A kid’s first knife can be a momentous point in childhood. Here are some thoughts and tips from our own unique experience of initiating our own children to this important tool.
When a father gives his child their first knife, he is bestowing on them a new level of trust and responsibility. I myself remember the emotions from my own childhood, when I received my first knife. For a little boy, there is the thrill of power and possibility. There is also the thrill in the realization that your father has actually entrusted you with this sharp tool.
When is the right time to trust your child with a knife? There is no solid answer to that, of course. It is going to be uniquely different with every family. That is going to be up to your judgement. All I can offer is my own perspective and share my experience with my children.
If you have a knife, your kids will want a knife
Children naturally want to imitate and do whatever they see you doing most often. Whether it is playing or watching sports, working on cars, or playing music, they will want to do it too. Myself, I always have my hand-forged knife on my belt. It is not there just for show. It is quite literally my third hand as I use it almost daily, from mundane tasks to butchering and my various craft projects. So, quite naturally, my children get to the point where they want to use a knife too.
How to Keep Your Kid from Killing themself…
Sure, it can be a bit nerve-wracking when you first hand off your sharp, gleaming blade to your child because they won’t stop asking until they can try their hand at whittling a bit of wood. So how do you get to the point where they are not going to slice their finger off and your wife not second-guessing your judgement? In my opinion, knife safety is way much more than rules like “don’t run with it” or “don’t carve towards yourself”. Here are a couple of principles to consider:
Maintain Absolute Control
A child in their flighty excitement will want to start whittling fast and hard. They want to see how big of chunks they can take out of a piece of wood. Inevitably, they also will hit a snag or knot. Usually, they will then want to force through it; and that’s where injury usually happens. Thus, it is important to teach them to maintain absolute control of the blade. Sit right next to them and encourage them to make small rather than large shavings. If they start to make quick and sloppy strokes, tell them to slow down and ease up.
The one basic rule we all remember from our childhood is “don’t carve toward yourself.” In truth, as an adult now, I carve toward myself almost as much as I do away. What matters is learning to maintain absolute control of the blade.
Nicks and Cuts will inevitably happen…
It doesn’t matter how many cautions you take. They will inevitably cut themselves at some point. Heck, I still cut myself every now and then. But this isn’t a necessarily bad thing. What is important is that you (or your spouse) don’t freak out about it. If your child sees you freak out about it, then they will freak out about it. If it is anything less than a visit to the doctor, don’t make a big deal of it. Obviously, make sure that the wound is clean and apply the magical bandaid; but then move on. Show them that cuts and blood is just part of life. They can now respect, but not fear the blade.
One suggestion for knife safety:
Keep your child’s first knife in your possession–at least in the beginning. They can ask permission and “check it out” from you if they want to use it. Then make them give it back to you the moment they are done with it. Then you know when they are actively using it. It also keeps them from forgetfully leaving it lying around. Do this until you have reasonable trust in them enough to hand it over completely to their keeping.
When they do reach that point of maturity, just think how much it will mean to them when you bequeath their knife fully into their care!
Our Own Knife Experience
It made me proud that my three older children were so keen to use the knife. I was prouder still to see how surprisingly quickly they became proficient. I was amazed to see how their hands quickly learned on their own how to leverage the blades with their thumbs to maintain that absolute control Eventually I got to a point where I thought they needed their own knives so I wouldn’t have to keep lending out mine!
Forging our own knives
I decided we should work together and forge their first knives. It’s true, it took a lot of effort–considerably more effort than simply going to the store and buying some knives. But on my end, I thoroughly enjoyed the project. I also wanted involve my children in the process and for them to see all of what goes into making a knife.
First, they each picked out an old railroad spike from a pile of scrap. Then we set up my makeshift smithy in the backyard. You can see what sort of simple set-up I have in the picture below. The children enjoy trying their hand at pumping the bellows and feeding the fire. For fuel, I use natural hardwood charcoal from the hardware store. A can of drain oil worked for the heat treatment
Some ash wood handles and metal rivets are good enough to finish off a kid’s first knife. So, below you see the finished rough-and-tumble products that started out from railroad spikes. In all, I found it be a most enjoyable project. I gave me and excuse to bang on hot metal again, and simultaneously involve my children.
To train children how to properly handle and respect a knife will open up a whole new world to them. Personally, I think it is a father’s solemn duty to make this happen. It’ll open up a world of adventure for them! Good luck and try to keep all ten fingers, ja? ~Nathanael
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