YouTube is full of videos of people doing tricks with Balisong butterfly knives, presenting them as cool and fun.<p>In fact Balisong knives are deadly weapons and illegal in many places if the world.<p>Search YouTube for butterfly knife tricks or Balisong and you’ll see videos with millions of views.<p>So when I asked my 12 year old what he wants for his birthday he said “a Balisong”.
I got a paratroopers' "Gravity Knife" when 5 years old. It was considered safe, because not much fussing to get the blade out. I think you can get 2 years in New York for having it.<p>But it did not start well, because I trimmed down some valuable tree saplings. My father started crying, not because of trees, but because he realized his only son is an imbecile.
Butterfly knives _are_ cool, and a lot of fun! Of course a 12–year–old is going to ask for one; all of them do. We all wanted butterfly knives decades before Youtube existed so clearly this is not something to can blame Youtube for. I have a sneaking suspicion that our parents wanted butterfly knives when they were our age, even though they acted like it was a terrible idea when we asked for them.<p>But certainly a person’s first knife should be rather more utilitarian than that. It should be a size suited to their hand, it should be a single–edged knife intended as a practical tool, and you should be able to teach them how to use it effectively and safely to accomplish useful tasks. A simple pocket knife is probably the best choice.
Has he said anything about why he wants that particular kind of knife?<p>If he wants it as a weapon, that's not inherently a bad thing. Consider enrolling him in martial arts courses (e.g. Judo or Jiu-Jitsu) to safely learn self defense skills. If what he really wants to do is learn how to do knife tricks, there's nothing wrong with that either. That sounds like a cool hobby compared to playing Minecraft or watching TV. I certainly would not be concerned it.<p>Generally, I think a "boy scout" type knife would be a good gift for a 12 year old. It is typical for a kid to want the most "badass" looking knife possible, but what you should really get him is a Leatherman or something.
There are balisongs that are a comb instead of a blade, or trainers.<p>That said, I too wanted one in my teens, the problem was that I didn't ask for it, I just bought it, and alot of them.
People will upload the <i>cool</i> tricks they have learned with their knives on Youtube and TikTok but I doubt many of them would be brave enough to upload their mistakes.