Site Index

Contact Us

Copyright

American Knife & Tool Institute

There are a lot of community activities that offer an opportunity to educate others about the importance of
knives in our every day lives.  These include kid safety days, respect your law enforcement days, heritage
days, civic programs, men's and women's groups and youth clubs.

General Guidelines:

• Be well prepared
  
• Have handouts
  
• Dress appropriately
  
• Demonstrations are very effective
  
• If possible, have a display where people arrive or leave
  
• Discuss the importance of use of knives in our every day lives
  
• Always stress safety, safety, safety
  
• Be sure to thank the group for their time and the opportunity to share
  

Demonstration Topics:

• Safe handling
  
• Safety in certain activities
  
• Sharpening
  
• Different types of knives
  
• Forging
  
• Grinding/Shaping
  
• or you can use a video or PowerPoint presentation on safety or knife-making
  

Hand-Out Possibilities:

• AKTI's Safety Pamphlet - My First Knife - you can request copies from the Executive Director    
  
• Packets requested from various manufacturers
  
• Information from area knife collectors organizations
  
• AKTI membership information, decals and brochures - request from the Executive Director   
  
• Community education materials
  

Ideas for Specific Groups:

Youth and scout groups

• Definitely give a hand-out on safety
  
• Questions they typically have:  how are knives made? what are they made from? how much do
  knives cost?
  
• Stress the importance of them knowing school rules about carrying knives
  

Women's groups

• Include information on the proper care of kitchen cutlery
  
• Present the basic techniques of proper sharpening
  
• Have information on where to purchase good cutlery
  
• Have information on where sharpening services are available
  
• If possible, show an example of a fancy or custom knife with engraving or mother of pearl.
  

Men's groups

• A good opener is to ask what kind of knife they carry or carried as a kid
  
• Discuss the importance of the knife industry or economic impact of the cutlery industry in the area
  
• Be sure to encourage these groups to support AKTI - ask them to visit AKTI's website.
  

Materials for Presentations
If you have developed any outlines, materials (hand-outs, PowerPoint Presentations, etc), or list of
sources for information that would be helpful to others sharing knife education, we would appreciate
hearing from you and having the opportunity to include your information on our website for others.  Please
contact AKTI's Executive Director.