i have 2 boys that I want to start teaching how to utilize a knife safely and have them carry on them when we are hiking/camping. My boys are ages 5 and 7. What would you recommend for a start up knife for those ages? i wa concidering the Mora Allaround craft knife or the Ritter RSK MK5. What are your thoughts? Thanks!

I personally would avoid a fixed blade for boys of this age. I would go with a folder first. This helps them to understand that they need to thing about using the knife before just whipping it out. I know there are dangers with folding it back up, but I think I like the idea of a non-exposed blade for carrying purposes. You may want to consider a SAK-type also. Kids like all the gizmos. Also, it will allow you to teach them the limitations of the tool.

My $.02 worth

Never really thought of that. Thanks for the suggestion! I'll have a look see.

What is the difference between Victorionox and Wenger SAK's? Any recommendation between the 2?

Personal preference: Same ownership; different approaches to design.

Not the MkV- the skeletonized and short grip are points against it. Of course, their hands are small and everything is going to be oversized to them.

There are points for and against folders, most having to do with opening a folder. I might almost suggest one of the smaller Opinels, just because you'd really have to be sleepy to have it close on your fingers.

For a fixed, I'd say check out some of the smaller Moras, or a decent kitchen knife. Every so often I see paring knives w/ decently thick blades that have little snap on sheaths for something like 5, 10 bucks.

edit: those paring knives look like this:
http://www.centralchef.com/storefrontpro...amp;i=244078609
I'd buy a couple, but I've already got knives, knives and more knives. :P

Awesome! Thanks for the info. I think my mind is made up now.

Having had two wonderful kids go through Cub Scouts, Boy Scouts, and Girl Scouts, we started knife use at about the same age as your kids. We tried a LOT of knives to find the right one.

We finally settled on Kabar Dozier Spears.

The #1 think was it had to have a lock - and the Dozier locks are the typical kind.

It had to be low cost because we figured it would get lost soon enough (amazingly one ALMOST was lost, but both are still around) - the Dozier costs about $20.

It also had to be easy enough to open that the kids could open it. When they were younger they had to open the Doziers two-handed, but now that they're young teenagers they can open them one-handed using the thumb stud.

have a look at Ragweed Forge,Mora and Jarvenpaa both have fixed blade knives made for kids.smaller handle and a guard to keep fingers from slipping onto the blade.i would think a fixed blade would be better because there is no problem with opening and closing.also the entire idea of a knife is the blade and not a tool set that happens to come with it.fixing attention to the blade and how to use and care for it might be better than playing with add-on gizmos,who really uses a can or bottle opener these days?

I use bottle/can openers quite often actually. Especially my P38. I see what your saying though.

I think a 4" Mora is a little large for kids that age. I got my similar-aged sons 2" Kershaw lockblades - $10 from Stuff-Mart. That size seems about right for them.

Swiss army knife, one of the mid-sized one like a Tinker. Or a classic folder like a Case Stockman. Nothing too expensive because odds are they break, destroy or lose one or two. It is to be expected so don't freak out when they do. Have them buy the second out of their allowance or in return for chores. It's a knife, and expendable, no matter how special a symbol you want it to be to them, it isn't the Holy Grail.

Show them how to work with it, supervise a couple of times, and show them how to sharpen their knife on a simple carborundum stone with spit. Boys love the spit part. Also how to wash out the inevitable cuts with soap and water and apply a bandaid. Again, don't freak out. Cutting yourself is a normal part of learning to uses a knife.

Cuts will heal faster with a sharp blade and are less likely if the kid isn't trying to force a dull blade to work.

Simple, inexpensive pocket knife, supervise the first couple of uses, teach sharpening with a stone, and how to deal with cuts.

I did a topic on this and from what I gathered, there are minimal differences! Link to my topic!

I'd suggest teaching fixed blade skills first, and then Moras are the way to go, imho.

For a folder I'd go cheap, locking and for me, not one hand opening (I wouldn't want my son (7) trying to open something that involves a blade and a spring with one hand when he isn't strong / dextrous / sensible enough - to much chance of slippage)

Just my $0.02

I too stick with fixed blades.

This so-called "scouting knife" has long traditions around here. http://www.helle.no/Default.aspx?tabid=4947&language=en-US

The plus side:
- Reasonable good steel with good reputation.
- Comfortable handle
- Finger guard
- Good control
- OK Sharpness out of the box
- OK price

The negative: I don't like the sheat.
- Too easy to loose the knife: If the button is undone or not properly "clicked in", the knife will topple over and drop out of the sheat (top heavy due to the thick handle).

- Too easy to insert the wrong way. In my scouting days, I cut through the seam holding the knife together when I inserted this the wrong way. The rivets will help prevent this, a redesign that was highly needed.

My wife bought this for our son for his 5th birthday, and as I had no other good alternatives immediately nearby I went with it. The good (good handle, sharp, good quality) outweights the bad assuming proper parental guidance, at least for now. On his birthday, he actually had to do 2 stitches due to a momentary glimpse in parental guidance, but that is another story.

Mostly--that must be the knife in the Ragweed Forge catalog,he describes it as having a Girl or Boy Scout imprinted on the sheath.
he also said removing the guard was a rite of passage,know anything about that?..good link to the knife site,i'll go back and look at that in detail.

I like this opinel.

locking blade but is less hazardous to close.

http://www.opinel-usa.com/categories.asp?cat=Opinel+%22Scout%22

Yup, same thing - Helle is the brand (factory), and "speiderkniven" (scout knife) is the type.



I have never heard about THAT before - but it is certainly a grand idea! I'll remember that one when my kids grow older

Most likely, the knife will be lost long before that anyway. Happened to mine - the button closure thing is a lousy patent. I'll see if I can work out something better with a rubber band or something.

About the sheet: They have been modified. Now there are more rivets and a plastic insert. This minimizes the danger of what happened when I inserted the knife backwards into the sheat: It cut through the seam and bit me in the thigh when I sat down. I got just a little pink prick, but I still remember the horrid realization when I understood how bad I could have been cut - easily. Luckily, I don't see how that could happen with the new version of the sheat.

to just open this up a bit more, look at the GI Issue pocket knife, with the blade, can opener, awl, screwdriver. Great beginner multi-tool. large enough to not get lost, inoffensive enough to pass muster with non-knife folks.

I got my son started out on a fixed blade...butter knife to cut up his waffles at breakfast, and to make his own PB&J sandwiches. This way he gets practice using a knife several times a week. Then after he had been using a butter knife for a while we let him start using a steak knife at dinner time. This way he can practice his knife skills at home in a controlled setting, and he gets practice almost daily.

-Robert

I was faced with the same question not long ago. I opted for a folding Case "Peanut." A guy where I work was a Case dealer, so he had one with stag handles in orange for a decent price.

It is nice enough that it can be a father-son heirloom "first knife" if my son actually keeps it and doesn't destroy it, but not so expensive that I will feel bad when he inevitably does lose or break it.

It is a folding knife with two sharp blades that do not lock. I thought that a locking or fixed blade to start with would lead to him doing things with it that he should not (prying, forcing the blade...). I also thought all the tools on the swiss army knife and multi-tool would be distracting (based mainly on observing the other kids in his tribe with those).

Knock on wood, the boy has not yet cut himself on his knife. He has sharpened and debarked numerous branches and roughed out one pinewood derby car. The blades are still super sharp and he is very happy with his knife.

I started my sons out with tongue depressors, and a piece of sandpaper glued to a block of wood. I put tape on one end for a handle and had them sharpen the blade end on the sandpaper. I used the cub scout rules for handling a knife and enforced those rules strictly. I bought them a new Swiss Army knife, of their choice, and put it on a shelf so they could see it. The sooner they learned and could demonstrate the proper knife handling discipline, the sooner they could use their knife (under supervision). The knife handling rules were enforced whether they had a butter knife at the table, a saw cutting wood or a sharp knife.

They are very trustworthy now with any sharp utensil they use, and they enjoy their Swiss Army knife.