Parents and Knives

[unused[nl]]

Wow some great advice! I am going for the soft approach probably, they will understand it I think and also kind of like it I ask them first and not the other way around. And if they don't agree with buying one I will say they can keep the knife and that I can only use it with their approval, this will please them a lot I think Thanks for the great Tip!

 

[Gwhtbushcraft]

I am thirteen and had my first mora 2 years ago now. I had specially adapted penknives sharp but with a rounded end from early on and I guess I worked up through different levels of sharps starting at scissors till my parents felt I was ready for a sheath knife and from using a penknife I already new how to use a knife and was strictly supervised for a long time. I have now done a knife making course and make my own. You might try going down the rout of saying that four year olds use scissors if you give me a chance you will se I am very responsible. it may be worth making a deal that they will keep it and supervise you when using it for a period of time.
Good luck with your parents
George

 

[Nicklas Odh]

I like the respect you show to your parents. Thats OK. Parents like that.
You are 18, it is time you start revolting. Thats OK. Parents want their kids to move, but not too far away
If you happen to live next to a forest (I didnt get if that was a fact or someone making examples, anyway) it is quite amazing that you need to buy a fixed blade knife, they should already be lying around everywhere and so would axes and saws and stuff or did your parents move from the concrete jungle yesterday

Anyway, I do not get the fuss anyway. Go get yourself a nice and decent knife, not a Rambo SERE super kill knife but something stylish, maybe a F1 or some woodlore type knife. A wooden handled knife is more accepted that a knife with black blade. A leather sheath is more accepted than a kydex thigh sheath. A Mora or such are practical but might be seen as just a sharp object and therefore dangerous.
But I am still amazed that you lack access to fixed blades.
Just let your dad in on the whole thing and make him starts fires (he can start with the BBQ) with firesteel and stuff, drag him along to a good outdoors store and look at gadgets and gizmos and then you end up by the knives but there you must be careful. You can not start with the big survival machete, go for some "cute" thing like a small Helle, then your dad might think that it is not macho enough, then you go for the really big knife and that is too big and finally you will end up with the knife you really want in the first place. Not too cute and not too macho. When you finally get home you will have your knife and dad will most likely have some gadgets too. Just dont buy anything from Cold Steel.

Good luck with your knife. Just remember that it is not really your knife until you have cut yourself with it

 

[Lodian]

. Just remember that it is not really your knife until you have cut yourself with it

O boy i learned that one last week when i was whittling away at a bit of pine.

 

[Minotaur]

I have had knifes for a long time(a scout master gave me my first one at about 12), my parents were very involved with the scouts and trusted his jugement.

I echo what everyone has said try to get them involved, and make sure they know you know how to treat a knife.

Get an aluminium knife for training, and explain that you would never use a real knife because of the risk of being cut, but the aluminium knife does every thing a real one does except cut. A lot of techniques do not work on rubber knifes.

Regards

 

[Nicklas Odh]

I am still amazed that people still see a knife as a weapon. I showed someone at work my F1 collection and she said something like "do you collect weapons?" It the same people who pick a dull paring knife as their only tool when going picking mushrooms.

I guess that even if you dont have permission beforehand a nice and sensible knife is much easier to get past the "parental checkpoint". A Helle Nying is more likely to be accepted than a SRK and the can do almost the same thing.

It should be mandatory that there is at least one decent fixed blade knife (Mora 2K and up) in EVERY household. By doing so kids get used to the knife being a tool and do not have a need to have one at school just to be cool.
The other mandatory thing is a Trangia stove (or a pepsi stove) and that is to learn kids not to fill the stove when hot and to be able to get tea in a blackout
There is a saying in Sami country (or maybe in Finland too) that says "A man without a knife is a naked man". It doesnt mean that everyone has to have a Ka-Bar strapped to their thigh all day but more like a SAK in your pocket. I do not know how many times I have tightened the philips screw on the emergency handle on the door, just because i have brought my LM Fuse. I am naked without my FK U2, it is my security blanket thing.
I have carried knives since I was 15, first a regular EKA knife, then SAKs a PST and now a Fuse and the U2. noone has bothered me except once, a pub in Norway but then I got my PST back when I left.

 

[mace242]

I think the problem, certainly in the UK, is that the public perception is that knives are a weapon once they leave the kitchen. Any knife at all. A walk in the park by the duckpond not even stepping on the grass, or a picnic on the beach, is the closest most of the people in this country will ever get to the outdoors so they simply do not understand the need for a knife.

This is not helped by politicians in this country that share the same mentality and also cannot - because their experience doesn't extend that far - understand the need.

And it's all made worse by the tabloid press making a huge issue out of the current spate of knife crimes. Don't get me wrong - to carry a knife as a weapon is something nobody in this country needs to do and killing with one should rightly get you a lengthy prison sentace. But many many more people are killed on the roads due to careless driving and it gets far less coverage - not headline worthy.

A long time ago - I'm relably informed by my elders - kids here had pocket knives all the time and never once considered them weapons. Nowdays it's very different and I think this is due to the way many people think about other people - not what they think about knives.

I'll get off my soapbox now....

 

[neoxerox]

well i got my first knife after seeing my scoutmasters knife on camp, i was about 10 and he had a big shiny bowie, and be being 11 i automatically wanted one like it.
My mother never approved of me having knives (even folding swiss army knives), my father was indifferent, i'm now 18 and have built up a set of a couple of good knives, a few bad ones (the kind that look good to a young teenager), and now a couple i'v made for myself.

needless to say my mother doesn't like the idea of me making and selling knives

in my experience if you can talk with them and come to a reasonable decision (ie a small fixed blade that you only take to the woods) then great, if not then go and get one anyway and just don't mention it. (ps you'll quite easily be able to swing your dad if you let him use a nice knife for a bit, bring out the woodsman in him!)

bottom line: dont get a rambo knife, get a "less threatening" looking one, with a sensible sized blade and don't go flashing it around in public.

hope this helped,

 

[-Switch-]

I've owned folding knives since I was about 10 years old and they were never a problem for my parents, mainly because I never abused them.
When it came to buying my first fixed blade knife I had my Mum accompany me (I was only 14 and couldn't have bought it without an adult present). I discussed what I wanted with her, and why I wanted it, and we both came to an agreement on what kind of knife I could have.
Unfortunately she didn't agree with me on the amount of money I wanted to spend, so I ended up with a small stainless 'bowie' style knife for £5 when I wanted to spend up to £25.

Why not buy a knife then make something with it - a spoon is a good place to start - then give whatever you make to your parents as a gift. They will see that the knife is a useful tool rather than an unnecessary weapon and that you are responsible and skilled in using it properly.

 

[Hardworms]

Ik heb begrip voor jouw situatie.
Toen ik klein was mocht ik wel een opvouwbaar zakmes maar geen groot mes. De meeste mensen denken dat zak messen veiliger zijn, maar dat is niet zo, omdat het opvouwbare mesje meer kans geeft om je vingers af te snijden.
Geef een uitleg dat grote messen veel veiliger zijn en noem Ray Mears, Mors Kochanski en andere personen op deze site, die hetzelfde zeggen.
Mijn eerste ervaring met een groot mes was toen ik zag dat mijn Hollandse neef er een had, ik was toen onge veer 13 jaar.
Ik mocht absoluut niet zo'n mes van mijn vader, maar toen ik 16 was ging ik op een Bushcraft cursus, toen kregen alle studenten grote messen en toen mijn ouders zagen hoe ik er mee om kon gaan en hoe ik het verzorgde en op mijzelf paste, waren ze gerust gesteld.
Je moet er niet om jammeren of bedelen maar bespreek het met hen en gedraag je netjes (je maakt de indruk dat je dat al doet) en als ze nog niet toegeven respekteer hun beslissing.
Het aller beste,

Josh

P.S. Ik raad Frost's Mora aan. Ze Zijn goedkoop, sterk, als je ze breekt, kun je ze gemakkelijk vervangen en ze lijken niet op militaire messen. De Meeste instrukteurs geven ze uit op cursussen zelfs aan kinderen.

 

[demographic]

You're 18 right? I'd go out and buy the knife. You're an adult after all, and I'm assuming its your own money.

Then go practice your carving and make your ma and pa something nice.

Just my O, obviously.

Thats pretty much my thoughts on the matter also.

 

[BushFire]

luckily my mum has never had a problem with knives and have had a small folder from an early age this set me up and taught me basic knife safety from then it was an easy step up to a fixed blade.

 

[unused[nl]]

I just asked it and they were kind of positive from the start! I went for the soft appraoch and it worked! Thanks for your advice all!

 

[leon-b]

glad to hear that mate, well done
leon

 

[Porcupine]

hehe, now comes the hard part, showing you were worth their trust

 

[Northern Giant UK]

Well done, glad to hear it worked out alright for you.
It also shows that your parents are open minded and willing to trust you (probably even more so now they've seen such a mature attitude).

Kev

 

[mace242]

That's great news. Well done. Now just be carefull you don't lop off a finger

 

[Yorkshire Boy]

That's great news. Well done. Now just be carefull you don't lop off a finger

I almost did that when I was 8/9.
I was cutting carpet for my den with an Opinel, I forgot to lock it.
It closed on my first finger.
It didn't hurt, but I knew I had been cut bad.
3 stitches.
The nurse poked a needle into the wound to see if I had cut a nerve.
I guess I wouldn't have learnt the trumpet without it.

I'm glad your parents came round in the end.
And good for you caring about what they feel.
Lets face it, if they trust you and let you learn how to defend yourself, kick someone's head in, then they should be OK with you owning a woodsman tool.

JC.

 

[longshot]

well, i got my first folder when i was 6 or 7, and i started using fixed blades when i was 11 or 12, under supervision. i gave my son his own when he was 7 and he only uses it under supervision and after serious instruction. we'll see about fixed blades as he progresses. my point is i guess at 18 your pretty much a grown man, and if your prone to damage or carelessness, stay away from all blades, but if you can demonstrate maturity and common sense your parents should allow it in their house, but it is their house, just approach them in a mature fashion and if their still negative just wait and try in a few months or in a year.


dean

 

[phaserrifle]

My first knife (a SAK) was given to me by my parents when I joined scouts, because scouts need a knife.
My first fixed blade was simply taken out of the attic by my dad, when i was around about 14.
The first fixed blade bought for me was a mora, after dads knife proved somewhat inadiquate (the handle twisted about, if you tried to use it for wood carving, and it needed a new sheath)
that was when I was about 14 1/2
I am now allmost 16.