PFD Knife

Another reason…
If you happen to be towing someone and your tow line gets entangled, you’ll want some way to detach yourself from the towee in an emergency situation.

I
carry a Gerber Rivermaster. It has a sharp point , is seriated on one side and straight edge on the other…I’ve been carring the same knife atached to my PFD for over 20 years. I bought the sharp pointed knife back then , because I used to do some creeking and WW…wanted the sharp point in case I had to cut someone out of their boat (pinned situation/life and death)I no longer need the sharp point (do only Lake paddling now (Lake Superior) But have found no real reason to replace a perfically good one piece , stainless , sharp knife that locks in its case…it still cuts cheese (and rope) just fine



If I were to replace it today I would go blunt with a rope hook.



Best Wishes

Roy

hahahaha!

– Last Updated: May-18-07 1:56 PM EST –

very funny Garyr!

Actually, I'm really happy cnunez asked this question. I've been looking at river knives myself...

Perhaps a stupid question, but how exactly do you attach a River Shorty to your pfd? If you clip right to the handle, then it's too close to you to do any good. Do you hang it from a piece of rope or something? If so, how long?

I Have an Oceanic Titanium Folder
It hasn’t rusted yet.



I really haven’t ever needed a knife on the water, but I guess its good to have one.

how to attach?
Perhaps a stupid question, but how exactly do you attach a River Shorty to your pfd? If you attach to the hole in the handle, then it’s too close to you to do any good. Or do you hang it from a piece of rope or something? If so, how long a rope?

Scenic Route, I
don’t have that kind of knife, but you can find things like rubber/elastic keepers, 550 cord, velcro straps, etc., at outdoor stores, military surplus, places like that. Try BrigadeQm.com, I’ve been shopping there for years, and they have quality stuff.

Sharp point
the reason you stated about having a sharp point to cut someone out of their boat is the primary reason why the blunt tips are used.



case in point: a few years back here in the midwest a kayaker in a poly boat got pinned upside down in a river strainer. A well intentioned rescuer attempted to assist by cutting the victim out of his boat. The sharp point knife that the rescuer used severed the victim’s femoral artery. The victim died due to blood loss. It is my understanding that the rescuer was a physician.

Depends
I mount sheath to PFD lash tab and do not tether the knife. A tether seems too limiting or problematic (one more thing to cut, and then of no use :wink:



I have a small wrist lanyard on mine I can slip my hand through to reduce chance of losing it should it slip my grip (assuming I’ve put hand through loop). I usually have that loop either up around the sheath or tucked in a side pocket so it won’t snag anything and deploy the knife. Hasn’t caught anything yet, even when left dangling.



I could add a small float to this lanyard - but that begins to defeat the low profile aspect. Might experiment to see how small of a float would keep it afloat (but in real need situation odds are I wouldn’t be going back for it or be able to find it anyway).



Add this to my wish list above: Floating (but still small/low profile - might need to skeletonize blade to achieve this) with high vis orange or yellow handle.



Hmm… Might not be too hard to modify my Aeris by adding some foam…

Now that REALLY sucks! NM

here’s your floating knife
http://cgi.ebay.com/New-Floating-Rescue-Knife-SCUBA-Gear-Trips_W0QQitemZ7241489013QQcmdZViewItem

thanks waterborne, will check it out

Lashing
I attach the sheath of the Shorty to the two straps that are on the side of my PFD, the same two straps that come around and buckle in the front. That way it is on my side and out of the way yet easy to get to if necessary. It also comes with two plastic rivets that you can attach it to webbing.

thanks pilgrim
I couldn’t tell from the pic online how to attach the sheath. Looks like a good all-around knife.

Yes
that is one of the stated reasons…but because of a few unfortunate instances…



many people doing tough boating situations still need to be able to punch a hole into a boat , and cut…care is always a key…and there are always trade-offs…for my dollar , for what I was doing. I believed that a sharp point was a good idea (and were I boating the same today, I would still chose sharp and pointy)



For what I’m doing now, I would chose blunt, but still very very sharp.



Best Wishes

Roy

the sheath mounts on a lash tab
most PFDs come with a lash tab on one breast or the other; pull knife from sheath; spread peanut butter


I’ve been diving 18 years
and wouldn’t be here without a dive knife.



First piece of gear I grabbed when I got my kayak was a one of my old dive knifes.



Rope + water + you= better have a knife, shears or very sharp teeth.

less expensive alternate
This McNett knife is similar to the Gerber but costs $25. Quality is ok, has high ridge on handle to help keep gloved hands off the blade. This one is blunt, but there’s a pointy one also.



http://www.outdoorplay.com/store/Product.asp?MID=McNett&SKU=ESA_MNSAT


in yellow for less $
Here’s the same knife in yellow for $22. Apparently it disassembles for cleaning (news to me)



http://www.mountainsports.com/MSmain.asp?Option=Detail&Detail=095500

How do you get…
the Shorty’s clip through the lash tab?



bill

Good question
I haven’t been able to figure that out either.