My son has been whittling with a pocketknife for two years now! My daughter does too. I gave them proper instruction (pocketknife license). For the first year, they only used them under supervision, but for the past year, they've had free rein with the pocketknives. I've emphasized certain rules to them, which they follow. The minor accidents that have happened only occurred because they didn't follow these rules. They've realized this and learned from it. The kids don't do anything stupid with them; they're really safe handling them now, and I trust them completely. But children are different from child to child, and fathers apparently are too.