What joaquin39 said. You have raised your son, you will be the one to know if he is ready for a knife yet. I had my first one (actually several) before I was eight, but I know a lot of kids much older than that who have no business with a knife, or even a baseball bat. If you think that he is ready, I'd suggest that you select several different knives that you think are the best for him, then let him have a hand in picking which one he actually gets...