Mounting Dive Knife to Wrist/Forearm

[Mike.D]

Hi everyone. So I've been thinking of mounting a knife to my left forearm with the sheath being under a dive slate. Has anyone done this/know of a better way to mount a dive knife to forearm/wrist?
Ive heard of alot of people mounting knives to their wrist strap of their dive computers but have yet to see any pictures or good explanations of how it's done so any posts/pics would be appreciated!
-Mike

 

[Dirty-Dog]

Your cutting tools ought to be readily available for use with either hand. Unless your wrist is quite...unusual...this setup isn't going to work very well.

 

[Mike.D]

The wrist mounted setup is more for a small knife tool that i've heard of people using. I'm more interested in a forearm mount just looking for advice on what other people recommend and any pictures.
-Mike

 

[decompression]

As above, a cutting tool should be accessible with either hand and located in a place that has minimal risk of being obstucted or unavailible, also standardised so each member of your team is familiar with its location. It really depends on wether you are planing to use the tool as part of your dive or in an emergency. If its going to be used as part of the dive and not in an emergency then place it where it makes sense.......just not between your teeth....

 

[gekodivebali]

Guess that depends how many cutting tools you carry...

 

[DCBC]

Echoing what has already been said, the forearm isn't a good mounting point. If you wish to mount it on an extremity, try inside the lower leg. Where ever you mount it, it should be easily accessible with either hand. More than one cutting device is recommended.

 

[r4e]

Echoing what has already been said, the forearm isn't a good mounting point. If you wish to mount it on an extremity, try inside the lower leg.

In a real situation, this "Rambo" knife location above your ankle might not be ideal. If you are stuck in a difficult place, you might not be able to reach your lower extremities at all and even less your anything below your knee. On regular dives, I have three cutting devices. One on each side at waist or pocket level and easily reachable by respective hand. And one cutting device held in place under my forearm by the bungees of my two dive computers. Unless seriously handicapped, I expect to be able to use my hand to reach the opposite forearm. This should be easier to reach and see, than e.g. anything below knee level. Also possible entanglement caused by the knife handle should be easier to solve at arm level.

Other possible locations for the knife would be within your harness, but, it might get quite busy there if you have a lot of (necessary) stuff with you.

 

[clownfish60]

Line cutter on left BC strap, EMT shears left BC pocket, small knife on right side of cummerbund, large knife on inside right lower leg. Overkill? Maybe... but I have never needed any of them.. but my buddies have! lol! Of course, I have been high and dry for the past 13 years or so, and just now getting back into diving. But will probably still use that same system. Never did care for wrist mounted knifes.. but to each their own!

 

[DCBC]

In a real situation, this "Rambo" knife location above your ankle might not be ideal. If you are stuck in a difficult place, you might not be able to reach your lower extremities at all and even less your anything below your knee. On regular dives, I have three cutting devices. One on each side at waist or pocket level and easily reachable by respective hand. And one cutting device held in place under my forearm by the bungees of my two dive computers. Unless seriously handicapped, I expect to be able to use my hand to reach the opposite forearm. This should be easier to reach and see, than e.g. anything below knee level. Also possible entanglement caused by the knife handle should be easier to solve at arm level.

What's usually the safest placement, is what the diver is use to. Placement cannot present a hazard and it largely depends on personal preference. All equipment must be able to be accessed quickly in blacked-out conditions and can't pose a entanglement hazard in-itself, or to any other piece of equipment the diver carries.

Personally, I carry three cutting devices; one on my harness (line cutter), a knife on my inner leg (when I'm not carrying a torch which is often better than a knife ) and a set of shears (pocket level). Most of my recreational/technical diving is in an overhead environment. I have yet to experience a problem with entanglement or access to this equipment (the leg can be bent and knife directed into either hand, which I can't do with any of the other locations). It's there for safety, not for the Rambo factor...

 

[sheeper]

the short answer is that it is recomended by most dive experts to have a cutting device where it can be reached with either hand. I generally have a small knife or shears on the BC shoulder strap and a second device (a trilobite) on my waist belt. In addition I may (or may not) carry a traditional big-ass dive knife on my leg.