At what age should kids start carving?

[Pignut]

I got my first knife when I was about 7, my parents had it in a draw when I wanted to use it I simply had to ask for it!

They watched me the first few times and as my skill/confidence grew they took more of a back seat and let me get on with it.

Looking back on it, it was a good exercise in trust on both parts (Neither of my parents have any past experiance with knives or Bushcraft) and taught me that the knife was a tool and nothing more!

 

[jem seeley]

Start them young!My son(5yrs) is quite happy sitting with a small pen-knife taking the bark off sticks & sharpening.We've talked about the dangers together & he is never allowed to use his knife when I'm not around.Yes,he has cut himself once so far-this in itself is an important lesson after all I still manage to cut myself aswell!!I can't keep him away from his scissors which he now uses with some precision & strength as a tool to explore his imagination.He also uses a junior hacksaw & gimlet to make beads from elder.A friend's 2 children have been using a drawknife since they were 3yrs old.At 6yrs the older child has his own drawknife,knife,axe & chisels & will turn out some respectable tent pegs but is often to be found making wooden swords,daggers & bows & arrows to aid his play.
I believe that by allowing my son to use a knife & other sharp tools at an early age I am building his confidence to explore the world around him.Rest assured my son won't leave home in the future not knowing how to mend his clothes, cook a meal or to make a spoon to eat it with!

 

[JohnC]

BOth my boys (5 and 8yo) watch me using a knife, we "pass a knife round" the correct way as practice, they've had and will continue to get the talk on "where will the blade go if it slips?" to try to ensure safe stance and positioning of limbs etc.
Both have fixed blade knives, which are kept with my gear when they aren;t in use. It's been drummed into them that if they point a knife at anyone, wave it around, or throw it, it will be taken off them and we'll think about getting it back in 6 months or so.
Having watched joe (5yo) using a baton to split his piece of wood into manageable chunks, having seen me do it for a fire, I think that properly supervised and taught kids can learn respect for tools, sharp objects and enjoy creating their own pile of shavings as much as I can.

Always have some plasters to hand

 

[oetzi]

Not being a parent but only an uncle has made this decision easier for me.
My nephew got his first knive at the age of five, a Frost with a rounded tip on its 75mm blade. His sister, then four years old, wanted one , too. So I shortened another blade down to 50mm and she is happy ever since. Of course I made new handles for them
They use these knives only under supervision and without aqny problems so far.
I dont think that using a knife is any more dangerous for children than any other thing found in a household if they are teached accordingly. On a side note: one week after both had their knives, my niece shot an ordinary pencil with a plastic childrens-crossbow at her brother. Tip first it hit him between nose and eye.
I much prefer them to cut themselves slightly with a knive and learn from this experience.

 

[philaw]

That's a good point, Oetzi. Are knives more dangerous than mains electricity, for example? We take the time to teach kids not to switch the lights on with wet hands, or touch the pins on a plug, and it sounds like lots of you are doing the knife equivelent very well.

 

[Povarian]

My lad is nearly eleven, and so far has not progressed with knife use too far - he's got his own folder which he uses occasionally, and has been taught the basics of carving using chisels and gouges.

He's really more interested in fire making, including chopping the firewood with an axe. On that, we've got to the "parent watching from a distance" stage. Time to get him a fixed blade knife for feather sticks etc.

Hmmm... Just thinking aloud - I think I'll get him his first basic first aid kit at the same time and present them together, along with instruction in using both. 'bout time he started learning first aid anyway.

As with all these things, teach 'em the safe and appropriate way and gradually increase their freedom to do it without supervision.

 

[ilovemybed]

Hmmm... Just thinking aloud - I think I'll get him his first basic first aid kit at the same time and present them together, along with instruction in using both. 'bout time he started learning first aid anyway.

As with all these things, teach 'em the safe and appropriate way and gradually increase their freedom to do it without supervision.

That is an ace idea. Perhaps suggest that he can have the knife once he shows you how to treat a typical cut with his new first aid kit. Kind of a graduation and reward for learning?

 

[PANZERWOLF]

my father gave me my first small swiss army knife when i was 5
he and i have never regretted it
he told me never to cut in the direction of my body, my fingers or a person next to me, and never to run with the open blade
he also showed me some carving basics, and i'm sure that in this process he observed if i was able to handle it safely (and would have taken it away again if not)

when i was a kid, my family spent some weeks every year in a wooden hut in a forested valley in the alps, and i roamed the woods all day
so a knife came in quite handy, even at this early age
i used it for collecting mushrooms, carving sticks for grilling, wooden knifes, forks and spoons (ok, they were more like spatulas back then ; ), making little boats to play with on the stream or on mountain lakes on our hiking trips

of course i got one or the other small cut, but who doesn't from time to time ...
today, i feel naked without some sort of knife on my body

 

[ScanDgrind]

I would say let her carve with you. Teach her the correct carving techniques.

But don't let her have access to her knife when you're not around. Kids minds tend to wander and that's when nasty accidents happen.

Teach her properly, make it as safe an experince as possible and of course for the benefit of her and you have a simple first aid kit handy.

Above all, make it fun.

All the best,

Tony

 

[AlexRowan]

I know from my own experience that a kid needs to be taught respect for knives before they can get their hands on them. My first real knife was a black, plastic handled "survival" type knife, complete with compass in the handle. I must have been 8 or 9!!! I proudly wore the knife on a webbing belt and postured around like rambo!! Previous to this, when I first got my hands on a SAK. I promptly tied it to a stick and made a spear!! I hasten to add that the spear was less bushman, and more centurian!!

Anyway, I had the common sense to not ever use these weapons even in fun but it's still scary to think that that was my immediate reaction to them. So I whole heartedly agree that kids (when they are suitably mature) should be taught the safe and proper use of knives, axes, rifles etc. I wish perhaps I had been introduced to carving at the age of 10 as then I may actually be skilled in it, instead of still trying to point sticks at 24!!!

 

[Povarian]

I would say let her carve with you.

Definitely. It's these shared experiences with children that are most treasured by both parent and child.

 

[oetzi]

Here is a picture of the childrens knives which I made.
http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a273/Supercorsa/Kindermesser001.jpg
On the bottom is the original, the childrens carving knife from Mora.
The two in the middle have the blade from this, but a new handle.
The uppermost was made for my very young niece. I took my old knife which I bought myself as a kid and removed the tip/shortened the blade and fitted a new handle.