Where to mount knife?

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I go with the inside left calf for my knife. I like to keep things streamlined.
 
I go with the inside left calf for my knife. I like to keep things streamlined.
 
Inside right calf where I can reach it with either hand, it's protected from snagging anything, it's well away from any other objects so I can put my hand straight on it and it's well away from anything sensitive if I do need to draw it.

FYI, A lot of knives are designed for this style of mounting which a good portion of divers are now considering "Old School". The more current rule of thumb is to mount all (2) of your cutting devices (knife, shears, z-knife) from the waist up. Here are some of the reason.

Entanglement: divers think that it is protected on the inside of their leg, FALSE. Just last year, at a local quarry, I saw a diver hanging upside down because he caught his knife (mounted inside of calf) on a rope that was leading from a platform to an attraction. This happened in a pretty controlled environment, it wasn't like it was off of the NJ Coast where you have fishing line, cables, etc.. Believe it or not, but you are more likely to get it caught on you leg then if you mount it on the BC.

Buoyancy/Trim: For divers that go onto Wreck Diving, I have yet to see a diver that can reach the knife on the leg without lowering (twisting) the shoulders, dropping the knees or breaking trim to access the knife. Big picture is, if you are in a wreck, buoyancy set, and you need a knife, why do something, before even getting in the water, that could make things worse, which in this case is the possibility of a silt out.

Mounting the cutting device from the waist up, you can access the cutting tool easier and with out effecting buoyancy and trim and you are less likely to get it caught on something especially in when diving in more advanced conditions. Ideally we try to mount in a location that we can access with either your right or left hand.

Don't take this post the wrong way. I stock knifes that offer the leg mount and I understand that divers use these. When divers come into our shop I point out alternative ways of doing things but in the end, it comes down to what the person wants. I feel that it is always better to present options, this way they can't say "how come you didn't tell me about that!"
 
FYI, A lot of knives are designed for this style of mounting which a good portion of divers are now considering "Old School". The more current rule of thumb is to mount all (2) of your cutting devices (knife, shears, z-knife) from the waist up. Here are some of the reason.

Entanglement: divers think that it is protected on the inside of their leg, FALSE. Just last year, at a local quarry, I saw a diver hanging upside down because he caught his knife (mounted inside of calf) on a rope that was leading from a platform to an attraction. This happened in a pretty controlled environment, it wasn't like it was off of the NJ Coast where you have fishing line, cables, etc.. Believe it or not, but you are more likely to get it caught on you leg then if you mount it on the BC.

Buoyancy/Trim: For divers that go onto Wreck Diving, I have yet to see a diver that can reach the knife on the leg without lowering (twisting) the shoulders, dropping the knees or breaking trim to access the knife. Big picture is, if you are in a wreck, buoyancy set, and you need a knife, why do something, before even getting in the water, that could make things worse, which in this case is the possibility of a silt out.

Mounting the cutting device from the waist up, you can access the cutting tool easier and with out effecting buoyancy and trim and you are less likely to get it caught on something especially in when diving in more advanced conditions. Ideally we try to mount in a location that we can access with either your right or left hand.

Don't take this post the wrong way. I stock knifes that offer the leg mount and I understand that divers use these. When divers come into our shop I point out alternative ways of doing things but in the end, it comes down to what the person wants. I feel that it is always better to present options, this way they can't say "how come you didn't tell me about that!"

Big fixed blade knives are rather hard to mount on your jacket BC, and even with the BPW, chances are nobody would try to resheath a 6"+ blade and risk stabbing one's self in the belly.

I carry a Spyderco folding knife in my utility pocket for when I might need a knife to lever hard against a heavy rope or something. Otherwise, the shears come out for fishing lines and smaller lines.
 
Inside right calf where I can reach it with either hand, it's protected from snagging anything, it's well away from any other objects so I can put my hand straight on it and it's well away from anything sensitive if I do need to draw it.

FYI, A lot of knives are designed for this style of mounting which a good portion of divers are now considering "Old School". The more current rule of thumb is to mount all (2) of your cutting devices (knife, shears, z-knife) from the waist up. Here are some of the reason.

Entanglement: divers think that it is protected on the inside of their leg, FALSE. Just last year, at a local quarry, I saw a diver hanging upside down because he caught his knife (mounted inside of calf) on a rope that was leading from a platform to an attraction. This happened in a pretty controlled environment, it wasn't like it was off of the NJ Coast where you have fishing line, cables, etc.. Believe it or not, but you are more likely to get it caught on you leg then if you mount it on the BC.


..snip..

As far as mounting on the inside calf goes I personally mount it with the top strap above the calf muscle and the bottom strap in the middle of the muscle. This leaves the top of the knife pressing in to my leg just below the knee. Since the inside of my knee sticks out quite a lot it's pretty difficult to snag on anything and as for breaking trim - being just below the knee it's quite easy to access when the knee is forward like at the forward part of a frog kick.

I avoid having it slung low with the bottom strap almost around the ankle. Then I would agree that it would become an entanglement hazard and more difficult to reach.
 
One thing that I will say is that you should not mount your knife to your leg cause you could loose your leg. Mount it to your BCD or on a waist belt. Or you could always mount it to your back plate if you have one.
 
One thing that I will say is that you should not mount your knife to your leg cause you could loose (SIC) your leg.
..snip..

I think that if I lose my leg, getting at my knife is likely to be the least of my concerns. :confused:

..snip..
Or you could always mount it to your back plate if you have one.

And I wouldn't mount it anywhere that I can't see what I'm doing with the blade. Once, and only once a long time ago, I tried using my knife as a tank-banger to attract someone's attention and ended up cutting something I didn't want to cut while moving it around behind me. Never again.
 
It is easier for me to reach my knife on my left forearm. I freedive a lot so a knife on my leg could get caught in kelp. .

I was carrying my knife there too, freedive spearing. But one day a shark grabbed my fish and took my 100 foot floatline down really fast...the Riffe torpedo float disappeared into the blue. If I had been tangled with my right arm in that line, I coudn't have gotten to my knife to cut myself free. I now keep it on my belt right next to my buckle.
 
I go with the left side of my bc shoulder strap. It sits under my inflation hose. handle facing towards my feet. The reasoning. Its close to where my hands are normally, and if I need it I don't want to unsheathe it towards my hoses or my face.
 
I was carrying my knife there too, freedive spearing. But one day a shark grabbed my fish and took my 100 foot floatline down really fast...the Riffe torpedo float disappeared into the blue. If I had been tangled with my right arm in that line, I couldn't have gotten to my knife to cut myself free. I now keep it on my belt right next to my buckle.

I also kept mine on my weight belt. The sheath broke on a rough rocky exit. Lucky it was still under warranty.

Some have chest pockets. I was thinking I would have the same problem with a rough rocky exit.

My freedive computer and compass are also on my left forearm. I do not think a GWS or a dolphin would take my catch. I have more problems with harbor seals and sea lions.

Gun reel line can also get wrapped around freedivers on occasion.

I use a Picasso Deadly or an OMER MaxiLaser USA.
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/swift/

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