BIG KNIFE or little knife ??

[Scuba Chip]

I don't carry a dive knife. I always bring along a pair of cutting shears however. My concern is entanglement in lines and such.
The type of diving you do, and where you do it will determine what is appropriate for you.

When originally certified, I wore a leg knife - on the outside of the leg - because that is the way we were taught. Today, that knife seems worthy of Indiana Jones on one of his adventures. It didn't take me long to shift that knife from the outside of the leg, to the inside of the leg. If You choose to wear a leg knife, wear it on the INSIDE of the leg. Why? Imagine ditching a weight belt while wearing an outside leg knife. There is a decent chance that the weight belt buckle can get caught on the knife (I have witnessed this). In this scenario, you retain the weight, but in a location with considerably less access.

 

[Penguin]

Speaking of small knifes:
Does anybody have experience with inflator host mounted knifes? Is it handy?

 

[StinkyDiver]

I personally, have a 4" sharp knife.
I admit that I have not dived with it yet... just got it yesterday.
But I can already see that I probably won't ever be needing it here in Hawaii. There's nothing to cut!
So, I believe that it all depends on your conditions, what sized knife you get. =-)
Erin:doctor:

 

[Kayla]

Tim Ingersoll once bubbled...
Most divers I have seen use EMS shears or a small knife attached to a BC.

I can second that... I love EMS shears.. they cut through just about anything... and on a BC they are very easily accesable. (sp?)


Kayla

 

[sheck33]

Penguin once bubbled...
Speaking of small knifes:
Does anybody have experience with inflator host mounted knifes? Is it handy?

No, it is not handy, at least, i dont think they are.
I prefer to wear a small knife on my waistbelt of my harness.
Shears are great too but i am not always that faithful about rinsing so they rust
I have to get better at that.....

 

[gem1]

One of my neighbors loved huge knives for deer hunting. he kept one in a scabbard on his belt at all times. One day while hunting, he jumped out of a tree, jabbed the thing into his femoral artery and bled to death before he could get help. If you believe you have to be prepared for anything and everything at all times carry the big one, but 99.9% of diving will not require you to use it. Most divers prefer smaller knives and a set of snips of some sort. Nevertheless, to each his own. If the babes dig it, try a couple of hand grenades tied to your BC to go along with it. LOL

 

[Penguin]

sheck33 once bubbled...


No, it is not handy, at least, i dont think they are.
I prefer to wear a small knife on my waistbelt of my harness.
Shears are great too but i am not always that faithful about rinsing so they rust
I have to get better at that.....

Thnx sheck33 for the info
Penguin

 

[PhotoTJ]

I have a big bc mounted knife, and a small, hose mounted one. I use the Wenoka Blackie Collins squeeze knives.

By the way, I used to have a HUGE knife, back in the 80's, a US Divers Sea Eagle. Damn thing was almost a sword! (Oh, well, the fish were bigger back then!

 

[annie]

One thing to consider is if you're going to be diving in cold waters and wearing thick gloves. You want to have a knife big enough to handle with those gloves on. I have a mid sized fold up knife in my cummerbund pocket and I know for a fact that if I wore the thick gloves that are the norm round here I wouldn't even be able to open the pocket never mind unfold the knife. So I wear my tropical neon yellow gloves and look like a complete eejit.

I wear some garden pruning type shears on my calf but find them a total pain - they won't stay in one place - I have to do something about that.

 

[AzSnake]

I have a Blue Tang and it's come in Quite handy.
I dive in the Sea of Cortez and have cleaned up many of ropes, nets and line from my dive spots. Try cutting a 2" rope with a tiny knife. It's not so much the Size of the blade but the leverage and pressure that I can apply to the object Im cutting. If anything the handle of my knife is what makes it look big not the blade itself. 5" really isn't huge for a blade size. Going back the original post I think it's a good all around knife able to handle a multitude of tasks while not being too big nor too small. When Im camping/diving I use it to harvest dinner by collecting scallops.