• This topic has 92 replies, 79 voices, and was last updated 10 years ago by GEDA.
Viewing 13 posts - 81 through 93 (of 93 total)
  • What age did you/your kids get a penknife?
  • olddog
    Full Member

    Laws are pretty strict on knives now, particularly carrying in public:

    https://www.gov.uk/find-out-if-i-can-buy-or-carry-a-knife

    (edit)

    I had penkives from a pretty young age, from being in cubs onwards. We got them all confiscated at scout camp once when someone got one through the foot when playing chicken stretch, fortunately he had boots on but did go through the leather into his foot. Oops.

    Ambrose
    Full Member

    Hmm- blummin’ Rambo-esque “survival knives”. What a waste of space they were. I remember participating in a sea-kayak assessment when some muppet produced one as his compass. He was scared of it (we all were) so he held it at arm’s length, over my spraydeck. As we rose and fell in the swell I was NOT happy. I did not want 10 inches of cold steel anywhere near my lap thank you.

    Back on track- first knife for me, and my boys also was at about 9 y.o. Opinel, with the locking collar. The locking collar IS important, very important indeed. Having a knife with a decent quality steel that will hold its edge is also important. Blunt knives cause accidents when the user has to use excessive force. As above- I second the teaching of sharpening the blade. This can be done by stone, steel (when old/ reliable enough) or other methods.

    molgrips
    Free Member

    I was about.. I dunno, 8 or 9 when I got a very small penknife. I didn’t rob anyone with it, but I did cut my fingers several times.

    I used it a lot for making things.

    Still carry one every day, a very useful tool, I’m lost if I haven’t got one with me.

    Hmm, funny – I manage just fine without one.

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    ourmaninthenorth
    Full Member

    Knife (Opinel, natch) free with an itchy Bridgedale jumper at 9.
    I think I already had a motorbike then.
    Air rifle (BSA Meteor) at 11, I think.

    I think I then got a mini Swiss Army knife at 15. Just remembered about that – wonder what happened to it?

    Oh, got a Kukri at 19 when travelling through Kathmandu. Bought of the street and never used ( I suspect it’s crap).

    Carry a Swiss Army knife in my work bag. Loaned to a colleague this morning to cut a cable tie. He cut his finger….

    Have an Opinel bought in a hunting shop in Provence a couple of years ago and a lovely little Trevor Ablett pocket knife given to me by my father in law.

    10 is fine. Just teach him well and supervise if worried.

    bigblackshed
    Full Member

    I had a 2 blade pen knife at 8 or 9. Given it at cubs after passing my knives and axes badge. Then the Daddy of Swiss Army knives at 11 at Sea Scouts. The one with the fork and spoon.

    Slightly miss-spent mid teens armed with a weighted black widow catapult and a sheath knife. Only ever whittled wood, built dens and shot other kids in other gangs. All’s fair in love and war in gang land! They were Mods and I was a Rocker.

    My boys are not interested. I have an Opinel in my tool box. Wear a Leatherman at work. My eldest has been force fed the “All tools are dangerous” at school. Trying to teach him carpentry is nigh on impossible.

    CountZero
    Full Member

    Hmm, funny – I manage just fine without one.

    Yeah, well, I guess you don’t do anything more strenuous than tap away at a keyboard all day.
    I, on the other hand, do a job where having a knife is pretty much essential. Try cutting zip-ties by biting them, or cutting them with flimsy little office scissors.
    I also have to cut packing straps around boxes of printing plates, cut the sealing tape to get at the plates, quickly cut open envelopes to scan the bar codes when addressees or posties stick bloody labels all over the address, and any one of a dozen day to day things that require a tool with a point and a cutting edge.
    My utility knife frequently has the blade taken out to use a flat edge as a make-shift screwdriver, and the sharp edge for scraping crap off of glass surfaces.
    A knife is a tool, and a bloody useful one.
    For someone who actually seems to do work other than sitting on his ass in front of a computer monitor.
    Maybe the dainty little scissors in your manicure set are all you need to trim loose threads on your frock.

    batfink
    Free Member

    Penknife when I started camping with the cubs (9 or 10), then a sheath-knife in the scouts (after passing my hand-axe and knife test).

    Have subsequently helped-out at cubs and scouts – most penknife injuries seem to be caused by either: the insanely sharp “wood-saw” on modern penknives folding-up on fingers whilst being tested on a branch, or the unexpected speed at which the main blade returns when the knife is new.

    For a first knife I think I would go for a small opinel – i don’t really like them, but they contain neither a (useless) saw, or a sprung return. However, this does exclude you son from penknife top-trumps (“has yours got tweezers/metal file/strange hook thing?”) which is probably some sort of vital social development thing.

    orangeboy
    Free Member

    I must have been 10-11 when I was a a scouting
    It was just a simple two blade swiss (vitorinox) and I still have it never stabbed anyone or did any proper damage

    Still use my small single blade leather man almost daily
    Must check the uk law on carring knives unless anyone knows ?

    deadlydarcy
    Free Member

    For someone who actually seems to do work other than sitting on his ass in front of a computer monitor.

    😆

    You call this work:

    I, on the other hand, do a job where having a knife is pretty much essential. Try cutting zip-ties by biting them, or cutting them with flimsy little office scissors.
    I also have to cut packing straps around boxes of printing plates, cut the sealing tape to get at the plates, quickly cut open envelopes to scan the bar codes when addressees or posties stick bloody labels all over the address, and any one of a dozen day to day things that require a tool with a point and a cutting edge.

    😆

    Have you considered asking the Beeb to commission you a documentary about your day with a utility knife? Sounds extreme. Maybe the C4 Cutting Edge team would be interested too.

    bencooper
    Free Member

    At the shop I’ve always got a knife on me – well, Leatherman. I use it so many times a day I’m lost without it. It’s got a locking blade so shouldn’t really carry it about, but I often forget. Also got a little Squirt on my keyring for emergencies.

    So yeah, I spend most of my life tooled up 😉

    I suppose it’s always been normal for me to have a knife in my pocket – my dad always did, his dad always did,…

    Trekster
    Full Member

    We are not allowed knives at work, alternative methods/tools have to be found/used ie cable ties are cut using snips with blunt points 🙄

    Got my first knife around 8. It could only be taken out of the house when I was either working on the farm for stuff like cutting hay bale string or when going fishing. No cubs/scouts/foreign travel or camping for me. Carry one in my Rucksack and Camelbac but it has probably seized up with lack of use 🙄

    Can`t remember buying my son one even though he did cubs/scouts and DofE.

    aphex_2k
    Free Member

    My granddad bought be a SAK climber model for my 11th birthday. Still have it today minus the tweezers. Think I cut the back of my hand testing the blade (as all people who own knives do, surely? Ooh, is this sharp? Yes. Yes it is).

    Treasured possession. Never stabbed anyone. Never used in anger. Carried to scout camps.

    Since then I’ve got various leatherman and fb knives.

    What age you give your child a knife all depends on how you think they will behave with it. There’s no perfect age really is there. (But i suspect 24 months is a little young to carry a machette). Just my 2 pennies worth.

    GEDA
    Free Member

    My kids have got one of these for their seventh birthdays.

    I let them use mine when they were 5.

    They like these ones to make spoons:

    They were using them at nursery aged 6.

    No big problems or injuries.

Viewing 13 posts - 81 through 93 (of 93 total)

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