Your FIRST knife

[Unistat]

How old were you when you got your first knife?

I was about 10 y.o., I am 36 now. I found it in front of a neighbors house on the sidewalk. After my parents made me ask the neighbor if it was theirs (it was not) I was allowed to keep it.

What kind of knife was it if you recall?

A Victorinox Signature. After I found mine, everybody in my family started carrying one. We called it the "little knife," as in "Do you have your little knife? Let me use it."

Did you ever injure yourself with that first knife?

No. This is because a year or two before I snuck into my Dad's room and found his lock-back pocket-knife. While trying to close it, I snapped it shut on my middle finger in front of my second knuckle (I still have the scar and Mom and Dad still don't know.) When I got my own knife, I was very careful.

My father lived his entire life with a pocket knife in his pocket. My first knife was a Camillius Cub Scout. Got it in the late 60's when I joined cub scouts. Yes I cut myself with it and yes I still have it over 40 yrs later.

I don't have that "little knife" anymore, I lost and replaced so many of those I couldn't even count. I consider it "paying it forward." Maybe some other kids found them and got their first knife!

 

[Cosmoline]

The first one that was definitely mine, and not just borrowed from an older brother or the general camping kit, was a Buck Scoutlite lock blade with the red nylon stock. I can't remember exactly when I got it. Probably around 1982 when I was 12.

 

[borrowedtime69]

my first

my first knife was one of those older boyscout knives, black plastic side panels and like 4 "blade" options. had two sharps, one screwdriver/bottle opener and one can opener. think i was 9 or so. made the mistake of using my thigh as a cutting board. first REAL knife (read Fixed Blade!) was a Buck 119 that i bought myself at like 14. still have that knife, will pass it to my oldest.

 

[Jaymo]

8
Schrade, Uncle Henry 897UH. 3 blade medium stockman with the California clip blade and round bolsters. Still my favorite pattern.

Stabbed my right hand, between the thumb and forefinger, while trying to use it as a screwdriver. Learned that lesson early on.

It got stolen a couple of years later. Mom and Dad gave me an identical replacement for Christmas that year. Still have it.
Currently carry my Buck 3 blade stockman (301) that I got for my 12th birthday.
It's easier to replace than the Uncle Henry.

 

[Reasoned1]

My Dad gave me my first knife when I was 5--I'm 45 now. It's a small Western (4" blade) fixed blade with a clip point. It's got a full tang, plastic handles, a nice aluminum butt cap, and a carbon-steel blade (which holds a very nice edge). I used the hell out of that little knife for years, and it's still in very good condition--I even have the sheath, although my Mom had to restitch it. My 8 year-old daughter now owns it, but she doesn't use it like I used to... I remember learning what sap will do to a blade when I tried to slice the bark off what seemed like every pine tree in the woods--it's got a sweet patina.

I don't remember ever cutting myself with it--at least not seriously--and I was anything but supervised growing up--not like my kids. My Dad was kind and loving but very much a "maybe live and definitely learn" type.

I'm more of an ESEE guy nowadays, but I decided to buy Fallkniven F1's for my two youngest daughters to grow into.