Another vote for the Buck 112 Ranger.
On a side note, I ordered a Buck 661 Pursuit Pro S35VN folder because I have had enough of clip knives. This card was in the box when it arrived. Maybe not for everyone, but I thought it was a nice touch.
Another vote for the Buck 112 Ranger.
On a side note, I ordered a Buck 661 Pursuit Pro S35VN folder because I have had enough of clip knives. This card was in the box when it arrived. Maybe not for everyone, but I thought it was a nice touch.
My first knife, when I was around that age, was indeed a SAK. A grandmother bought one for me and one for my brother because we thought they were cool. As to the comments about sticking knives in things and slip joints closing on finger, that’s 100% on the money because we both did that and had some close calls.
Surprisingly we didn’t lose them. We were both very very proud to have them and understood it was something of a right of passage to have a real knife. Plus, being siblings, it would have been torture if I’d lost mine and my brother still had his, so that was motivation. Eventually I did lose mine, but it was during one of the two moves I made in my 20’s, not as a kid.
All that said, I think a kid would be better off with a Buck 112 than a SAK. The locking aspect of it is a major plus, and I think the Buck May hold up better. Those SAKs my brother and I had were not in the best of shape by the time we got done with them.
I had been planning to get my son this Case mid fold hunter when it's time.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B084JT8199...v_ov_lig_dp_it
I wish it was carried tip up, otherwise I like the blend of modern and classic - and it won't break the bank but isn't a cheap throw away.
It may not be for everyone, but I can sure think of much more obnoxious statements I’ve heard from CEOs this year. I’m actually gonna go Buck 112 shopping after this thread. Only Buck I’ve ever had is a 503 I bought myself when I was 18 or 19. 20+ years later I’ve still got it.
I remember my brother and I (and the neighbor kids we ran with) all having plastic handled SAKs of some flavor about that age. I doubt any of those survived the stuff we did to / with them...mine certainly didn’t. Nothing wrong with a SAK (beyond the lack of a lock), but I didn’t attach any sentimental value to it. As I mentioned in another thread, my first "real" knife was a Buck 110, given to me by my father in my teens. I still have it more than 30 years later...it's probably the last one I'd carry now, but it's also the last one I'd part with.
+1000 on the Buck 112. Big enough to make it hard to lose and hardy enough to last. I use a 110 as work knife for years.
I loved mine. At that age how sentimental are you? I lost mine and wish I hadn't, but I'll never forget that birthday, or my uncle who it to me. I guess what I'm saying is that ten year olds lose stuff, but they don't mean anything by it. If he's any kind of ten year old, he'll think whatever knife you give him is the best.
"Gunfighting is a thinking man's game. So we might want to bring thinking back into it."-MDFA
Beware of my temper, and the dog that I've found...
True on all that. When I typed that earlier, I was trying to remember where we got them and what happened to them, and could not. They may also have been SAK-like, vs branded. I'm sure (well, I hope!) the time differential to my father's gift of the Buck that I clearly remember when I was older (and still have) made a significant difference in both recollection and emotional maturity. I do recall "sharpening" of dulled pocket knife blades on the concrete curb out front (a dirt road when my folks bought the house shortly before I was born)...no wonder they didn't survive!
ETA: props to the OP for the thought put into this. Clearly, similar gifts were formative experiences for many of us. Good stuff!