Scouts Lock Knife

[Makefish]

Your recomendations please for a lock knife I need to buy for my eleven year old for scouts. Budget of £40 max with a blade no longer than 3" and fold away. Must be rugged and durable + any other 'gadgets' would be a bonus but not absolutely necessary.

[postmanpat]

Steve I don't think you mean lock knife PNLD FAQ Alphabetical List -

A good swiss Army knife will be best for scouts, if indeed your troop let the kids carry knives.

[Dr Zoidberg]

Don't bother with a lock knife and get a decent Victorinox swiss army knife instead.

Whilst it is legal to carry a lock knife in a public place , this is only the case when he has good cause - i.e. going on a trip. If for whatever reason he has it at another time then he would automatically get arrested (fingerprints and DNA are now mandatory) and almost certainly charged if the police become aware of it. I know you will say that he won't take it out with him at any other time , but kids will do , either by accident or on purpose to show friends and perfectly law abiding kids can easily find themselves with a criminal record especially given high profile knife crime at the moment.

If it's a knife with folding blade of less than three inches that doesn't lock then only legislation referring to offensive weapons comes into play , and that doesn't mean an automatic arrest if stopped while carrying one.

Besides , proper swiss army knives are cooler and more useful

[postmanpat]

Or how about a nice butterfly knife

Seriously here you go mate and a few quid cheaper
Official World Scout Knife From Surplus and Outdoors / Victorinox and Wenger Knives

Edit even that says with locking blade

[Chris.G]

Swiss Champ - Victorinox Swiss Army Knives from The Swiss Knife Shop

Everything a boy scout will need, and right on budget.

[Makefish]

Do you have any links I can look at, forty quid doesn't get you much!

Edit: Note to self, must learn to refresh page before posting

[Dr Zoidberg]

Originally Posted by postmanpat

Or how about a nice butterfly knife

Seriously here you go mate and a few quid cheaper
Official World Scout Knife From Surplus and Outdoors / Victorinox and Wenger Knives

Yuck.
That's a Wenger piece of crap.
The Victorinox knives are much better designed - something like the Huntsman would be great.
Victorinox HUNTSMAN RED Swiss army knife. NEW boxed on eBay, also, Knives Tools, Camping, Sporting Goods (end time 27-May-08 18:44:46 BST)

[Chris.G]

Above ^

[Chris.G]

I'm to slow at this interweb stuff lol.

[postmanpat]

Originally Posted by Dr Zoidberg

Yuck.
That's a Wenger piece of crap.
]

He wanted cheap

[Makefish]

Originally Posted by postmanpat

He wanted cheap

Cheap yeah, crap no

[*tim*]

lol @ butterfly knife

Non locking knifes are dangerous, as are blunt ones. Plain steel holds a better edge than stainless steel, but you need to make sure it is well looked after to stop it going rusty.

Part serrated blades are useful for cutting up animals, but hard to keep sharpen if you blunt them. Plain straight blade, with a tapers (downwards) tip is the best IMHO.

Gerber do some alright knifes for around £40, there was a guy on ebay you always had bargains (imported from the US) but not sure of link, sorry. Stay away from swiss army knifes - knifes of the devil.

[Jonny5ive]

A dearly departed Uncle brought me back one of these from the good 'ole US of A in the days when you were allowed these sort of souvenirs.

Still have it to this day and is very well put together.

[postmanpat]

Have you talked to the scout leader? Whats the knife going to be used for?

[Dr Zoidberg]

Originally Posted by *tim*

Non locking knifes are dangerous, as are blunt ones.

All knives are potentially dangerous , locking or not.
There's no reason why a non-locking knife used correctly should be unacceptably risky.

I've had swiss army knives since I was about 12 and I've never done any major damage to myself

[Makefish]

Originally Posted by postmanpat

Have you talked to the scout leader? Whats the knife going to be used for?

Taken from a recent newsletter from scouts.........................................

It is our intention to pursue traditional scout craft for the first few weeks after half term. During this period we will be teaching scouts about axemanship, bush saws and knives.

Should you wish your son to participate in this activity they will require a small good quality knife. We would recomend a lock knife or similar with a blade not exceeding 3".

In general we will be teaching good practice "do's and don'ts" use of various woodcraft tools and encouraging responsibility and mature safe practice.

[Lady Elanore]

I used Victorinox for many years until about 7 years ago when I defected to Leatherman. This is by far the best multi-tool lock knife I have ever used. The blades locking mechanism is excellent and makes it the safest blade I have ever used, plus the snipe-nose pliers are a real set and can be used like their counterparts stand alone models. They aren’t cheap, but their flexibility and robustness can not be over stated. If the knife is for a child the locking blade is also as near to as infallible as any knife I have yet seen.

[Makefish]

Once again this forum has proved itself without equal not just for the incredible expertise on all things Skoda, but a huge knowledge base on all manner of things.

Many thanks to you all, not just in this thread but the others you contribute to

[*tim*]

Originally Posted by Dr Zoidberg

All knives are potentially dangerous , locking or not.

I thought that was a given, but I'm sure you knew what I meant by my comment

I know which I would prefer to use if I giving it some serious abuse - cutting the odd bit of cord and some whittling doesn't count...

Opinel knifes are pretty good for the money, think you can buy them in millets - cost less than a tenner, and can get them in different sizes. Might be worth a look

[westerdam2]

Originally Posted by Makefish

Taken from a recent newsletter from scouts.........................................

Suggestion: You may wish to refer this back to the Scout Group for correction and clarification as 'lock knives' are illegal in Britain (as previously mentioned).

The danger is that some people are tempted to buy them when on holiday abroad (where they are legal in many countries) and attempt to bring them into the UK.