What knife for an 8 year old?!

[Iona]

I asked my friends if I may buy their girls (then aged 10 and 12) a Victorinox SAK.

Having known the girls all their lives and child minded them for two full (12 hour+) days a week, for two years (when they were two and four years old) I believed that I was a good judge of their character.

So did their parents, whom readily agreed........ I gave them both a Vic' SAK catalogue and let them decide. We then discussed their choice, and they reconsidered and both chose the Mini Champs.

Closely followed by two Leatherman Supertool sized multi-tools, not from the Vic' catalogue!

Their little brother (then aged five) also got the same type multi-tool.

The kids had been familiar with the SAK Swiss Champs and Leatherman Supertools which their father and I wore on a daily basis, and the small SAK which I'd given their mother, and had always treated them with respect when they asked to handle them (which was frequent!).

Having grown up seeing adults with personal knives, and being trusted to handle, examine and use them, the children have a responsible attitude to knife usage and care.

The youngest girl has my Gerber E-Z Out River Rescue knife on her PFD for Packrafting, and is also an enthusiastic whittler (with a knife bought for that purpose).

Perhaps ask your child which type of knife they may prefer and discuss the practical options, it worked very well for us.

That's good advice

We did have a talk about practicality as well as what aesthetic he wanted (hence the desision on Fixed with sheath, but having gotten an idea of what he likes, I wanted the final present to be a surprise... I think he'll be dead chuffed with this one

 

[BushcraftBaird112]

If you chose an opinel I suggest you get one that locks. You dont want it closing up on her hands! Or if you could get her a swiss army knife because they have a good blade and selcetion of tools for her to use also.

 

[malley]

I think this principal works with kids across the board. Give them some involvement in the selection, deliberation and discussion and they will have a degree of ownership that is so rewarding. Ownership of the knife, the idea and a feeling of independance will hopefully engage them for years to come!

They all look so good. I love the Brusletto - she does too - but her current favourite is the Frosts Children's Woodcarving Knife. Greenman doesn't have them in stock at the moment. Anyone know of any in Britain?

I am enjoying this and so is my daughter. Fantastic!

 

[robin wood]

Good choice, in fact it was our kids first knife given to them by the Frosts factory owners when we did a tour there.

This is them learning to carve Darlana horses with Wille Sundqvist.

Not sure who stocks them here I am afraid.

 

[ruger_red]

Probably too expensive but a Fallkniven WM1 might suitable.

 

[Tye Possum]

It must be nice having a bushcrafter as a parent, getting knives as presents without even asking for one, when I was younger I had to beg my parents for a knife and I'm actually surprised they got me one because like most people they think of knives as weapons, I've taught them otherwise now though.

As for suggestions, you can't go wrong with victorinox SAKs, well at least I always wanted one when I was a kid. Or maybe a nice little traditional style folder of your chosen brand, though the people who hate slip joints do have a good point about them closing on your fingers, so for learning knife skills, it may not be the best type of knife.
Thinking of fixed blades, maybe a brusletto spikkekniv would be good, it's the only brusletto knife with a carbon blade which could be good or bad depending on how well she looks after it, it has a handle shaped for a kids hand with a picture of their mascot "spikketrollet" which might be kind of fun for a kid, or it might be a little too childish for them... If the picture is a tad childish for their tastes or maybe the blade is a little too long then that balder knife that's been suggested looks like a good one. You can buy both here though that's in the states. (though the Brusletto/Norges Husflidslag folks recommend that spikketrollet thing as a good first carving project and I think it is, I've made a couple, teaches the stop cuts and stuff so maybe it wouldn't be a bad idea for a whittling project with whatever knife you choose, but let's save that for a different thread...)

 

[Mr Adoby]

This is the childrens woodcarving knife. Designed for the purpose, and has the right size for childrens hands:

Erik Frost 73/164 (click the image)

 

[Steven J]

This is my first post. After lurking behind the scenes for some time I figure this is the place to start. Having kids learn to use knives is something I am pretty passionate about.

I took one of the Frost 164 for my daughters 5th birthday. It is a fantastic knife and everybit as good as the larger versions. I made her a nice leather sheath for it, but as I have not worked out how to post a picture of it you will just have to believe me.

They are cheap to buy, which is important because I think that a kid should be given a knife when they are still young enough to lose it.

Steve

 

[tombear]

Heres my three lads sheath knives, the one on the left is marked "BRUSLETTO GEILO made in Norway" (huge 7 year old) the centre one"KI STAINLESS MORA IN SWEDEN" (8 yr old) and the one on the right "FROSTS MORA NADE IN SWEDEN (10 yr olds). The last two I got from Ragnar over in the US.

When they get older I may remove the cross guards but more likely I'll move them up to full sized Moras. So far they haven't used them much apart from the eldests, they all have Victoronix Spartans for camping.

ATB

Tom

 

[JDO330]

I think im going to get my kids either the SAK 'my first Victorinox' (one in red and one in blue) or a couple of kids Opinel's - off to France in a few weeks time so maybe an ideal time to buy!

The other one my daughter likes (she is aged 5) is the SAK DofE which has a few other tools.

ATB, Jon.

 

[silvergirl]

Silvergirl - any pics of that one? Any idea of brand/ manufacturer?

Here's a pic of my sons knife, with my Mora and a Opinel no. 7

Sadly I din't know the make. We bought it in a village shop in Norway but it doesn't have a name on it anywhere. Its carbon steel with full tang and my son is happy with it.

Hope you get something suitable.

 

[Toddy]

I have small hands and I struggle with the Mora sometimes.........these days I just don't even bother trying to use it except when I'm working with a group and they all have one.
Great knives, just too big for me to use comfortably for long, and I'm not tiny, just a bit on the small side.

I like my Bruseletto Balder, but I also like the little red wood handled Morakniv Classic2/0 and the Helle Tomeliten
http://www.ragweedforge.com/helle/tommeliten.html

Tbh I reckon any of those three would be an ideal sheath knife for an eight year old under parental guidance, and when trusted to be capable, on their own recognisance not to be careless. Perhaps more importantly they are still good knives for teenagers and adults.

I have all three and am prepared to package them up and send them to parents who wish to try them for themselves and with their child before they buy.
The knives are not drawers queens, not kept pristine perfect, but they are well cared for and sharp.
What I'm trying to say is that they are users, and I would expect both parent and child to actually have a good use of them before returning them.
Either comment in the thread or pm to arrange.

I could also see that they are available at the Moot for folks to have a good looksee as well.

cheers,
Toddy

 

[malley]

Excellent. Loads of advice and information, generously shared. Perhaps this thread has identified a possibility for the bushmoot? A kids knife workshop? As stated above, it's great for our lttl'uns to have encouraging parents in this field! It would be great to learn alongside each other as I don't have loads of knowledge in this field myself. I feel inspired by this site in every way but all this fills me with optimism - especially Robin's kids whittling photograph! There is hope for the next generation! Thanks everyone.

 

[malley]

Er, . . note to self; don't post so many exclamation marks after too much red wine. Oh, dear.

 

[hiho]

i hadn't noticed it after too much cider

 

[malley]

I have just taken delivery of a beautiful scaled down bushcraft knife yesterday. I can't believe how fantastic it is! I plan to do a full review in time. However, I need to check with the maker ( on here ) to get him to post some pics - you will want one!

 

[malley]

Duncan has now posted some pictures on the 'edged tools' forum.

They are under ' Family Trio of Blades.

They're great.

 

[michiel]

Another good one is the roselli carpenter. It's pretty smal, but no guard however.

Regards,

Michiel

 

[VtBlackdog]

how about the Bark River Micro-Canadian? The tip is pretty rounded, but its stout enough for batoning little pieces of firewood and a good whittler.

 

[mjk123]

The Victorinox comes with a little wood saw too, which can be surprisingly useful for making a stop cut for a notch.