New vintage design dive knives

[Eric Sedletzky]

I was scanning on Leisure Pro and saw they carry a bunch of SOG knives.
Are these similar to what was available back in the day?
SOG Tigershark Elite Fixed Blade Knife With Scallops TE-02

I'm also curious as to why the modern trend in diving sees big knives as rediculous and something to make fun of.
The way I see it sometimes a longer blade is better. Why not have it?

 

[Nemrod]

I was scanning on Leisure Pro and saw they carry a bunch of SOG knives.
Are these similar to what was available back in the day?
SOG Tigershark Elite Fixed Blade Knife With Scallops TE-02

I'm also curious as to why the modern trend in diving sees big knives as ridiculous and something to make fun of.
The way I see it sometimes a longer blade is better. Why not have it?

That is an impressive knife.

To the other, the reason we have "guys" carrying scissors and butter knives instead of a real knife is because this is the final result now of the touch feely Poo Bear generation finally reaching maturity and exercising their mores on the rest of us who grew up without airbags, bike helmets knees pads and having been told how great they are from day one till now. They are not safe to walk down stairs without a helmet much less dive with a knife.

N

 

[USCScubaboy]

That is an impressive knife.

To the other, the reason we have "guys" carrying scissors and butter knives instead of a real knife is because this is the final result now of the touch feely Poo Bear generation finally reaching maturity and exercising their mores on the rest of us who grew up without airbags, bike helmets knees pads and having been told how great they are from day one till now. They are not safe to walk down stairs without a helmet much less dive with a knife.

N

 

[Akimbo]

… I'm also curious as to why the modern trend in diving sees big knives as rediculous and something to make fun of.
The way I see it sometimes a longer blade is better. Why not have it?

I tend to look at diving gear more pragmatically than most, and diving knives are no exception. A discussion of what do you want to do with the tool comes up too rarely. It all comes down to compromises between following properties (and probably more):

• What do you want to cut?
• How much edge maintenance is acceptable?
• How long does that edge need to last between maintenance cycles?
• Do you need to pry objects? If so, what?
• Will it be an improvised hammer (as almost everything is to a commercial diver)
• Are there other requirements like opening cans, braining fish (as in coup de grâce while spearfishing), breaking windshields (rescue), cutting webbing, or combat applications?

Once these priorities are set, you must compromise them against:

• How much weight is acceptable?
• What size is acceptable?
• What are you willing to pay?

To be honest, the large dive knives sold pre-1980s had a limited utility. They had mass which is useful for rock scallops (you may want to eat the evidence on this one) or smashing open sea urchins on the West Coast, but not a particularly good compromise for very many tasks. Most knives used 300 series stainless that is too soft to hold a decent cutting edge or have sufficient yield for a good prying tool. Corrosion resistance was decent except they usually forgot to passivate them.

Cutting tools for self-rescue in recreational diving often comes down to cutting monofilament fishing line and maybe multi-strand synthetic line up to ¼" — larger than that doesn't represent much of an entanglement issue. That said, I have never been in a position where I had to cut myself free — it may have required taking my tank or bail-out off, but I was never in danger due to small line. If that kind of entanglement is a concern, it is hard to beat a good Z-knife that is popular with the parachute community. Even a well maintained carbon steel edge is not as good at these tasks.

Cutting large rope is another story. Line under tension (like wrapped around a propeller shaft) requires something with more stroke. A fine blade hack saw works very well on some materials like polypropylene. Sharp electrical cable cutters work fairly well on double braid, but dull fast. 20,000 PSI water blasters work great, but then that is more often a mistake than intent.

Pounding and prying is a pretty broad subject. Crow bars of all sizes are pretty decent as-is. Hammers are another matter. Divers need a shorter handle and a longer head (to protect their hand from the short handle). Here is a photo of my personal favorite.

It is my opinion that you should carry any tool you find useful. If some obnoxious common-air-breathing know-it-all uses it as a reason to demonstrate his ignorance then you can proceed to explain the utility of this tool in your application. As long as he can't do the same thing with his scissors or wimpy blade, you win the debate.

If that doesn't work, you can borrow my hammer.

 

[DA Aquamaster]

I bought one of the re-introduced USD/Aqualung Master Dive Knives (a new version of this one)

, partly because I like vintage stuff, and partly because when I started diving 10"-12" knifes and Ab irons were a common piece of equipment. But I'd never take it in a cave as it has no real purpose there and any utility it offers is more than offset by the drag, weight and entanglement hazard it creates. Different times, different diving, different knives.

Now, when I bought it, I made a comment to the effect it's a great looking knife with lots of nostalgia, but not real useful. The guy working the counter in the shop had a different opinion. He frequently sets the hook for the dive boat and felt it was the ideal tool for jamming in the sand to pull your way upcurrent to the wreck on days when the hook doesn't quite end up where it needs to be. So in his case it was entirely the right tool for the job. From his perspective, neither the little dinky knife or the z-knife I carry in a cave would fill the need he has in his normal diving.

So, whether it is a great knife depends largely on whether you like it and, more importantly, whether you actually dive with will (or should) depend on whether the knife makes any sense for the kind of diving you do. That's a much more useful and important criteria than what other people think.

 

[drdaddy]

I tend to look at diving gear more pragmatically than most, and diving knives are no exception. A discussion of what do you want to do with the tool comes up too rarely. It all comes down to compromises between following properties (and probably more):

• What do you want to cut?
• How much edge maintenance is acceptable?
• How long does that edge need to last between maintenance cycles?
• Do you need to pry objects? If so, what?
• Will it be an improvised hammer (as almost everything is to a commercial diver)
• Are there other requirements like opening cans, braining fish (as in coup de grâce while spearfishing), breaking windshields (rescue), cutting webbing, or combat applications?

I want to get the "big guy" before he gets me. I carry a spear gun too!

 

[drdaddy]

I bought one of the re-introduced USD/Aqualung vintage knives (a new version of this one)

, partly because I like vintage stuff, and partly because when I started diving 10"-12" knifes and Ab irons were a common piece of equipment. But I'd never take it in a cave as it has no real purpose there and any utility it offers is more than offset by the drag, weight and entanglement hazard it creates. Different times, different diving, different knives.

Now, when I bought it, I made a comment to the effect it's a great looking knife with lots of nostalgia, but not real useful. The guy working the counter in the shop had a different opinion. He frequently sets the hook for the dive boat and felt it was the ideal tool for jamming in the sand to pull your way upcurrent to the wreck on days when the hook doesn't quite end up where it needs to be. So in his case it was entirely the right tool for the job. From his perspective, neither the little dinky knife or the z-knife I carry in a cave would fill the need he has in his normal diving.

So, whether it is a great knife depends largely on whether you like it and, more importantly, whether you actually dive with will (or should) depend on whether the knife makes any sense for the kind of diving you do. That's a much more useful and important criteria than what other people think.

I've got an authentic one of these. I keep it with my scuba gear in the garage - it's right next to my tank pressure gauge. I strap it on my leg when I climb up the ladder in case anything attacks me on the roof, or if I need to cut some twine.

 

[Mayor]

I'm not allowed to have anything sharp!

 

[porbeagle]

1. Nothing wrong with a big knife.
2.I was in special ops. in Nam in the 60's and never saw anything like that $143 knife.
3.We used USAF pilots knives (with the sharpening stone pocket) or K-Bars (marines)
4. The knife DA shows is great.and not so pricey.
5. What nemrod said.

 

[Eric Sedletzky]

The longest modern and most commonly found knife I can find only has a blade about 5" long. This is not enough for what I want to do.
My main purpose is to get scallops and sometimes those shells get big. The smaller knives don't cut it (literally) when I slide the blade in between the clamped together shells and attempt to cut one side of the button loose and pry open the shell to get it off the rock. I've seen scallops 8" in diameter with meats the size of a large biscuit.
Right now I have to carry a separate ab iron to be able to get scallops but the end has to remain blunt and rounded to be legal. I have been stopped and asked by Fish & Game if that was an "AB Iron" and you have to say yes. The only two tools you can use are a dive knife or an ab iron. Some people have made what they call a scallop bar with a skinnier end that is sharper. Those are not legal, it has to be an ab iron or a dive knife according to the regulations. I figured if the knife was big enough and made out of good steel it would be great for scallops and I wouldn't have to drag around an ab iron in my goody bag which is a PITA.

The other purposes would be:
To brain fish
To use as a bar to dislodge an urchin and get it in the bag
To clean the urchin once back on shore
To hold down a pissed off crab while you measure it
To cut a multitude of lines, ropes and entaglements
To bang and pry on stuff that need prying and banging
To fight off enemy divers
To piss off people who don't like big dive knives
And because they look cool.