how important are dive knives and tools?

[captndale]

A friend of mine came along on a Caribbean dive. He was buddied with his wife but went in ahead of her, following the mooring down to the bottom. He snagged a large fish hook that was tangled into the mooring line. The hook buried itself deeply into the meaty part of his thumb. His wife was delayed on the boat, she never even got into the water. He was alone and with no cutting tool. Fortunately, he was able to untangle the mess of fishing line from the rope, but it took him twenty minutes to do so. Even back on the boat he was unable to get the hook out of his hand; he needed to have it cut out at a local hospital ER.

 

[BDSC]

He was buddied with his wife but went in ahead of her,....... His wife was delayed on the boat, she never even got into the water. He was alone......

Looks like your friend needs to brush up on his buddy skills.

 

[D_B]

yep, I guess the buddy could leave you to go get a cutting tool
.... but the real point being made is ... wouldn't be better just to have one yourself ?

I think that it's kinda silly not to have some form of cutting tool, and Rescue recommends two forms
Why not be prepared? ... my small knife is always with me, and while I've never used it , I don't plan on taking it off just because I don't think I will .. not much to be gained by leaving it behind

 

[Mike Boswell]

Ahhh - tank bangers and cutters. Two areas where I am still looking for good solutions.

My wife and I carry EMT shears, and we use them occasionally to clean up fishing line. Only problem is that they are a bit awkward to use with 5-mil gloves on, and the brand we use has a very poorly designed sheath and the shears fall out easily - I have lost two pair this year!

We have tried the tank bangers with the plastic ball on a bungie that goes around your tank. They make a great clanging sound above water, but in the water they make a dull thunk that isn't audible. Metal bangers are a bit better, but so far I haven't seen anything really to my liking.

 

[BDSC]

.... but the real point being made is ... wouldn't be better just to have one yourself ?

Absolutely. If you need one then it would be better to have one.

 

[kaerius]

We have tried the tank bangers with the plastic ball on a bungie that goes around your tank. They make a great clanging sound above water, but in the water they make a dull thunk that isn't audible. Metal bangers are a bit better, but so far I haven't seen anything really to my liking.

There's rattles and LPI hose whistles, both are louder... of course every diver within 300' are going to hear them, at least the whistles. Bit of noise pollution. Personally, I went from a metal rod to bang on my tank to... beatboxing. Just make drum-like sounds in your throat, they carry surprisingly well, easily audible at 60'+. You can practice on land with your mouth closed. The big plusses are that it's always available without requiring use of hands, and it doesn't annoy people as much(you sound kind of like a muted rave party down the street).

 

[The Chairman]

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

Only because they are!

But I have dove extensively all over El Caribe, and I almost always see mono, and especially so on a wreck.

Why WOULDN'T you want to carry a knife or other cutting device? What's the downside of being prepared for the inevitable?

 

[ti325v]

I dive warm water, and I NEVER dive without a knife. A little titanium jobbie that I made a stainless hose mount for.
I have one knife and sheaths on all of my regs. It is 4" long, weighs nothing and you never know when you will encounter the idiot who speared a grouper that swam down into the coral after wrapping him up in the line, who had left his knife home and he died. ( Urban legend ? I do not know but I hear it was a true story)
I have used it for clean ups and such, I have never NEEDED it, but would never dive without it.

 

[BDSC]

Only because they are!

You know I actually looked it up after I asked the question and found two schools of thought on it. Some places I found said it wasn't in the Caribbean because technically, Florida doesn't touch the Caribbean Sea. But another school of thought was because some areas of Florida have such a heavy cultural influence from the Caribbean Islands, it is considered the Caribbean. I read quite a bit on it and found it quite interesting.

Why WOULDN'T you want to carry a knife or other cutting device? What's the downside of being prepared for the inevitable?

No downside at all really. If folks want to carry one or even two then they should. I use to carry one several years ago. A very small one. I think I stopped either after 9/11 or maybe it was a trip to Cozumel where, unless they have changed their rules, don't even allow one. So it sits at the bottom of my dive box now. I guess I just don't see me needing one as inevitable.

 

[diver 85]

Fairly useful(esp when you need one ) & get the cheapest you can find, think of them as 'disposable'.......