Recalls-Childrens-Multi-Tool/

I'd go with a Sidekick or Wingman, have her supervised every time she wants to use it, and teach her how to make feather sticks! :)

For the fixed blade, check out the folding knife the Spyderco Junior, with a deep finger guard, that's what I'd go for something like that.
 
GSX-

I don't know anything about the Leatherman Leap, but you're quite possibly one of the luckiest dudes on this board, to be in such a powerful position to pass your passions down to a member of the future generation, who truly wants to learn about them. If it were me in your position, I'd be letting her pick out one of my 91mm SAKs for her own.

Actually if it was me, I'd be letting her look through my collection of other knives too, to see what she might be comfortable with.
 
Well. I read over the comments and think that the leap may be too kiddy for her going forward. I noticed while looking at Leatherman that the adult models with similar tools were cheaper then the leap.
I think this Christmas I will get her a leatherman, unsure what exact model but that's the plan.
This morning I woke up around 3am and could not sleep and started sketching some small fixed blades for a smaller person who could use it as a skinner or neck knife later in life. I will post them when I get home from work tomorrow.
Ya Charlie_K it is that bitter sweet luck. My buddy, her uncle lived on a dead end road about 6 miles off the HWY near a small town. Their drive way was 1 mile long (not like a mile, a mile). I remember learning to drive stick in a old old Toyota having to stretch below the windshield to reach the peddles. We later broke the rusty truck frame possibly jumping it on the driveway. lol
When this whole "I want my hunting license" Mom, grandma and grandpa were kind of looking at me if I had sparked it or knew anything. I said "you know how we were"
The mother, my friends little sister and I recalled us being under 15years old and given a box of shot guns shells and a old shitter 4/10 and told to go burn some energy chasing grouse. We both had dirt bikes and shitty aluminum boat both with Johnson 15hp motors we would buzz to and from each other houses. Be it by land or water. Having dirtbike plugs fouls in the middle of nowhere and having to ride bitch on a 250 2 stroke with two kids who could not touch the ground.
She met her uncle but was real young when he died, I think under a year and sometimes especially when she was younger would blabber stuff about her uncle that noone told her and she could not have possibly known. Sometimes I wonder if sometimes my friend says hi thru her. Regardless she was clear about her wants.
I kick myself cause this summer I was bored and was fishing in the pond about 200 feet in back of their house (you have to walk thru a slight wet area) she wanted to go fishing but grandma did not want her shoes getting wet and I wish looking back on it I would have pushed the 1% to have grandma find some crappy shoes in the closet. I wont skip on a mini fishing trip again for a small reason like that.
 
I started with a SAK Camper at age 6 or so. Great tools for a young person, I think. And for pete's sake, leave it SHARP and teach them to use it with care. Else they will develop crap knife skills and lousy expectations, and probably jam the thing through their hand while pushing too hard. At first she must be supervised at every use until she follows your safety instructions automatically.
 
daizee said:
I started with a SAK Camper at age 6 or so. Great tools for a young person, I think. And for pete's sake, leave it SHARP and teach them to use it with care. Else they will develop crap knife skills and lousy expectations, and probably jam the thing through their hand while pushing too hard. At first she must be supervised at every use until she follows your safety instructions automatically.
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Absolutely on having it sharp. I thought the same thing. I am going to give the knife and mom, dad, grandma and grandpa can call when the time is ready. I think even knowing it is waiting for her when she is around adults will be good.
Honestly she wanted a "flipping knife" i think for her it meant folding knife unlike how we think. I told her that was definitely years away.
 
Kamp King is always what I recomend for a learning knife, carbon steel so easy to sharpen, no lock so good to learn on, good set of tools, cheap to replace and easy scales to remove so pick your kids favorite color of spray paint.
 
I am going to make her something like this for spring and get her the leatherman wingman or the sidekick.

 
Home Depot has both Sidekick and Wingman on sale. I picked up a Wingman the other day for less than $20 The Sidekick was $3-$4 more.
My daughters started with my old SAK Tinkerer and used my good knife during outings, when supervised. Now 11-12 both kids have Kershaw Leek CB's and their own custom fixed blade and Buck Packlite. They fit smaller hands. The "big knives" are in their packs for hiking and camping use. They use their flippers all the time. The fixed was given to her by a BF member. It holds an edge really well. I think it is 1095.

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There's one area where the Camper and Huntsman really excels over other models of SAK. And that's in jack-o-lantern carving. The saw blade rips through pumpkin hull with very little effort, and in a quick amount of time, it's very easy to control even when cutting curves, and you have a corkscrew for pulling out the cut pieces. How could a kid not enjoy such a knife?
 
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