29 replies to this topic

[shadragon]

How many dive knives / shears / cutters do you carry and where are they located. Why there?

[uwfan]

I have a dive knife, but I typically don't carry it.

[Capn Jack]

Shears in my right pocket - seemed like a good place
knife on inside of left calf - way I was originally trained the rationale being in a relatively less-snaggable location and could be reached with either hand, unlike one on your waist
J-knife on my right shoulder harness - very handy tool for lines - again accessible by either hand.

Edited by Capn Jack, 23 May 2009 - 06:39 PM.

[JimG]

knife on inside of left calf - way I was originally trained the rationale being in a relatively less-snaggable location and could be reached with either hand, unlike one on your waist

No offense, but I'm going to disagree with the inside calf being a location that can be reached with either hand. I personally can't reach that location with either hand, unless I scrunch myself up in a ball. Center front on the waist strap (which is how I wear mine) is actually a much more "reachable" location, IMO.

Calf-mounted knives also tend to be larger, which actually increases the chances of entanglement. The waist-mount puts the knife in a position where you can actually look down (or back) and see it, which means if it does become entangled, then you stand a much better chance of being able to deal with it yourself. I would expect an entanglement on the calf to require assistance from a buddy.

That's my opinion, anyway.

-JimG

[Capn Jack]

No offense, but I'm going to disagree with the inside calf being a location that can be reached with either hand.

None taken.

Calf-mounted knives also tend to be larger

And your point is? - hey, if I didn't have a big knife, how else could I compensate for my other equipment shortcomings?

Thank god there are no SCUBA police.

Edited by Capn Jack, 23 May 2009 - 09:43 PM.

[dive_sail_etc]

Shears in my right pocket - seemed like a good place
knife on inside of left calf - way I was originally trained the rationale being in a relatively less-snaggable location and could be reached with either hand, unlike one on your waist

Ahoy, Cap'n. Been a while, hope the world is spinnin' your way.

I am in your camp re: the calf carry. From my cert days in the 80's I still schlepp around a big (hopefully not compensatory ) Blackie Collins 5" with rigid scabbard, and when I bother to include it down below I find it easy an reach from inside my right calf (cuz I'm a Southern southpaw). However, until I upgrade to Velcro the old style rubber belts make it troublesome to strap on while aboard a dive boat simulating a mechanical bull.

J-knife on my right shoulder harness - very handy tool for lines - again accessible by either hand.

Really like this arrangement, a couple of guys I dive with locally have this. It's on Santa's list, assuming he stays sober long enough to reach my house this year, the sorry sot.

[Capn Jack]

J-knife on my right shoulder harness - very handy tool for lines - again accessible by either hand.

Really like this arrangement, a couple of guys I dive with locally have this. It's on Santa's list, assuming he stays sober long enough to reach my house this year, the sorry sot.

Mine is the OMS Titanium Line cutter (A-TICUT) - here is a link to a description - check with OTWDiver my bet is he's got them in stock.

http://www.omsdive.com/cuttool.html

[UP Diver]

J-knife on my right shoulder harness - very handy tool for lines - again accessible by either hand.

Really like this arrangement, a couple of guys I dive with locally have this. It's on Santa's list, assuming he stays sober long enough to reach my house this year, the sorry sot.

Mine is the OMS Titanium Line cutter (A-TICUT) - here is a link to a description - check with OTWDiver my bet is he's got them in stock.

http://www.omsdive.com/cuttool.html

Mark -

I too used to carry on left calf, but the hassle of strapping on an off started to bother me two years ago. I carry a little Silverjack, a little 4" with a serrated edge that in trials seems to work. I simply put a U shackle in the point end of the case and added a snap. The case holds the knife securely tight yet accessible. I mount it on one of the D rings on a shoulder strap of my BC. Along this same line, since I started diving in Junior High in 1964, I have never had to use my knife. I guess I have been very lucky!

My SO has hers mounted on the back side of her console - another pretty good place that is secure and not easily forgotten.

I do like that OMS line cutter though! My have to put on my Christmas list as soon as I am cleared to dive again.

Simon - in response to your original question in this thread, if I had the potential to dive in an area with lines, nets, hanging crap, etc. I would likely carry a second implement of destruction for redundancy like a second night light for night diving.

UP Diver

[Capn Jack]

Another area of "Do What Works" - I would urge folks to carry two - at least one of them EMT Shears, and at least one accesible with either hand. The other thing I'd recommend is a lanyard on at least one - I have both the J-knife and the sheers secured. The J-knife allows a good length of line whipped around the neck. For the shears I just whip it around the blades. I whip as I put them back in their pouch/pocket so extracting them starts the un-whipping process without too much fuss.

My BIG knife has seen a lot of use - albeit mostly out of the water. Another reason it is big, with a point, and has a straight blade rather than folding - nothing else in my dive bag can open a can. or work so effectively as a buddy alignment tool. Seriously - I did have occasion to cut sheet metal twice underwater, and again, however remote the chance may be, it was the only thing that would have worked.

There are extremes I suppose, and maybe I'm compensating, but that's my dos psi.

[Victoria]

The original knife I bought when I first was certified is an XS Scuba Titanium blunt tip. I quickly became dissatisfied with carrying it on my calf, and found a much simpler solution. I strap it to my upper left arm, point up; easy to reach with my right hand and always in sight. I do need to replace those danged rubber straps with velcro, though... At some point I may add a set of shears in the left pocket on my BC, as a backup. So far I have not ever been entangled but, as the majority of my diving has been in fresh water where fishing line snarls are a likely hazard, I expect that at some point the numbers will catch up with me. Therefore, I don't get wet without the knife.

[peterbj7]

I wrote a reply to this but it vanished as soon as I hit [Enter]. The joys of MS Vista!

I only carry a knife when I have any reason to believe I might need one, which is not on recreational dives here in Belize, though sometimes I carry a knife in my BC pocket mainly because I've forgotten to take it out. On tech dives anywhere I carry two small folding knives, one high, one low, one left, one right, all in my chest area. The ones are use are super cheap but exceptionally well designed from Trident, having razor sharp concave serrated blades that will cut anything. I don't carry sea snips any more, not since I realised that they don't grip to cut under water.

I've been tangled twice in my diving career. One was on a trimix dive off Miami when I got monofilament fishing line hooked round a fin buckle. The easiest way to deal with that was to take the fin off and untangle the line - I didn't use a knife.

The other time was early on when my calf-mounted big knife caught up with a line. I found it very difficult once entangled to reach to the knife and get it clear, and that was the last time I ever carried a knife in that way. The last time I ever carried a big knife, in fact.

So in n,000 dives I have never used a knife in anger.

[diverdeb]

I carry a z-knife on my waist band and cutters in my thigh pocket. I do still strap a big knife to my leg on occasion - but only when I think I might see a flounder I want to stick. That's why it's big - cause that's how I like my flounder.

[dive_sail_etc]

I carry a z-knife on my waist band and cutters in my thigh pocket. I do still strap a big knife to my leg on occasion - but only when I think I might see a flounder I want to stick. That's why it's big - cause that's how I like my flounder.

Yes, Ladies and Gentlemen, like clockwork from the cheap seats comes the Zing of the Day.

[diverdeb]

I carry a z-knife on my waist band and cutters in my thigh pocket. I do still strap a big knife to my leg on occasion - but only when I think I might see a flounder I want to stick. That's why it's big - cause that's how I like my flounder.

Yes, Ladies and Gentlemen, like clockwork from the cheap seats comes the Zing of the Day.

Cheap seats????!!!!! Oh no he did not. I can promise you, I am not "the cheap seats." But I am proud to have the Zing of the Day. It just came from the front row.

[dive_sail_etc]

Cheap seats????!!!!! Oh no he did not. I can promise you, I am not "the cheap seats." But I am proud to have the Zing of the Day. It just came from the front row.

Uh-oh. Think fast!

Now Deb, let's not stray from the original topic here. Remember, whatever happens, be professional!

waitaminnit... Original topic was knives, wasn't it? Doh!