"Like a knife, but not a knife" gift for small kid?

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MatthewVanitas

MatthewVanitas

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This is tied to my previous thread on Christmas presents for little cousins.

A THR member is getting me a good deal on a CRKT tanto neck-knife for the 14yr old girl. She's pretty athletic and into anime, so it seems a good fit.

Looking to get some classy penkife/gentlewoman's folder for the middle girl (12). She's girly, so something pretty and sleek would be good.

Not sure what to get the 8yr old. I'm thinking that an actual sharp knife might annoy my aunt.

In order to minimize familial dischord: any object which is like a knife, but not a knife?

Sounds kind of like a Zen koan, but trying to find some kind of pocket folding-thingy with a useful tool or two, which does not include pointy-stabby things.

I know that Victorinox made some kind of UK-friendly pocket-devices; anything similar to that which a small girl might find fun? Especially so she doesn't feel left out when her sisters get nice pocket/pen knives.

-MV
 
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About $12.
 
Um, as far as I know, Victorinox have not made any products specifically for the UK market. Spyderco, however, have made the 'UK Pen Knife' shown below:

spydie1cs3.jpg


Not very womanly, and VERY sharp, so probably not suitable.

For the little 'un, if you want something that looks like a knife but is not sharp, you could try a toy knife, a rubber training knife (or one of those blunt metal ones) or a letter opener. If you want something useful, then the above would be good (Utilikey is it called?) or there are airport friendly SAKs you can get.

For the older girl, perhaps a Case folder, an AG Russel Ultimate Pen Knife, a SAK (you can get custom handles with flowers etc on them)?
 
Victorinox makes some "airline" friendly swiss army knifes. Might want to check into them.
 
I say get him one of the old Boy Scout Swiss Army knives. Have his mom or dad keep it and let him use it under supervision until he can show proper knife handling. 8 years old is not too young to learn how to safely handle a knife, and there is all kinds of fun stuff that a young boy can do with his pocket knife.


-TheFabulousFink (Carrying a knife every day since the Cub Scouts:D )
 
Just a thought, do Leatherman (or similar) make a multi-tool that does not include a knife blade?

edited to add: It seems not. Everyone who makes a multi-tool seems to include a knife blade. Some are smaller than others, but they all seem to have one. Some of the multi-tools aren't that expensive though .... would it be worth buying one and modifying it to remove the cutty bits?

I would suggest that proper instruction of 8 year old in the use and safety requirements for a knife would be better, but that's just me. I first starting using a knife at a young age (probably about the 8 year mark) after some instruction and on the strict understanding that if any violation of safety or proper use was observed, reported or evidenced my knife would have its blade inserted in a tree, snapped off and the handle would be returned to me to remind me of my errors.

Seems like a youngster with a "do everything" kinda multi-tool could cause significant amounts of domestic mayhem while an innocent uncle could say "Hey, I thought it was a safe and practical gift ... seeing as there was no knife blade. I didn't know he/she would remove every screw from the door hinges/car exhaust/sisters bicycle/VCR, etc".

Maybe its just stories from sm that make me think of youngsters being "helpful" around the house with their tool-kit in a single unit. :)

Spinner
 
SOG makes a multiplier that you can replace the tools with alternatives. You could easily remove the knife blade and replace it with one of the other tools. Pricey though.
 
Not what you're asking for, exactly, but just the same ...

Perhaps in the long run, another thing to think about would be a book (or perhaps a movie, though none specifically spring to mind that are age-neutral enough for the same effect) that whets his sense of adventure and independence.

Tom Sawyer's a good one for an 8-year-old, I'd suspect. Treasure Island, perhaps. Any of the Great Brain series (some of them have kids shooting guns, but only as a minor aspect). Perhaps too advanced yet, but I was very impressed as a kid by the independence and resourcefulness of the protagonists in both "My Side of the Mountain" (kid runs away, lives off the land for a while) and Julie of the Wolves (kid runs from abusive husband -- arranged marriage -- and lives off the land for a while, with help of Alaskan wolves, and in such a way that the reader's eyes need not retract fully into his head). Those two last ones are both by Jean Craighead George, and Julie of the Wolves won the major award (Caldecott? Newberry?)* for its year of publication.

timothy

* I can't remember which one's for illustrations, vs. textual content. Julie of the Wolves was the required reading for my 2d grade class, and I vividly recall reading it.
 
Not sure what to get the 8yr old. I'm thinking that an actual sharp knife might annoy my aunt.
Click to expand...
There is a knife made by Victorinox called "My first Victorinox". It has an edge less sharp than a standard knife, has friendly red scales, and no pointed tip.

Opinel makes something similar. There is also the TSA-OK Wenger Swiss Clipper.
 
The "My First Vic" is pretty interesting. Honestly, I had a standard Vic from my Da when I was four or so, but my aunt is a little jittery. My uncle is not, but I'm sure he appreciates calm in the household.

What's the name of the kid-friendly Opinel?

-MV
 
IMHO I would suggest getting him a real knife but only under parental supervision. I think it's important that we allow children (especially boys who often have a keen interest in these things) to handle knives, guns etc. To often it seems like parents try as hard as possible to keep these things away from children. You can't completly keep them away from kids. By giving him one now in a controled environment it will make him safer with knive in the future. So I say get him a knife and teach him proper use and care.
 
If you should decide to get knife, may I recommend a locking one? It's very easy for a blade to accidentally close - in fact most of the knife-related injuries I remember back in Scouts were from (a) improper handling or (b) closing blade. While good handling safety is paramount, a locking blade provides an additional measure of safety,
 
IMHO I would suggest getting him a real knife but only under parental supervision.
Click to expand...

carpedieum's right. Any first knife should be a lock blade.
Click to expand...

Okay, setting aside the "non-pointy" requirement, but adding the "locking" requirement.

That rules out the smaller Opinels, Vics, etc.



Good, small, locking pocketknife. Something an 8rd old girl would like?

Trying to keep it under $15, since kids break and lose things.


BTW, thanks for the Smoky Mountain rec: I'd been trying to buy Opinels on eBay, but Smoky has even better prices, and has tons of good variants. I'm inclined to get one of these:
OP720.jpg


However, those are 5" closed (model 8?), so I think I'll get a model 6 first (3 5/8"), which is the smallest size w/ locking ring
 
I'd be inclined to give them slipjoints over locking blades. I remember my first knife was a SAK. Of coruse I cut myself when it closed on me but I tell you I sure didn't make that mistake again! ;) A lesson well learned.
 
I know this thread is a bit old but I think I have something to add.

What about a Spyderco Delica Spyderco Delica Trainer? Maybe a little pricey, but it meets the locking qualification, and one would have to try pretty hard to break a Spyderco (if you didn't know, there are stainless steel liners under the FRN of the newest models, making it even tougher!)
 
I like Hso's original suggestion. I know when I was a kid, I would have thought that was the coolest.

Still, a SAK is pretty hard to beat on the cool-o-meter. I realize that it is a knife, and has all the attendant responsibilities of any other knife, but a SAK with a bunch of tools is still pretty cool for a kid, and for whatever reason the knife part seems less threatening than say a Kershaw Junkyard Dog or something. Plus, with some care, I think you could probably just take the knife blade out of the knife, leaving him with a still functional and cool thing to haul around.

Gerber also makes the Artifact, which is around 10 bucks, and the knife portion of that is an easily removed #11 x-acto blade. Just don't put a blade in, and he ends up with a little prybar/screwdriver/bottle opener thing that is still kind of cool.

http://www.gerber-tools.com/Gerber-Artifact-22-01770.htm

FInally, I forget who it is, but someone is making a screwdriver type thing that can hold multiple bits in the handle but is sort of rad looking. I thought it was gerber, but I can't seem to find the thing....

Edit to add: AHA! I found it! It's actually a CRKT product called the "Get Away"

http://www.crkt.com/gawdriver.html

This is what I think most of my buddies are getting for Christmas. I think a kid would think it was cool, plus it has an LED light on it, so it would be handy.

Edit to add again: Cripes. I didn't realize this was for a 8 year old girl. CRKT has a new "Turtle" knife out, and I think a little girl would find it cute, but it has the obvious disadvantage of being a knife.
 
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Just for the record, slip joints don't always close on your hand...when I was 10 or so I stabbed myself very nicely with my cub scout knife, it went deep enough into my hand that it was kept from closing very effectively :D Oh, and I never again saw that knife, apparently I "lost" it!
 
1. I would reccomend a non-locking knife over a locking knife for her first blade. Reasons?- she needs to learn proper knife safety and not rely on lock, as locks will fail.
2. While the My First Vic and the Opinel are pretty cool, I would reccomend something by Case. For a guy I would recommend a Trapper or similar, but for a girl, the Tiny Toothpick sound good
http://casexx.com/DisplayDetailPage.asp?ProductCode=6990
6990.jpg
3. Get each of them a Vic Classic
4. If you are still set on a non-knife thing, Leatherman makes a knifeless fuse and Wenger makes a knifeless Classic.
 
Training

I have scars from many "lessons of the blade" -- some learned young, some just barely healed.

There is something instinctive about applying force by pushing the hands together.

When one of the hands holds a knife and the other holds the work, this can easily lead to induction into the "order of the wounded hand."

Even after my dad spent time coaching me on cutting away from myself, even after schooling me on not having my own flesh in front of the cutting edge or the point, I still managed to get so focused on the work that I forgot I had part of me along the cutting vector.

If (when) you'll be putting a sharp tool in the hands of the young, spend the time needed to overcome that instinctive "if I just push a little harder . . . and change my grip just a little . . ." and you will save lots of money on Band-Aids.
 
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