What do you look for in a dive knife?

[Father]

If you could have a dive knife with everything you wanted what would it have?
Fixed or folding?
Long or short length blade?
Serrated - Full-length or partial-length?
Cutting edge on both sides of blade?
Line cutter in blade?
Tip - Blunt or pointed?
Hollow or solid handle?
Styling?
Connect to BC or strap to leg?
Lanyard/dummy cord hole?
Mirror, satin, or coated finish?

I'm sure I'm missing something so feel free to add more.

 

[buddhasummer]

Eezycut - Diving, fishing, and emergency cutting tool


---------- Post added March 21st, 2015 at 02:24 AM ----------

I find, for my purposes, this works much better than a knife.

 

[Father]

Eezycut - Diving, fishing, and emergency cutting tool


---------- Post added March 21st, 2015 at 02:24 AM ----------

I find, for my purposes, this works much better than a knife.

That's actually what I have on my BC harness now.

 

[buddhasummer]

Where I dive there is "a lot" of discarded line and sometimes nets. I found the knife didn't quite cut it, pun unintended. Until I came across the Trilobite I used EMT shears which work much better than a knife. I now carry shears and the Trilobite. If hunting and gathering I guess a knife might be useful but they are of no use to me. Of course YMMV.

 

[Storker]

The choice of knife or line cutter, and type of knife design depends on what you're going to use the knife for. Here's what works for me:

Fixed or folding?
I dive in cold water. I can't open a folder wearing thick gloves. Fixed blade, of course.

Long or short length blade?
I like to have at least one, at least 6" long. My knife is a multi-tool, and digging and prying, or cutting bread and watermelons during the SI is easier with a decent-sized blade. Spearing flounders is also awkward with a small 2" blade.

Serrated - Full-length or partial-length?
I prefer half serrated, half smooth. More flexibility.

Cutting edge on both sides of blade?
Edge on the outer half of the back can be nice, but it's not important. But I don't want a dagger with an edge all the way down to the handle on both sides. Makes for unsafe handling.

Line cutter in blade?
Yes, please.

Tip - Blunt or pointed?
If you'll be digging and prying a lot: Blunt. Less chance of puncturing the BCD, more robust blade. If you're planning on using the knife for hunting/harvesting (i.e. killing): Pointed.

Hollow or solid handle?
Never given it a thought.

Styling?
Cheap. You're going to lose it some time.

Connect to BC or strap to leg?
One of each. Big one on calf, small one on BCD.

Lanyard/dummy cord hole?
Not necessary

Mirror, satin, or coated finish?
Mirror. And with a slight sheen of silicone grease.

 

[Rich Keller]

I use two types, a folding lock blade that I attach to my harness on every dive and a large leg knife that I use mainly when I am working underwater. The large knife is an older, longer version of this one. Cressi Scuba Knives medium sized knife tempered blade high quality perfect grip 2 straps leg scuba diving spearfishing It does not have a line cutter though and has a large chunk of metal on the end that I use as a hammer. The serrated edge runs almost the full length of the blade so it is long enough to cut wood if needed and the blade runs through the handle and connects to the hammer part so it is one continues piece that can be used as a pry bar as well. The folding lock blades I modified to add a shackle and clip so they can be attached just about anywhere. As for style, there is none but they work very well and that is all I care about anyway.

 

[Oldbear]

As long as it cuts a turkey I like it.


Oh..."dive knife"...never mind :d

 

[Schrooge]

My ideal knife looks like this but the important stuff is always how easy it is to use.

The idea of a handle that screws loose is nice but the most important part of any knife will always be how well the release works and how secure the straps are.
All this mumbo about Ti and sharpness doesn't sell to people who use them ,or least, it shouldn't.

Problems with the knife shown...it apparently rusts easy. Apart from that I like the older knives with a rubber catch over the back of the handle more. I wear them on my forearm.

 

[Yoyodyne-88]

"I wear them on my forearm."

It seems that would mean it was inaccessable with your secondary "other" hand.
That would make me slightly nervous.

 

[diversteve]

I have a blunt-tip TI Blackie Collins in a locking sheath. I went with blunt tip since I mount it dangerously close to my wing. About a 4" blade and without going to look, I think it's dual edged.

It has a hole in the handle for a lanyard but I never got around to getting one. Not sure I want to due to the possibility of entangling the lanyard while needing to use the knife.

I'd like to see Scrooge grab my never sharpened (in 8 years) knife and squeeze it. We'll see about mumbo...after he stops bleeding.

It still does a pretty quick job preparing ceviche - which is all I've ever used it for. I carry surgical shears for line-cutting but they rust out b4 getting used also.