Knives: How to Wear?

[SeaCoaster]

Let me admit my ignorance. I am not sure how to wear a dive knife. I am a recreational diver, doing a trip each year to the Carribean. For several years I rented all my equip., and never had a knife. Now that I am buying my own equip., I have a knife but am not sure of the best way to wear it. So my questions are: do you wear a knife? If so, where do you wear it? What do you use to strap it on? I'm sure there are a few approaches, so I'm hoping for a range of ideas. Any hints appreciated.

[Ladydiver]

Hi SeaCoaster,

I do wear a knife when diving. I have a small to medium sized knife that I wear around the lower part of my right leg (right-handed). It is attached with 2 bands of industrial strength velco at the top and bottom of the sheath, so it's adjustable.

I have heard of people wearing them on their arm or on their BC also. I guess it just depends on what you are most comfortable with.

Cheers,

[Dee]

I have a small knice that I wear on the cumberbun of my BC, left side. I also have a set of shears and a small 1" knife blade, in a cordura case that attaches to my right shoulder strap.

I've never liked a knife on my leg. Seems no matter where I put it, it provided a good spot for entanglement. Especially if you dive in lakes where you come across fishing line, like I do.

[SeaCoaster]

Thnks for the info. I had thought of mounting a small knife on my BC, but couldn't find a place that was accessable.

[OKI_GI]

Don't waste time w/ a knife--leave it on shore and go with a pair of medical shears. Keep them in the pocket of your BC on a dummy cord.

[Nathan]

I have a mid sized knife that I attached to the left shoulder strap on the BC (Dive Rite Transpac II) in an upside down position. I never liked the concept of putting it on my leg. Just a personal preference though.

[Swamp Rat]

I have a folding Knife that has a belt/boot clip on it. I attach it on a D ring on my left side. I can reach is with both hands. And I plan on getting another knife to put at the waste level on the right side.

[Pixurman]

I carry a small blunt tip knife mounted to my cummerbun. I would like to add a pair of medical shears.
My Reasoning:
1. Must be able to reach knife/cutter with either hand.
2. Hard, but not impossible, to cut metal fishing leader with a knife. Shears can do anything including wire.
3. Blunt tip knife is less likely to poke a hole in my $500 BC. What do I need to stab anyway? And it makes a good screwdriver.
4. I can drop one and still live to buy another.

Also, anything that I can drop I have in a bright color that will be easier to find with or without a mask. Dropable items include knife, flashlight, wreck reel, Mask, snorkel (which is usually not worn).

Regards,

[Madder_Than_Hell]

I personally prefer to wear my knife on the inside of my lower leg. I find it very easy to reach for and I have never had it hung up on anything being on the inside. I also like to wear it on my left upper arm. It just depends on the mood. I also carry a small knife on the left shoulder strap of my BC. I've seen all different ways, you'll find what's most comfortable for you. I highly recomend any cutting device.

[darkwing]

SeaCoaster:

I did most of my diving on the west coast. I wear my knife on the inside of my right calf. It is a big knife but it is a combo, knife/ pry bar. Good luck, GOOD DIVING

[scubasam35]

hello Seacoaster, i wear 3 cutting tools when i enter the water. i wear a typical dive knife on the inside of my left calf because i am left handed.i also have a small knife attached to my LP hose just below my shoulder line and finally i have a pair of EMT shears that i have attached to a D-ring on my bc. the emt shears are more useful than a knife most of the time. in the great lakes where i do 90% of my diving the shears are used to cut down-rigger cable. it is normally 150lb. strength steel cable and a knive is about useless. there is what i use anyone else have something different or more useful? sam

[divekiwi]

Hi,

my 2 pennith. I lost a couple of standard knives diving in relatively rough conditions. I know dive with a small Remora BC knife on the right shoulder of my BC.

Doubt I'll loose this one, its small and fits well in its sheath.

I too disagree with the knife on the leg, are your sure you'll be able to reach it when you want it?

Probably depends on what size knife you want to carry vs where you can attach it.

________
divekiwi

[Heads Up]

Personally, I dive with my mum's 6" carving knife clenched between my teeth

[Iguana Don]

Personally I carry an assortment of cutting tools when diving, these include:

A small oxy-acetylene rig with cutting torch attached to my main tank like a double set of pony bottles.
A small set of bolt cutters.
A hacksaw
A set of tin snips, left right and straight cutters.
A scapel
A bowie knife
An 84 tool Swiss Army Knife
Nail clippers, both fingernail and toenail.
Bread slicer
Utility knife
A cross-cut and a rip hand saw
A tree limb saw
Set of Sea Snips
3 dive knives, one on left leg, one on Shoulder of BC strap and a third on the LP inflator hose.
A butter knife and steak knive.
An emergency sealt belt cutter.
The new "Velcro Intanglement Tool" for unruly Velcro.
Barber scissors
Fabric scissors
Headge clippers
and a Buck Knife.

You just never know.

ID

[haggis]

LOL ID, no need for weights for you then!

[Tavi]

Don,
Your carrying more than you need.
Left cut tin snips will also work for straight cuts.
You should be able to find clippers that will work equally well for fingernails and toenails.

Tavi

[SeaCoaster]

messy emotional entanglements? I am sure ID carries something appropriate.

SeaCoaster

[Aardal]

SeaCoaster....


I wear mine on the inside lower left leg. I'm right handed so it makes it easy to swing your leg up to grab your knife. Some people buy BC knives and attach it to either their torso strap or to the console hose. One thing with BC knives is that if your not use to your gear and the placement of the sheath then you take a chance of accidently poking a hole in your hose or your BC. Hope this helps.

Dive Safe...

Aardal
:Peace:

[Fishkiller]

I can 't believe you forgot a fillet knife. Just yesterday I was in a school of yellow bass and it would've come in handy. :)

[WetDane]

Seacoaster,
now that I'm LOL anymore...
I carry a medium size knife on the inside of my right leg, I looked at the BC knifes, like th eremora that are very popular, but frankly, I think it is hard to get it out of the sheath! I also have a pair of shears mounted on my shoulder (bicycle inner tubes are perfect for this) and a line cutter tool, the one where the blade are buried, according to my tests, I can get to the tools on my torso even if I should get entagled, it is correct however that I may have problems reaching my leg knife - hence the redundancy - and yes, those shears cut about anything.

Terkel

[jobowker]

I'm left handed, and keep a good sized dive knife inside my right leg. On the inside, it doesn't catch on anything and I can reach it with either hand. My criteria for picking a knife was to attach it to my leg, adn see if I could easily sheth and unsheath it. I got one with a fairly meaty blade so I can pry with it, and a serrated edge on top for sawing. I also keep a pair of emt shears mounted on my BC - I think the brand was SeaSnips. Those puppies will actually cut through a penny, and are great for monofilament. This way I have 2 implements in case something drops, located on different parts of my body in case I am ever entangled, there is nothing sharp near my BC, and having both proves to be far more versatile for me. I have cut rope wrapped around a prop, and the shears just didn't do it. When it comes to monofilament (which I found kinda scary the first time I got hung up) the shears can't be beat.

[joewr]

ID, a machete will replace most of that stuff and really make people respect you...

Since I am not Richard Widmark (You mean all you guys did not see his movie about frogmen? In black and white!) so I am not comfortable strapping a knife to my leg. I went through a lot of options, though. The highlights...

Started with a BC knife because we do not generally dive in lots of kelp, etc. and did not think I needed a Crocodile Dundee Special.

The first place I put it was hanging upside-down on my a D-ring on my BC--armpit level. That was okay, but I wanted to use the non-business end as a tank banger. So I used "Technical Black" wire ties to put it on my consol HP tubing; it was convinient, visible and I could reach my tank for banging. However, I damn near lost the thing when our BC's were being set up for our second dive of the day. Somehow, someone managed to push the keeper in, releasing the knife.

So, now it resides in a pocket on the end of a retractable line. That keeps it safe, out of the way and usable.

One interesting comment...my first small knife was a McNett BC knife, supposedly made from 301 SS. First trip out it rusted badly--even though I rinsed it when we got ashore after each dive(s). I took it back to the dive shop and they told me all knives corrode and that no refund was in order. I do not go back to that shop and they have "lost" thousands of dollars of business, mine and my friends--over a $25 knife. I do not think that 301 SS should corrode that way and people I know who have a similar size and shape knife called "Remora" do not have the problem.

By the way, I took the sorry McNett home, buffed out the rust with the appropriate wheel and compound, and coated the blade with a clear plastic "paint". It held up a little better, but would come back corroded from most trips--I know, I know, paint is porous and H2O and NaCl are "small" molecules. So, back to the buffing wheel. I then coated the newly shiny--with little pits here and there--knife with silicone oil. That worked, but I had to recoat it regularly and that was a pain. Bottom line: to use the words of my sons, McNett sucks (blush, blush).


Joewr

[GetWet]

SEA Coaster:
Been wearing mine inside my lower leg (either leg) for thirteen years now. No problems from it. Easy to locate and return to sheath.
--------------
GetWet

[DameDykker]

A lot of good sugestions here. I'll need to get one of those shears!

However, I think you forgot to mention one thing. I carry a rather big knife on my inner left leg (right handed). The reason it is big is that I also use it during winter when I'm wearing thick 3-finger gloves. And it is difficult to handle small things with gloves - and even more so if your fingers are alredy getting a bit numb.:cold:

DSAO

[WetDane]

I have so far had good luck with lubing the blade up with silicon grease - I have a Blue Tang - I think it is 410SS, not sure though - so far, in between the brease and the immidiate rinse in freshwater when I get out have kept it in good shape.
I mean rinse it is the first thing I do, before I take do anything else and don't forget to get the handle off as well - there could be a nasty surprise waiting in there...

Hej Damedykker,
Har din klub et web sted? Jeg er lidt intereseret i at tage udrustningen med til Danmark når jeg tager over på besøg, det ville nu være ret fedt og dykke i Danske farvand...
Kan man leje tanke og den slags?

Terkel

[joewr]

WetDane,

Ich kann Deutsch verstehen. Boku mo Nihongo ga dekimasu. Puedo hablar Espanol tambien. But the only word in Danish that I know is Ordbog, which I think means dictionary--and I do not have one. Therefore, translate, please.

Yeah, the silicon does work, but titanium works better!

Joewr

[DameDykker]

Ja, min klub har en hjemmeside: http://www.ammoniterne.subnet.dk. Vi bor i Fiolstræde, Kbh. Du kan ikke leje flasker ;-( ; men du kan låne dig frem :). Vores aktivitetsliste ligger der også; men ellers send mig en mail direkte, og vi ta'r et dyk. Hvis du har en e-mail adresse kan vi diskutere direkte, så joewr ikke får overanstrængt sine dansk kunskaber. Hilsen Pia.

Sorry about that joewr. I'll happily translate for you if you want to know about my club in Copenhagen. Stay wet!

DSAO

[joewr]

Hej Damedyker,

I can get some of it:

WetDane asked, "Does the club have a website?"

You answered, "Yes, the club has a website:http//www.ammoneterme.subnet.dk"

You told him he could always mail you directly.
And you asked him if he had an e-mail address so you could discuss directly without bothering Joewr.

Now, this is all rough, I know, but my German can only get me so far! And I have only been to Denmark three times. No no need to translate--and I will not ask for a tranlation again--enjoy the Board!

Joewr

[DameDykker]

Sie haben mich wieder einmal beweisen das deucht und dänisch einander sehr ähnlich sind. Wie haben Sie so gut deucht gelernt in Kalifornien? (Oder darf ich, bitte, du sagen?):jester:

Tüsch Pia

[joewr]

Gruss Gott, Dame Dykker!

Ich war chemiker und mein Grosvater ist aus Deutschland gekommen. Dammit Kann ich Deutsch verstehen. Aber heute tage kann Ich nicht so sehr gut schreiben und sprechen.

Es ist spat hier--Ich muss zu Bett.....

Gute Nacht

Joewr

[joewr]

Dame Dykker,

Ja, naturlich konnen wir "du" brauchen! Ich denke dass du bist mien Freund!

Joewr

[WetDane]

He he...
Naturally I understand all that - but I wonder about the rest of the board - somehow I suspect they just got lost...

Pia,
I'll take a look at the site and ping you off line.
Terkel