Tom wrote:<br>>>>Our local Council has a policy of no fixed blade knives at long term ("summer") camp. I feel that is a generally appropriate and prudent policy for a number of reasons. <<<<br><br>As do I. There are no real camp activities that require such a tool and their presence may lead to situations where they may be abused. I have first hand experience along this line when I was a councilor at a summer camp in the early seventies.<br><br>However, after reading about survival and the comments on this forum, I feel the scouting program should add proper use of a fixed-blade knife to it’s program, especially for older boys. Perhaps a requirement for Camping or Wilderness Survival merit badges would be a good place, or as part of High Adventure programs (although that may be too limiting in participation). I may be wrong, but I don’t think they are mentioned in the Field Guide, which is targeted to older scouts.<br><br>I grew up in Scouting and never received training on a fixed-blade knife. As such, I don’t own one and am unsure how or why I would use one. As I said, I have read about their use, but reading and doing are two separate things in life. Perhaps it’s time I add such a knife to my wish list and start to learn about them myself!<br><br>