how important are dive knives and tools?

[on_two_wheels]

I only carry a small, blunt tip knife. I don't predict need to stab anything but cutting away is always potentially necessary.

 

[Scubadam]

In reality it isn't very important, but it does help if your fin or another piece of equipment grabs a hold of something or gets tangled in something. I don't always dive with a dive knife, and I make out just fine. Really, it comes down to where you will be diving. I dive in the Carribean mostly.

 

[kaerius]

Well, I do take the knife with me on every dive, but never had to use it for safety reasons, however I have cut up some nets and other debris lodged on coral(like half an empty sandbag that was attached to coral by frayed ends).

 

[LeadTurn_SD]

Think of a cutting tool like the seatbelt and airbag in modern cars.

Something you'll hopefully never need, and probably statisticlly less often "deployed" in a real emergency than an airbag; but a cutting tool could be the difference between "life and death" if you or a buddy is ever seriously entangled.

Best wishes.

 

[knowone]

Knife or Knives = TWO hand USE, for rope. Cool for old time diving and in current with a sand bottom. Not sandy bottom. I leave file marks in my edges. mini serrations for fibre gripping and ripping.

Shears or Snips = ONE hand USE, for monofilament, stainless braided and wire and steel within reason. I have cut a teaspoon in half with shears. Do not try this at home. You will have to pull apart resharpen and live with the missing chunk.

"Z" KNIFE = "Z" knife applications. Just scored some scalpels from my doc for nix ha ha.

 

[vladimir]

just curious why wouldent you use it as a signaling device? i notice alot of them have metal caps on the end to use as a tank banger

Because it is an imposition on all the other divers within earshot. If your leg has been snared by a giant clam and you can't extricate yourself, go ahead and bang away. If you're dying to show me that really cool moray eel so I can take a picture, please don't signal me, I already have a thousand of them.

I just bring shears with me, but I have a z-knife and a small bc-knife that I bring if I'm diving where I might encounter fishing line.

 

[BDSC]

In reality it isn't very important, but it does help if your fin or another piece of equipment grabs a hold of something or gets tangled in something. I don't always dive with a dive knife, and I make out just fine. Really, it comes down to where you will be diving. I dive in the Carribean mostly.

That's the key. I pretty much dive the Caribbean.......so far. Will be going to some new places next year. But for your typical Caribbean diving, I doubt you'll ever use one. I've been diving there the past 19 years going to all the usual spots like Cozumel, Bonaire, Roatan, Dominica, all three Cayman Islands, etc. Not once in all those years and over 500 dives have I ever needed a knife. It seems all the places you dive there are in a marine park so there is little to no fishing line to get caught up in.

I'm sure there are many places folks dive where a knife or cutting tool comes in handy but the Caribbean isn't one of them.

 

[RJP]

In reality it isn't very important, I don't always dive with a dive knife, and I make out just fine.

Logged Dives: 0 - 24
Dive History: seven open water dives in Aruba.

Wow, seven logged dives in Aruba! Any you've never needed a knife?



I think you'll agree that your opinion/experience on the topic is really of somewhat limited utility to the OP.

:cool2:

 

[The Chairman]

I'm sure there are many places folks dive where a knife or cutting tool comes in handy but the Caribbean isn't one of them.

I use my knife most every dive, albeit rarely to extricate myself and I dive mostly in the Caribbean. Monofilament is everywhere: even in no-fishing zones. It's not unusual for me to clean up as I dive, removing both lead and monofilament as I go. It's the environmental thing to do. This keeps both sea critters and divers from getting tangled in the messes I removed. Last year, I removed over a hundred yards of this crap from the Speigel Grove and we just collected about 40 pounds of lead off of the Duane this past ITK. In both cases, my knife was instrumental in the clean up. Last year, 71 sea turtles were found dead in Florida due to entangling monofilament.

 

[BDSC]

So are you including the waters off the Florida coast as being in the Caribbean?