Tongue Depressor Knife illustration for Whittling Chip

[packsaddle]

Having handled knives all my life I have found that some of the teaching of BSA lacking when it comes to knives. We all know the proper way of handing off a folding/lock blade knife using the "Thank You/You're Welcome" technique. Because we ban sheath knives we have no way of learning the proper way of handing off fixed blade knives. But of course we use them nonetheless. Even if banned, the fixed blade knife is still used. I use the example of two boys prepping food for a meal. One paring/butcher/bread knife, two boys... After cutting up the potatoes, how does the boy pass it off to the boy cutting carrots? Handle first? Blade first? Put it back in the sheath/guard? What I do is let the boys think about it for a moment. On occasion there will be the boy who figures it out the first time. It's really easy. The first boy lays the knife down and the second boy picks it up. Where in the training is that taught? It works with a folding blade/lock blade knife as well. With our aversion to sheath knives we endanger boys using fixed blades! Well, if one teaches how to use kitchen knives properly, are they not also being taught to use sheath knives properly? Sheath knives for fishing? A fillet knife is no different than a sheath knife. We say it's okay, but we don't teach how the fixed blade knife is different than the folding or locking knife.

 

Maybe it is time we overcome our prejudices, fears and angst, and start teaching the boys to do it correctly.

 

Stosh

When did the sheath knife ban take place? I must have missed the memo.

[Stosh]

Having handled knives all my life I have found that some of the teaching of BSA lacking when it comes to knives. We all know the proper way of handing off a folding/lock blade knife using the "Thank You/You're Welcome" technique. Because we ban sheath knives we have no way of learning the proper way of handing off fixed blade knives. But of course we use them nonetheless. Even if banned, the fixed blade knife is still used. I use the example of two boys prepping food for a meal. One paring/butcher/bread knife, two boys... After cutting up the potatoes, how does the boy pass it off to the boy cutting carrots? Handle first? Blade first? Put it back in the sheath/guard? What I do is let the boys think about it for a moment. On occasion there will be the boy who figures it out the first time. It's really easy. The first boy lays the knife down and the second boy picks it up. Where in the training is that taught? It works with a folding blade/lock blade knife as well. With our aversion to sheath knives we endanger boys using fixed blades! Well, if one teaches how to use kitchen knives properly, are they not also being taught to use sheath knives properly? Sheath knives for fishing? A fillet knife is no different than a sheath knife. We say it's okay, but we don't teach how the fixed blade knife is different than the folding or locking knife.

 

Maybe it is time we overcome our prejudices, fears and angst, and start teaching the boys to do it correctly.

 

Stosh

Neither have I. But for some reason there are those out there that seem to think it's necessary.

 

Stosh

[EmberMike]

Good lord... first the irrational fear of fixed blade knives (despite the fact that they're the safest option for some camp tasks), now the irrational fear of folding knives taken to epic new extremes. Enough already.

 

Use real knives or don't bother at all.

[Engineer61]

I took my "passing knives" lesson in the meat packing plant many years ago. The knives there were the sharpest I've ever encountered. We'd steel them 2 or 3 times and hour, just to stay productive. The were so sharp, most of the time you would see the blood long before you would feel the cut.

 

The preferred method was to table the knife with the handle facing the receiver, sharp edge to the table lip.

 

If passed hand-to-hand, it would be handle first, back of blade to the givers hand.