Dive knives when out with a DM

[MarkF1969]

Mark F 407-703-6195 in FL

 

[Karlstumke]

Quite often we collect abandoned fishing lines, ropes and debris left in the ocean its useful then. I have never needed my octo.....maybe I should leave it on board...always buddy breathe

 

[CT-Rich]

Just use your head.

I was diving the house reef where I was staying in the Philippines when I had a bit of a revelation. My maximum depth was about 30 feet in an area where I couldn't get lost and there was no possibility of entanglement. I was diving an AL 80, but I was not planning to be in the water for more than a half hour before getting too bored to stay (muck diving). It occurred to me that the following pieces of equipment were unnecessary for that dive: computer, spg, any sort of timing device, light, knife, any other cutting tool. All I really needed was tank, regulator, mask, and fins. Oh, and some sort of clothing to keep me from being arrested when I left the water.

In contrast, on tech dives I bring all sorts of equipment with all sorts of redundancies, usually wearing a drysuit.

Bring whatever you might need for the intended dive, and if it's critical, bring at least two.

But did you have a J-valve?

 

[boulderjohn]

But did you have a J-valve?

Nah, not necessary when you are always just an easy CESA from the surface.

 

[Cienfuegos]

You’d give anything for a cutting device if you become entangled in netting, fish line, electrical cord, etc …

 

[CT-Rich]

You’d give anything for a cutting device if you become entangled in netting, fish line, electrical cord, etc …

I once woke up with this girl after a party in college, and had to chew my own arm off to escape…

 

[boulderjohn]

You’d give anything for a cutting device if you become entangled in netting, fish line, electrical cord, etc …

I am guessing you are referring to my post in which I mentioned dives on which I did not need any of those things. Read it carefully and you will see that I was speaking of the specifics of a particular kind of dive, a dive which would not have any possibility of becoming :entangled in netting, fish line, electrical cord, etc."

At the end I wrote, "Bring whatever you might need for the intended dive, and if it's critical, bring at least two." When I dive in less benign environments, I bring at least two cutting tools, but there are dives where they are not necessary.

 

[rx7diver]

I would suggest that, at a minimum, one should take diving whatever he/she would take snorkeling/skin-diving. This would include a dive knife that has a built-in line cutter, a signaling device (whistle and/or mirror), and a compass (maybe).

Don't forget the snorkel. And the weight tbelt.

rx7diver

 

[CT-Rich]

These days I have ceramic line cutter attached to my BCD. Never rusts and will cut everything but an anchor line an electric cord (haven’t been entangled in one of those yet).

 

[Jai Bar]

I was was caught a couple of times by overzealous fisherman, freed countless times fish from traps and ghost nets- was caught by one too.

So for me, there is always a line cutter and EMT scissors- these are really good for cutting mesh wire fish traps like the ones in attached pics