Youngsters (8) First Knife (rabbits/pigeons)

I can't believe the coincidence after reading your last posts Tim as me and Mrs Stratts had the same conversation last night!!

One of mine threw an almighty tantrum about going to bed because we wouldn't let him do his own ironing to get his home help badge at cubs at nearly 9pm!! He then turned it around and said he felt like a slave coz of the things he had to do just to get a badge!! Bearing in mind last night was his 1st time there if it carries on he won't be going again, lol! I think if he had a knife last night he would have stabbed me with it!! :D
 
I think you need to pick your fights Stratts. If he wants to learn to do his own ironing and the cost is a one-off late night, that sounds like a good trade-off to me! I know what he means about the Scouts though. As a child I was asked if I wanted to join and I declined. After all I spent all day at school being told what to do by grown-ups. Why on earth would I want to do more of that in my spare time?
 
Stratts

Got home last night and dug the Rough Rider Barlow out from its box (Rough Rider Barlow White Bone | Heinnie Haynes). If you do change your mind you'd easily get three initials, plus a date, on the plain side of the bolster.

I have to say that it's an absolute corker of a knife! It's a "proper" pocket knife, if you know what I mean, and unbelievable value for £9.95. I've got pocket knives that cost five times as much that are nowhere near five times the value.

I like Opinels, their quintessential French-ness, and the feeling that you can drop them and not worry too much if you don't find them, but for a "keeper" I'd go for the Barlow.
 
I can't believe the coincidence after reading your last posts Tim as me and Mrs Stratts had the same conversation last night!!

One of mine threw an almighty tantrum about going to bed because we wouldn't let him do his own ironing to get his home help badge at cubs at nearly 9pm!! He then turned it around and said he felt like a slave coz of the things he had to do just to get a badge!! Bearing in mind last night was his 1st time there if it carries on he won't be going again, lol! I think if he had a knife last night he would have stabbed me with it!! :D

Whilst I understand where you're coming from with wanting to give children responsibilities & behave accordingly it will be some considerable time before my twins are given a knife as they are very competitive & argue & scrap at the slightest provocation. Well, that & the fact I once found one chasing the other round the garden with a meat cleaver........
 
I can't believe the coincidence after reading your last posts Tim as me and Mrs Stratts had the same conversation last night!!

One of mine threw an almighty tantrum about going to bed because we wouldn't let him do his own ironing to get his home help badge at cubs at nearly 9pm!! He then turned it around and said he felt like a slave coz of the things he had to do just to get a badge!! Bearing in mind last night was his 1st time there if it carries on he won't be going again, lol! I think if he had a knife last night he would have stabbed me with it!! :D

Ahh man, kids eh Stratts :doh: For what it's worth, thanks for sharing. It is at least encouraging to know I'm not alone! My lads mother spoke to him later in the evening after my reading the riot act to him and informing him he'd lost his prospective knife and gun for the foreseeable future. He apparently showed genuine remorse. Only time will tell whether it was/is genuine.

I'm not counting on it, but it would be nice to think he has/will learn his lesson and could consequently at least earn the privilege having his knife at the end of March (gun definitely off the table for now though). We shall see eh.

All we can do is seek to guide them effectively, after which they are responsible for their own actions and can suffer the reward or consequences as appropriate.
 
Whilst I understand where you're coming from with wanting to give children responsibilities & behave accordingly it will be some considerable time before my twins are given a knife as they are very competitive & argue & scrap at the slightest provocation. Well, that & the fact I once found one chasing the other round the garden with a meat cleaver........

We've all been there....... Haven't we? :eek:
 
Tim,
As former boy myself, father of one, and Scout leader to many, I have to agree with Stratts, that it is better to take things off the table for just a short time, and give them lots of chances to earn their rights back. Anything over a few months is a meaningless eternity to a child, and they will rationalize it by thinking it is you who are not keeping your word.

My father got a hatchet when he was eight, and cut his leg to the bone that day. But he recovered, learned, and by God, gave me a hatchet when I was eight. He was just a bit more careful about only letting me use it when he was there to supervise. Next year, I got a Forester's axe and a .22 rifle of my own. I made some mistakes along the way, but he was keen about how bad I felt and gave me the chance to do things the right way, while the lesson was still warm.

Don't push the Scouts on him. His friends will join, and if it is for him, he will. Some join late, some drop out, and a few make Eagle, but most all enjoy it and cherish the memories. As Churchill said, "Men are easy to lead, but hard to drive."
 
I happened to notice on reading the law about carrying knives that going to the scouts was considered a valid reason.
 
Thanks, I hear you Southern, I personally went the Army Cadet Route (13-18) before the Military, but know what you mean. He started at Beavers (Beavers leads to Cubs which leads to Scouts in UK) and enjoyed himself over the 10-months or so he attended. He was unfortunately not able to continue, as we had to curtail the number of interests we were supporting the children with when I became ill and he chose football (soccer) instead. However, shooting/hunting has been a consistent shared interest throughout.

I'm happy for him to earn his knife back by his Birthday (and hope he does), but firearms controls are very different over here as I'm sure you know. Eligibility is not just down to good reason, it also requires good character and conduct. The lad unfortunately has learning difficulties and so, struggling to access the learning at school, sadly tends to be easily led by the more unruly members of the class/football team etc, ending up in trouble for bad behaviour. If that pattern continues and he doesn't learn to control himself and avoid trouble regardless, he'll never even gain his FAC when the time comes, let alone hang onto it. I will need to see consistent good behaviour, decision making and self control over a good number of months before supporting buying a shotgun he can use (initially on my ticket and if he takes to it, then will look to apply for his own ticket - should surely help with his FAC application once he's 14, the longer he's already held a shotgun certificate).
 
I remember my first knife
rps20160109_234236.jpg
running around the local woods playing commandos, i sadly had to sell that knife (pic is not of my one) and a lovely officers sword when times was hard ... i regret it most deeply..... i also had a german ww2 commando knife that was stolen from me.... b#####ds
I would be interested in a second pattern fairbairn sykes if any one has one ??
 
Last edited:
I remember my first knife
View attachment 65251
running around the local woods playing commandos, i sadly had to sell that knife (pic is not of my one) and a lovely officers sword when times was hard ... i regret it most deeply..... i also had a german ww2 commando knife that was stolen from me.... b#####ds
I would be interested in a second pattern fairbairn sykes if any one has one ??

Bloody hell! Makes my first Opinel #9 look a bit feeble...

I bought it without my mum and dad knowing while on a camping holiday in France. Had to come clean when I got home and lost concentration while doing some random whittling and cut off half my thumb nail.
 
Before the FSB, there was the William Rogers dagger for the RAF, which I like.

A few thousand Cattaraugus 225Q knives were supplied by the US to UK troops in Burma. This is a strong camp knife, the predecessor of the USMC K-Bar.

In the UK, you will have more luck finding an M3 Commando Knife, issued to all the D-Day Airborne and the troops who did not have a rifle with bayonet. It was later issued to many more soldiers in Europe, about 2,000,000. The blade design became the bayonet for the M-16.

Back to the original thread, do the Boy Scouts in the UK still have official sheath knives, pocketknives and pack axes?
 
Back
Top