several times…
…cleaned fish, sliced bread (DO NOT do it in that
order), cleaned rabbits, squirrels, snakes, spread
p-nut butter, fixed ingrown toenails (another “do
not do in that order”), cleaned fingernails, made
tent pegs, made toothpicks, chopped wood, shaved,
and probably a lot of other things I cannot remember
right now.
knife
A thousand years ago, when I was a helo rescue crewman, we would gnaw that bone over and over. Parachute line, panels, rope, webbing…cutting isn’t as nice in the water as you might like. When its cold, you could slip and stab either yourself or the victim. On and on it went, but we all carried the knives.
Anyway, I don’t usually have one on a daytrip, but my minimal drybag medkit includes a blunt-nosed scissors.
I always carry a saltwater knife in my p
and have used it to cut tangled monofilament and tackle from trees. I also used it to cut a huge net away from its metal attachments. It had washed ashore and was a massive graveyard for shorebirds. Me and my knife ended that. Other members of my kayaking club have resuced entangled birds. Nothing new here…just wanted to add my 2 cents (emt scissors would be a good idea as well). Steve
Needed one once
ta dig one o’ dem dag-blamed olive pits out’ta me noggin.
FE
NRS has a new one called the
River Pilot. Rope hook, serated blade, lightweight.
NRS Pilot Knife
http://www.nrsweb.com/shop/product.asp?pfid=2755&src=searchDirect&refer=2755
I’m curious what folks opinions of this knife is. It looks like it has a fairly good sized handle (long enough anyway?) and would be easier than most to hold onto, which has always been my gripe–usually I can get only get 3 fingers on the handle of many ‘rescue’ knives…
Make sure and get one that is very secure in it’s sheath, but that you can get out when your tangled in something upsidedown. Make sure the handle fits you well personally so that you’re less likely to drop it.
Hope I never have to use my knife for anything other than cleaning the catch of the day…
It has a bottle opener also.
Photo in profile…
photo in profile. It is hosted on my photo site. A simple HTML code line puts it in the profile.
Put < where you see { and > where you see }
I have to do this so you can see the code.
{img src=“URL of the image”} That’s it. Put it in the profile in the paragraph area. Your photo has to be hosted on a site that allows hot linking to the photo.
Looks like many mini BCD knives
Pretty similar to what I have that was $10 less at local dive shop.
Can’t really comment on sheath without handling one.
Make it titanium, change the handle so it’s indexed vs. symmetrical (so you can fell which side is which and know where the hook and serrations are without looking to feeling the blade) and you’d have something close to what I’m looking for.
Never in a rescue…
…which is why I don’t carry a knife on my PFD anymore, but prefer to carry a rescue hook. I do have a knife or two in my day hatch, for use at lunch, for repairs, etc.
rescue knife/hook decision
Looks like the best choices for me would be either the rescue hook or CRKT Bearclaw from NRS – both quite small and both with a finger hole for a good grip. (I have very small hands and not the world’s strongest grip.)
And for emergency appendectomies, squirrel skinning, and cheese slicing, my trusty Swiss Army knife carried in a drybag.
Thanks, all, for a very helpful (to me) discussion. Exactly what I needed to know.
Ginger
Maybe a sign of my age…
…but it’s kinda hard for me to understand why anyone would go anywhere (anywhere legal, that is) without some sort of knife…
Macho?
I think some of the posts above demostrate that you might need one from time to time. It has nothing to do with being macho. I’ve seen women guides with knives.
Macho - my foot!
When you need a knife there is no subsitute. We all carry first aid kits, rain suits and a spare paddle hoping we will never need them, but we carry them anyway. The same applies to a knife. It is a useful tool for many uses, from cutting an apple to saving your life. I carry a small pocket knife on every trip and a larger single blade folder that I can open with one hand when the other is holding something. Carry one - don’t leave it home. Nuf said.
now that I sail…
I never really felt it was necessary to have a knife so handy, but now that I sail, I’ve got ropes all over the place. Feels good to have a knife right there.
Bear Claw
I have a crkt bear claw, got it from agrussell with an emegerncy orange handle, blunt tip, serrated, sheath lashed on the pfd. Had another one before that disapearred (gnabbed me thinks) that I used once to cut a friend free of his boat (towline got loose in the surf, he got rolled and bailed, was getting pounded by the boat in like chest deep water)
Always have one, but the rescue knife doesnt get used to setting up camp, or cutting cheese, it has one purpose.
35 years, never in a situation where I
I used or needed one. I recognize that I might need one some day, but then there is other gear I might need and don’t carry.
Witnessed rescue
Woman in a whitewater race flipped her canoe in a short rapid. She wasn’t wearing cold water gear (March) but she had the required waterproof container of spare clothes. The river below the rapid is all deep, fast-moving water with steep banks.
Somehow, the painter on the canoe and got wrapped around her neck.
She wasn’t aware of it until she got to shore and grabbed a tree. That’s when the rope tightened around her neck as the canoe, loaded with water, continued downstream.
She braced, but was slowly being dragged back into the river, to more serious potential dangers. The cold shock had already affected her coordination. She couldn’t get the rope loose from around her neck.
Then a spectator who saw the accident, came by and cut the rope loose. Disaster averted.
I carry a river shorty all the time. Haven’t used it myself in a rescue, but I was only minutes away from having been the person there with my knife in the above-scenario.
Also, it has come handy when there is no beer bottle opener to be found.
-rs
I carry a Victorinox Forschner boning
knife. Made a sheath out of polyester straps. The knife is light weight and holds an edge well, even after being in salt water a lot. Could also be used as a weapon…
Coyote-love…
My teeth are old and dull and my spyderco knife I keep on my PFD is sharp and pointy - just in case I need to cut my own arm off in the morning to escape gals I selected the night before while under the influence.
And yes, I do wear my PFD when fishing at bars…I learned real early that the life you save may be your own!
