Willie,

Good for you on attempting to change your local policies to something more in tune with the BSA actual policy.

I think a small Mora type fixed blade offers a number of advantages to your group.....inexpensive but robust for many projects, Scandi grind is a great bevel to learn sharpening, and Ragnar has a large selection.

Another site worth looking at is BushCraft in the UK

http://www.bushcraftuk.co.uk/reviews/cutwith.html

There are some articles on the Scandanavian type knives and sharpening at Kellam Knives

http://www.kellamknives.com/cart/shop.cgi/SID=PUT_SID_HERE/page=index1.html

Joe Talmage wrote an extensive sharpening article that is at BF, I cannot remember if he covers Scandi type grinds but it is a good article anyway.

http://www.bladeforums.com/features/faqsharp.shtml

The key to the Scandi grind (a love or hate grind BTW) is that you lay the whole blade angle on the stone and sharpen that way. This is called a primary grind. In other words the correct angle to sharpen is the angle already on the blade. Lay it flat and sharpen. This is much easier to teach than the traditional secondary grinds which are dependent on keeping the angles precise. The Scandi grind is a great way to start and maintain a good sharp knife. Much sharper than most folks have ever seen if done properly. Excellent on wood projects.

Good luck,
Randy