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What’s a good beginner pocketknife for an 8-year-old?

Q. I want to buy a pocketknife for my 8-year-old nephew. He has just started a pocketknife collection and has about 8 knives. Can you recommend a good knife for a boy that age?
— Aunt Debra, Houston, Texas

A. You must be a cool aunt to be buying your nephew a knife! Will you be my auntie too? OK, seriously, good knives for an 8-year-old? Here are two that I think he’d be sure to dig:

BSA Official Cub Scouts Pocket Knife ($19.99; www.scoutstuff.org) You just can’t go wrong with the official Cub Scouts pocketknife! It’s got a stainless steel 2¼”-long blade with a flat head screwdriver, cap lifter and punch blade folded inside.

Gerber Mini Paraframe ($16.26; www.gerbergear.com) This folding knife has an open stainless steel handle, which makes it both lightweight (just 1.4 ounces) and cool-looking! The 2.22”-long locking blade is high carbon stainless steel with a fine edge and it comes with a handy pocket clip too.


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51 Comments on What’s a good beginner pocketknife for an 8-year-old?

  1. i got the recruit knife and it is awesome. 😃

  2. I wish I would have seen this post amd comments first. My 8 yearvold boy just picked up the Gerber and the locking mechanism is way too stiff for him to operate.

  3. I am eight I have a pocket nife I am good with it but you still should watch the kid to see if her or she talks about killing and stuff

    • I have the Gerber. You are going to have to oil it and either you or the kid continuously open and close it till it is worn in. This sometimes happens with knives.

  4. The gerber is a great knife, but the locking mechanism is very stiff and would probably be too difficult for an 8 year old to readily manage.

  5. I use a benchmade at age 13… I may have problems

    • I agree: the recommended knife was difficult to close for an adult, let alone a child; a different gerber knife w easy push down lever was better.

  6. i use little fishing knifes those are good beginner knifes

  7. TheCoolkid // May 21, 2015 at 10:57 am // Reply

    I use a swiss army knife and i handle it with care

  8. Chinese knives are cheap knives. Cheap knives are dangerous knives.

  9. i hope he likes it. Those look like great beginner knives!

  10. LOL I HAVE A POCKETKNIFE AND I AM 8

  11. If your going to buy a knife for a Cub Scout, nothing is cooler to him than a Cub Scout logo knife. At this age its more about the looks than the quality. There’s plenty of time for them to get a better quality knife later; let them be kids first.

  12. I think a 8 year old boy would love it😊

  13. Maybe a pocket knife or a smith and Weston depends on how mature the nephew is

  14. Boyscout720 // June 26, 2014 at 12:16 pm // Reply

    Hey, I am 13 and I would get him the Berber compact scout. It is small, locks, and folds,. I Widdles great, and it’s not big and dangerous. Honestly, I would get him no knife, but if he is collecting, get him this

  15. What is a good small knife with sheath and dosent fold

  16. I think that a small poket knif and a shrap blad should be good for cuting tree branches. Good luck😃

  17. With all the contraversy about children being expelled from school for carrying a knife, why would a parent give a 7 year old a knife??

    • Scoutmom1976 // December 20, 2013 at 1:39 pm // Reply

      I understand what your concern about the boys carrying knives, but, before they are allowed to carry the knives they have rules that they need to learn and prove to their leader that they understand the rules. They are also trained on how to use the knife to whittle. Then, and only then, are they allowed to carry their knife. And, one of the rules is not to carry it to school. I understand that some boys may still do so, but this is a parents responsibility to make sure that they don’t. We need to teach or kids to be responsible not just assume they won’t be. My son is also 8 and we are getting him his knife for Christmas.

    • Maybe they hunt with there mom or dad

    • Good answer

    • rusty strings // March 1, 2015 at 8:29 pm // Reply

      When I was a boy, the cub scout knife was part of the uniform and we wore them to school on meeting days. I don’t remember any playground stabbings. More than one, I had teachers borrow it for some task or another.

  18. big ol knife says // October 21, 2013 at 6:56 pm // Reply

    get a leatherman skelitool

  19. Knifeman095895351 // August 31, 2013 at 4:44 pm // Reply

    i personally recommend a buck rush. it is a great assisted opening knife with a liner lock and a CAM safety. since its a buck knife, it has a FOREVER WARRANTY.

  20. a great knife for an 8-year-old, i would say, is the schrade x timer. it is safe to open, locks when you open it, and is light-weight.

  21. gerber is awsom

  22. Guitar kid // July 2, 2013 at 6:06 pm // Reply

    My first knife was a Swiss Army knife when I was ten.

  23. TheUnion43 // June 13, 2013 at 10:33 am // Reply

    You don’t collect pocket knives… YOU USE THEM…however, I recommend the chic3a bone handled csa knife/ 3pcs multitool.

  24. Knife Xpert 157 (aka Chad 101) // May 23, 2013 at 1:00 pm // Reply

    I would recommend having him buy the knife, or have him pay for half. If a person buys something with his own money he will take better care of it than if it was just given to him. I would recommend a Buck 55, Buck 503 or a Gerber para-frame. As they get older (13-16) I would recommend an assisted as they are easy and safe to open. I recommend the Kershaw EMT Fuxion assisted or the Buck QuickFire.

    • ClayCounty // June 27, 2013 at 12:27 am // Reply

      @ Knife Expert 101… In my part of the world, pocket knives are traditionally given as a gift. You don’t go out and buy a knife for yourself, you buy it for someone else. My two favorites are a Moore Maker stag handle trapper that was a father’s day gift, and a Boker Tree Brand trapper that was given to me by my late father-in-law. For an 8-year-old, I think the Scout knife above is very cool.

      • Knife Xpert 157 (aka Chad 101) // August 23, 2013 at 2:41 pm //

        Like i said, people (especially kids) take better care of something that they have to work for. I’m not against buying it as a gift, but if you want him to take better care of it do as i suggested.

  25. im 11, and have 30 knives

  26. Eagle Scout 82 // May 13, 2013 at 5:46 am // Reply

    I just found my 40 year old Cub Scout knife and it is as good as new. I will give it to my son when he gets to Cub Scouts. I suggest the Cub Scout knife as his first knife and the multi tool when he gets to Boy Scouts. The most important thing I believe IMHO is leave the factory edge while teaching safety, then sharpen once he is ready… but not too sharp. As a Cub he is not going to need all of the functions of a multi tool but will use all three on the Cub Scout knife.

    • Eagle Scout 82, you should have that 40 year old knife appraised and as per Knife Xpert 157 (aka Chad 101) have your son re-imburse you for half the appraisal

      • Knife Xpert 157 (aka Chad 101) // February 11, 2014 at 12:59 pm //

        Dont mock me. Its a totally different scenario then if it was a first time buy. What I say is true and ill say it again: If someone buys something with their own money they will respect it and care for it a lot more than if it was just given to them.

  27. i would not get anything fixed bladed. i recommend either a small pocket knife or a good multi tool.

    • Knife Xpert 157 (aka Chad 101) // May 23, 2013 at 12:39 pm // Reply

      You have obviously never had a fixed blade before. they are much safer and a lot better choice for camping and hiking than folding knives. I use the hefty Gerber LMF II A.S.E.K. fixed blade for these dutys. For every day carry I carry the Kershaw EMT assisted knife or my Buck QuickFire assisted.

  28. I like pocket knifes for boyscoutts.

  29. Totin chip guy // April 22, 2013 at 11:19 pm // Reply

    Im 11 and I have the gerber compact scout. It’s small and light weight

    • Same here, just bought it. So far it looks very nice and neat. You can not carve with it but it is good for cutting rope with the serrations. Also it is Chinese metal that will take a lot of sharpening.

  30. I would recomend asking your nephew witch one he wants.

  31. my first nife at 6

  32. i thhink an 8 year old should get a multitool as your first knife! 🙂

  33. i got my first knife at 11 and i have 10 i would get the gerber scout knife

    • ha ha you are probaly going to laugh at my nickname it is because i am the one who runs the campfire .but if you have that many knives make sure he has his whittling chip i also recamend remington 3-in-1 pocket knife.

    • I think that an eight year old should not have a knife because they only just learnt right from wrong , but if you wish to then I would suggest the Gerber Mini-Remix, Fine Edge because it is small and less dangerous then a large pocket knife and very good for whittling.

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