Today we will be switching things up a bit in our 100 Knives in 100 Days Giveaway. Instead of just a random drawing on the official entry post, we will be selecting one answer at random from comments on this post.
The question is simple:
What is the best first knife for kids?
The only right answer is the Mora Eldris, which we will be giving away today.
Just kidding of course, I am looking forward to a lively discussion in the comments. It does happen to be the knife that I have bought for each of my children as their first knife, which they brought along on our camping trip this weekend in fact. I even own two myself. One I bought, and another Tormek branded one which was given to me by my friend Stig at the BLADE Show.
I honestly have more experience with the Eldris than any other knife in the 100 Days Giveaway. Personally, I chose the Eldris for my kids for two primary reasons. First, and most important to me, is that it is a fixed blade. My fingers, and I am sure many of yours, bear witness to the inadvisability of handing a slipjoint to a young child.
The Art of Manliness agrees:
“Most people think of a pocketknife as the best knife for a kid, but truth is, the safest, most useful knife is one with a fixed blade in a belt sheath. Thanks to its lack of moving parts, a fixed-blade knife does not fold or slide and is typically stronger due to the tang, which is the extension of the blade into the handle. With a fixed-blade knife, there is no chance of it folding on your fingers when you least expect it. As a bonus, these knives are usually more comfortable to hold and work with.”
The other feature I love about the Eldris is the chunky, rubberized handle. The oblong shape indexes perfectly, and small hands can hammer-grip it easily.
Of course the steel and construction quality are what one expects from a Mora – the “knife which makes all others look like a rip off”. That might be a bit of an exaggeration, but Moras consistently get a high billing on most people’s “Best Buy” list.
You don’t have to take my word alone for it:
https://gearjunkie.com/morakniv-eldris-knife-review
I am certainly open to other points of view. There is a whole school of thought that argues slipjoints are the best choice precisely because they force proper technique. Where do you fall?
Tell us your choice for “Best First Kid’s Knife” in the comments. You could win a Mora Eldris, courtesy of Industrial Revolution (North American Mora importer).
You must be a registered KnifeMagazine.com user to win. It is free to register, and you can enter our primary drawing pool in our 100 Knives in 100 Days giveaway as well while you are at it.