[Closed] Am I a bad dad or even wrong

I had one at about 12 for fishing.

Also had a black widdow slingshot and an air rifle, which both surved no practical purpose other than increacing the lead content of the garden fence!

The local gunshop sold us blackwidows and air rifles. Funny we werent 18 either to buy them 😕

Haven't read it all but I got my kids (8 & 9) swiss army knives for christmas having shown them how to use them.

Now they happily whittle sticks etc and make "tools" to clean mud out of football boots etc

+1 for good dad - they have to learn sometime, better you take the initiative and show them how to do it properly than they use a mates khukri in the woods having never touched a knife before & cut their fingers off.

I bought my first Opinel at that sort of age, again, used it for fishing, camping & work on the farm.

Still have it, even though the lock does not work anyomore, replaced it recently for a new version with a oak handle & I noticed that the lock works on close as well now.

http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1988/33/part/XI/crossheading/articles-with-blades-or-points-and-offensive-weapons

Basically if it's a folding (non-lockable) pocket knife with a blade under 3 inches then you're fine, otherwise it's an offence to carry it without a good reason.

I can't see any reference there at all to locking mechanisms. Are we all mistaken, or is it a different piece of legislation?

Anyone remember Dutch arrows?

Are they the same thing we used to call Scotch Arrows? Launched with a bit of string? We used to make those out of real wooden arrows; take the pile (point) off and cut a little notch out just beneath the fletchings. Great fun.

I think you are being a good father. My daughter was struggling in her chosen career in street crime making only limited returns. Since I purchased her a knife, she has found her income has grown considerably. It just shows what return you can get for a modest capital investment.

Thinking this through a little further, do your kids cook or get taught cooking at school? They need to use knives for that.
My 8 year old likes to help in the kitchen (he does like rugby etc as well) so gets to use proper kitchen knives too so far no blood - no issues once he was taught how to use them & to keep his fingers out of the way

cougar there are two bits of law on knives The offensive weapons law and bladed articles , basically anything designed adapted or intended to be a weapon cant be carried/possessed in public without a reasonable excuse. Anything with a blade or point except a folding pocket knife with a blade less than 3 inches can't be carried with out good reason. A lock knife because it locks is not a folding pocket knife as it is not "immediately fold able at all times" (Deegan a 19998 case)The so called expert in the law soc gazette might be adding a bit to the law . I think an opinel is not a folding knife so is caught by the bladed article law.

I had a sheath knife at 8 and a Swiss army knife at 10 and only sliced a chunk off my thumb at twenty five.

My Dad's view was to keep them as sharp as possible as only a fool uses a blunt tool , They slip because they require more force to use and dont bite into what you are cutting so you are more likely to hurt yourself .

A lock knife because it locks is not a folding pocket knife as it is not "immediately fold able at all times"

Ah, this is the bit I didn't realise. The law as it stands solely in the link isn't at all clear. Is there a specific definition somewhere or is it solely based on precedence?

It's a poxy bloody ruling though. Not immediately folding at all times? Of course it is; the only way it wouldn't be is if you'd already successfully managed to hack one of your hands off with it.

http://www.cps.gov.uk/legal/l_to_o/offensive_weapons_knives_bladed_and_pointed_articles/

For the purposes of sections 139 and 139A of the Act:

a butterknife, with no cutting edge and no point is a bladed article; (Booker v DPP 169J.P. 368, DC);
a screwdriver is not a bladed article; (R v Davis [1998] Crim L.R. 564 CA);
a "lock knife" does not come into the category of "folding pocket knife" because it is not immediately foldable at all times; (Rv Deegan [1998] 2 Cr.App,R 121 CA).

Wow. You can be found guilty in change of a butterknife. Going equipped with intent to spread.

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Apparently this is what you need, if you're a technology company exec.

( that http://everyday-carry.com/ site is a bit weird... )

Better you show him, then him finding out for himself, or some nonce showing him the wrong way to use it.

Good responsible Dad, for showing and teaching him the rights and wrongs of it.

Bugger, I've just realised I don't know where my Opinel is (bought only recently in France, to replace the one I had when I was about 10). Had it with me last weekend, but not sure where I put it.

Oh, and good day. Though ironically, it was my mother who taught me about knife safety.

@xiphon - that EDC site is rather odd, isn't it? Do lots of middle aged men go around so tooled up? quite intriguing, though.

@xiphon - that EDC site is rather odd, isn't it? Do lots of middle aged men go around so tooled up? quite intriguing, though.

I find it weirdly fascinating. Some of them are just nutters who want to justify carrying around scary knives and 'tactical pens', but others are just nerds who obsess over their 'carry' like we do over mountain bikes. 🙂