Can you break off 50lb mono (even on land?)

Lets have a discussion that's WAY more important to each of you----then whether your knife will easily cut you free from heavy mono----the topic now, is HOW TO VISUALIZE YOUR RISK.    And we will use the "knife & mono" to illustrate.

Murphy's law is out there:   If it can happen it will happen/If it can happen it MUST happen.

You want to know how risky a thing might be........????.....
Don't test the risk with a test that's unlike real conditions
Use your imagination and duplicate worst case for yourself

Imagine your out in your yak crab fishing
Let's just SAY you're connected to your crab-ring by 50-pound mono
Murphy is with you in the boat
A double half-hitch of Mono has formed over your instep/foot
You've thrown your 15-pound crab ring
It takes you with it.....and the clock begins to run
Crab ring hits bottom...you are wearing a life vest
You "climb your leg" (down) to your foot

This is not anything like, you know, your livingroom, at home, in the air.

You get out your knife
You grab below your foot and catch the mono
YOu get your knife under the mono and cut upward
At 15-pounds of "cut" pressure the crab ring lifts from the bottom
To increase cutting pressure by using inertia of the ring...
You stab your caught foot downward....
The line is going to want to follow your foot---rotating the blade
With the knife "rolled" it won't cut, the line moves, the blade has lost it's original "partial cut."   Your next cut will "start from zero."
You grab below the knife with the left hand and secure both "parts" of the line
The line is folded over the blade.
You cut.
Force of the "cut" slips the line in your left hand.
You re-grip and this time take a "turn" on your wrist
You cut.

How well is this going to go?
How long have you been down there?
Fortunately you have not yielded to panic....others WILL yield...
When you cut free you still have to get to the surface
How well is this going to go?

If it goes well and you bob to the surface, will you be laughing?
You who are reading this....are you laughing?

The lesson is----to test a risk----bend your brain to find "worst case" and undertake to explore how it goes under "worst case."

The outcome is way more important than a posting that:  "My Swiss Army Knife cuts 50-pound mono just fine...".......

Because IF YOU ARE CARRYING A CLASP KNIFE OF ANY KIND BURIED IN A POCKET.....holy heck dudes....I can tell you riight now that under the scenario I've given above, down there in the water you'd A) never get your hand into that wet pocket to get that knife out, and B) You'd never get the blade open.
The only knife that would save the life of the man----in the scenario above, would be a knife secured to his person that he could draw.

Now....someone is going to THINK.....Well, I carry a serrated knife so I'm OK.
Could be......but if your serrated knife is just part of the equipment on your boat, you would not have it down there.   So the knife has to be with you.   And even with a serrated knife.....it's still true that your first cut would only be against the "taut-line-pressure" of that 17-pound crab ring.....and if you were not a clear-thingking-person-under-great-pressure you still might not breathe pure air (8-10 feet above you) no matter what kind of knife.

Final Shot:    In the scenario I set up there's another escape avenue.    The double half-hitch is over your foot.    If you can get free of your shoe/bootie...that would be ok.

Murphy is always there.

Judd

I don't mean to be disrespectful, but I think you are scaring people without having tried it yourself. Again, may be you need a sharp knife? My dad use to sell fishing line in bulk and I have cut plenty of 100 lb mono in my days.
If you are using a bait knife that have never been sharpenned, I would agree with you. But come on! Test out your theory before you post it up and scare everyone in here.

Hmmm ... I just visualized my sharp ass serrated knife  cutting through the 50 mono and setting me free.

However, because I was pulled out of range of my shark shield, whitey grabbed me as I was swimming to the top.  I guess I forgot to visualize a bang stick.

-Allen

I crab off my boat not a kayak.....situation averted before it ever became a situation 

Seriously Judd.  I simply said that my dive knife which I carry while fishing, fixed blade and serrated on one edge, will save my life by being able to cut through 50lb mono.  It has been used to cut 100lb momoi mono in my living room to make sturgeon leaders so why would 50lb be any worse.  If I was truly in a situation where I was being dragged down by mono, whether a dull knife or my teeth I'm gonna cut that $%^& and nothing will stop me.  To be honest, my first reaction will probably be to untangle, not cut, at least that was my gut reaction when I got stopped short of the surface by a kelp strand while breathold diving for abs earlier this year.

The scenario you described.....(sorry, I can't find the smiley that means crazy  )


Everybody just go with what you feel comfortable with whether its a knife or scissors.

Well, I did what art suggested, put a couple wraps around the reel and popped it. did not break down at the knot tho, broke just in front of the reel. only tried once, but if I'm in a pickle with a snag on 50lb line or more, I'll do this.

so I was not talking about cutting mono anyways but trying to get it to break off at the knot on the lure. always been able to hold the spool with my thumbs and break it off, but eventually the mono is too strong for that and for me it happened with this 50lb mono.

wrapping it around something incompressible like a gaff handle sometimes is a pain too as it slides on the handle.

the wrap around the reel worked pretty well, but you gotta watch you don't get your finger in the wraps.

thanks guys.

John

I have been using braided 30lb spectra with 40lb mono leader. I can usually un-snag if im patient, but in those instances where I've had to break it off, I put on a cheap rubber glove, do a few wraps around my hand and give it a good tug. It usually breaks off right above the lure/jigg. Im sure 50lb would work the same. It hard to break a short length off your reel on land, but out in the real world with 30 plus feet out it breaks a lot easier.

nope aka-kimo, I use 30lb spectra off the kayak and yep no problem breaking that free.

50lb mono must be conseratively rated, it has stretch and really resists a break.

try it!

I always like to try a rig out on dry land a bit, otherwise you can get some nasty surprises on the water.

John

Hmmm ... I just visualized my sharp ass serrated knife  cutting through the 50 mono and setting me free.

However, because I was pulled out of range of my shark shield, whitey grabbed me as I was swimming to the top.  I guess I forgot to visualize a bang stick.