Knife on leg or bc?

[GrierHPharmD]

I'll chime in with DiverInDeep about the titanium knife. I bought one of those beautiful, expensive OceanMaster titaniums when I first got certified, then had it kicked off of my leg during an exercise in my rescue class. It's underwater in that cold, dark quarry now.

I replaced it with a pair of EMT shears (bright pink handles -easy to see!) that I carry in my left side pocket. I also carry a small, folding, serrated titanium knife that I found at Target for $19.00 in the hunting section. It's made by Gerber, and has a huge open ring at the joint, perfect for putting your index finger through during use.

For what it's worth, the EMT shears are fantastic for cutting through monofilament. Join us on a Beach Cleanup, Down4Fun, and you'll see for yourself. On my first cleanup, I took several cutting tools and tested them on the rats nests of fishing line under a pier. The EMT shears were by far the most useful tool that I had in my inventory. Efficient, cheap, easy to see when you drop them. What more can you ask for?

-Grier

 

[al1]

I keep my knife on my BC, that way you can always reach it. A good knife is a green river, it will even cut through small wire, and cost about 10 bucks I think. Another knife I use for a dive knife is called a kitchen devil. It can be bought in the kitchen department for about 2 bucks, and will cut through hawser (very thick mooring rope) with no problem.

 

[LB 1]

I prefer a small pointed knife velcro strapped to my inflator hose. Titanium works for me coz I don't have to concern myself with cleaning and protecting. I prefer sharp on one side and serrated on the other and a line cutting notch. Leg mounting doesn't work for me coz I like to swim and if I can't find my inflator hose I've got more problems than a knife will get me out of. As far as size is concerned it needs to be big enough to be useful but small enough to not get in the way when not needed. Currently the wenoka ez lock suits my requirements but evoloution is an ongoing process.

 

[Tom Winters]

Small knives like the UK Remora and any line cutters/safety shears belong on the waist strap of the bc/bp as close to the center as possible. This is so you can reach them with either hand if you ever need it, and you need to practice removing them one-handed without looking. You'll only ever need it during a worst possible case scenario like having your dominant arm tangled in monofilament in silty water so you can't see where exactly any of your gear is. Some of these knives have have tricky releases to keep them from falling out, so make sure you can do it with either hand.
I also use a razor line cutter instead of safety shears. The shears are great but remember that in an emergency situation, those things are sharp will shear through anything you're chopping away on - like a hose or a finger or a bladder on a bc - that's why the EMT's like them so much.
Bc hose mounts are too high and offset to use effectively with one hand. And any knife big enough to wear on your leg belongs on a wall display on an earlier age of diving - they're impractical anachronisms unless you're trying to project an image of yourself as an underwater warrior.

 

[doole]

As another argument against the Lloyd-Bridges-style knife on the leg, I can tell you (from specific experience) that there can be times when you need to kick and draw your knife at the same time. (Which of course ain't gonna happen if it's on your leg.)

 

[BigboyDan]

Small knives like the UK Remora and any line cutters/safety shears belong on the waist strap of the bc/bp as close to the center as possible. This is so you can reach them with either hand if you ever need it, and you need to practice removing them one-handed without looking. You'll only ever need it during a worst possible case scenario like having your dominant arm tangled in monofilament in silty water so you can't see where exactly any of your gear is. Some of these knives have have tricky releases to keep them from falling out, so make sure you can do it with either hand.
I also use a razor line cutter instead of safety shears. The shears are great but remember that in an emergency situation, those things are sharp will shear through anything you're chopping away on - like a hose or a finger or a bladder on a bc - that's why the EMT's like them so much.
Bc hose mounts are too high and offset to use effectively with one hand. And any knife big enough to wear on your leg belongs on a wall display on an earlier age of diving - they're impractical anachronisms unless you're trying to project an image of yourself as an underwater warrior.

I agree with this post, almost. I use the UK Remora too, and the razor line cutter as described above.

But, when diving in open water with sharks (which I do a lot in the Gulf of Mexico and Bahamas) I always mount a Blue Reef Deluxe 5" Titanium knife, with pointed tip, on the inside of my leg Sea Hunt style, as a weapon. I've won all three shark encounters that I've faced using the the 5", but I do omit its use on other dive profiles.

 

[doole]

>> I've won all three shark encounters that I've faced using the the 5", but I do omit its use on other dive profiles.

...Don't try this at home, kids...

 

[PaulChristenson]

As another argument against the Lloyd-Bridges-style knife on the leg, I can tell you (from specific experience) that there can be times when you need to kick and draw your knife at the same time. (Which of course ain't gonna happen if it's on your leg.)

The other argument against the Lloyd-Bridges-style knife on the leg was witnessed up here in VT...The guy who will remain nameless because he wouldn't dive with me anymore if identified ...cut his brand new drysuit putting it back in the sheath...ooops that was your pantleg not your sheath

Paul in VT
with a pair of shears and EMT scissors

 

[Stirling]

Z knife clipped to a shoulder D ring and shears in a velcro holster on the waist belt (with yellow handles for better visibility if dropped), but I also have a folding knife with a croakie lanyard to carry in a right side pocket, only in case I should ever need to cut something the z knife and shears can't handle (like line tangled around a propeller shaft).

If it weren't strictly a backup, I wouldn't use a folding knife that requires two hands to open easily (although I can open it with one hand if I need to), and I wouldn't recommend it generally. The folding knife also has a very sharp point, but is folded up before it is put away, so there is less risk of accidentally puncturing a suit, wing, or thigh. If I were to carry the knife on my harness, I would go with a blunt tip knife or one of those DIY-type knives (I notice that Deep Sea Supply sells one of these with their single harness rig) and carry it on the waist next to the shears to reduce the risk of such accidents.

I still have the 30+ year old US Divers Master Knife that I started diving with - a small sword with a heavy handle suitable for use as a hammer - and that I used to wear on the inside of my left calf. No wonder I couldn't swim straight! It's much too big to wear on the waist belt, and doesn't have a line cutting notch on it, so it's pretty much useless to me now, and I don't think it's been in the water for the last 15 years.

 

[MVacc]

Well, only a couple real dives under belt, and still searching for the best place to strap my knife. I have about a 6-8" BC knife, so looking for the best spot to put it. I obviously don't wanna hang it off my bc, however i'm lacking a great place to strap it on. I do have side pockets, however if entangled i'm not too sure if it will be the easiest place to reach it. So far the best place i've found to strap my knife is on the shoulder strap of my BC, however.. I'll be opening the knife up, into my face.. Not good hehe, so, any advice will help, ty..

btw, my BC is a Tusa Liberator

thx