Knife Blade Length

[do it easy]

Neither of the two most widely-used books describing the DIR configuration (The Fundamentals of Better Diving, and Dress for Success) even discuss the dive knife.

All this obscessing about minutae is silly. If you want to be DIR, get a knife that suits your needs. Mount it on your waist strap. And go practice your skills ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

I had to consult with Ace on this one, but there is a short paragraph in TFOBD aboot the knife. I don't want to be one of those guys that quotes chapter and verse from the good book, but I will say it's in the Harness and Backplate section of chapter 6. (OK, Jablonski 3:16)

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

I had to consult with Ace on this one, but there is a short paragraph in TFOBD aboot the knife. I don't want to be one of those guys that quotes chapter and verse from the good book, but I will say it's in the Harness and Backplate section of chapter 6. (OK, Jablonski 3:16)

So there is ... it says that you should mount it on your waist strap, near the center of your body for easy access.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[coldsmoke]

Thanks Bob,

My main concern was that I'm not too keen of a 1" blade, but I didn't know if there was a real issue to having a longer blade. A longer blade means a longer sheath - maybe that creates problems for something else, etc. It seems that all it really boils down to is different opinions on a rather ambigious and non-descript text book rule. Is that correct? Perhaps the original question would have been better answered in the hog forum.

 

[*Floater*]

I think the most important part about the knife is its location and that it's in an open sheath so that you can pull it out at a moment's notice without needing to unclip or unzip anything. AFAIK the 1" blade is recommended only because that's all GI3 thinks you need.

Steak knives with a serrated edge are good because they are sharp and cheap/easy to replace if you ever lose one. GI3 also recommended that people get the knives with the metal part (blade) running all the way through the handle... I guess those are more rugged...

 

[Sharky1948]

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.

So I should take two pieces of equipment when one will do? Doesn't sound very DIRish to me.

 

[zimm17]

I'd like to see what you guys think a good commercally available knife is. I did the dremel cut-off to a steak knife- it was flimsy, rusted instantly, and was eventually confiscated by carnival cruise lines when I checked my diving gear in my luggage. I was pulled off the ship and taken to security to be present when the SWAT team went through my stuff. Then they smirked and giggled when they saw the 1.5" inch blade...

Well time for a new knife... Hopefully something a little more salt water friendly than kitchenware.

 

[Sharky1948]

I'd like to see what you guys think a good commercally available knife is.

Take a look at this one: http://www.salvodiving.com/inc/pdetail?v=1&pid=1178

 

[Scared Silly]

Here is another - you can buy just the knife without the sheath. I made a sheath out the leftover harness webbing. Works just fine. Even had enough material for a sheath for my wife's knife which is a bit larger.

http://www.scubatoys.com/store/detail.asp?product_id=AerisSilverJack

 

[GP]

I'd like to see what you guys think a good commercally available knife is.

http://www.knivesplus.com/gerber-knife-river-guide-gb-5646.html

 

[Phil K.]

So I should take two pieces of equipment when one will do? Doesn't sound very DIRish to me.

I guess what you're saying is that the short knife makes a lousy pry bar. No question about it. In fact, it's ill-suited for any use other than cutting line, hose or harness. It's certainly not uncommon above water to use a knife as (1) a cutting instrument or (2) a pry bar. In an UW environment, however, cutting has life-saving applications. Unless you have watched too many episodes of "Sea Hunt, prying does not. Thus, in the DIR gear configuration, a knife is a safety device for extricating yourself (and the members of your team) from entanglements, which can be deployed rapidly with little danger of damanging other gear or injuring yourself. There is nothing inconsistent with DIR about executing a mission that requires the use of a pry bar per se, but the short knife is there to control the unavoidable and life-threatening risk of entanglement, not to facilitate taking trophies from wrecks. Ergo, it's a lousy pry bar, which hopefully will deter you from using it as such.