Greetings to all,

I need to purchase a knife that can attach to my PFD for use during emergency situations. Searching through the archives, some posters recommend folding knives (e.g. Gerber E-Z Out Rescue and Spyderco Rescue), some recommend fixed blade knives (e.g. Gerber River Shorty and River Guide) while another recommends a rescue hook (e.g. Benchmade Rescue hook). What are your preferences and why? Thank you in advance for the information.

Straight blade with a quick release on the scabbord. If you're under water and need to cut your way free, its panic time and you don't want any impediments in the way of getting the knife in action.

I had a Smith and Wesson knife that clicked into a scabbord and I could mount it upside down. I only had to reach over and pull down to release it. That worked for two seasons and then, unfortunately, something released it, unbeknownst to me, and I lost it. I can't find it anymore on the web site. I also had one from McNutt that was good, but it developed rust.

David
Now A cat sailor

I found a nice folding blade with safety hook slicer thingy at a dive shop in Key Largo that I think is a good supplement to my safety gear. It is made by a company called "Armor". It has a shackle/ bottle opener, serrated 1/2 blase and locks open.

It was me that recommended the Benchmade Rescue Hook. I still REALLY like it. I've got a bit of a knife phobia (not that bad, but if someone is in the same room and has a 20" "Rambo" knife, I get a little freaky <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />).

I've had two sheathed knives before this one - and both of them would find a way out of their sheath occasionally. I HATE that. Once, after a squall got us and we turtled my 6.0NA, I climbed on the bottom of the trampoline and nearly lunged onto my unsheathed knife that found someway to lay RIGHT there. A flip action knife takes a lot of dexterity to operate - dexterity that I might not have when I need it most. The rescue hook is quickly accessible and won't cut anyone's jugular. For distance racing, I do try to carry a flip knife for utility use in a zipper pocket. One of the drawbacks is that the rescue hook is not something you can really sharpen yourself...although they are RAZOR sharp when you first get them. I believe you can send them back to Benchmade for resharpening though..

Coupled with my Astral Bouyancy life vest, which has an outer shell zipper flap that covers an internal hard point, the hook is protected from snags but perfectly accessible. I would take pictures but Bonnie has our camera in Myrtle Beach at the moment (I'm joining here soon!). I'll try to take some when I get back.

Jake

I carry a Victorinox Skipper in my lifevest, connected to a 3ft cord.
The serrated blade easily cuts any diameter rope in one pass,
being a swiss army knife you basically carry a small toolkit for repairs etc.
The only downside is that its not as fast to use as rescuehook.

If you are in freshwater almost anything will work. In saltwater, steel rusts unless you rinse and dry it after every use.

I use one I made. A balisong made of talonite (cobolt 6BH) The talonite will not rust. I have some talonite on my work bench marked for a fixed blade rescue knife, I just have not had time to finish it.

David Boye makes a cast cobolt folding knife, that is very good. In the past he has made fixed blade cobolt knives that can be finished as a kit. I do not know of a current source for those.

The pointed Gerber river knife is my favoite style. It works well if you keep it clean. I am not a fan of the blount points or hooks because the point is a valuable cutting surface. It's the fastest way to open a hole in something covering you. For example, a tramp you are trapped under it.

The best sheath I have seen is a plastic quick release with a nylon and velcro cover over it. It's like an open sided pouch over a sheath. It is unusual for these sheaths to release by accident. You can make your own by adding a cover or a wide strap to a conventional sheath.

Carl

Thanks for the posts. Has anyone tried the Spyderco Atlantic Salt knife (C89)? The blade is made from "H1" steel that doesn't rust but still retains a relatively hard and durable edge. It has a serrated sheepfoot blade, a lanyard hole and can be opened with one hand. Its size is 4 5/8" closed and 8 3/16" open. It retails for approximately $53 online. Is that too much money for a knife that will last a lifetime (if not lost or stolen) and may save LIFE AND LIMB?

Thanks for finding the H1. I was not aware that the price on this type of steel had come down to the point it was afforable.

There are a lot of great materials out there but if nobody is buying 1000's of tons a year for some mundane product like razor blades they are too expensive to even consider.

It's like the high tech fibers we use on boats. The reason we can afford them is they make tires out of them.

I've tried several setups, but the best is a Spyderco Rescue knife clipped inside the lower strap of my Trace softball knee guards. It's perfectly secure and comfortable and easy to reach and open with either hand, and has held up well to salt. Best of all: it's compatible with wearing a rash guard over your PFD, which does wonders for keeping your gear from getting snagged on the rigging. Coming in off the wire onto your knees also does wonders for not getting fouled in lines, as well as being much faster.

In my experience, other systems cause problems: fixed knives regularly catch lines or are torn off (I saw one torn off last weekend.). Knives clipped to PFDs fall off regularly. Knives with built-in spring clips foul lines and sometimes clip onto lines and sometimes pop off. Knives with lanyards can get badly fouled. Knives in pockets can be hard to access.

The Spyderco "Atlantic Salt" knife appears to be an even more salt resistant version of the Spyderco rescue knife.