Swiss army knife as a dive knife?

[miketsp]

Well, just to report back. The one I bought for my wife has just survived 4 days diving. It was not rinsed daily, just left permanently clipped to the BC so it was wet with salt water for 4 days continuously. There isn't a spot of rust on it.
No problems to open it one handed (with gloves) as it was clipped to the BC. Just open, then unclip.

 

[Spoon]

Anyone uses a swiss army knife as a dive knife? I have one and it will fit nicely into my BC pocket. Just not sure if it is made to last under diving conditions.

they will survive under water i have tested em in saltwater. only problem is its hard enough removing the blades with trimmed fingernails, what more a gloved hand.

 

[miketsp]

they will survive under water i have tested em in saltwater. only problem is its hard enough removing the blades with trimmed fingernails, what more a gloved hand.

As I mentioned in post #18, with the simple model with a single large blade we found there was no problem to open it with a gloved hand - in fact it was easier with the glove than without it.

 

[KangarooSeatbelt]

I used to use these in the boy scouts all the time. They're good knives for a boy scout on dry land, but a terrible terrible knife for a diver.
They will keep for a while... but won't last nearly as long as a good dive knife taken care of properly. There's too many nooks and crannies for sand and bits and organic material to get lodged into. Merely rinsing won't cut it, you'd have to open it up and REALLY clean it after each dive trip. They will eventually rust, and even if not rusted, they will become harder to open due to the pivot points/hinge deterioration due to repeated water exposure.
As mentioned before, if you have gloves, it's possible to open one, but damned hard.
If not used carefully, these knives have a tendancy to snap shut on your hand. I've seen many a Tenderfoot with a nice bloody gash on one of their fingers. I've had my share as well.
These knives don't stay very sharp if you use them a lot. You'll need to maintain the edge a lot more than you will with a traditional dive knife.
Lastly, and I believe most importantly, in an emergency, you're not going to be able to employ your swiss army knife nearly as fast as a traditional dive knife. What if one of your hands is fouled? how the hell will you open your knife, even if you an retrieve it? It can be done, but not easily, and if you're in an air situation, you could be in real trouble. Plus, there are scenarios in which you might need your knife RIGHT AWAY. Not very frequently, but I have heard of them. The time it would take to unhook/pull out your swiss army knife, open it, and then employ it would be waaaaay longer than the time to pull a traditional knife out of it's sheath and free yourself.

If you really like the versitility of the swiss army knife underwater, bring it along. but carry a traditional knife too. You can get a cheap one, and it'll be worth the few bucks when you need it.

 

[Charlie99]

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.

I've had much better luck with mine. It's left on a sailboat on a mooring. Gets sprayed with saltwater when sailing. Never gets rinsed. Still good shape and no rust at the end of the season. It has 2 or 3 blades and a few tools --pretty much the standard pocketknife size. The only protection I give it is a spray of WD40 at the beginning of the summer.

For underwater use, in addition to EMT shears, which are my primary cutting device, I have a small folding knife that can be opened one handed, a blade that locks in place, and I can unlock and restow it one-handed. Unfortunately, the Swiss Army knives don't meet those requirements.

 

[MikeFerrara]

I like the emt shears. For a knife I like any small sharp fixed blade knife. None of my UW cutting tools have been used often but when you do need one you might need it fast. IMO, it should be deployable with either hand and in zero vis. While I might carry a backup cutting tool in a pocket, my primarry is on my belt slightly left of center. While folding knives are convenmient to carry in a pocket they can be a pain on land in the dark or with cold hands. Keep it simple.

Aside from EMt sheers the knife idea I like the best is the approach of taking a $2 kitchen knife, breaking off the blade to shorten it and sticking it in a folded and sewn nylon sheath on the belt...cheap, simple and functional.

 

[Nitrox_scuba_diver]

Anyone uses a swiss army knife as a dive knife? I have one and it will fit nicely into my BC pocket. Just not sure if it is made to last under diving conditions.

Put on a pair of gloves or mittens, now unzip your BC pocket, get the knife out without dropping it, now open it. No not the screwdriver...oops no thats a corkscrew, Here lets take off the gloves in this 40 degree water... "Darn that water is cold, hands cramping up... can't feel anything.... I guess I should have bought a dive knife"

Now maybe put the Swiss Army knife in your save a dive kit where it might be usefull.

 

[Tom Winters]

My boat bag has a Leatherman, Victorinox Swiss Army knife, Gerber Multiplier, and a folding marlinspike in one of the pockets. You never know when you're gonna have to cinch down a loose bolt underway.
I have never found a need for any of these waycool tools underwater - a tiny UK Remora and an Abyss line cutter take care of everything.

 

[Ed Palma]

Put on a pair of gloves or mittens, now unzip your BC pocket, get the knife out without dropping it, now open it. No not the screwdriver...oops no thats a corkscrew, Here lets take off the gloves in this 40 degree water... "Darn that water is cold, hands cramping up... can't feel anything.... I guess I should have bought a dive knife"

Now maybe put the Swiss Army knife in your save a dive kit where it might be usefull.

I see your point, but good thing the OP is in Malaysia

 

[Sideband]

Since this thread was started just under 2 years ago, I'm curious if the knife rusted through or not.