C-Forum

Hi Paddling Peers,

I'm in the market (yay!) and looking for advice about river knife choices. My girl uses a CRKT BearClaw (Serrated / Blunt tip) but that one has a finger hole I can't get into wearing gloves which I do most times on the water.
I like the design, although I think the cutting Power could be better. Now I would like to hear about your preferences to gain a better insight in the different choices of rescue knife, maybe hear a story or two how THIS or THAT did/didnt work - straight or serrated blade, blunt tip or not, finger hole or not.. which ones are slippery/smallish (I seriously wouldnt be able to not let go that Gerber Shorty!).

I'm also thinking something like this:
http://www.boker.de/fahrtenmesser/boeke ... 0-0-0.html
could be interesting.

The neckolas:

http://www.boker.de/fahrtenmesser/crkt/ ... -3-20.html

looks like it could have a bigger hole for my finger (in knifes, that should be ok ;D)

I also thought about the MUK in Green, I could of course blunt it myself and it looks grippy..

http://www.boker.de/fahrtenmesser/crkt/ ... -5-40.html

Ok let's go..

and btw. if there is a thread I didn't find, lead me to it pleez. Searching didn't work out for me so far!

Thanks,

Jan

PS. until now I carry a Leatherman Wave - single handed opening with serrated blade (plus thwart screw fixer , but I would rather have a fixed blade and a nice sheath instead of putting it in my pocket with a cable that could wrap around my neck D8

Ok - answering my own post, eh? Anyways I guess I could make a sheath for the MUK if I decide on that one. Take some PA 6.6 sheets, heat-gun them soft and mold over knife.. rivet shut with stainless rivets... then some fancy stuff with spring steel to lock it in. Could work. Just to let you know..

Cheers,

J.

what about their COP TOOL?

http://www.boker.de/us/index.php?c=45,2 ... &p=2&pp=10

I have a Gerber Rivermate knife I like a lot. Super sturdy, blunt tip doubles as a screwdriver, albeit a big one... The sheath is different from the other gerber river knives in that the part that holds the knife is metal instead of plastic so it will not wear down and drop your knife into the river at an inconvenient time.

@ Paddle Power: Thanks for pointing out the Cop Tool. Looks like it would be handling good grip-wise, although I wonder if I would want a pointier tip to enter tight spaces (eg cut open a vest)??

@TNbound: The Rivermate looks good. What about the blade, is it sharp on the upside? I wonder how you get between your skin and a rope or such with a double-sided sharp blade. Is that an issue at all?

thanx so far!

Jan

I just bought a NRS Co-Pilot, it has everything I like. Sturdy blade, blunt tip, the ever popular bottle opener and it was a good deal. I also like the sheath release on this model.

Tim T wrote:I just bought a NRS Co-Pilot, it has everything I like. Sturdy blade, blunt tip, the ever popular bottle opener and it was a good deal. I also like the sheath release on this model.

I've been looking at the co-pilot

I have a Pilot and the only reason I took it off the life jacket was the size, gets caught on stuff.

but then so does (occasionally) the little Bear claw I now wear.

I

I second the Gerber, I've had the blunt and sharp versions, both were good, one got dropped in the river and the other stolen.

However motivated by a prohibition on fixed blade knives at work I'm now using a Victorionox Rescue Tool lock-knife; They're really sturdy, low maintainance and have a profusion of useful tools (including a saw that can rip through boats unbelievably well) whilst being only marginally bigger than most other lock-knives.

mahyongg wrote:@TNbound: The Rivermate looks good. What about the blade, is it sharp on the upside? I wonder how you get between your skin and a rope or such with a double-sided sharp blade. Is that an issue at all?

The rivermate does not have a double blade. It does thin down on the spine of the blade, but it is not sharp.

Same here: Gerber blunt tip. I haven't needed it so far, and I hope to keep it that way!!
My previous knife had a plastic shaft, broke it during transport (don't ask me how!). Therefore I bought another one. Gerber at least has a more decent shaft as well.

I've found that Suba Diving shops sometimes have really cheap and quality knives that easily attach to PFD's. I bought one when I started guiding five years ago and I still have it. Worth a look if you have one in your area. There are some unessesarily large one but I found a good small one that works for me.

I had my eyes on a fixed blade, sturdy lock-sheath full metal scuba knife for 17.20 € if you can believe it.. but I would have had to modify it to make it suit the purpose (blunt one of the two sharp edges, shorten a little etc). I also like the NRS Pilot knife, does anyone have experience with that one? How does the locking mechanism stand up to use over time / release in slight panic?

;D

The release mechanism on the pilot is a squeeze and pull type deal.... I think it would be very easy to use unless you couldn't see it, were in a rush/panic, or were wearing gloves and could not get your hand all the way around it. It is also made of plastic, so it will wear down/out eventually and be liable to breaking.

The release on the Gerber rivermate is a simple pull, and made of a couple steel pins so it doesn't wear.

It is also reassuring to know all I need to do to get my knife out of the sheath is give a good yank and not worry about messing with any funny latching systems.

For ease of use and low cost the Gerber E-Z Zip is pretty good
www.gerberstore.com/index.php?xpage=itempage&xid=464
If I lose it- no big deal