Tell HN: Thanks to YouTube, my 12 year old asked for a knife for his birthday

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.