What knife should I get my child?
The age old question!
For most of our students I recommend the Bahco 2444 Carpenter Mora Multi Purpose Knife. (buy here)
It has a bright orange sheath, and to some extent, knife handle, making it relatively visible against most backgrounds.
It has a very sharp stainless steel blade -- kids don't seem to care for carbon blades, especially after they discolor or get rust spots.
Like other Moras, it is great for whittling and a wide variety of uses.
It's one of the cheapest Moras available, especially in a bright color.
I've had students as young as 7 do well with it.
Another good and inexpensive option, especially for smaller hands, is a smaller Mora utility knife. I suggest wrapping bright duct tape on the sheath if it is a dull color.
Small-child-friendly knives
Starting in the Fall of 2020 we've had more younger students (6 years) joining some groups, and have been looking into knives that might be a better fit for them.
The following knives have dull tips, but very sharp blades. I am not yet convinced that the dull tip or other "safety" features provide any additional safety. I suspect that the primary safety benefit, if any, of these knives is that they are smaller and thus fit small hands more comfortably.
We have yet to field test student performance - will have to update later, but here are some options:
Opinel has 2 kids' knife models - see here. My main concerns would be students forgetting to lock it (by twisting the little collar after opening it) and having it fold onto the fingers, and that the blades are very thin - not sure how rugged it is to handle sloppy use by beginners on random sticks, or how well it does for splitting up sticks. I do like the sharp 90 degree grind on the spine of the knife - it should work excellently (if locked, or folded) to make sparks against a ferro rod. The whistle model, combined with a ferro-rod on the lanyard seems like a fantastic survival combo.
The Morakniv Rookie Fixed Blade seems a bit more foolproof than the Opinel. Checking the reviews on Amazon, a number of cuts reported for the kids' Opinel on the first page, but none on the first page for this knife, so it might be the safer bet.
It features a finger-guard to keep the hand from sliding over the blade.
Because this knife is a fixed blade, and also because of the different grind, I would expect it to be a bit more rugged and better for batoning (when you tap the blade into wood, using a stick as a mallet).
For youth not enrolled in my programs, especially younger students, the classic pen-knife or folder is also not a bad choice. Having a blade that locks should improve safety, but make sure they are able to close it too.
A Swiss Army knife with a locking blade is a good quality starter blade. I would suggest attaching it to a brightly colored lanyard the child can wear around the neck. The trick is to make it easy to carry, and easy to see if it gets set down somewhere -- otherwise small knives just disappear.
What about your experience? How old was your child when he or she first got a knife? What did you choose and how did it work out? Share in the comments below!
For most of our students I recommend the Bahco 2444 Carpenter Mora Multi Purpose Knife. (buy here)
It has a bright orange sheath, and to some extent, knife handle, making it relatively visible against most backgrounds.
It has a very sharp stainless steel blade -- kids don't seem to care for carbon blades, especially after they discolor or get rust spots.
Like other Moras, it is great for whittling and a wide variety of uses.
It's one of the cheapest Moras available, especially in a bright color.
I've had students as young as 7 do well with it.
Another good and inexpensive option, especially for smaller hands, is a smaller Mora utility knife. I suggest wrapping bright duct tape on the sheath if it is a dull color.
Small-child-friendly knives
Starting in the Fall of 2020 we've had more younger students (6 years) joining some groups, and have been looking into knives that might be a better fit for them.
The following knives have dull tips, but very sharp blades. I am not yet convinced that the dull tip or other "safety" features provide any additional safety. I suspect that the primary safety benefit, if any, of these knives is that they are smaller and thus fit small hands more comfortably.
We have yet to field test student performance - will have to update later, but here are some options:
Opinel has 2 kids' knife models - see here. My main concerns would be students forgetting to lock it (by twisting the little collar after opening it) and having it fold onto the fingers, and that the blades are very thin - not sure how rugged it is to handle sloppy use by beginners on random sticks, or how well it does for splitting up sticks. I do like the sharp 90 degree grind on the spine of the knife - it should work excellently (if locked, or folded) to make sparks against a ferro rod. The whistle model, combined with a ferro-rod on the lanyard seems like a fantastic survival combo.
The Morakniv Rookie Fixed Blade seems a bit more foolproof than the Opinel. Checking the reviews on Amazon, a number of cuts reported for the kids' Opinel on the first page, but none on the first page for this knife, so it might be the safer bet.
It features a finger-guard to keep the hand from sliding over the blade.
Because this knife is a fixed blade, and also because of the different grind, I would expect it to be a bit more rugged and better for batoning (when you tap the blade into wood, using a stick as a mallet).
For youth not enrolled in my programs, especially younger students, the classic pen-knife or folder is also not a bad choice. Having a blade that locks should improve safety, but make sure they are able to close it too.
A Swiss Army knife with a locking blade is a good quality starter blade. I would suggest attaching it to a brightly colored lanyard the child can wear around the neck. The trick is to make it easy to carry, and easy to see if it gets set down somewhere -- otherwise small knives just disappear.
What about your experience? How old was your child when he or she first got a knife? What did you choose and how did it work out? Share in the comments below!
Warning: knives are very sharp! Careful instruction and supervision are advised.
