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Cut off steak knife works for me. I don't feel at all guilty if I lose one, two, or three. Plus the fancy ti knife I have doesn't cut rope nearly as well as a steak knife. I have shears for pretty much everything else. If you need to cut a stainless leader you better be carrying a pair of shears.
So what is your expert opinion of a good knife then? Stainless, but what model or brand? Everyone has their favorite, I happen to like the cheapest.I don't think that will work well at all to serve the intended purpose. If you want a knife for prying things, I would defintitely choose a SS dive knife over a Ti, which will more easily snap. A cut off (snapped off) steak knife is NOT a good pry bar.
Why would your wife care if you went to Walmart and bought six knives for under ten bucks, then cut them off with a die grinder? No one said it had to be from your wife's collection.A steak knife? No way, my wife would kill me if she found out I broke. One of her knives to take diving.