First SAK for my oldest son

[Top-Gear-24]

The SAK virus is spreading ... 

Strolling the streets of Leuven (= city in Belgium) yesterday we came across a Victorinox dealer, looking at the shop window my son immediately noticed this small but oh so pretty SAK ...











And I took the opportunity to buy some small screw-drivers (the ones that go in the corkscrew) and some replacement toothpicks for my Huntsman and Explorer, so both of us were quite happy  .

The wife even focused my attention on this Silverline Huntsman they had, asking if I wanted that one ... don't make it worse woman  . 

Anyway, I thought that was the right moment to tell her I'm planning on buying myself a Vic Spirit somewhere in the near future, so I shouldn't buy the Silver Huntsman and save the money for the Spirit (and now she knows what I'm getting next  ).

[Chako]

That belt sheath is beautiful. 

[Threeme2189]

If you don't mind me asking, how old is he?

[Stirling3749]

Great choice.
I just got that very model for my brother on his birthday a few days ago.

[MultiMat]

Nice one TG24  .

I got both my lads a 'My First SAK' plus (has a saw).
I also got them both Soldiers from their birth year , I have a Vic & Wenger for my youngest a Vic for my eldest. Planning on giving them their special Soldiers on their 18th birthdays.

[Top-Gear-24]

If you don't mind me asking, how old is he?

He's quite young ...  (he's almost 7 years old)

But I keep the knive stashed away (locked away actually, along with my other multitools and knives), and he can only carry it on his belt when we (me or my wife) are with him, and he is not allowed to open the knife, only the other tools.  I've even been thinking about dulling the knife so he could use it for some easy tasks.  At the moment he doesn't even want to take out the sciccors , he only uses the pen and the led light, but he just loves the idea of having his own pocket knife (even without really using it).

And I must say, he's very responsible for his age, (I do know a lot of parents say this about their kids).

I really hope I'm not going to get tarred and feathered here about this ... 

[MultiMat]

Nah its all good mate , I reckon no tar &  feathering here  .

I gave my youngest his My First SAK when he was 8 , he is 9 now & I get a real chuckle watching him carefully closing the blade on his leg like I taught him  . When ever we take our recycling out he runs to his room grabs his SAK & we cut the plastic rings of the milk bottles together .

The world looks at pocket knives as weapons & not tools  . I had a SAK as kid & it was no problem at all.

[AimlessWanderer]

If you don't mind me asking, how old is he?

He's quite young ...  (he's almost 7 years old)

But I keep the knive stashed away (locked away actually, along with my other multitools and knives), and he can only carry it on his belt when we (me or my wife) are with him, and he is not allowed to open the knife, only the other tools.  I've even been thinking about dulling the knife so he could use it for some easy tasks.  At the moment he doesn't even want to take out the sciccors , he only uses the pen and the led light, but he just loves the idea of having his own pocket knife (even without really using it).

And I must say, he's very responsible for his age, (I do know a lot of parents say this about their kids).

I really hope I'm not going to get tarred and feathered here about this ... 

Certainly not by me - sounds like you've got a good handle on this. I just wish more parents would take the lead on knife use with their kids to promote safe use and remove the "taboo" appeal for later in life.
Good choice too

Nah its all good mate , I reckon no tar &  feathering here  .

I gave my youngest his My First SAK when he was 8 , he is 9 now & I get a real chuckle watching him carefully closing the blade on his leg like I taught him  . When ever we take our recycling out he runs to his room grabs his SAK & we cut the plastic rings of the milk bottles together .

The world looks at pocket knives as weapons & not tools  . I had a SAK as kid & it was no problem at all.

Too true - but I'm sure we all try to spread the word and change peoples beliefs - I know I do!

One of the mates at the boatyard jokes about me being an axe murderer (single bloke, mid-to-late thirties, managerial position, "unconventional" world views,collection of knives and axes) but I was the first person on his reserve list for babysitting duties, and he's coming round to my way of thinking re pocket carry One of the others has already asked me to pick a SAK for him, two other mates have already been equipped with knives, tools, and hiking survival gear and are VERY happy about it. My neice is due to be born next week, and though her dad is a convert to pocket knives and tools - I think knife/tool/outdoor training will fall to Uncle Me. I'll wait till she's walking though before buying her first Lapp Puukko and Swisstool

[ICanFixThat]

SUPER!! All Good!!! 

[ducktapehero]

I really hope I'm not going to get tarred and feathered here about this ... 

I certainly won't. You know better than anyone how mature your son is. My son is 6 and already has a couple of small multi-tools. Neither has any knife blades but they are chock full of other pointy tooly goodness. 

[Sazabi]

That belt sheath is beautiful. 

Indeed; why does Europe get all the cool sheaths? 

[Gareth]

I really hope I'm not going to get tarred and feathered here about this ... 

I certainly won't. You know better than anyone how mature your son is. My son is 6 and already has a couple of small multi-tools. Neither has any knife blades but they are chock full of other pointy tooly goodness. 

My daughter is 6 and the thought of her having anything sharp and pointy is terrifying!  As you guys know though some kids develop at different times and she'll get something when the time is right.

[Top-Gear-24]

Thanks guys  .

I must say, I was a bit scared about how people would react, probably because these days people look at you as if you are going to gut them in public when they see that you're carrying a knife or multitool ...  Let alone giving one to a child ...

Should have known you guys were cool about it  .

My daughter is 6 and the thought of her having anything sharp and pointy is terrifying!  As you guys know though some kids develop at different times and she'll get something when the time is right.

I wouldn't even give my youngest one a toothpick from Victorinox, he has a completely different personality, luckely he's not one bit interested in pocket knives, he loves those small led lights, so a few weeks ago I gave him a Led Lenser P3, with a nice little pouch that goes on his belt (this pouch is not half as nice as the one from Victorinox, but I'm not going to tell him this  ).

[Gareth]

Thanks guys  .

I must say, I was a bit scared about how people would react, probably because these days people look at you as if you are going to gut them in public when they see that you're carrying a knife or multitool ...  Let alone giving one to a child ...

Should have known you guys were cool about it  .

My daughter is 6 and the thought of her having anything sharp and pointy is terrifying!  As you guys know though some kids develop at different times and she'll get something when the time is right.

I wouldn't even give my youngest one a toothpick from Victorinox, he has a completely different personality, luckely he's not one bit interested in pocket knives, he loves those small led lights, so a few weeks ago I gave him a Led Lenser P3, with a nice little pouch that goes on his belt (this pouch is not half as nice as the one from Victorinox, but I'm not going to tell him this  ).

Ah yes, torches, my girl loves torches.   Just a shame she keeps losing/breaking them so she's only got a cheap one herself, though she does get to play with some of my better ones sometimes.

[Top-Gear-24]

Today I got my kids some new Victorinox goodies  .

I've kept a close eye on my oldest son since I gave him his Signature/lite Vic, and I must say that he handles his pocket knife very responsible, even my youngest one started to ask for a pocket knife (and I let him handle the Signature/lite from time to time, and I was surprised to see how wel he followed "my rules").

So, last week I decided it was time to give them both something new, so I ordered something new for them, and today my order arrived at the local outdoor store.

Here are some pics  .







I noticed one small problem, when you close the saw on the blue one, it doesn't close all the way because the last 2 cm at the end of the saw get stuck on the side of the knife; so I have to pull it a little to the inside so it goes in all the way.  Don't know if I will return it to the store or not to get another one (they have to order it and I will have to wait another week  ).  I will probably go back to the store tomorow to see what they suggest.

[gustophersmob]

  Nice choice.

I think it is cool that you are teaching them from an early age to be responsible with knives.  I have a feeling that kind of discipline will carry over well into other aspects of life.

[Top-Gear-24]

Nice choice.

I think it is cool that you are teaching them from an early age to be responsible with knives.  I have a feeling that kind of discipline will carry over well into other aspects of life.

I feel the same way, instead of taking away "all danger" from them, teach them how to deal with things instead of avoiding them.

[Mr. Whippy]

I missed this thread first time around.

First, I think that signaure lite with leather sheath is fantastic! That's a quality gift.  Secondly, If taught well, an 8 year old can be totally responsible with a knife.

Finally, you and your wife sound amazingly cool.

[MultiMat]

Today I got my kids some new Victorinox goodies  .

I've kept a close eye on my oldest son since I gave him his Signature/lite Vic, and I must say that he handles his pocket knife very responsible, even my youngest one started to ask for a pocket knife (and I let him handle the Signature/lite from time to time, and I was surprised to see how wel he followed "my rules").

So, last week I decided it was time to give them both something new, so I ordered something new for them, and today my order arrived at the local outdoor store.

Here are some pics  .

(Image removed from quote.)

(Image removed from quote.)

(Image removed from quote.)

I noticed one small problem, when you close the saw on the blue one, it doesn't close all the way because the last 2 cm at the end of the saw get stuck on the side of the knife; so I have to pull it a little to the inside so it goes in all the way.  Don't know if I will return it to the store or not to get another one (they have to order it and I will have to wait another week  ).  I will probably go back to the store tomorow to see what they suggest.

Great choice mate  .
Both my lads have the My First SAK +  .
The saw sounds most odd for a new Vic  . Surprised you could still order them as I thought they were discontinued  . Good luck getting the blue one sorted mate 

[Donald]

I'm not exactly sure how it relates to knives, but I saw something once that suggested that children are more cognizant of traffic or understand traffic rules when they are about 8 years old as far as bicycle riding and safety. I had a knife or knives fairly young, but I'm not exactly sure when. It was probably around age 7 or 8. At 9 or 10 I got a Boy Scout knife, but that was not my first knife. My first SAK was a Wenger 1 17 01 from my sister for my 21st birthday. 

[Top-Gear-24]

...

I noticed one small problem, when you close the saw on the blue one, it doesn't close all the way because the last 2 cm at the end of the saw get stuck on the side of the knife; so I have to pull it a little to the inside so it goes in all the way.  Don't know if I will return it to the store or not to get another one (they have to order it and I will have to wait another week  ).  I will probably go back to the store tomorow to see what they suggest.

Great choice mate  .
Both my lads have the My First SAK +  .
The saw sounds most odd for a new Vic  . Surprised you could still order them as I thought they were discontinued  . Good luck getting the blue one sorted mate 

Well, here's an update on the "saw-problem" on the blue "my First Victorinox" knife from my oldest son.

I've went back to the store the day after I bought these knives (and my Spirit RT) and explained the problem, they told me that they would send it back to the Belgian Victorinox importer and have it replaced with a new one, this was the 4th of August.

Well ... I still haven't got a new knife for my son, in fact, around the 18th of august (my birthday) I ordered 2 Swisstool Spirit for myself, a black one (3.0224.3CCH) and a Spirit X.  They told me that these two would be available in September, and now it's October and I still haven't got any of these, no Spirits and no First Vic for my son. 

After a lot of phone-calls with the store for the last couple of weeks they told me today that they have tried to reach the Belgian Victorinox importer for some time now, but no one answers or replies to their calls.  So I've looked up the number and called them to find out what was going on for myself .

So I called them and immediately someone answered the phone, I explained the problem and asked if they could tell me what was going on, the lady on the other side told me to wait a moment, and then I heared here telling my story to someone else (her supervisor maybe) in french and asking what she should do (I'm flemmish but my French is good enough to understand things like that).  So after a minute or so she returned to the phone and told me she would look in to it and call me back.  I told her that I don't know if there's a problem between them and the store where I buy my stuff, and if so, that I don't want get in the middle of that, but that I would just like to know if I could still get my tools this way ...

Anyway, still waiting for her to call back (don't think she will ... I know how Belgian importers take care of their clients ...  ).  Same thing with the Belgian Leatherman importer (see my Charge TTi story), and now this ...

I thinks it's about time that these two great brands take a look at their importers here, and maybe replace them with someone who does give a sh*t about their brand name and reputation ...

Feeling really letdown for the second time ... 

(my apologies for any mistakes I typed, when I'm a bit p*ssed off like this I tend to type a lot of mistakes ...  )

[Mr. Whippy]

This is unacceptable, imo.  Is there no way to contact Victorinox in Switzerland to see what they can do for you?  Did you actually purchase the tools in August? If so, I would assume the receipt would be helpful in resolving this.

Dang, I hate reading about quality companies being letdown by two bit middlemen.

[Top-Gear-24]

This is unacceptable, imo.  Is there no way to contact Victorinox in Switzerland to see what they can do for you?  Did you actually purchase the tools in August? If so, I would assume the receipt would be helpful in resolving this.

Dang, I hate reading about quality companies being letdown by two bit middlemen.

I bought my Spirit RT along with 2 "my First Victorinox" knives and a Soldier '10 knife on the 3th of August, at home I noticed that the saw on one of the "first Vic's" didn't close because it always got stuck on the side of the knife, and I had to pull it a bit to the middle to get it to close.  So I returned it the following day.  And around the 18th of August I ordered the 2 Spirits as a birthday present for myself (they told me that the importer said these would be available in September).

It's really frustrating hearing about all of the great warranty stories around here knowing that I will never get the same service in my country, because the people who are supposed to handle little problems like this just don't care about the reputation of the brand they're supposed to represent ...

Same happened with the Leatherman Importer, when I bought a Charge TTi with a flaw in the ruler the nice people of Leatherman USA immediately suggested to change it for a brand new one, and they send an e-mail to the Belgian importer explaining my problem and telling them to trade my tool free of cost, and a few days later I receive an e-mail from the Belgian importer telling me that they would trade it, but that I would have to pay 15 Euro's (about 20 dollars) administration fee ... and 5 Euro's for shipping cost (which I believe is normal, but an administration fee ).

Haven't bought a Leatherman product since then (sad because the people at Leatherman USA were really helpfull and kind, but I don't want any of my money in the hands of the Belgian importer), so I started focussing on Victorinox, untill now ...

I think that none of the Belgian Leatherman/Victorinox importers knows or cares about multitools, probably some slick looking bussines type with a briefcase with some of "his products" to show to potential clients/stores.

The way I'm feeling right now I believe this might be the end of my "multitool collecting" hobby ... or I should start to look for some other ways to get my tools (but I'm one of those suckers who likes to buy his stuff through "official channels", thinking that this would end up in some good service from someone in my own country, instead of dealing with someone 2000 km away).

Think I'm just a bit too gullible perhaps  .

[Gareth]

That's really disappointing to hear mate.   I know what you mean about liking to buy with domestic suppliers, but if it means you're getting this terrible level of service from the shop and importer then I wouldn't feel guilty about buying from overseas at all.  People that can't run a good business don't deserve your money.

[Neil]

So your son still hasn't got his knife back!  At that age it must feel like he's been waiting years

Very poor show on the importer's part 

[jock1]

.

And I must say, he's very responsible for his age, (I do know a lot of parents say this about their kids).

Mate you know your own child ! your approach is spot on you have teach your children how to be self reliant and deal with potentially dangerous things as safely as possible

I really hope I'm not going to get tarred and feathered here about this ... 
[/quote]
You'd likely get T+F  for not giving your child a SAK 

[Top-Gear-24]

Well, My son is taking it pretty good for his age, although I have heard the following questions a couple of times ...

"How about my knife daddy ... ?"
"Is my knife back daddy ... ?"
"Boy, I sure miss my knife ..."
"Sure could have used my knife today ..."

    

And I can't blame him you know (but my heart breaks evertime I hear one of these  ).

My wife is the one who has to listen to these questions twice, first from my son, and then later at the evening again from me (replace "knife" by "new Spirit" and delete the word "daddy"... ).

Maybe I should take the time to explain this situation to Victorinox Switzerland like Mr. Whippy suggested  .

[Carlos]

I understand Top-Gear-24 perfectly because we deal with similar situations here. I think the main problem is that we're from little countries no so crowded, around ~10M, which makes it a small and non-attractive market. Several brands don't have their own representation: they stuff us together with our big neighbor (Spain in my case, probably France to Belgium) and have a single representation for both countries. Which, of course, doesn't work for the smaller country, but they just don't care.

Stuff like TG24 describes happens here all the time, I just didn't know it was the same on Belgium. I've been fed with it for a while. Nowadays I just go "abroad" online. German market used to have good prices, but not anymore. UK is cool: they generally send international and the eur/gbp ratio at 0,85 isn't bad (for imports, exports suffer on that -- not long ago this ratio was 0,66). And of course USA: with eur/usd at 1,40 is almost a given and they're the best at customer care. Furthermore small packages usually don't get retained at customs.

Lately I have been checking first on http://www.edcsource.com/ to help support the forum and they have cool sutff anyway.


Well, having said that, I also have given to my daughter, as a gift, a "my first victorinox" when she was 5, 2 years ago. She was glad to have one at the time, because she used to see me with mine and now she had her own, but she actually didn't use it at all for sometime. Later I prepared her a "special drawer" and put there the vic amongst other stuff. Then she started to use it more. Aside a little finger cut one time, no others incidents have occurred until now.

However I miss scissors on these "kids" SAKs. Scissors with round tips. My daughter is a "scissor's power user" and while she could use the SAK for it, these "my first" lineup don't have them available.

[Sazabi]

Carlos, I know it's not on a SAK, but Fiskars tends to make decent stabby-proof rounded scissors.  Worse comes to worse, you could always get a pair of EMT shears. 

[MultiMat]

Yep I would email Victorinox HQ TG24 & hope they can help you out mate.
Your local guys have given you a real bum deal mate  .
Good luck buddy I hope you & your lad get sorted soon.