Question Line Cutter or Trauma Shears?

[Living4Experiences]

I have an Aqua Lung dive knife that goes into the integrated sheath on my Aqua Lung BCD. I loosely call it a knife because it doesn't really cut, and it takes some effort to use, so I want something better. What tool is better for making a quick cut underwater? A line cutter or trauma shears? Or something else? If trauma shears, I assume it needs to be marine grade that doesn't rust and is easy to use. What do you use? I don't want to spend much on this, $30 or less.

TIA!

 

[Living4Experiences]

I have shears and a line cutter. I take the line cutter on every dive. My line cutter is a DGX titanium M cut safety tool. I attach the line cutter to my BCD where it is accessible, very light weight and takes almost no space. The one moving part gets oiled after every dive.

I got the shears as part of doing an underwater fishing pier cleanup (Deerfield Beach) and the shears cut big messes of fishing line faster than the line cutter. For the pier cleanup I used paracord to tether the shears to a wrist strap as I needed two hands to put a glob of fishing line and in the mesh collection bag. Forget using shears if you are wearing gloves or want your hands free for other things. I haven't taken the shears on another dive as they aren't as convenient to carry or use. Only for special dives like underwater pier cleanups where I expect to deal with wads of fishing line will I bother to take shears.

Good point about the gloves and shears. I wear gloves on every dive, so a line cutter sounds like the best choice.

 

[kinoons]

These are XShears without a protective coating (cause it was more expensive) with 6 years of diving from a couple of times a month to a couple of times a week. Only maintenance they get is a soak in a bucket of fresh water after I get home. Everything except the crust next to the handles is light surface rust on thick stainless bar, and would shine away with a little steel wool. They go for around $42 now. I don’t think I’ve ever used my DIR knife underwater. But these get all kinds of use.

I too have gone to the x-shears for ER work. Stay sharp and much more corrosion resistant than the raptors. It’s good to see how they may hold up under water. I have the black coated pair, several years old, and still going strong.

 

[landphil]

I too have gone to the x-shears for ER work. Stay sharp and much more corrosion resistant than the raptors. It’s good to see how they may hold up under water. I have the black coated pair, several years old, and still going strong.

And they're made so you can use them without removing your fireproof or winter gloves; so, the finger holes are huge compared to generic shears. Works great with my 5mm or dry gloves. I'm also going to order a set of EMS Shears to test out. They kind of look like stainless steel garden shears masquerading as trauma shears. Makes me want to dive in to cut off a big ball of kelp that's wrapped around an anchor line. Those Blauer shears likely wouldn't make it through airport security like a regular set of shears, though.

 

[SelfDiver]

I have an Aqua Lung dive knife that goes into the integrated sheath on my Aqua Lung BCD. I loosely call it a knife because it doesn't really cut, and it takes some effort to use, so I want something better. What tool is better for making a quick cut underwater? A line cutter or trauma shears? Or something else? If trauma shears, I assume it needs to be marine grade that doesn't rust and is easy to use. What do you use? I don't want to spend much on this, $30 or less.

TIA!

Both, and many more.
Ask a diver why they have 19 cutting devices and the right answer is they couldn't find a place for number 20.
Don't bring a line to the water if you don't have a cutter for it. (Rant: that is my pet peeve when seeing all the "How to set up your finger spool" youtube videos. They spend all this time on the loop length and the bolt snap setup but they forget to tell everyone to take a line cutter :Rant)
Line cutter on the computer wrist strap.
A small knife on the Goodman dandle.
Mini EMT shears AND small knife in the left pocket.
Rrscue hook knife or DIR knife on the waist belt. (These can cut through a weight belt and thick fishing nets.)
Full sized EMT shears in the butt pocket and/or garden snips (only on "work" dives).

 

[Living4Experiences]

Both, and many more.
Ask a diver why they have 19 cutting devices and the right answer is they couldn't find a place for number 20.
Don't bring a line to the water if you don't have a cutter for it. (Rant: that is my pet peeve when seeing all the "How to set up your finger spool" youtube videos. They spend all this time on the loop length and the bolt snap setup but they forget to tell everyone to take a line cutter :Rant)
Line cutter on the computer wrist strap.
A small knife on the Goodman dandle.
Mini EMT shears AND small knife in the left pocket.
Rrscue hook knife or DIR knife on the waist belt. (These can cut through a weight belt and thick fishing nets.)
Full sized EMT shears in the butt pocket and/or garden snips (only on "work" dives).

You must be a bad-assed underwater ninja!

 

[SelfDiver]

You must be a bad-assed underwater ninja!

I am a wannabe blowhard.
Just like the rest of the internet idiots here

 

[NW Dive Dawg]

I carry two trilobites on my harnesses, a blunt tip knife on my upper right shoulder harness and a a set of titanium EMT shears in my drysuits starboard thigh pocket. My greatest fear here in the PNW is stainless downrigger cable. Trilobite won't cut it. I have never yet "knock on wood" needed my shears. If needed I keep them fully lubed with WD40 and fully vacuum sealed with a standard Food Savor. If needed, easy to punch through the vacuum sealed bag.

 

[SelfDiver]

I have an Aqua Lung dive knife that goes into the integrated sheath on my Aqua Lung BCD. I loosely call it a knife because it doesn't really cut, and it takes some effort to use, so I want something better. What tool is better for making a quick cut underwater? A line cutter or trauma shears? Or something else? If trauma shears, I assume it needs to be marine grade that doesn't rust and is easy to use. What do you use? I don't want to spend much on this, $30 or less.

TIA!

I also don't think you need the shears to be "Marine grade"

2 pack for $7
Or get these with the "O2 tank opening multi function"

If you come on one of my dive trips, you get one of these for free! That is a $4 value! And they are useful around the house.
And if you want a cheap ($5/each) hook knife line cutter

These are "good enough" for casual diving. Clean with fresh water and lubricate generously with silicone grease.
I would recommend to make sure either of these options, the shears or hook knife, cut easily through whatever line you are taking. Practice using them at home with your dry gloves.
I run pool sessions and have you use oven mitts to cut lines.

For a cutting device like a knife:
This is by far the best thing I have ever found.

Stop laughing. Seriously. No, really.
The knife needs a bit of sharpening when you get it, but it comes with a sheath that has a whistle.
I cover the scraping teeth with a bit of duct tape. It is small enough to fit in the pocket. I use paracord to make a handle with a loop to clip it off. I don't care if it gets lost or damaged. They are $4 each - what is the harm?

Coming back to your original question: you can get all three for less than $20 and equip two people or have spares.
I have all three, but I'm just a Muppet on the internet