How do I choose the right dive knife?

[Bob DBF]

I usually surf ebay and stuff like that for dive knives....someone told me some good advice awhile ago. buy cheaper knives and carry them. That way if you are diving and happen to drop or lose the knife...you aren't tempted to go try to get it. QUOTE]

For hevens sake don't get it, how do you think I come by mine. The problem I have is finding a sheath that fits properly. Just found a Fogcutter last dive trip, anyone have an empty sheath?

 

[SurDo2]

Green River knife. Should work for just about everything.

 

[mudhole]

EMT shears covers 90% of entrapment issues...
If you're scavanging, prying, artifact hunting, or cutting bait, an inexpensive blunted, or tanto stainless as a supplement to the shears will do fine...
If you're fighting off Spectre underwater, a 12 inch titanium Bowie would be cool...

The knife is a tool. Emt shear is a tool. "Magic" steel knives, two feet long are tools. What is needed is defining what job you want a tool for. . . Swimming around your swimming pool and some underwater parks, you don't need a cutting tool. Swimming around an area with fishermen using nylon line, an EMT shear or small knife, you're prepared.

Now if you're diving around boats with 1/4 inch rope, your needs change, your cutting needs have to include cutting that rope, and fishing line. If fishermen in your area are fishing with steel leaders for musky or barracuda, shears and small knives won't cut it. Wire cutters that will cut steel leader should be carried. Bigger boats, mean bigger ropes for anchors, or tieing to docks, need bigger cutting tools. If the rope is too big for the jaws of shears, or the knife blade is smooth and too short to saw through the ropes of the boat your in, you're not prepared. Look at the boats in your diving area, and if they're using 1/2 or 3/4 or 1 inch rope. . . get a small piece and see if your cutting tool can handle it.

I've used the small Scubapro knife. . . good steel, serrated blade, very versatile. Kershaw makes several very good dive knives, one has a single cutting edge, legal most places, and a double edge dagger with point, good for finishing off fish, but illegal to travel through some states. Kershaw is a small company, and if you can't find them locally, there are always ebay dealers, to find them and to buy at a good price.

Listen to or ignore anyone's brand recommendations. . . look into diving conditions in your area and choose equipment for your diving. If there are no boats around, check into what the fishermen are using, steel leaders are tough to cut with ordinary knives, but not every place uses them. Boats and anchor ropes are in most areas, and finding anchor ropes tangled around trees in our lakes, or around wrecks is common, you don't want to swim into a rope thicker than your equipment can handle. Many anchors have a short length of chain. . . but I've never seen the chain anywhere but flat on the bottom.

If you need to look like Rambo and have a military web gear, then by all means buy a Rambo dive knife. They were developed for the movie by a friend of mine. Shortly after the movie, An "Operator" ordered one. . . a few months later, he ordered a replacement. . . The working saw blade wouldn't come out, and it was lost. Don't buy too much, and don't buy too little.

 

[fnfalman]

If you need to look like Rambo and have a military web gear, then by all means buy a Rambo dive knife. They were developed for the movie by a friend of mine. Shortly after the movie, An "Operator" ordered one. . . a few months later, he ordered a replacement. . . The working saw blade wouldn't come out, and it was lost. Don't buy too much, and don't buy too little.

Which one were you buddied with? Jimmy Lile Senior with the Rambo I and Rambo II or whatshisname that made the Rambo III knife?

The Jimmy Lile Senior Rambo knives sure were pretty but definitely not too functional. The sawteeth don't saw anything and gets stuck rather badly. Even the blade is too thin for a bowie knife. Can't really hack through squat either, but the edge was razor sharp though.

 

[mudhole]

I met Jimmy Lile at a gun show, and discussed what steel, and handle material for a diving knife. . . he wasn't a diver, but frequently was called out to recover drowning victims. His "Rambo" knife was made as a Movie prop, and I was seeing it before the movie came out. Lile told me if I wanted a special purpose knife, I should make my own. With his, and other knife makers, I learned how to make working knives.

 

[RonFrank]

I can count the number of times I have used knives/shears while diving on ONE hand...actually with one finger. Yes, ONE time I had to cut a buddy out of a nasty line mess.

What tools would have worked for this situation... anything one could reach. So knife, shear, or any number of zip type thingy doodles.

My thought on a dive knife... small, cheap, blunt tip.

I saw a LOT of divers in CA with big ol honking knives mounted on their calves. My thought, totally pointless.

I have a nice fixed blade knife that I have attached to the waist belt of my Stiletto. I have a few sets of medical shears also. Nice to have, but not all that necessary.

I dove a large amount of kelp last summer, and never needed a knife...

 

[stinggirl]

Make sure it cuts!

 

[fnfalman]

I can count the number of times I have used knives/shears while diving on ONE hand...actually with one finger. Yes, ONE time I had to cut a buddy out of a nasty line mess.

Out of the 80-or so dives I made last year in SoCal, I used my shears three times to cut leftover fishing lines. No they didn't entangled me, but I figured I'd do a public service & cut those lines up at several places.

I tried to use my Spyderco folding knife to cut the monofilament knife and while it worked, the shears was a lot less hassle. Snip, snip, and be on my way.

 

[Puffer Fish]

I can count the number of times I have used knives/shears while diving on ONE hand...actually with one finger. Yes, ONE time I had to cut a buddy out of a nasty line mess.

What tools would have worked for this situation... anything one could reach. So knife, shear, or any number of zip type thingy doodles.

My thought on a dive knife... small, cheap, blunt tip.

I saw a LOT of divers in CA with big ol honking knives mounted on their calves. My thought, totally pointless.

I have a nice fixed blade knife that I have attached to the waist belt of my Stiletto. I have a few sets of medical shears also. Nice to have, but not all that necessary.

I dove a large amount of kelp last summer, and never needed a knife...

Interesting... just goes to show that different diving may require different tools.. I use a knife around 20 to 30 dives a year. I carry shears also, but only rarely use them.

Prmarily, for two reasons:

1. Cutting line, as we dive where people fish, there is a lot of line to get entangled or hooked on.

2. For stabbing flounder...first you take a nice picture of them, and then invite them home to dinner:

Stabbing fish requires a pointed stiff blade.. cutting line just requires a sharp one.. so I have several knives, depending on the dive...

 

[mrfixitchapman]

And those flounders are faster than they look. But I left one of them with a nasty nick in the tail.


DC