Good Morning Bear Parents!

I have the fortunate opportunity to teach the Bear Claws Adventure and Whittling Chip Award to our Bears this year. This is an amazing time in a Scout's life. I still remember earning my Whittling Chip Award and the years of knife use that followed. We'll tackle this huge accomplishment over the course of two den meetings, Sep 17 & 24. For these meetings to be successful, we need to plan and prepare accordingly and I need your help! Safety will be our top priority and NO SCOUT will be allowed to handle a knife unless I feel confident that scout can respect the tool. Just so that you are aware, there will likely be a cut or two, but I have a well stocked first aid kit and plenty of experience with knife cuts. Please carefully review the below info and meeting plans with your scout.

Homework - In preparation for our first meeting on 9/17, I need for each scout to familiarize themselves with the "Pocketknife Pledge", the "Knives Are Not Toys Guidelines", and the "Knife Safety Rules". I have posted the info below and it can also be found using the link.

Whittling Chip Requirements

Purchasing a Pocketknife - It is very important that each scout have their very own pocket knife. It's also important that this knife be new and relatively unused. I greatly respect the legacy of having "Grandpa's knife" be passed down to your scout, but for the purposes of completing these tasks safely, a brand new or nearly brand new knife is what we want. Save that special knife as a gift to the scout for earning his or her Whittling Chip Award. The knife should have no nicks in the blade. I will inspect every knife before its cleared to be used. I have linked a scout pocketknife buying guide. My preferred knife for this age is a small blade lock back design with no serrations like the Buck Knives Bantam 284 seen here.

How to Buy a Good Pocketknife

Meeting Plan 9/17 - Review Knife Safety, complete simple tasks with knives and start our soap carving

Meeting Plan 9/24 - Review Knife Safety, finish/review soap carving and begin wood carving