# A chef's knife for my 6yo daughter



## dorianwidling (Aug 19, 2020)

> Hello everyone!





> First real post over here, but just thought I'd share a post I did over at bladeforums a few weeks ago. My daughter has been working very hard the past few months learning proper cutting techniques and learning to safely handle kitchen knives. She's six, and has been asking me to make her a knife, which I only agreed to do when I felt she was able to cut properly without taking off fingers.
> 
> She's getting close, and so I have to uphold my end of the bargain. Although she asked for rainbows and all sorts of silly things, this is the knife that I've put together for her. Thought you all might be interested!
> 
> ...



Thanks for looking!


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## Tim Rowland (Aug 19, 2020)

What a great gift for your daughter.
Nicely done!


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## dorianwidling (Aug 19, 2020)

Tim Rowland said:


> What a great gift for your daughter.
> Nicely done!


Thank you!


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## VicVox72 (Aug 19, 2020)

This is the prettiest knife I have ever seen -- probably not the look I'd necessarily prefer to use myself, but certainly some of the most artistic and cutest knife work I have seen.

I assume the mermaid is a stencil acid etching? EDIT: sorry, only now realized the first picture wasnt a picture but a video. Gorgeous process.

Can we get a shot with a 6year old's hand in the picture and an adult hand to get a sense of size/dimensions?

My 20month old daughter would certainly love that knife too -- I had to lock all of mine away when she climbed from stool onto chair (that she had moved to be able to climb like that) onto counter and across the counters to my knife block and was shouting 'papapapa' with my freshly shaving sharp kintaro bunka in her hands...... But we are practicing cutting with a wrinkly cutting knife at the moment, and she loves doing that. Perhaps by age six, she can have a pretty knife, too.


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## gregfisk (Aug 19, 2020)

The greatest part of this is she will have that knife for the rest of her life, long after you’re gone. I just got into knife making last year and also made a knife for my daughter. She’s 29 but they will each have something very special from their dad. Really nice job on the knife and the video.


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## vl2k1 (Aug 19, 2020)

That's a wonderful gift. She will treasure it.


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## dorianwidling (Aug 19, 2020)

VicVox72 said:


> This is the prettiest knife I have ever seen -- probably not the look I'd necessarily prefer to use myself, but certainly some of the most artistic and cutest knife work I have seen.
> 
> I assume the mermaid is a stencil acid etching? EDIT: sorry, only now realized the first picture wasnt a picture but a video. Gorgeous process.
> 
> ...



Wow, thank you very much for the compliment, I'm glad you like the knife, and I'm hoping she will too; I haven't given it to her yet! She still needs a little bit more practice before I hand it over 

I think it's great to give young kids some responsibility in the kitchen, and handling a kitchen knife is maybe the biggest responsibility you can give them. They seem to know it too...my daughter is very careful and attentive, more so than at any other time. 

The blade itself is roughly 7" long, and the handle is another 4.5 from end to end. So it is on the smaller side. The steel was 1/16th" thick when I started grinding, but is a little less than that at the spine. Made for a very thin knife, and a difficult build. But it keeps the weight down for her and makes it manageable for those tiny hands. She'll outgrow it one day, but can hopefully pass it down to her kids. 



gregfisk said:


> The greatest part of this is she will have that knife for the rest of her life, long after you’re gone. I just got into knife making last year and also made a knife for my daughter. She’s 29 but they will each have something very special from their dad. Really nice job on the knife and the video.



I don't think there's anything better you can give your kids than something you've made yourself. You tend to pour a lot of yourself into these projects...hope your daughter likes her knife!


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## VicVox72 (Aug 19, 2020)

Oh wow, that's a pretty large knife. I can imagine she will be very careful and attentive with it. I am pretty sure 80% of home cooks use a utility knife smaller than that for most of their work. A dull one, too. 

I think our society tends to unnecessarily infantilize children -- the more responsibility you give them, the more seriously they will take that responsibility. I am looking forward to being able to cut and cook with my daughter.


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