Knife for my son

[Jawloms]

I have a 12 year old who is in the scouts. He has been at scout camp a couple of times and has now asked me if he can have a knife. If I get him one, he will only use it supervised, and I will keep it somewhere safe for him when it isn't in use, but has anyone got any tips on what sort of knife I should get him? I don't know about these things. He wants to be able to make a bit of kindling, and shape a bit of wood in to a spoon etc. Not looking to spend loads, but at the same time I know there's no point me buying him something which is so cheap that it's blunt the first time he uses it. Presumably swiss army knives generally aren't strong enough unless you spend big £s?

 

Stuart

[JJonas]

Would this be something his scout group leader could advise you on?

[Dos_Box]

I think gone are they days when you could take a bowie type knife to scout camp like I used to.

In fact, pretty much everyone had one of these strapped to themselves and there was never any misbehavior or injuries as they were just used for cutting wood and string and whittling (new tent pegs usually).

I have got my kids used to knifes from an early age by simply having my old Leatherman sitting on the side in the house. This way they always got used to it as a tool rather than as a novelty.

Need pliers? There's the Leatherman. Need to cut some string? The Leatherman's over there. Need a screwdriver? You know where it is.

This way it was always seen as a dull item and not something glamorous.

There is some good guidance here - https://scouts.org.uk/media/552410/Victorinox-Knife-Safety-Factsheet.pdf

[nawbus]

A genuine Swiss Army knife for about £20 - £25 will be fine (said with my Scout Leader hat on!). Just don't buy one from Poundstrecher and the like as they are generally useless! Edited June 12, 2018 by nawbus

[mjk]

My son will get a genuine swiss army officers knife when he's 11, just as I did (in 1987) !

I still have mine, it's been back to Switzerland for repair as it has a lifetime guarantee.

Definitely recommend genuine swiss army knives.

[LeMarchand]

A genuine Swiss Army knife for about £20 - £25 will be fine (said with my Scout Leader hat on!). Just don't buy one from Poundstrecher and the like as they are generally useless!

 

[Fazza]

A genuine Swiss Army pen knife has got to be the answer

[MkII]

A basic ~ish Victorinox is great for the job.

 

I got my son a Duke of Edinburgh special - it has a rounded tip instead of a point for safety I guess... but I cut myself on it straight away! The blade is killer sharp if not pointy.

For my daughter I got a standard Victorinox and everybody prefers it. It was a little bit cheaper too.

 

Both are explorers so 15+

[TechMonkey]

I'd reiterate talk to the Scout Leader. But as a guide, something like this is good.

[elsiegee40]

Definitely talk to the Scout Leader. My son gave us very specific requirements for a Christmas present aged about 13... and he has the same knife still.

 

He went on to leadership and was helping to supervise “knife, axe and saw” evenings long before he left school.

 

As a guide leader, I was always surprised how many girls had never struck a match before they came to guides. Learning how to use these things safely and treat them with respect is an important part of growing up.

[RobD]

I was a scout and had a Swiss army knife, had it for xmas from my folks and manged to pierce a 2L bottle of coke trying to take the label off....

[hardtailstar]

I'd reiterate talk to the Scout Leader. But as a guide, something like this is good.

 

My Scout group has a box of these, Which we use on nights and camps.

 

Check with the leader and whether they allow to bring knives to Scouts.

 

I know our Scout leader only lets the Scouts bring knives on an evening about 'care and repair' all other times the Scouts will use the groups ones.

 

As an Explorer leader I let them bring knives and pen knives to camps but they are kept in a locked box unless being used. All other nights they use the groups ones.

[MkII]

Those Moras are lovely. Need the stainless steel blade to stay nice.

[Dos_Box]

My Scout group has a box of these, Which we use on nights and camps.

 

Check with the leader and whether they allow to bring knives to Scouts.

 

I know our Scout leader only lets the Scouts bring knives on an evening about 'care and repair' all other times the Scouts will use the groups ones.

 

As an Explorer leader I let them bring knives and pen knives to camps but they are kept in a locked box unless being used. All other nights they use the groups ones.

 

Wow, they are longer than most of the knives I had brought when in the army at just under 3.5 inches. Usually we bought ones 3 inches max and never needed anything longer.

This reminds me of a young gentleman who posted up on an army forum I'm a member of who asked if we got issued machetes, and how often we got to use them.

TBF, it was a little weird as in my whole 12 years I only used a machete twice. Both times was for cutting a branch (machetes live in your vehicle tool kits).

Almost everyone there responded that you would almost never need something with a blade longer than a few inches. The axe's in the tool kits were far more useful than a machete.

Sorry, I'm drifting. Basically, when it comes to knifes, you hardly ever need one as big as you think you do.

Apart from in the kitchen, when bread knifes are never as sharp as you need them to be.

[mikeprice]

When I was at school we had a scout group that was attached to the school - when we were doing camping stuff (e.g. cooking over camp fires - or going camping direct from school - thne we were allowed to come to school in scout uniform and have our scout knife on our belt - ALL DAY - IN SCHOOL

 

can't see that happening today

 

Mine is still always around - it was my Dad's and has the bottom 4 inches of a deer's leg as a handle

[witch]

A genuine Swiss Army knife for about £20 - £25 will be fine (said with my Scout Leader hat on!). Just don't buy one from Poundstrecher and the like as they are generally useless!

 

My son, the Scout Leader, concurs

[Garacesh]

Whose flavour of 'Swiss Army Knife' do you choose, though?

Victorinox or Wenger?

 

From my own (probably out-of-date) cub/scout experience (and with a mother who was a scout leader), something like a Leatherman would be perfect for an older scout that would look after it properly and get a lot of use from it, but for a 12 year old, as the others have said, your standard 'swiss army' multi-tool ought to do the job just fine. If there's ever anything you're concerned about though, speak to their leader. They'll always have the best idea of what it'll be needed for and be able to advise on what is or isn't acceptable.

[woodham]

have a look at the opinal knifes they make some very nice knifes not expensive but useful single bladed knife. I still have mine from when I was in the scouts 30 + years ago , one thing I would always say is a small fixed blade knife is way safer than and size folding knife

[bald_pig]

have a look at the opinal knifes they make some very nice knifes not expensive but useful single bladed knife. I still have mine from when I was in the scouts 30 + years ago , one thing I would always say is a small fixed blade knife is way safer than and size folding knife

 

I use an Opinel knife for camping, but wouldn't recommend one for a young scout, I'd go for a short blade!

[witch]

@Jawloms - poss too late but others might be interested: My son the Scout Leader recommends this site: https://www.springfields.co.uk/categories/everyday-carry.html

 

He says the short folding whittling knives are ideal for a beginner and there are knives you can lock shut for safety

[jedmondson]

With my scout leader hat on, would always prefer a fixed full tang blade rather than a folding one.

 

The Mora knives are good. Mora Outdoor Companion 860 Knife available in Green https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B004ZAIXSC/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_q03jBbACE61GF

[Sonic007]

A swiss multi tool knife would probably be best but do make sure it is never on him in other situations than for scouts or the job required.

It is an offence in the UK to carry a pocket knife without reason.

 

It is illegal to carry any sharp or bladed instrument in a public place, with the exception of a folding pocket knife, which has a blade that is 7.62 cm (3 inches) or less.

[Garacesh]

It is illegal to carry any sharp or bladed instrument in a public place, with the exception of a folding pocket knife, which has a blade that is 7.62 cm (3 inches) or less.

 

Worth noting too, if you're looking at folding knives, spring-loaded knives (i.e. switchblades) are also illegal, as are blades that require 'flicking' (gravity knives) to open

https://www.gov.uk/buying-carrying-knives

 

I assume the intention is that the user has to manually and purposefully access the blade with both hands.

[mikeprice]

Worth noting too, if you're looking at folding knives, spring-loaded knives (i.e. switchblades) are also illegal, as are blades that require 'flicking' (gravity knives) to open

https://www.gov.uk/buying-carrying-knives

 

I assume the intention is that the user has to manually and purposefully access the blade with both hands.

 

I read somewhere that you can carry a flick knife in the USA if you have only one hand

 

it was on the WWW - so it MUST be true