mossym
Contributor
horses for courses, you carry what you need. Lot of shore diving in Monterey, and lots of fishing line, shears go through fishing line quicker than a knife, which is good if you're being reeled in!!
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djanni:My question: Does one really need to ware a sword? Is a nice little folding knife or a knife with a 3" blade just fine? Should I stop worring about how I look and realize that big knife may come in handy some day?
mossym:kelp snaps just fine for me, and i'm guessing i'm diving the same monterey waters you are!!! you're right though, sometimes it is easier to just cut through it!!
i think we all agree, carry a knife, it's up to you on the size..
pipedope:Well that article seems to be gone.
I always carry at least one cutting tool on any dive.
Most of the time I carry a small knife and shears.
I place them so that I can reach them with either hand.
I find that I use the shears far more often than the knife.
Then again sometimes you gotta use the Broco.
pipedope:It is a nice little rant but full of stuff that is either wrong or not really up to date.
First, knife on the calf? Yea, we did that 25 years ago when we carried LARGE knives that were used as prybars and hammers as well as cutting tools. It is very easy to be tangled in a position that prevents you from reaching your calf so this is not the best place for a knife.
Rust on the pin of SeaSnips. Yep, it gets surface rust, so what? It is not seriously weakened and will still cut just fine without breaking. It will cut rope, netting and fishing line far easier than the knife in most cases.
On sport dives I would carry both a knife and shears. If I could only take one I would take the shears.
pipedope:It is a nice little rant but full of stuff that is either wrong or not really up to date.
First, knife on the calf? Yea, we did that 25 years ago when we carried LARGE knives that were used as prybars and hammers as well as cutting tools. It is very easy to be tangled in a position that prevents you from reaching your calf so this is not the best place for a knife.
Ishie:Er, am I bad? I use my knife for that stuff.
I also must be short or something because the inside of the calf has never provided me with difficult access, though I know there are situations (like caves, which I never enter) where I could get stuck in a position to not access it, which is why I'm going to grab BC shears/small knife. When I have issues anyway, I like to work them out on the bottom, and am likely to go into a sitting position (which I've done in couple kelp wrap scenarios) and that puts my knife right there. Haven't had any entanglement issues with it either; stuff is too busy being magically attracted to my tank valve and fin straps.