SESKStuff Everyone Should Know
SESK: Stuff Everyone Should Know · sesk.info/scout-knife-safety-circle

Before using a knife or axe, how big is the safety circle you clear?

Your arm plus the tool's length, all the way around.

  1. Just the length of the blade
  2. Your outstretched arm plus the tool's length ✔
  3. Exactly 3 feet, no matter the tool

Why: Hold the tool by the closed blade or sheath, stretch out your arm and turn slowly in a circle. Everything inside that circle must be clear before you cut.

Huh, didn't know that: Scout Life lists cutting while others are inside your safety circle as a major knife no-no.

The dad joke
Why did the pocketknife sit alone at lunch? It was making a point about personal space.
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Sources

  1. Scout Shop (Scouting America): Knife Safety in Scouting, Setting a Safety Zone https://www.scoutshop.org/blog/knife-safety-in-scouting-step-by-step-guide-to-setting-a-safety-zone.html

Test yourself in the game

Outdoors & CampingWhen whittling or cutting with a pocketknife, which way should the blade move?Outdoors & CampingWhich is more dangerous to use: a sharp ax or a dull ax?Outdoors & CampingYou're lost on a hiking trail. What do you do?

That's stuff everyone should know.