Cutting Tools

[Anti-Hero]

Shears or Knife: Which one do you carry and why?

I used to be a big fan of a good knife, one side blade edge the other side a serrated edge. I now carry a nice durable pair of paramedic shears on the waist of my harness. I have come to the conclusion that shears are far superior cutting tool underwater.

My reason being you can't cut a metal fishing leader with a knife. In the case of a fishing hook spearing your arm/leg/suit a knife would require positive pressure against the line to cut it, potentially causing more damage to the area hooked. A knife has a greater chance of causing collateral damage when trying to cut things in tight spaces.

So what are your thoughts?

 

[don Francisco]

There's no simple answer. My overall favorite is a line cutter, which looks like a seatbelt cutter.

You have to choose the tool according to the situation. Shears are better for cutting lines and such, but you might have trouble manipulating them with gloves. A knife might work better for slashing you way out of a kelp entanglement, if you don't drop it, and it'll be easier to manage with gloves. Some knives have a line cutter built into the back side of the blade.

In reality, on all the dives where I carried a knife, the only thing I ever used it for, was slicing salami, (no, not underwater, so don't ask) which you can't do with shears.

 

[Anti-Hero]

I agree with most of that. I've never had to deploy my knife in an emergency situation. But line cutters won't cut through wire fishing leaders commonly found in the ocean. I've tried using the shears with my 5mm gloves on and while not perfect, it does appear manageable as long as I don't drop them.

I think another reason for wanting shears is in the extreme situation where I may need to cut my harness. A knife would take a long time and occupy two hands.

 

[ctref4]

I carry both and sometimes three. Knife on leg for deep dives and shears. I always carry a smaller knife mounted to my waist just for safety. Oh and the reason is what if you drop one of them in merky, deep, cold depths at night and your stuck cutting your way out or off of something......I guess for the weight ill carry several.

C

 

[HatchetJoe]

Personally I like the Spiderco rescue type knife, it's a foder and has the serrated edge, it cuts seatbelts and probably harnesses very easily. I keep it on a wrist lanyard that is clipped to a clip inside my BC pocket.

 

[FF-EMT Diver]

I carry shears and knife, Totally agree with you about cutting with knife, shears are superior for most applications.

 

[String]

Both. Shears are great for non taut line and so on but a knife is far better for sawing through thick stuff.

 

[Peter_C]

Both, knife on center of waist strap, and shears in right pocket on a double ender.

 

[SlowRain]

I have a small knife/EMT shears combo on my harness (I think Zeagle is who made it). I don't remember the last time I used the knife. If I had to choose, EMT shears as they can get through wire leader and cut harnesses with more ease than a knife.

I also carry a line cutter on my computer strap on my wrist. It is probably the best tool for self-rescue in terms of being able to "hook" entanglements to your valves/manifolds and being able to potentially pull them far enough to the front to see what you are cutting rather than just reaching back there and possibly cutting something you didn't want severed...like LP hoses using a knife or a pair of shears.

 

[SpartanDiver]

Does anyone have any experience using the combo knife/shears such as the "FogCutter" sold at Leisurepro?

Xs Scuba FogCutter X Recon Knife from LeisurePro.com