Knife point styles - relative benefits

[Snowbear]

How many, I wonder, have a knife strapped to their body and have never tried to see if they can actually get it out and put it away while diving?

Or put it away without impaling a body part :icosm13:

 

[Bob3]

I go the blunt tip route too.
As appealing as the DIY string slicer is, I like having something to pry with. Comes in handy for clearing up that 3/8" poly trap line ... saw-pry, repeat.
With the blunt tip a small slip isn't going to go poking holes in anything best left unpoked.
Ditto on the serrated edge.

 

[Green_Manelishi]

Or put it away without impaling a body part :icosm13:

If the knife has no point, and you SLIDE it into the sheath rather than
JAM it, you'll not likely impale yourself.

:54:

 

[Snowbear]

If the knife has no point, and you SLIDE it into the sheath rather than JAM it, you'll not likely impale yourself.
:54:

But actually *practicing* the maneuver was the issue - and I've seen more pointy tipped knives than blunt, and some are waist-strap-mounted :icosm13:

 

[Green_Manelishi]

But actually *practicing* the maneuver was the issue - and I've seen more pointy tipped knives than blunt, and some are waist-strap-mounted :icosm13:

'Tis a fine idea to regularly practice accessing/deploying all of your
dive equipment. My knife is waist mounted and I can unsheath and
resheath it. It is is NOT an o-physhul DIR knife though; it is too large.
However, it is "the -nads" for cutting warp lines. It also severs mono
quite nicely.

 

[rcohn]

I'll just point out the obvious, if you spearfish (freediving only of course) you need the point to dispatch your catch.

Ralph

 

[ba_hiker]

This is something I've been thinking about lately.
It seems to me that the benefits of a pointed tip may outweigh the possible disadvantages....
1) I have heard and read about some divers having stuck BC inflate valves, resulting in uncontrolled ascent on a ballistic scale (with potentially lethal consequences). In such an emergency, it seems to me that the fastest dump valve is about a 12" gash in my air bladder. I'm not aware of any agency teaching this, just pure speculation on my part. I'm not too keen on destroying an expensive piece of equipment...but it sure beats rocketing to the surface (and beyond) from 80 ft. like a Trident missile from a sub. My Gerber River Shorty w/ dull tip wouldn't be able to pierce the cordura material.

A less drastic, faster and less dramatic solution is to remove the inflate hose from the bc. This maintains the bc as a flotation/bouyancy control device, but one that must be inflated by mouth. I always keep track of the bc inflator, and can do this really fast, probably faster than retreiving my knife and slitting the bc bag.

 

[Green_Manelishi]

I'll just point out the obvious, if you spearfish (freediving only of course) you need the point to dispatch your catch.

Ralph

So, if you are SCUBA spearfishing you don't need to dispatch your catch? :54: I prefer to BUY the fish @ the market .. let someone else
do the dirty work of killing those beautiful harmless fishes.

How've you been?

G_M

 

[topper]

Here's one use for a pointy knife---if you're in a current you can stick the knife in the sandy bottom to help keep you from drifting and give you forward momentum.

 

[Green_Manelishi]

Here's one use for a pointy knife---if you're in a current you can stick the knife in the sandy bottom to help keep you from drifting and give you forward momentum.

I dare say that you could probably stick a NON-pointy knife into a
sandy bottom. However, if the current is strong enough the knife
will do "naught" to keep you stationary.