I agree, it takes a while to reach the point when your knife becomes an extension of your arm. I never really thought about that myself, growing up with a SAK and puuko since I was 7 or so. But looking at a lot of my friends and camping buddies I can also see that most urban dwellers nowadays aren't used to handling a knife safely and effectively. Which is a shame considering it's one of man's oldest tools.
I agree completely...
Protecting children from knives it one of the most counterproductive things we can do... Safe knife handling, needs to be learned early enough for it to be instinctive...
As for knife safety, it's all about common sense. Never cut toward yourself, always keep the edge sharp, don't let any fingers get in the way and you'll be fine. Whittling sticks and carving wood when you have some spare time is excellent practice and will teach you almost all skills you'll need. Larger chopping blades or machetes are more dangerous but still entirely safe as long as you follow a few obvious precautions.
The precautions for large chopping blades and machetes are not AT ALL obvious...
The first time you perform a 'draw' cut with a good machete, or golok, and it slices right through FIVE INCHES of hardwood without much effort, and continues on to cut your kneecap, you will find that out...
It happened to me, but fortunately the limb was SIX inches thick, and the blade followed the grain and stuck in the limb... And I KNEW about large blade safety beforehand...
PLEASE read this article on the safe handling of big blades before using them...
Handling and working with knives, big blades, axes and hatchets
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