"A Fixed Blade Or Locking Blade Knife Is Required"
 

Son is turning 14 y/o and going to a week long outdoor camping, archery, woodcraft thingy with his buddies. The list of things he is required to bring includes: "fixed blade or locking blade knife".

So my first reaction was to call the camp and pull him out, demand a refund, complain that my baby boy and other children will be placed in harm's way, around knives that could cut them.

But, a quick feel of my crotch reminded me that I am a man after all, and that boys are supposed to play with knives and sticks in the woods.

That said, I am ashamed to admit that we have no "fixed blade or locking blade knife" in the house, with the exception of cooking cutlery (too dorky) and my switchblade (too illegal). So, I have the happy chore of going to the knife store and buying him a "fixed blade or locking blade knife".

What do you recommend? There is, as you know, a profusion of different knives out there. Should I come back with a WW2 German bayonet, a Kabar with spare .45 round in the handle, a Cold Steel Tanto? Or a Swiss Army lockback knife, Opinel fruit cutter, a basic Gerber paraframe?

Let me have your suggestions, please. $50 limit. Suitable for smallish hands.

Benchmade makes great knives, and they have an inexpensive line that uses less expensive material for the handles

He will probably lose it... So.... Go to Walmart and pick up one of the gerbers with a locking blade for ~$30 and call it good. They are still decent knives and will work for whatever they are doing at camp.

I am a big Benchmade fan too. Find a knife on their website you think would work and then check a price for it on eBay. You can usually save a few dollars that way.

Hands down the most useful knives I own (I have six of these, at last count):

Amazon.com: Columbia River Knife and Tool M16-10KZ 3-Inch Black Folding Knife: Home Improvement

About every other week they go on sale at Big 5 for $19.99 . . .

Bushcraft calls for a bushcraft knife! Get him a Mora or a Condor bushcraft blade.

Amazon.com: Mora Bushcraft Triflex Carbon Steel Knife: Sports & Outdoors

Amazon.com: Condor Tool and Knife Bushcraft Basic 4-Inch Black Blade, Walnut Handle, Leather Sheath: Sports & Outdoors

Once he stops losing them, get him a nice custom bushcraft knife.

This is what I carry these days.

Buck 730.

Comes from the factory extremely sharp!

Has a small LED light built in that he would love.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1372714276.jpg

I presume it will be for woodcarving, rope cutting, slicing kindling, cleaning fish etc. I have always carried a pocket knife and use one nearly every day. They vary from a Schrade "Old Timer" fishing knife, Gerber folding, and Swiss Army. All are excellent quality knives and I find the Swiss most useful in the real world. All three are worth a look.
Amazon.com: Schrade 3 7/8" Gunstock Trapper Single Lockblade: Home Improvement

Gerber 06069 Folding Gator Knife - Clip Point, Fine - Box - Amazon.com

Amazon.com: Victorinox Swiss Army Adventurer Pocket Knife (Red): Sports & Outdoors



No Porsche event would be complete without a good beer bottle opener and corkscrew.:D

When I was 9 I got my first real pocket knife. It was a Cub Scouts official knife. I did not cut myself with it, but it was one of my fondest memories. A locking knife is way safer than a non-locking one like a Swiss Army knife.

I agree with getting him an El Cheapo knife. He'll use it for everything from undoing wood screws, to trying to pick his sister's diary lock, to hanging G.I. Joe's enemies from it.

You can get any number of knives at Walmart. My recommendation is to get a semi-grownup looking one with two blades and some sort of screwdriver and that's it.

It's true, at 9yo, just any lock blade that's not too large and not too small for low cost is probably plenty of knife.

I like liner locks, but I would probably avoid them for a youngster. Benchmade makes an "Axis" lock which is very nice, but for someone young, a lock back which pretty much requires two hands to operate is probably better. The only thing that I would worry about with a lockback is that he would need to be strong enough to operate without having to try too hard. If he has too hard a time and is straining because it's so difficult, that seems like a recipe for disaster when closing the knife.

wow..this just warms my heart.

now turn in your man-card for not having a drawer full of old and useful knives. :)

having said that, i have a couple of older Gerbers i'd love to give your kid. too small for me.

edit: let me get them into my hands before i offer them up. my wife has strange donations habits..she gives away my stuff.

found them.

choose one or the other..heck even both. they are damn sharp..

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1372715987.jpg

if so..email me. i dont check here that often anymore.

EDIT!!! wife says the folder is her's!! so the fixie is all that i have. phew! i almost had some splaining to do. she took it out of her purse on our last flight..

Sounds like a good excuse to buy a 7" Randall Model 1 to me. A Model 14 would work fine, too :)

I would go with what Sidney said, he`s right will probably lose it soon.

Buck 112 and a block of magnesium with a flint imbedded on one side.

Take Cliff up on his offer. Those look about right.

I'd go with a drop point over a clip point or similar - less "pointy" and hopefully less likely to break when he tries to use it as a screw driver.

I've never liked Locking Blade knives. IMO They're dangerous because most of them do not have what I would call a "locking" blade.
Get him a quality fixed blade with a good sheath and talk to him about safety and proper handling.

I own a Spanish made "Muela". It does everything I need it to do and it came with a leather sheath.

I love those Gerber's,
However a $19 locker at Big 5 is a good bet because as has been said it might get lost, broke, bent...

Having said that I LOVE my SOG knife(s)

and my Buck(s).

The multi tool is a good idea too... I have one on my hip (Gerber) at work everyday.