Dive knife, is it really necessary?

[Randy43068]

I couldn't disagree more. Nothing personal but that's not correct, or perhaps I am somehow confused. The shears I own (emt shears) cut anything and everything I have tried cutting better than a knife even, except an orange. Line, hooks, a dry suit, a wet suit, a BPW harness, metal, string, rubber, rope....

If I need to pry out an o-ring or screw something in I use a multi-tool designed for the job.

I also carry a knife but have found the knife to be inadequate actually for anything else but banging on a tank (annoying) or cutting fruit. JMHO's.

Yes knives can be good for sawing things but if you are sawing anything underwater you have likely left the realm of recreational diving or you have made a dreadful mistake.

You seem to be making his point...

 

[phunk]

I keep losing my diving knife and I'm getting tired of replacing it. I haven't really used it all in my dives. I'm just wondering if we really need it at all. I live and dive around Vancouver, BC, Canada.

It's not necessary until you need it, then it's a lifesaving piece of equipment. So yes, it's necessary.

 

[OldNSalty]

I have not found my octo to be necessary yet either-of course, it's kind of attached so I haven't lost it yet

 

[scubadobadoo]

You seem to be making his point...

The problem is that I have never seen a pair of EMT shears that weren't designed to cut wire and other thick objects like line so how can any pair of shears be inadequate for that job as he stated?

Now if he was talking about shears as in a pair of basic table scissors, then he has a point, but I think we can assume people aren't diving with crayola scissors in a diving forum...right? I hope, lol. But then again, who knows. Lost in translation maybe.

 

[Phrenzy]

I think we can assume people aren't diving with crayola scissors in a diving forum...right?

Hey! Be nice!

I got mine as part of a kit when I bought some crayons for my new dive slate!

 

[scubadobadoo]

Hey! Be nice!

I got mine as part of a kit when I bought some crayons for my new dive slate!

LOL. Hey, I sometimes use a kids message board from wal mart as a dive slate so whatever works right?

 

[Pug211]

I am new to the board and diving, but I would think that since so many teaching organizations advise for you to have a cutting item with you that someone in the past has needed a knife or shears and not survived the incident, or had a close call. I am also a firefighter and we teach our new recruits to always have at least two cutting instruments with them at all times in two different places so when entangled you can reach one of them to get yourself free.

 

[divebostonforcharity]

I used mine just recently to cut myself free of an old pile of fishing net on a dive here in NE. You can get ones for like 15 buck and if you ever need it it's there and if you lose it it's not that big a deal. Plus, what happens if you need your sandwich cut into triangles and you don't have a dive knife.

 

[UnderSeaBumbleBee]

Last year while we were diving in Keowee at the hot hole, which is also a popular fishing spot, a fisherman hooked one of the our group through his drysuit and tried to reel him in. It is an area that often has both divers and fishermen and both try to share the spot as best they can and it seems to work well for the most part--unless you get hooked!

I have been tangled in rope underwater a couple of times and once could not get my buddies attention and started to feel a bit of panic and had to cut myself free. No longer dive with that buddy. Only had a dull knife that day, now I dive with a couple of those cheap steak knife type knives and a pair of shears--and a much better buddy.

 

[nereas]

Anyplace with water can have fishing line.

I have been caught in fishing line while diving.

Therefore I never dive without a knife, secured by a wrist bungee to my scabbard to make sure it will not get lost.

When I need the knife, I first put on the wrist bungee and tighten it, to make sure that I do not drop it.

A wrist bungee should solve your problem of losing your knife too, AVIC.