To be horrified at knife in this survival kit

[MissFaversham]

DS (14) goes to Explorers/Cadets etc. and is just about to do his Duke of Edinburgh Bronze.

He was raving about the Bear Grylls "basic" survival kit, so I sent for one.

Well there's a flipping knife in there that is sooo ruddy dangerous! It's nasty looking too and could do more harm than a stanley knife.

This is being sold to kids and in the wrong hands or even the right hands (just childrens) is immensley worrying.

Sorry, don't know how to link (hopefully a skilled MN linker could help me out?)

Take a peek and see what you think?

Have now thrown this in the bin and bought the recommended DofE ROUND topped penknife.

UABU
We all quite happily had penknives for guides from 10-11. They varied greatly in effectiveness depending on our Fathers sharpening abilities.

I still carry a small mutitool scissors, knife and other gadgets. It's a very useful tool for being Mum.

Surely at 14, your DS would have encountered an array of sharp tools at school, D&T, food tech, art & design?

Strange attitude you have.

"Have now thrown this in the bin and bought the recommended DofE ROUND topped penknife"

If you can't trust your 14 yr old DS with a sharp edged instrument then maybe you should confine his exploring to the bottom of your garden. :o Just what the doctor ordered to counter the miserable weather outside.

Missfav you said on your other post your DC loved the knife so did you bin it ??

No imnot i just slashed a few bin men with it this morning

I agree that my initial reaction was somewhat over the top. It's in a secret location the top cupboard. Have to admit it probably won't see the light of day again due to me really not liking what it looks like (represents to me). The DOE penknife will do for now.

And, yes this does probably have a lot to do with me living in London and not out in the sticks.

and illegal for ANYONE regardless of age to carry one

Not is it's under a certain size/concealed etc.

If much better to gut and head fish when you catch them and feed the off cuts to the seagulls or crabs etc, that way there is no waste.

The phrase 'good reason' is applied under the law, for common sense purposes.

I carry a small folding pocket knife in my handbag, have done for years. It's immeasurably useful and extremely sharp. Blunt knives are entirely pointless. I fail to see the issue here, unless you're assuming your son is likely to be taking part in knife crime?

YABU. It's a survival kit. It needs a knife. You need to decide if your 14 yr old is mature enough to have a knife like this as part of a kit like this or not. Obviously he shouldn't carry it around in non-outdoorsy situations.