Have a titanium knife…
and would never go back to (so called) stainless steel. Got it at a dive shop, a folding one, about $40. Very light, and NO corrosion even though it’s used in salt water, and I never rinse it.
Tony
gotcha
i used to paddle with a full-sized dive knife on my PFD and it was a little cumbersome. Didn’t really notice the weight, but it certainly banged around a lot.
Wire ties and a lanyard
I attach the sheath to a lash tab on my PFD with wire ties and attach a 2’ lanyard which stows in a pocket.
DETAILED KNIFE RECOMMENDATION
I would STRONGLY recommend the Gerber EZ-OUT Rescue model, either 6971 or 6972. Both have the last .25" blunted for use in both rescue situations near victims (seatbelt cutting and such) and they minimize the possibility of puncturing your boat or yourself. The opening mechanism involves a hole in the blade big enough to operate with gloves on, and the lock is on the back of the handle (grip), not within the liner, so your finger never crosses the path of the blade. The grips are high visibility yellow, with soft rubber inserts for superior control. I have a standard EZ-OUT, and I love it. I’ll be getting a 6972 soon for my kayaking. The difference between the two models is the serrations… the 6971 has coarse serrations, which will cut soft materials faster, but will dull more quickly, and the 6972 has a multi-serration style, similar to a Spyderco pattern, which would be a more general purpose blade. But, I will happily take either one, and you should be able to aquire one for about 35.00 if you shop a bit. I’m new to kayaking, but knives are a long standing hobby of mine. And yes, I still have all my fingers!!
Mike
My Gerber rusted shut in one day
and that’s hard to do with synthetic handle/bolster!
Good for land - and maybe fresh water, but as someone else already noted - not to resistant to salt water exposure. It was the first knife I ever clipped to a PFD( had smaller version with pointed tip - used it as a pocket knife for years with zero issues), but didn’t measure up. Maybe they’re changed the blade composition - but I doubt it.
Prefer non-folders since. Mini dive/BCD knives OK for cheap (you can get blunt tip long enough to pry with, straight and serrated sections, and a line hook in a very small package, with decent grips) - still waiting for titaniums in those styles. Myerchins look decent, if a bit simple. LaGriffe clean and simple too, but awfully small blade - can’t do much more than a rescue hook.
Boye Dendritic Cobalt blades are another option - and they have a folder of similar style to the Gerber that will never rust if you got $100 to drop on a small folder.
The problem with folding knives…
…is that they’re slow to deploy and nearly impossible to use with gloves on. Try using one sometime while you’re upside down in the water with someone sloshing your boat around to simulate rough conditions. Then try it again with typical 3mm neoprene gloves on. That should be enough to convince you that about all a folder is good for is spreading peanut butter.