Quality Boy Scout Knife?

I'd say the tweezers and awl are two of the most used things on my sak. I used the awl just the other day to make small holes on the dog's collars so I could get the rivets through and attach their tags.
 
All I remember of my days in the BSA is crapy slip joints, cuts on my pointer finger, and blood dripping down my whittling stick. Why the classic "Boy Scout Knife" didn't have a lock boggles my mind....
 
C_KnifeMan said:
All I remember of my days in the BSA is crapy slip joints, cuts on my pointer finger, and blood dripping down my whittling stick. Why the classic "Boy Scout Knife" didn't have a lock boggles my mind....
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Here's a novel idea, teach the kids use a knife properly and he'll never need a locking blade. I've owned a locking blade about 20 years ago for a while. Too limited with only that one blade.

If I want a blade that won't fold up on me, I use a sheath knife.
 
Didn't guide my two boys toward scouting.

I was a scout myself for many years. Back then you could carry a knife without any judgment, and my assistant scoutmaster had a knife sharpening business. It was great.

Nowadays, I will not trust some politically correct organization dictating to my children what tools they should or should not use. For instance, from the above:

" Bear Scouts and Webelos Scouts may earn the right to carry a pocketknife to designated Scouting functions by completing requirements for the Whittling Chip card. Cub Scout-age boys may not use sheath knives. Cubs should wait until they become Boy Scouts before they use any other woodworking tools"

Uhh, okay I guess.

Were I a scout master today, I would recommend some sort of multi-tool as the official "scout knife". I'd love to see Leatherman put out a "Scout" series of tools, but they'd just end up watered down by some dumbed down mindset and be useless. It sometimes amazes me that a mother will utilize a full spectrum of sharp implements during the week (kitchen knives), yet recoil in abject fear that her little baby may be using a "weapon" at his/her scout meeting.

Pick a Swiss Army Knife of your choosing and you are well on your way to fulfilling the "Be Prepared" motto, at least in my book.

You want a quality boy scout knife? Then you'll need a quality boy scout with a quality education on knives.
 
When I was in Scouts. The cool kids had Buck 110's, most had a swiss army knives of some sort, and the unfortunate kids had some kind of traditional.

I have two boys, one in scouts now and he has a Kershaw Thermite. But I've got plenty of folders for them to try out. Some packs/troops allow fixed blades as well. A whole other can of worms.
 
C_KnifeMan said:
All I remember of my days in the BSA is crapy slip joints, cuts on my pointer finger, and blood dripping down my whittling stick. Why the classic "Boy Scout Knife" didn't have a lock boggles my mind....
Click to expand...
As a kid and into adulthood, I've gotten accidental cuts here and there, but never because my pocketknife didn't have a lock. I've never had a slipjoint pocketknife fold up on me during use. Because I always kept doubly alert when using one. In fact, the worst cuts and knife accidents I've had have happened while using lock blade knives; again, not because they accidentally unlocked on me, but during the unlocking phase (or just while using it). Totally user error on my part.

Blade locks are great, too. But one can also become complacent with them. I came to view my knives (all of them, including locking blades) similar to domesticated animals. Maintain respect for it and don't have a cavalier attitude or overconfidence because a knife has a lock, even the strongest lock.

Jim
 
 
Scissors (very much), toothpick (sometimes...), tweezers (a lot), magnifying glass (constantly) are the reasons I keep using a Vic Champion (I suppose ?) gifted to me 40 years ago. I love the utility but I don't frame it as a "blade".
 
pinnah said:
-snipped nonsense-

Next, please show us how you'll drive a repair needle through two layers of webbing and heavy nylon.

-snipped nonsense -
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Heh, yeah, that's totally not possible, right? No way could any SAK ever do....

Oh....oh, wait.



Please stop talking now, it's getting super embarrassing.

P.S. Picture of a First Mate, from the Internet
 
Alternately, you could just use the shorter Awl 90% of SAKs come with. LOL
 
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James Y said:
As a kid and into adulthood, I've gotten accidental cuts here and there, but never because my pocketknife didn't have a lock. I've never had a slipjoint pocketknife fold up on me during use. Because I always kept doubly alert when using one. In fact, the worst cuts and knife accidents I've had have happened while using lock blade knives; again, not because they accidentally unlocked on me, but during the unlocking phase (or just while using it). Totally user error on my part.

Blade locks are great, too. But one can also become complacent with them. I came to view my knives (all of them, including locking blades) similar to domesticated animals. Maintain respect for it and don't have a cavalier attitude or overconfidence because a knife has a lock, even the strongest lock.

Jim
Click to expand...
Hello Jim, it’s a pleasure to meet you.....To me, “I wasn’t a Scout” Never Trust a Safety on a firearm, a lock on a blade, A Stop Sign or light ... The safety is between our ears! That’s what you rely on in the real world to keep yourself & loved ones safe!!!—————————Not a mechanical safety or someone telling you.. “It’s not loaded!”:rolleyes:
 
The mere concept that a SAK is not a good outdoors knife for youngsters makes me really confused. I would actually say it's the best entry level "knife like object" to gift or hand to a young boy or girl. The utility it provides is just amazing, while I do not consider it to be an actual blade. My uncles needed no more blade than their SAK had to demonstrate all the outdoors skills they had. And they had a lot... I'm still living on that stuff but I prefer a short stout blade in the woods (like the Bushcraft Basic 5 by Condor) and rely on some SAK for the menial day to day stuff.
 
I am pretty sure I got my first knife in the Scouts.
It was from the scout supply shop.
I think it was a swiss army.
It was a great little knife that lasted for many years.
 
I use many of the tools daily. it's why I carry one everyday. also carry a buck 110 in my belt daily as well. between those I got most of what I could need.

screwdrivers, toothpick when eating jerky, saw, scissors. use daily pretty much.

also have leatherman and like those but old swiss is very useful for me.
 
Back when I was involved in scouts (in the Netherlands), we used to vet the knife choices of our scouts (11 - 15 years old). Knives with assisted opening were out, as were most of the 'zombie' or 'tacticool' knives.

The budget range isn't very high, especially as these kids sometimes lose them (especially when there is a bit of roughhousing). Some kids lose them easier than others. The Buck 110 is an icon in the states, but just a bit too expensive around here. One kid showed a lot of interest in my Buck 110, but eventually decided against it on account of the price (between € 65 and €85 for a standard model, presumably because of import reasons).

The SAK is very good allround choice in the middle of the usual budget spectrum. It also offers more tools. I still have mine, and it is about my age. I used it for a lot of my youth, and it is still going strong. I like it a lot. The price/quality ratio is very good, but you can't expect super steels or the same performance as a knife that costs more than €200,- The softer steel definitely has some advantages (Since younger scouts still have to learn how to sharpen).

For the lower price range we would usually recommend opinels and sometimes people had a leatherman style multitool. Only older scouts were allowed to use fixed blades, but I have observed it is quite unusual to see people carry fixed blades in the Netherlands (and can get you in trouble depending on the context).

Buck knives are great knives. I am a big fan. At more reasonable prices (in the USA) I would definitely recommend them for scouting use. I like scouting and I am glad Buck is positively involved in this way.

P.S. As someone else mentioned: the biggest problem with scouting usually isn't the scouts themselves; it's the other adults (leaders and parents).
 
Seems that most of the knives made under the BSA label are great at camp chores. It is nice to see some of the pieces from the past. It is also great to see that many participants here have been in scouting. The only point I have to make is that the organization needs to go back to what it was supposed to be.
 
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