Learning how to handle a pocket knife correctly is essential for kids and will set them up for a lifetime of safe enjoyment. Not only will learning the safety rules help to avoid injury but it will also teach children about responsibility and discipline, both of which are crucial around knives.
Here are our nine most important safety rules for children.
1. When you carve, you sit
It’s very important that you are sitting down or kneeling when doing any carving or whittling. Both feet should be on the ground. The only exception would be when sawing something – here you could place a knee or a foot on e.g. a tree stump and use it to stabilize the wood you are sawing whilst the other foot remains on the ground.
2. Carve away from the body
Always make sure that the knife moves away from your body when you are carving. This is easily done in a sitting position and helps you to avoid injuries in case the knife slips. If you wish to carve a sharp tip, move the knife away from you and sideways at the same time, this helps you to create a sharp tip without needing to apply too much pressure.
3. An arm’s length away
If you are going to carve something, ensure that no one else is within an arm’s length of you. This helps you to keep a safe space around you and avoids accidents for you and for those around you.
4. Only carve with a sharp blade
Make sure your blade is sharp before doing any carving. A blunt blade means you will need to exert more pressure and the blade is more likely to slip, causing injury. You can do the paper test to see if your blade is sharp (a sharp blade should be able to cut a piece of paper easily without resistance) and if you need to sharpen your blade, a simple tool like the Victorinox Sharpy could help.
5. Only open one tool at a time
By far the safest way to use your Swiss Army Knife is to use only one tool at a time. Although the many tools are undoubtedly one of the attractions of our pocket knives, opening more than one at a time risks injury so be sure to close one tool before opening the next.
6. Stow your knife when you are not using it
Finished your carving adventures for the time being? Then close your blade carefully and put your knife away. This is much safer than leaving a knife lying around with the blade or with another tool open. When the pocket knife is closed and out of reach of younger children, then no one can get hurt.
7. Pass on a closed pocket knife only
Similar to rule number 6, never pass on or hand your pocket knife to someone else if a blade or other tool is still open. Be sure to carefully close the knife before giving it to someone else.
8. Don’t carve a living tree
If you love spending time in the forest, it makes sense to respect the trees and branches within. Therefore please don’t carve the trunk or branches of a living tree and leave it intact for others to enjoy.
9. A Swiss Army Knife is not a weapon
You should never ever use the Swiss Army Knife as a weapon, even if you are just playing. Our blades are sharp and could cause serious injury. Our pocket knives are intended for many purposes but violence is not one of them.
