Generally Boy scouts are 10 years old or above. However, being an Eagle Scout with Junior Leader Training and former Leader I learned quickly that age does not equal experience or trust. ... I wouldn't let a scout carry a knife and fire starting device until I felt they were ready and trained with their certification cards (still Toten Chip and Fire'm Chit I gather?).
Ditto Paul. The scouts had to earn their Toten Chip (basically learn the basics of knives: cut away from you, no rough housing, saying "thank you" to signify you have the knife firmly while passing, etc). You'd lose a corner if you were caught violating rules. In my troop though, it seemed that the adults left you alone if you were responsible/mature enough. We had a good troop in terms of adult leaders, and later, older kids as role models.
Most kids are fine with a SAK, but I did have one idiot that loved the Rambo knife... at least until he threatened a kid at a Merit Badge Day (he was about 15 or 16, the rest of us around 12). Out he went. I think the big thing is active parents, aware of it's necessity, and smart about what to buy. It's really hard to intimidate someone with your 3" SAK, when the other 10 kids with you have one. But bring a Ka-bar to camp, and there WILL be issues.
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