Sharp.

Why have you been given the task of teaching people about knife safety if you don't know anything about knife safety? Shouldn't they find a teacher who knows about the subject instead?

Knife safety begins with smart knife control laws. With wise regulation, drive by stabbings would be a thing of the past.

Jamiet raises a decent point, also curious to hear the answer.

I'm not sure you're on the right website for knife safety anyway. Most of us are stabbing each other all the time.

@Jamiet ... I know plenty about knife safety, I have simply never taken a class. I know the material I am asked to teach, I just don't know how to teach it. I can list a hundred things to do and not to do, but to put them into a coherent exercise or lesson is a different story.

@HR ... I'm specifically looking for tips on teaching it, not simply knife safety itself.

(Though, to your point, it is a fair bit ironic that I will be teaching knife safety with a moderately healed substantial gash in my finger from a knife.)

Well you can always stab yourself with your knife in a non lethal spot. The paramedics carting you out should leave the kids with a healthy respect for knives.

In all seriousness, I just googled "Teaching knife safety to kids" and got a ton of seemingly helpful results.

Yeah, so did I, lol...

Bo, I have taught knife safety several times to 11-13 year olds. Stuff I would hit:

Basic safety and etiquette, ie, blood circles, cutting away, sheathing/closing, proper hand off
Sharpening. Whet stones, dry stones, files, etc.
Storage: dry, out of reach
Different types of knives for different purposes
Different things cut and techniques (wood different than vegetables different than flesh)

More complicated stuff you could get into could be skinning, fileting, carving, etc. The most important thing the kids can take away is that a knife is a tool that can hurt you and possibly kill you. Probably one of the best lessons a young kid can learn from knives is seeing what they can do. I have seen people cut by knives many times (no, not after my teaching them safety), and nothing will instill safety better than watching blood pour down your buddy's hand after making mince of his finger. But try to avoid that teaching strategy.

*after HE makes mince of his finger

Also, I would not teach anyone to use a knife unless they had some first aid training, so might want to check on that. And have plenty of band aids ready :)

Sharpening is huge. A dull knife is deadly. A sharp knife is simply sharp. That's a great point to add.

I was thinking about doing the blood circle - is that something people normally teach?

Yeah, their chaperones are all WFRs and I am gonna teach some general wound cleaning for good measure.

Bo, ABSOLUTELY teach blood circles. Anyone using a knife under basically any circumstances should at least be aware of their blood circle.

TIL:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blood_circle

I agree with KC. This is a great way to think about knife safety.

I've heard some stories about people with chainsaws not minding their blood circles. Not pretty.

Ew...

Someone told me to stop running with the knife blade pointing out. I said that I put it away from me so that I don't stab myself. Who's right?

Just don't run period with an unsheathed knife.

Don't even walk, just sheath it.

KC and Bo are right, unless you're in a knife fight. In which case, pointy end towards the enemy, go.

That said, if I actually need to move whilst holding an unsheathed knife (whilst not in a knife fight), I'll flip it around so that the handle is towards my thumb and the point is away. If it's got a blunt side, then I put the blunt side towards me, provided I can do that whilst maintaining a grip that isn't slack (and yes, "isn't slack" rather than "tight").

Update - 9 out of 13 passed, though one took a blade to his finger in order to get there. Fun times in the shire.

(And the 4 that failed didn't show up at all.)

If you're holding a knife, you hold it downwards slack at your side and the blade aimed backwards whilst you walk. As a result, I am yet to stab someone at work.

Burn someone on the other hand... ah, fun times.

If you want to have a knife day, fork off.

(preferably in a Manc or Scouse accent)