Spyderco Forums

My 11-year old son is a huge self-proclaimed "knife nerd." He LOVES Spyderco, and the Spyderco catalog is his bedtime reading. Does anyone know other kids in Colorado or elsewhere who are knife nerds and would be interested in "talking knives" with my son? He is pretty mature for his age, knowledgeable about knives, very curious, and asks lots of great questions. If anyone can refer us to any resources for him, we'd be greatly appreciative!

Hi, knifenerdmom:
Welcome to our forum an congratulations on being a great Mom! I'm not aware of any sites specifically for kids, but I can say that we've had a few here on our forum - several who "grew up" on the forum. One, in particular, joined while he was in middle school and he stayed with us through college. He still checks in from time to time although he doesn't really post much anymore. Perhaps some of our other members know of a resource that I don't and will chime in.

If you're in Colorado, have you and your son visited our outlet store?

We hope you enjoy your time with us!

Kristi

Of course your son would be most welcome, here. We keep it clean and it is a family place. In fact, mom's are welcome, too. We have several, here.

There have been young folks on this forum, and may still be, I am not sure.

Hi Mom,

Welcome to our forum.

Where in Colorado are you? We've found that kids that are fascinated with knives at an early age like to learn. I think it's some type of natural phenomena. I was that way from a very young age as were many here.

sal

I got into knives young as well. I'll second what Doc said, this is one of the more wholesome corners of the internet. We get some trouble makers occasionally like anywhere else, but our moderators tend to deal with them quickly. Id say have him join, and you should chat with us too. I wish I'd found this place earlier in my collecting.
If people know he's young and here to learn, I'm sure that most will go out of their way to be helpful and friendly.
BTW since you are new here and probably don't know, Sal is the founder of Spyderco. He's real friendly too.

I too can only echo what has already been said.

The people on this forum are an exceptional bunch who’ll welcome and assist any junior in any way they can. I’d certainly encourage him to introduce himself and join us. There’s no shortage of kind and generous people here who’ll certainly encourage him and most likely help add to or start his own collection. :)

I just have to say I think that so funny (in a good way) that the catalog is his bedtime reading, I used to read catalogs obsessively when I was a kid. I'm glad this place is pretty family friendly bc I wouldn't want an 11 year old Spyderco fan to be scared away lol.

knifenerdmom wrote: ↑

Fri Feb 08, 2019 12:41 pm

My 11-year old son is a huge self-proclaimed "knife nerd." He LOVES Spyderco, and the Spyderco catalog is his bedtime reading. Does anyone know other kids in Colorado or elsewhere who are knife nerds and would be interested in "talking knives" with my son? He is pretty mature for his age, knowledgeable about knives, very curious, and asks lots of great questions. If anyone can refer us to any resources for him, we'd be greatly appreciative!

If he's starting at 11 years old then I suggest starting with some solid storage boxes and maybe a small dolly. With the amazing knives that are available now he will need to pick and choose carefully. I would suggest the Para 3 as it seems to be the top knife as far as I've heard. :)

Best resource for Spyderco Knives is here.
Be only too happy to help out and answer questions.

Used to have a program where we would take young ones out fishing that didn’t get the chance where I live. ( but stopped due to being too much for insurance and legal hoops to jump through for boat owners )

...Also for some quality reading
https://knifesteelnerds.com/
Some of the articles get pretty technical (over my head anyways), but there's plenty of info that is accessible to all.

It’s often said guys never grow up, their toys just get more expensive. Your lad will fit in well with us!

This forum is a tremendous resource for all Spyderco and knife nerd information. The members here are also very kind and helpful. Both you and your son would be most welcome here.

I second the recommendation to Larrin's excellent website, knifesteelnerds.com. Some of the articles are pretty in-depth but they are all very interesting and informative.

But knives aren't nerdy at all; knives are way cool!!!!!

Only thing I see here is he should be a self proclaimed "knife nut".

Cudos to you for supporting it and wanting to help it along.

Best,

CG

My 9yr old is coming along nicely as a knifeknut as well. She loves watching forged in fire with me, and goes through my collection with me regularly to pick out the 'nice ones'. She proudly wears her Ed Schempp Knives hoodie to school as well. She's working on learning English as well, I'm sure she'll join in over here in a few years.

Mom3ntuM wrote: ↑

Sun Feb 10, 2019 6:32 am

Screenshot_20190210_132956.jpg

Oh, much smaller than that.

This is amazing because it was when I was 11 years old that I first began to become a knife collector and user. Before that I was into toy swords and knives like those plastic Ninja swords, plastic military knives, and plastic knight swords you see for sale.

Some of my first knives were Swiss Army Knives and also Schrade Old Timer and other brands.

What would also be neat, I think, if people wanted to do it, is for everyone or a number of people on the forum to chip in and purchase a Spyderco knife gift for the boy. What do you think?

SpyderEdgeForever wrote: ↑

Sun Feb 10, 2019 10:29 am

This is amazing because it was when I was 11 years old that I first began to become a knife collector and user. Before that I was into toy swords and knives like those plastic Ninja swords, plastic military knives, and plastic knight swords you see for sale.

Some of my first knives were Swiss Army Knives and also Schrade Old Timer and other brands.

I suspect we are all waiting on the Syderco Lightsaber ... maybe in the next reveal??? :)

Come to think of it, I remember trying to build various styles of swords from wood back in elementary school.

CG

In my experience, there are three "paths":

Makers and tinkerers want to take knives apart, change the edges, modify the handles, etc. Whether they have the means or space, these people almost always buy grinders and make small forges. If your son is this type of personality, finding a local Craftsman with a toolshop where he can safely experiment with proper tools would be a huge benefit. (Finding craftsmen who are worthy role-models is sometimes tricky, but if you start asking around they usually reveal themselves.)

Knife nerds who want to put knives to work are another category. They aren't quite as much interested in how the knife is made as they are in what it can do. Bushcraft is the central pursuit here: learning about the resources you can work with to turn wilderness isolation into sustainable living. Hunting goes right along with Bushcraft, though there's often a disconnect in personalities and priorities. Scouts is a great way to foster these posts, but if you know a family member who can mentor on a family camping/hunting trip that would be even better.

Finally, there are collectors. They love all the nuances and stories behind different designs. They are loyal to brands and objects as though they were people. I think everyone has a little bit of the collector in them, but some people are more devoted than others. The most important thing you can do for a collector is to teach him about budgets.

There's a bit overlap between all of these categories, but usually one or two will take a priority. (I love Bushcraft, but I spend too much time in the shop to ever go do anything.)