Knives and Kids
So I thought now that I do a little politics on the site by covering government issues that impact knives, I would wade into another controversial topic—parenting. I have two boys, one is 15 and the other is 10. Both have knives and both have used knives to varying degrees. My youngest son regularly uses his knives, as he is quite fond of going into the woods and hacking stuff down. We own the woods and it is pretty overgrown so more power to him. He also really enjoys carving and has two different carving knives. Using tools, especially tools that some view as dangerous, has been really good for both boys. It has taught them how to use a tool, how to be responsible, and how to be careful. And this led me to think about kids and knives more closely.
If you haven’t been tuned in, since COVID kids younger than high school have been experiencing record amounts of behavioral health issues. This makes sense. The COVID shut downs were the most disruptive event in US history in terms of impact on schooling. Neither the Depression nor the World Wars had as widespread of an impact. The loss of socializtion and learning is something we will likely see impacts of for a generation, especially if a kid was at a critical time in their development. My 10 year old was in kindergarten at the time and so his learning loss is profound. His entire cohort (that is the educational term for the “class of 2025” for example) nationwide has measureable learning loss, even now five years later.
But some studies indicate that the rise in behavioral health issues actually precedes COVID. Jonathan Haidt wrote a book called “The Anxious Generation.” In it he marshalls data and other evidence to suggest that the increased usage of smartphones by kids younger than high school has had serious impacts on their health.
Part of me thinks that this is a classic moral panic. If you look back to the very foundations of Western society we have, as a group, been eager to participate in moral panics. Socrates was killed because of a moral panic. We have absolute horseshit like Reefer Madness as evidence of a drug-related moral panic that led to the most disasterous public policy since slavery—the War on Drugs. We also have the widespread and completely false belief in satanic cults started by Michelle Remembers, a famous hoax and book that the FBI ultimately proved was completely made up. We, as a collective, LOVE moral panics.
But, and I think this is important, I am not SURE its all just moral panic baloney. I do see the impact smartphones, social media, and instant access to information has had on my children. Whether it is entirely good, entirely bad, or just a little of both and part of the natural process of aging, I don’t know. What I do know, regardless of the validity of Haidt’s argument, is that kids doing things independently are good for them. Independence builds competency and competency builds confidence. And so if we can give our children tools and let them go use them with some bit of supervision I think we are doing something good for them, regardless of whether there is a scientific basis to the causal link between smartphones and anxiety. I don’t need apodectic certainty that something is bad for me or my kids before I avoid it. It is also true that helicopter parenting AND smartphone related anxiety are two separate things.
I truly DO believe that helicopter parenting is bad. There, the data seems much more convincing. The rejection of helicopter parenting also has the feature of being anti-moral panic by its very nature. Finally, my own personal experience confirms that helicopter parenting is terrible. Lax parenting is also bad, but there is a mean between the two extremes and we, as a society, have not being aiming at this mean for a generation or two.
Here are things I did as a kid that would likely get my parents arrested today: 1) rode in the bed of a truck home from a swimming pool and my house was a few miles away; 2) at 11 years old had a paper route on a busy road again a few miles from home; 3) spent the night in a state wildlife preserve by myself as early as age 10; 4) made a fire by myself in said state wildlife preserve at age 10 (I actually think this was a crime then too, but the statute of limitations has long since passed); and 5) drove a full size backhoe around my neighborhood at age 12 without adult supervision.
I want to resist the “when I was a kid” nostalgia because I think it is both stupid and something EVERY generation feels regardless of whether it is true or not. That said, I made it. I am not dead. I didn’t get thrown out of the back of my Dad’s pick up. I didn’t die in a forest fire. I wasn’t eaten by a bear, bit my a snake, or mauled by a coyote. No one abducted me on my paper route. Thinking about the data, I was far more likely to be injured being an altar boy at my Catholic school and church or being in the Boy Scouts (both of which I did and neither of which resulted in me being sexually assaulted).
The problem here is twofold. First, humans are bad at assessing risk. Second, humans are bad at understanding big data sets. And when risk requires an understanding of large data sets we are simply at a loss. Don’t believe me—go look at the crib recalls on the Consumer Protection Safety Commission. You know what has ZERO incidents of injuring or killing an American child while sleeping? A tiger. Let’s replace cribs with tigers. This kind of logic leads to silly conclusions. We cannot eliminate all dangers in life and I think there is a strong case to say we shouldn’t try. We should eliminate big dangers—those that occur frequently and those that have catastrophic effects, but getting a little knick from a knife blade is not either of those.
So what should you do to teach kids about knives? Here are some ideas.
Start with a kids kitchen knife
Our 10 year old likes cooking. Its mostly Nick DiGiovanni recipes and fried pepperoni, but it is vastly more than I can make. Part of this is because he is comfortable in the kitchen and part of that is because he got a kids kitchen knife years ago and chopped alongside his mother, who is a supremely gifted cook and actually teaches a class on the chemistry of cooking. His tool of choice was the Kuhn Rikon Kinderkitchen. Even if it turns out to be just a passing phase, the knife is not useless and it will run you like $12. Its a little bit shaped like a puppy and the tail serves as a good parrot’s beak. In fact, the entire knife is well designed and cleverly appealing to a kid. He has moved on to other knives in his cooking, but this was a good start.
Scale up to a small fixed blade
After the kitchen knife went over big, I got him a fixed blade. It was a large kiridashi I got off a custom maker at the Northeast Cutlery Collector’s show. The fun part was he came with me and picked it out. The maker, whose name escapes me, was thrilled he was there and more than happy for him to pick it. Even better, when he said he loved the knife but wished it had green handles (it had some slivers of G10 to give it some grip), the maker told me he would mail me some green G10. This is proof that knife people are the best people. A week later they arrived and I installed them on the knife. That knife went on adventures for years and years. He broke the tip off and we resharpened it. Over and over again, we fixed, sharpened, or repaired that knife as he took it everywhere he could. We finally lost it on a Boy Scout hike when we were scrambling up a mountain. It wasn’t sad though because he definitely used the hell out of that thing. My only regret is that I can’t remember who the maker was and with the knife gone I can’t look for his tang stamp. If I were doing it again I’d recommend one of two knives—the ESEE Candiru with scales or the Mora Scout 39. They make a “safe version” too if you want to avoid points. Both are well suited to little hands that need some help with dexterity.
Make a pit stop at SAK Station
Who doesn’t love a SAK? If you don’t but you are reading this site, something is deeply wrong. The thing I find incredible is just how durable SAKs are. My ten year old owns more than a few. One he left outside over the winter (a New England winter, not some wimpy Atlanta Georgia winter where it gets breezy and might rain). Another he used the saw until the teeth were dull. Both were easily restored to like new. Once he really got into having a SAK, he customized the handles ordering aftermarket scales. The knife at the top of this article is his SAK with custom micarta scales. While I strongly prefer a Victorinox Compact, I do think kids like having the saw. I did when I was a kid and so does my son. His favorite SAK is the Huntsman, which includes a saw. Even the pen blade is useful as he wears down the main blade’s edge quite quickly. I was surprised that the lack of a lock didn’t really matter. I always think of locks as safety features, but once my ten year old figured out his way around tools, the lock didn’t make a difference. While he has, on occasion nicked himself while using a knife, it has never been because a non-locking blade closed on his fingers. It has been exclusively one of two things—bad technique or a true accident.
Kids like kits
After he got infatuated with SAKs, which, in turn, got ME infatuated with SAKs and replacement scales, he decided he wanted a full on kit. For a while he was a regular viewer of Taylor Martin’s EDC videos and last Christmas he delivered a list that was very similar to something Taylor recommended. He ended up with a nice titanium prybar (which, like with adults, he has never used except as a bottle opener), a titanium peanut lighter, a flashlight, a machined pen, and a SAK. All of it is housed in a Maxped gear organizer and stored in his backpack along with some band aids and pain relievers (in a small metal case). He takes it with him on every Scout hike and has restocked the meds at least twice. His sense of empowerment is palpable, especially when someone needs help. If a buddy wants a branch from a tree or an adult needs some aspirin for a headache, he beams with pride.
Kids and knives aren’t a recipe for disaster, but they aren’t peanut butter and chocolate either. You do need a little bit of supervision and work. But that makes them like fishing hooks and a sunny day on a lake—with a little bit of oversight you can do something wonderful. Teaching a kid how to use a knife properly is a gift that will pay dividends for years. Aside from being able to use a capable tool, an introduction to knives can make them less scared of other tools in the future. It also can give them a sense of independence and pride in their abilities. And finally, it gets them out of the digital haze that most seem to be walking in all day long. I have also seen a real improvement in dexterity and hand-eye coordination. Plus, we have something to bond over and chat about. As Christmas rolls around, don’t immediately freak out about giving a kid a knife. They can handle it. They are ready. And you might even get a cool story out of it. Here is mine.
My youngest son did Nature’s Classroom this year. One of the classes was woodcarving. When they started the instructor went around and showed everyone how to hold a knife. Before they got to my son his friends told the instructor that my son had been doing woodcarving “since he was a kid” and already knew how to hold the knife. He is ten.
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