sailing knife

[Thedreamoneday]

I'm looking to buy a sailing knife for emergency situations, any recommendations/ suggestions of what to look for?

cheers

 

[rogerthebodger]

I have a divers knife in a holder on the side my companionway way steps.

 

[ukmctc]

Anything sharp, a pocket knife.
I use a Gerber Legend, its a multitool and actually has a lifetime guarantee. The only one which really does.

 

[Neil]

Have a look at the Salt range of folding pocket knives from Spyderco - expensive but good. The H-1 steel is unrustable in sea water but still holds a very good edge. Many of their Salt blades come in a reassuring emergency yellow.....

I have a plain-edged version of the Tasman, but there are non-pointy versions too.

 

[prv]

Decide whether you want to carry one on your person (and if so, whether you really will carry it at all times, and have it in your outermost garments as you change clothes with the weather) or if it would be better fixed to the boat. I know that I couldn't rely on always having a knife in an accessible pocket, so my plan is to have one fixed to the binnacle and one at the mast. Being sheath knives, they also don't need two hands to open if you're desperately hanging onto whatever needs cutting.

Must admit, that's been my plan for a year now and I still haven't done it, but your post has prodded me into ordering a couple of these: http://www.purplemarine.com/dinghy/...are/knives-multitools/tekno-rescue-knife.html . So thanks for bringing the subject up

Pete

 

[Keen_Ed]

For attaching to the boat: RRK race rescue knife

Straight serrated edge & shackle key, or hook end. Both with a blunt tip.

In thigh pocket of oilskin trousers: wichard folding, attached with lanyard.
To belt of shorts, gill harness knife.

 

[Thedreamoneday]

Some good ideas, I think i'll sort 2 out as suggested, 1 for on my person (probably some sort of folding knife) and a sheath knife for by the mast area.

I like the look of the spyderco knives but probably a bit expensive for what I'm looking for, I'd say Im looking in the £40 max region each.

cheers

 

[Thedreamoneday]

Decide whether you want to carry one on your person (and if so, whether you really will carry it at all times, and have it in your outermost garments as you change clothes with the weather) or if it would be better fixed to the boat. I know that I couldn't rely on always having a knife in an accessible pocket, so my plan is to have one fixed to the binnacle and one at the mast. Being sheath knives, they also don't need two hands to open if you're desperately hanging onto whatever needs cutting.

Must admit, that's been my plan for a year now and I still haven't done it, but your post has prodded me into ordering a couple of these: http://www.purplemarine.com/dinghy/...are/knives-multitools/tekno-rescue-knife.html . So thanks for bringing the subject up

Pete

I like the fact they are bright yellow and seem ideal for what I'm looking for, they're on my shortlist

 

[Thedreamoneday]

For attaching to the boat: RRK race rescue knife

Straight serrated edge & shackle key, or hook end. Both with a blunt tip.

In thigh pocket of oilskin trousers: wichard folding, attached with lanyard.
To belt of shorts, gill harness knife.

just had a quick look at the Gill range an they seem very good value for money.

 

[Skylark]

A knife made from high grade materials will always be expensive. Probably related to the macho image )), most divers will buy one among their first kit purchases.....so there's plenty to chose from. They do seem to be a bit cheaper from a dive shop than from a chandlery. Maybe there's a message here?

A typical divers knife will have a high grade blade to prevent rust and keep its cutting edge. It will probably have a rounded tip to prevent inserting it in your femoral artery when being bounced around in a RIB (or, indeed stabbing the sponsons). One edge will be serrated to cut rope, the other razor sharp for everything other than rope and finally, it will have a cutter to clear monofilament nylon line snagged around the wreck or your prop.

I have a couple of dive knives aboard.

 

[Giblets]

Have had a couple of the RRK knives for a few years. One always attached to the l/j webbing and one attached to trouser/shorts belt. Just remember to remove the latter before going to the pub - don't ask!

 

[Neil]

When I was a boy scout in the 60's, we all carried a big sheath knife on our belt. None of us managed to stab anyone, either by accident or design. Can't envisage that now.

 

[diapason]

When I was a boy scout in the 60's, we all carried a big sheath knife on our belt. None of us managed to stab anyone, either by accident or design. Can't envisage that now.

Likewise. I was also into archery and was a member of a club at school. I used to catch the bus carrying a longbow and a quiver of arrows.

 

[Rhyddid]

Likewise. I was also into archery and was a member of a club at school. I used to catch the bus carrying a longbow and a quiver of arrows.

Gotta Love it..... Especially as a Somerset lad.... " Arrows=Strongbow........ Thanks for sharing.

 

[KellysEye]

>I have a couple of dive knives aboard.

We had that, one on the binnacle to cut sheets etc and one by the life raft in case the boat was sinking fast and we needed to cut the tether. Serrated is best.

 

[RAI]

I was surprised how hard it is to cut Dyneema rope. My RRK knife managed it, but not as quickly as I would have liked.

 

[Neil]

A big factor, and one which doesn't become apparent until some time and use, is the ability of a knife to hold an edge. A razor sharp knife out of the box can lose its edge over time, even without use -(surface oxidation maybe?), and a poor blade can get blunt after the first cut. Some of the US knives are incredibly expensive, but by and large (with a lot of caveats!) you get what you pay for.

 

[Thedreamoneday]

A big factor, and one which doesn't become apparent until some time and use, is the ability of a knife to hold an edge. A razor sharp knife out of the box can lose its edge over time, even without use -(surface oxidation maybe?), and a poor blade can get blunt after the first cut. Some of the US knives are incredibly expensive, but by and large (with a lot of caveats!) you get what you pay for.

That makes sense, unless I suppose you keep on top of sharpening the blade but would we do that???

 

[Thedreamoneday]

I was surprised how hard it is to cut Dyneema rope. My RRK knife managed it, but not as quickly as I would have liked.[/QUOTE

Interesting, I imagine at the moment of need you'd think to yourself I wished I'd sharpened this last week!!!!!

 

[RAI]

Interesting, I imagine at the moment of need you'd think to yourself I wished I'd sharpened this last week!!!!!

I'm not sure how best to sharpen the RRK. In any case, I had never used it before. The Dyneema fibres are very fine and each one tougher than they look. It meant grinding the knife into the rope against a wooden block. A hot knife works much better.