Knife Blade Length

[coldsmoke]

Is there a specific length for the knife? All of the pictures I have seen show them very short - maybe an inch or so. It seems to me, obviously with no dir training I am likely to be wrong, that a 1" to 2" blade would be less usefull for sawing through anything of moderate girth than a longer blade. Thanks.

 

[Sharky1948]

Personal opinion:

Blade length/style - I like about 3" with serrated edge on one side an a built-in line cutter; avoid the 6" Alligator Dundee crocodile stickers

Sheath - belt mounted, easy to extract, i.e., no awkward buttons

Tip - blunt so you can use it to pry (and not accidentally poke holes in things that shouldn't have holes in them)

Again, personally, I don't like the marketed DIR knifes...the blades seem too thin and likely to bend/break if you are using it to pry on a wreck, etc. Maybe for caves they are just fine.

 

[Ben_ca]

Why would you be prying something on a wreck? The 1.5 inch steak knife works for me...

 

[Sharky1948]

Why would you be prying something on a wreck?

Not to start a flame war...but, in the North Atlantic we take artifacts.

 

[rjack321]

In DIR the knife is about as long as your thumb and must be razor sharp. Razors, as you might imagine, are not designed for prying.

If you feel a need to pry, bring a bar or such. You wanna dive DIR, bring a thumb sized razor.

 

[*Floater*]

I guess the basic line-cutter originated from cave diving where I assume you would mainly need to cut the line sometimes in cases of entanglement or some other reason, or in some rare instances you might need to cut through a harness or suit (perhaps after an accident). But is the short, blunt-tipped steak knife really sufficient or DIR for other conditions?

From GI3's equipment images:

 

[Tigerman]

I guess the basic line-cutter originated from cave diving where I assume you would mainly need to cut the line sometimes in cases of entanglement or some other reason, or in some rare instances you might need to cut through a harness or suit (perhaps after an accident). But is the short, blunt-tipped steak knife really sufficient or DIR for other conditions?

From GI3's equipment images:

Thats not a knife...
What will I use that for? it cant even cut a banana..
If being DIR means bringing a knife handle and no blade, I wont ever be DIR, that much is for certain..

 

[ScubaMilo]

Thats not a knife...
What will I use that for? it cant even cut a banana..
If being DIR means bringing a knife handle and no blade, I wont ever be DIR, that much is for certain..

And we will miss you when your gone.:Kissy:

Your either Doing It Right or your not.

Milo

 

[do it easy]

I think the point is to have a small knife that is designed as a line cutting tool, not a machete or pig sticker that can make short work of a wild banana. The broken steak knife is one example, but I think there are other knives that would be suitable.

 

[ppo2_diver]

I got a package of 10 steak knives with serated edges at the dollar store for $3. I cut off all but about 2 inches of the blade. No need to use a knife as a prying device, the pry bar has already been invented. It should be for cutting things like line, netting, or almost anything a diver can get tangled up on.