Do I need a knife/tool

[aprentic]

OK here's my background.
I'm going to do my open water certification in Cape Ann and my first few dives after that are likely to be around there too.
My brother got me a gift certificate to a local dive shop and told me that I should get a dive knife with it.
When I told the guy at the dive shop about this he told me that I should ignore my brother and that I should only consider getting one after I'm done purchasing all my other equipment and that in many places you aren't even allowed to carry one.
On land I tend to carry a knife around, especially when I'm outdoors, because I consider it the single most useful tool ever invented. On the other hand I generally tend to use my knife to cut food and to open packages. Neither of those activities seems likely under water.
So what do people think?
Is a dive knife a valuable and legal emergency tool around Cape Ann or is it yet more useless crap to carry around?

 

[Starcruiser]

I've got one attached to my bc. Doesn't take up much room, but where I dive there is a lot of fishing, and the there's always the possibility of getting tangled in monofiliment line. Again, not big, not obtrusive, and always there IF you need it. I'd say go for the knife...

 

[GrumpyOldGuy]

I think the shop guy gave you bad advice.

I would not dive without a cutting tool, ever. It is a key piece of safety gear. It will probably sit unused, but if you ever get tangled in old fishing line, orphaned net, etc... its your life, not the guys the the dive shop that depends on it. Some might say you don't need it for class and they might be right since you have instructors and DM's watching you. However, I would try to foster a mind set of being independent and able to self rescue as soon as possible.

In certain places my cutting tool may just be a pair of EMT shears discretely stowed in my pocket if they have stupid rules. You don't need a big pig sticker, just something to cut small diameter line and worst cast cut a diver out of a harness. (I do try to obey the rules, right up until I perceive I am putting my self at risk, then it is screw the rules.)

 

[bleeb]

Only after you buy all your other equipment? I wonder what his rationale is. I wouldn't wait. It was the first thing I got after personal equipment (mask/snorkel/fins/boots).

In the water, a cutting tool pretty well has one overriding purpose: To help get you get free of entanglement. There are always ghost nets and lost fishing line around, so when you need a cutting tool, you need it badly. Many people carry more than one. Also, you may want to consider getting shears (like the ones EMS carry) or line cutters instead of (or in addition to) a knife. Because of the lack of leverage, and because you may be operating them one-handed when entangled, they may be more effective than a knife. A good pair of shears can cut through wire, which is difficult with a knife. Many divers find even the inexpensive non-marine rustproof ones adequate, even if they have to replace them every few years. Just rinse well in the mean time.

It's true that in some warm water marine preserves, knives are excluded because they got tired of people using them to pry up bits of coral. However, shears or line cutters are almost never an issue, other than the very occasional unknowledgeable guide. And I've never heard of any such exclusions in the colder waters closer to home. Might have something to do with the fact that there isn't much coral around here.

 

[redacted]

I always carry one or more cutting tools but never a "dive knife". EMT shears and a folding SS knife are effective and have never caused a problem even at sites that do not allow knives.

 

[MSilvia]

I've gotten entangled in monofilament line while diving on Cape Ann, and had to cut myself free. The guy at the shop was probaly trying to sell you something more expensive. IMHO, EMT shears are the way to go. They're easier to use one-handed, and can cut a steel leader a knife won't touch.

 

[aprentic]

In defense of the guy at the dive shop, he really didn't seem like he was trying to sell me something more expensive. My wife and I dropped about $1000 there between our personal gear and the class fees and at several points he steered us away from more expensive options in favor of cheaper ones.
My main concern was that his opinion on dive tools may differ from the mainstream opinion so I figured I'd ask around.
That said I haven't even done my first pool class yet so I still have some time. I'm pretty sure I won't run into any fishing line in the pool and I'll get to ask the instructor there for yet an other opinion.
Thanks for the advice!

 

[fisheater]

I always carry three cutting devices underwater, a small serrated "tech" knife, a Z-knife and EMT shears.

 

[scubafanatic]

I have the following mounted to by BC:
small orange colored line cutting tool
small, blunt tip stainless steel blade knife
......these 2 items are non-negotiable safety gear items, with me at ALL times (even the swimming pool). While I sometimes dive in places where knives are officially forbidden, I've NEVER had a problem with my knife being mentioned by any dive op/DM......keep the knife small, subtle, black handled so it's disappears amid the blackness of the BC and all the other associated gear, keep it in a sheath so you're not drawing any attention to it...never touch it unless you REALLY need it for saving someone. (strapping a big-*ss knife to your leg, having to take the knife on-and-off everytime you don your wetsuit, is a sure way to get noticed by all the wrong people...again, don't be waiving it about, messing with it, using it for anything other than an emergency, and you'll very likely be OK.) It's been my experience it's more of a 'don't-ask-don't-tell' policy....don't make/force the dive op to confront you about it.

 

[Troutmaster]

+1

A cutting tool is safety equipment, period. If you don't want a knife or they are forbidden, shears are great. I carry th same dive knife (the 4th piece of gear I ever bought, mask, fins, snorkel and knife) 22 years ago when I started diving, along with a line cutter or shears when I am in high entanglment environments, which for me is almost always. Get a small knife and tuck it away somewhere on your BC or BP/W and leave it alone, unless you are home and rinsing it off.