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Using a knife is exceedingly simple, but for young children it certainly requires guidance. Strangely, on balance, I’d say the sharper the knife, the safer it is for the kinds of jobs for which we require a knife in the outdoors. But this comes at a cost – if the blade comes in contact with skin, then the cut will most likely be more significant. Care must be taken at all times. But if you follow the guidelines below, your child should be safe.

What you need

 A sharp penknife

What to do

1 Hold your knife firmly in your writing hand, creating a strong, comfortable position.

2 Always push the blade in a direction away from your body. Your child will always be tempted to push it in other directions – towards their torso, hands or legs – but be very strict with them to start with. This is the single-most important rule regarding knife use and it must be drummed in from the outset.

3 Give them a simple task to start with, such as carving the top of a walking stick (see ‘Make a walking stick’, see here).

4 Encourage them to finish off their small project by sanding the wood they’ve whittled. Seeing the transformation of a piece of rough driftwood or scrap wood into a smooth, beautiful piece, where the grain of the wood shows up strong and clear, is a fascinating phenomenon and will show them a wonder of the natural world.

Challenge

We can’t all be on the go all the time. Woodcarving or whittling is a wonderful, relaxing activity you can do outdoors together with your child. If you both have a penknife you can head outside, find a quiet spot with a good view and sit carving a piece of wood together. Ideas for projects include carving a small boat, tiny animals, a walking stick, a wooden spoon or a face in a log. The ideas are endless and the activity is restful, peaceful, creative and fun.

My grandfather would always carry a knife around with him. It was a part of him, just as much as his trousers or any other item of his clothing. His knives weren’t anything special – just silver folding gardeners’ penknives – but he’d always have one attached to his belt by a lanyard. I’d watch him swiftly pull it from his pocket while out in the garden to cut a bit of orange binder twine, trim a tree branch, whittle a spike on a stick to push into the ground to support a tree, butter his bread or cut a piece of cheese.

I grew up wanting to have something that was so useful always on me, just like he did. Unfortunately he wasn’t so good at remembering he was carrying a knife in airports, with the result that he had his knives taken off him a couple of times when flying somewhere on holiday. Of course, he argued it was his favourite knife, he’d had it for years and would they please post it back to him? Alas, that particular trusty penknife was never seen again, but as soon as he returned from holiday he’d buy a replacement. I longed for one of those silver knives, with a locking mechanism and a piece of string with which I could tie it on to my trousers. I couldn’t ever work out where he was buying these knives. None of the shops I ever went into sold them.

My dad owned a garden centre and for a long time I thought that he didn’t stock these most essential gardeners’ knives. Then one day, one very memorable day, browsing the shelves in his shop I spotted the Holy Grail. There, on a shelf, encased within a shiny plastic packet, was my grandfather’s penknife. I was 10 years old and desperate for the heavenly tool I saw before me. Thinking quickly, I debated whether this would be my first robbery. It was my dad’s shop, I spent most of my weekends there and it was like my home. Surely, I reasoned, it wasn’t too bad taking something you really wanted from your own home. I’d taken the odd Calippo ice lolly from the freezer when no one was looking, but somehow this felt different, much more serious. I put the packet back on the shelf and walked sadly away. Of course I wouldn’t steal a penknife.

It was a long couple of months after discovering that dad stocked that knife that I was given one of my very own. I must have pestered him relentlessly, every day going to that part of the shop and looking dreamily at the packet. Dad eventually relented and gave me my first knife lesson with my own penknife. His lesson was simple: always cut away from you. That was it. That was all I needed to know. Naturally, I’ve had to learn the hard way, but when you make your first mistake with your knife you learn pretty quickly.

Having my own penknife, tied to my belt on a lanyard gave me a feeling of responsibility, one I valued very much, and I felt that it was a big step in my parents trusting me with something important. I couldn’t wait to show it to my grandfather. As soon as the summer holidays came we drove down to Devon to his farm and we were soon comparing knives. His was well used – for real reasons, unlike mine, which had been used to cut a bit of paper just to check it was still sharp as hell, or to pierce the tiniest of holes in my T-shirt, again, just to check. We quickly got to work whittling sticks, cutting rope, buttering our bread. I still have that knife today.

As a 10-year-old boy it’s not exactly practical to carry a penknife attached to the belt of your trousers. Teachers at school don’t look altogether favourably on that. Children shouldn’t carry knives unless they are properly and sensibly supervised at all times by an adult. For Jasper’s eighth birthday I bought him his first penknife and he was thrilled. It’s a special kids’ one with a rounded end to avoid any unwanted accidents, but the blade itself is just as sharp as any adult knife. We’re starting to use it together for tasks we do outside, like carving a spoon to use to eat outdoors, cut some chopsticks, make a whistle, gather tinder for a fire and create sparks to light it, and so many other things. It’s really important to show a young child, within reason, the values and dangers of a knife. I learnt its value as a tool from observing my grandfather over the years. Using a knife is fun, but it’s definitely not a toy. A knife really must be respected.