Pocket knives hold a most alluring appeal to children.  They seem to be a most important rite of passage for both boys and girls.  The look on the face of your child when he or she is bestowed with their first real pocket knife is a look that you will remember forever.  It’s a mixture of joy, pride, and seriousness as they know this is putting them to a new level of being just a bit more grown up.  I know as I am a mother of four and have seen this with both my sons and my daughter.

There is also a lot of controversy surrounding children and knives.  I would say get over how knives promote violence.  Anything at all promotes violence and putting that attachment to a knife, as your child watches you cut, chop, slice, and do everything else you do with a knife will leave you looking like a hypocrite.  Knives are about having the most historical and well used tool in the history of being human, and your child inherently senses that.

Chances are your child will seem very interested in your own pocket knife, or wanting to cut things all by themselves, just like they see older kids and adults doing.  Then they begin to notice that other people, maybe even some of their friends, have their own pocket knives and they will want to have one of their own.  The popular question at this point is how do you determine what is the most appropriate age for a first pocket knife?

The first and most important pieces to look at when deciding if your child is old enough for their own pocket knife, is their maturity and responsibility level.  Does your child follow directions?  Does he/she have the responsibility and respect level that is required to handle a pocket knife?  Making sure your child understands the importance of this can help set some great goals for you to work on together.

Start with Knife Safety Education

Teaching your child knife safety should come before allowing your child to handle anything sharp, whether it’s knives or scissors.  How to hold them, carry them, and hand them back to you are the first skills that you can practice with them.  One idea is to start with a butter knife, or some other item that could represent a knife and practice safe handling skills.

Safe Knife Handling:

• Always hold knives by the handle and pointed away from your body.
• Always carry knives pointed outward and point down.  (If I have to tell you “don’t run with sharp pointy things, you probably shouldn’t have children, but you do want to make sure your child is very clear on that.)
• Hand a knife over handle first with the blade pointed down away from both your bodies.

Don’t just do these safe knife handling rules once and assume your child “gets it”.  Practice it repeatedly until you are quite sure they have formed some good habits.

Pick Your Child’s First Pocket Knife

Once your child has mastered the skills involved in handling a pocket knife, pick an appropriate pocket knife for them.  Victorinox has a most excellent line of first time pocket knives for young ones.  They have rounded tips and are sharp, but not razor sharp.  They are specifically engineered for a child of six or seven in mind.

Victorinox Sentry

Classic Red

Classic Red with Nail File

Classic Purple

Classic Pink Translucent

Supervise All Activities with Your Child’s Pocket Knife

When you first give your child their pocket knife, make sure that you allow them to use it, hold it, perhaps carry if for just a little bit, with you watching them of course.  Then, they need to give it back to you until the next opportunity that you can spend time with them and their pocket knife.  This will assure that your child doesn’t “accidentally” take it to school or have an issue with it by allowing friends to handle it.

After a time, you will feel your child is old enough to have their pocket knife to keep in their room or around the house as they see fit, but make sure you feel 100% comfortable with this first.  In the meantime, there will be plenty of opportunity for you and your child to enjoy quality time together while teaching them a skill they will use their entire life.  You can teach them how to care for and even how to sharpen their knife when they are fully skilled in the basics.

My children still get excited today when they receive a gift of a new knife.  Of course, they are much older now.  We’ll soon be looking into kitchen knives and other utility knives for their first new homes/apartments as they set out on their own.  But I’ll always remember their very own first pocket knife, and hearing from my children so will they.

• 3″ closed
• Stainless drop point blade
• Nickel silver bolster
• Hardshell gift/storage box

Available in these handle styles by Santa Fe Knifeworks:

• Kaleidoscope (light brown, dark brown, and black) wood
• Picasso marble
• Apache Gold handles with stainless and red coral stripes
• Turquoise handles with stainless and black jett stripes
• Denim Lapis

1. Swiss Army knives – Every hunter, fisherman, outdoors man or woman, and just those that need one for general use love Swiss Army knives.  They are small, easy to carry, and offer a small blade for any job.  These are top holiday gifts on many outdoors men and women’s lists as they offer extra items that can help you out in so many situations.  With added items such as tweezers, scissors, saws and more, it’s easy to see why these are so popular.  You’ll also be able to choose from a wide variety of colors – red, black, yellow, purple, blue, white, just to name a few.

 

2. Collectible knives – These are not really for use, but more for display.  There are millions of knife lovers all over the world that enjoy collecting and displaying different types of knives, such as movie swords, fantasy daggers, oriental swords and knives, sword canes, and military swords.

 

3. Travel sets – For anyone who spends time outdoors in any capacity, travel sets are a dream come true.  From picnic sets to professional fishing sets, there is something for everyone here. You can easily find a wonderfully unique gift set that will provide something they will love and use.

 

4. Personal protection knives – these are great gifts for women especially, since most personal protections knives are smaller, or even concealed by something as practical as a lipstick tube. There are some wonderful personal protection knives out there that can easily provide you a unique gift idea for anyone on your list.

 

5. Hunting knives – For the hunter in your life there are several wonderful hunting knives out on the market that would make an ideal gift.  Also, you will find some great game cleaning kits and much more to help them out in the woods.  It doesn’t matter what they love to hunt, a hunter will always have use for a good hunting knife.

 

6. First Aid kits – While they might not be a “holiday themed” gift, these First Aid kits still make great gifts for anyone.  From small kits to large, you can easily find some for anyone on your gift list.  Want a field trauma kit or how about a simple pocket survival kit, they aren’t hard to find and they are great practical gifts that any outdoors man or woman will love.

 

7. Limited edition knives – There are some great knife makers out there that always put out limited edition knives each year.  There are only a certain number of these made, and they normally come numbered with a special certificate to prove that they are what they say.  These make wonderful gifts for knife collectors and family and friends alike that love knives.

 

8. Display cases – Every collector needs a good display case for their favorite knives.  From metal to wood to Plexiglas, there are hundreds of different styles and sizes of display cases for you to choose from.  These also make a great gift to go along with any collectible or limited edition knife that you give as well.

 

9. Super small knives – While they might look extremely small and harmless, these are a wonderful gift for anyone.  These are knives or kits that come in an extremely small package and fold up to fit easily in a wallet or purse.  They are normally the size of a credit card, which makes it very easy for them to be carried around without showing off that you have a knife in your pocket – making them wonderful for personal protection, emergency situations, and everyday needs.

 

10. Kitchen knife sets – What cook doesn’t love a great set of kitchen knives?  These are a wonderful gift set for any cook on your list.  You can spend under $40 and still get a great set that your loved one with cherish, and still use every day.  Best of all, they’ll think of you each time they use them!

And there you have it, the top 10 holiday gift ideas for knife lovers.  Don’t waste your time searching the shops and trying to find something unique, while hoping that no one else gets them the same thing.  Know that you’re getting them exactly what they want and something that they will actually use.  Top off your great knife gift with a personal engraving as well to make their gift even more special.

For more ideas, make sure and see our handy Gift Guide for specific family members, friends and co-workers.

The ideas of what you can engrave and on what type of knife is truly endless.  Whatever you choose, it is a gift that will continue to give for years as the recipient will think of you each time they use their knife or see it proudly displayed.  Every different type of knife has been bought and used for a personalized gift from the finest of gentlemen’s folder pocket knives, Bowie knives, hunting knives, fishing knives and even kitchen knives.  People order engraved knives for their husbands, wives, bosses, groomsmen, friends, hunting and fishing partners, and for just about every occasion imaginable.

Top Five Engraving Ideas

Someone’s initials or name is the number one choice for engraved knives and is perfect for all gifting purposes. Names and wedding dates, or a special phrase from the wedding vows are being engraved on groomsmen gifts including pocket knives and even hunting knives.  Special knives are being ordered for the father of the bride and the father of the groom.

Special occasion messages with specific dates are always popular such as:

• “Congratulations”
• “Happy Birthday”
• “Good Luck”
• “Thank You”
• “Happy Anniversary”

A special phrase, such as “First Hunt”, “Catch a Big One”, or “One Day at a Time” are some popular phrases for special gifting occasions. The name of a special event is another popular gift, such as “Sturgis Rally 2009″, “First Christmas” (For a married couple), “Godspeed” (For someone being deployed).

How to Choose a Knife for Engraving

Consider the occasion.  The best picks for a boss would be a nice pocket knife.  If you know of the person’s hobbies and interests, you can choose a knife that would reflect that, for example a hunting knife for a hunter.

Make sure one side of the knife blade is blank and has room for an inscription.

Try to match the recipients style.  A western style knife with a wood or natural bone handle is perfect for most men, but you may also want something dressier for your boss, such as mother of pearl handles or stainless steel.

If you are getting a gift for a soldier, make sure the entire knife, including the blade is black coated.  This is a requirement for most soldiers “in the field”.

If the knife is more for display than for carrying, then a bowie knife or even a replica sword could be a great choice.

Many of the knives at eBladeStore.com have pre-defined options for engraving.  You may come across a knife you would like to have engraved that do not have these options.  If that’s the case, add the item to your cart and during the check-out process, on the “Confirm Order” page you will see two boxes at the bottom.  One is “Comments to eBladeStore.com” and the other is “Comments to Recipient”.  In the “Comments to eBladeStore.com” box, let us know the font type (Block, Roman, Script) and the inscription you would like to have engraved on your knife.  The applicable charge will show up separate from your order charge.

 You can learn more about our Knife Engraving options here.