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I bought my 10 yr old son an Opinel knife while in France this summer and introduced him to whittling. When I mention it to people they look at me like im an idiot for buying him a knife. I have explained the do's and don'ts and he has been fine one little cut but thats just a learning curve. He has now started at looking at the outdoors in a different way, has started to ask about lighting fires and is building up his own survival kit. He has the dangerous book for boy's for reference goes to cubs and is currently looking through Ray Mears Bushcraft. Is he a bit young for this and should I leave it a bit or just go with it and have what I think could be quite a lot of fun.
I think you're a good dad. The people moaning are clearly clueless squares, you know the sort, no common sense whatsoever and wouldnt have a ****ing clue when it comes to doing anything practical.
Dunno as I'm not a parent.. but I think my Dad and Grandad let me have a knife at that sort of age when we used to go camping, didn't do me any harm 🙂
I was in the Cub Scouts at that age and everyone had a knife of some sort. I don't remember there being lots of accidents or violence with them!
I had an air rifle at that age and my first shotgun at 12...
I think that's being a good dad. My son has had a knife since he was 9. They did whittling at scouts. He wants to be a chef, I bought him a chefs knife when he was 11. No one has died.
Though obviously it could be a child's face next.
I had a nice lock knife at that age for use on Scout camps etc.
Happy days wittling sticks and carving the perfect marshmallow toaster.
Wish I still had it, but I killed a man in Reno and wore his skin as a suit. So I had to ditch it.
They are my thoughts, cub and scout camp wasn't complete till you bought a knife as a souvenir.
Got my first pen knife when I was 9, another one given to me by the cubs when I was 10. And my first significant flesh wound from one when I was 10.
Go for it, Better a knife than a DS.
I had plenty of scalpel type knives at that age for building model aircraft with. Teach him about being responsible with it and it should be all good. If you ever find him using it as a toy / weapon then that's the time to unleash hell. If they don't come into contact with things in life they need to respect they'll never learn.
good dad i reckon.
Just remind him to lock it properly. Cut halfway through my index finger once with one that closed up on it. Luckily the bone stopped it....
That's fine but have you discussed moisturiser with him yet?
Strikes me that you're doing a good thing. Not enough kids these days are interested in anything like that and they should be. (makes me feel really old sating that!)
As long as he knows how to use a knife safely all is good!
Go with it. Come down like a ton of bricks if he misuses the knife in any way of course but I don't see that waiting will help. He'll be more likely to get in trouble with a knife when he's a bit older anyway.
(Not that I'm suggesting he will. Sorry for being parenthetically defensive but some folk on here are touchy as ****.)
another vote for good dad - I had knives at that age. I maybe wouldn't have got him what I assume is a lock knife.
Shite dad for worrying what other people think. Good dad for getting your kid interested in something that'll be good for him.
Is he a bit young for this and should I leave it a bit or just go with it and have what I think could be quite a lot of fun.
Did the same when I was a kid, suppose it depends on you sons attitude/maturity. I let my 10 year old do the same, he is now a well adjusted 19 year old who speaks only in grunts and is locked to a pc/playstation all the time.
Sometimes wonder how over protective we are, been to countries where 10 year olds survive on their own, yet we seem to wrap cotton wool around ours.
A big thumbs up from me 😀
I am also a parent of kids both older and younger than yours.
Sounds like you might turn him into a child of the 70's - and I mean that in a good way!
Sounds ok to me but you need to be absolutely sure you know where it is and that it doesn't make it to school. How about you look after it when he is not using it for legit purposes when he asks you for it and gives it back when he is done?
Not wrong at all, my Dad did similar with me and I will do similar with my little lad when he's about that age.
Moaners will moan, ignore 'em!
Sounds fine. I had one when I was younger than that.
Just make sure he doesn't do anything silly like take it to school.
I did and my mum wasn't impressed!
I'd say two thumbs up but i cut one off with a knife when i was 11. 😉
I always had a Swiss army knife on me when I was a kid. I remember gutting fish and stuff in scouts. Started rifle shooting when I was 13. I'd say your equipping him with a lot more skills than he'd get sat on a playstation
don't be a skinflint. get him an air rifle and then a shotgun.
teach how to use them safely and only supervised.
his opinel will be useful for gutting his first rabbit.
mrsmith funny you should mention rabbits already done the catch, kill, gut, cook and eat with fish and rabbits were my next step if he wants.
With the economy the way it is, by the time he reaches adulthood we'll all be battering each other to death with severed limbs, over the last looted cup o soup. So some knife skills will be handy 🙂
Good dad, IMO. Bit of responsibility... And they're lovely things too, I've had my number 9 for about 15 years now, I'd be gutted if I lost it.
TandemJeremy - MemberI maybe wouldn't have got him what I assume is a lock knife.
It's a slow lock- rotating collar type. Much safer than an unlocking folding knife (I almost lost my index finger when I was about 12 using a nonlocking pocket knife!)
I had a small penknife when I was a kid, dunno how old. And yes I cut myself on the fingers a good few times!
My dad preferred to blunt the ones I used ever so slightly though - they tend to come razor sharp.
Go for it...allows you to relive your kid years as well...as long as you are showing him sensible usage of stuff so he realises what is 'correct procedure' then it is all good...with him being in the cubs and stuff he is going to be learning about this stuff anyway...
good for you.
as with all these things, I believe people get hurt when they don't respect the tool.
and if (*when) he cuts himself, hope he knows enough, that he hasn't damaged himself majorly, and that he has access to help!. (my colleague at school had never been taught how to use a knife, and was cutting the top off a paint bottle with a stanley knife, pulling it towards himself. He ended up slicing the inside of his arm, from his wrist to his elbow, and going through a few tendons and veins on the way. Lucky not to kill himself.
is it fair to assume that as it locks its illegal?
I would make him VERY aware that if he get caught with it at school you could BOTH be in deep do do.
Much safer than an unlocking folding
yup, great though swiss army knifes are, even with the greatest of care taken, it still possible to fold them over your fingers.
Good dad. It's all part of learning that a knife is a tool e.t.c. For my 9th or 10th b'day my dad cousin gave me a knife some sting and 10 p. The knife and string was to get me out of trouble and if it went really bad 10p to phone home.
His Opinel is a No5 so quite small and doesn't lock but it fits in his hand easy and he knows which way to cut so it doesn't fold. Christmas may be the time for a slightly larger knife that locks. Maybe replace my Opinel that has disapeared over the years aswell.
is it fair to assume that as it locks its illegal?
Someone should tell my local outdoors shop, they sell a huge range of Opinel knives.
Here's a photo from a trip of mine to kyrgzstan last year:
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I think its ace, but please be aware of the laws on carrying knives. Wouldnt want him or you falling foul of the zealots..
My son bought a Swiss army knife with money from his sixth birthday. He still has all his fingers and hasn't stabbed anyone.
Ah, didn't realise they made nonlocking models. TBH I wouldn't give that to a kid, especially not with a blade of that quality. But nothing against the principle.
jam bo - MemberSomeone should tell my local outdoors shop, they sell a huge range of Opinel knives.
Illegal to carry isn't the same as illegal to sell.
Eh. I chopped the first joint of my right index finger almost clean off with a swiss army knife when I was 13. No lock on the blade, started cutting with the wrong side: *snick* oooh, that's a lot of blood...
Weirdly it didn't hurt at all at the time. It was reattached by a very clever man in Glasgow Royal Infirmary using a needle and a power drill (that bit hurt) and it works perfectly now. Looks slightly wonky, that's all.
Anyway, it was a valuable learning experience, gave me a cool scar to talk about, and it enabled me to stop playing the sodding clarinet, so I'm perfectly happy about the whole thing. I vote for your being a good dad, even if your offspring does manage to injure himself (which he probably won't as you've given him a locking knife).
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His Opinel is a No5 so quite small and doesn't lock
Hmm, ok, whatever. He'll probably still be fine.
What a fascinating thread! I was given my first lock knife at age 10, was shown how to use it and whittled various things throughout my childhood, arrows mostly!
If you show your son the dangers and enjoy him learning how to use it safely then it can only be a good thing, my son is 5 so too young at the moment, when I feel he's mature enough we'll go around the knife learning curve together - can't wait.
Much better than a mate of his giving him a knife, him having no idea or point of reference of how to use one or how dangerous they can be and getting hurt or hurting somebody or something else.
You are obvioulsy a bad dad and totally wrong - you are his dad, therefore you must have testicles, ergo, you must be wrong. That's how it works in our household anyway. 🙄
But actually, I think you have done the right thing, in the right way, for the right reasons. I had knives given to me by that age, was shown what they were for, knew what they should never be used for, and was able to learn under careful supervision of parents and Cub/Scout leaders.
My lad has just turned 8, just gone up to Cubs, and I reckon a decent knife might be on the cards for his 9th birthday. Watch out for a "What knife for a 9 year old...?" thread about April next year! 😀
arrows mostly!
yup, be more worried about the shonky bow and arras he will come home with 😉
Illegal to carry isn't the same as illegal to sell.
So what your saying is I can legally buy one, but not legally carry it out of the shop?