Swiss army knife as a dive knife?

[Sideband]

Can you open it one handed? If not I would, personally, toss it in the dive bag and get a Z-knife and/or a pair of shears. They are about $15-$20 each and both are small and can be easily mounted. None of the SAK tools sound particularly useful under water. The decision is yours though. I based my decisions on what made me comfortable for the diving I do. I have the shears, Z-knife and a knife.

Joe

 

[brdeano]

here is a pretty cheap alternative. I havn't had to use it yet but it should work.

http://home.earthlink.net/~toddclagett/NovaTech/knifesheath.htm

 

[YCW]

Can you open it one handed?

That's a good point. Something that I never thought of. Thanks Joe.

 

[Marek K]

That's a good point. Something that I never thought of. Thanks Joe.

Besides everyone's concerns about corrosion, I'm not sure you could even open a Swiss Army Knife two-handed undewater, even without gloves... You pretty much need a fingernail to do it, and those puppies tend to soften up underwater...

--Marek

 

[dannobee]

But think of the possibilities. You could use the magnifying glass for spotting the small stuff, and tweezers might help for those occasions when you get a sliver. And don't ask me how many times I've thought, "you know, I think I've got something stuck in my teeth and it's rubbing on my regulator, where's a toothpick when you really need it?"

Seriously though, I keep one in my medicine chest, and the pin (or something else that makes it very difficult to open) rusts from the moisture there. I don't think it'd be long for this world when exposed to salt water.

 

[DrSteve]

Oh man as you are in Malaysia, get yourself a ballisong (butterfly knife)...single handed opening and watch those sharks crap their pants when you do a flip opening and start spinning those balances around! They do come in stainless and brass usually, so rust shouldn't be an issue.

 

[DennisW]

A swiss army knife will corrode and isn't particularly a good choice for use in salt water. I have had mine accidentally dunked and it began to corrode before I could get it cleaned well. The blades are fine, it's the other metal in between the blades that corrode.

 

[miketsp]

A swiss army knife will corrode and isn't particularly a good choice for use in salt water. I have had mine accidentally dunked and it began to corrode before I could get it cleaned well. The blades are fine, it's the other metal in between the blades that corrode.

Either yours is a fake or they aren't making them like they used to.
I bought the simplest single bladed model for my wife as she doesn't like the idea of carrying anything bigger and I took this decision after chatting to a DM that has been diving with his for about 20 years. His was still in good condition.

It was actually quite difficult to find the simple model, most of the shops only carry the ones with various tools.

Maybe the problem is the metal they put between the other tools. The one I bought seems to be 100% stainless.

I also glued in a little strip of plastic to raise the blade a little when closed and ground off the point. This makes it easier to open it with a gloved hand. It is just possible to open it with one hand by holding the blade between thumb and forefinger and hooking the body on to something.

 

[DennisW]

Mine's not a fake. It's a Victorinox and I've had it for over 10 years.

 

[Estela216]

If you rinse the knife in fresh water afterwards, you should see no rust. However, I would be concerned about opening any tools underwater. With gloves, that would be a big problem. Wenger did recently manufacture a one hand opening Swiss Army Knife but again, gloved hands will make opening this type of knife hard to do. I know Spyderco makes a version of their folder called the Salt that has a different blade steel and enlarged hole. Hope this helps.

Kev