PFD Knife?

You should ask this dude!

I carry a partially serrated folder in my pfd but I use a pair of those medical type serrated scissors for bait, line cutting(spectra). My stainless pliers have cutters also. My license lanyard has a small diamond stone and a pair of line nippers.

I have a Gerber Rivermate on my PFD and I love it

for less than $35, if I lose it, I won't be too unhappy.  Of course, if I lose it, it'd be because i dropped it.  No way that knife is just going to fall out of the sheath.

Just recently I was interviewed by a couple of the Gerber designer/engineers.  Hopefully we'll see a fixed blade w/ multitool coming soon.  I told them to take the rivermate, throw in scissors/nail clippers, and a hook file, and i'd be the happiest man they've ever met.

Aside from the Rivermate, I do have a classic Leatherman, a Swiss, and one other knife that are fairly easy to get to.

Been through a lot of knives for fishing and yaking.  I'm partial to Gerbers for some reason, and they have all rusted on me    Even some of the NECK or KISS knives from CRKT which were MADE for water use rusted up on me with little notice, (like a P-Line bar).  I'm gonna have to try a titanium sometime, but have just not been bringing it with me at all.  I have a River Mate, but it has no straight edge, only serrated, and I just never seem to want to use it for bait or cutting line.

But... I always carry a Leatherman Multi-Tool attached to my seat strap that I can use for just about any situation I may encounter on the yak.  And it hasn't rusted much on me, just some spots where I didn't WD40 it, but still works fine every time!

Last weekend I had a 4oz jig and a shrimp fly rig that I swapped out and I thought I tucked it in the mesh pocket on my Hobie.  I missed, and it somehow slipped between the drive, and was dangling in the water with the shrimp fly stuck HARD into the drive.  I got hung up on some kelp with the jig and felt some of the swells passing under me and it felt like I was about to be tossed into the water.  I had to use the pliers to get the shrimp fly dug out from the mirage drive, and then was able to pull the drive out and cut the line. 

My old 3 1/2 inch blackie collins dive knife is straped to my PFD...I have to clean and dry it every time or it will rust away... I use it as a gerneral purpose blade.... one of the reasons I carry it is comfort/peace of mind.... it will be there as a defensive/offensive tool in a defiant...perhaps futile attempt to defend myself against large toothy critters.

Gue

 

http://www.spyderco.com/catalog/details.php?product=295

http://www.spyderco.com/catalog/details.php?product=295

Uggh, that's a nice looking knife!  But, I'm sure I'd do something stupid like drop it overboard and curse myself for loosing such an expensive knife.

$115 shipped on ebay

http://cgi.ebay.com/Spyderco-Aqua-Salt-Black-FB23BK-NIB-New-in-Box_W0QQitemZ380140485975QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item5882237d57&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14

-FF

$115 shipped on ebay

http://cgi.ebay.com/Spyderco-Aqua-Salt-Black-FB23BK-NIB-New-in-Box_W0QQitemZ380140485975QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item5882237d57&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14

-FF

Interesting: "Whether sporting or laboring in saltwater two features rate highly in choosing a fixed blade utility knife, reliable cutting performance and the knife's ability to remain rust free without maintenance. The knife industry toyed unsuccessfully with non-rusting steels for years until two years ago when Spyderco started manufacturing blades using an alloy called H-1. H1 is precipitation-hardened steel, utilizing .1% nitrogen instead of carbon. Carbon is the component in steel that makes the blade hard and allows it to hold an edge. Carbon also reacts to chloride, making rust. With nitrogen replacing the carbon; hardness and edge retention are realized but nitrogen doesn't react to chloride so it physically cannot rust. Aqua Salt's H-1 blade is thick for hearty use with a weight reducing swedge grind on the spine. It is available fully PlainEdged or SpyderEdged and has a thin, hollow-ground cutting surface. For enhanced visibility the fiberglass reinforced nylon handle is available in cornea searing Marine Yellow or subdued black and comes aggressively textured keeping the knife in your hand even if wet, cold or slippery."

Thanks to everyone for sharing your thoughts and experiences - all very informative and helpful.
 
While not universal, the consensus seems to be to have some sort of blade attached to the PFD for "what if's".   I also like the advice from EWB and others - go cheap.   Just find a folding blade that will clip to the PFD, and don't be surprised when you lose it.   I think I'll start there.

Thanks!

at last years sportsmans expo I hit up one of the knife vendors to see if one of those all plastic (actually I think they are nylon fiber) ones would float. I tried it in the trout casting pond and it sank. I however didn't see the up side on in never rusting. That thing was really sharp.

I also have a wenoka pdf knife its a nice piece of equipment with many uses. Mine is a titanium blade which has held up very well for 3 years.

same here    also have the titanium blade = IT WILL NEVER RUST ON YOU   (I have gone through so many knives that rusted on me )

*I was fishing Davenport on a windy day and my bow dug into a nasty chop that carried a few kelp strands over it....got my knife out (attached to my vest) and quicky cut the strands of kelp before it got too top heavy. IMO: yes, a good knife is worth having

I've had my Wenoka Titanium dive knife on my pfd for over 5 years now. Use it on almost every outing wether cutting kelp, cutting line, stabbing fish, gutting fish, or cleaning the dirt from under my finger nails. It's alway come in handy.

I buy super cheap less than $10 Big 5 folding knives.  I keep it in my PFD zip pocket.  I use it to cut bait, but mostly, SinCoast listen up here.....

Freeing myself from sabikis.  A sabiki hook catches a few threads on the calf of my wetsuit, or in my bow line.  Pulling it out would tear, but shaving it off works.  I do carry a swiss army knife in my box for repairs.

there is a law of physics that states the likelihood of loosing a knife is directly proportional to its cost.  So I never loose my cheap knives.

I use one of these... cheap and even if they rust, the serrated blade stays sharp.  I've had it for at least 4 years now and really never have washed it or anything.  Has some rust but still cuts bait, rope, whatever plenty easily.  These should be plenty easy to find at local bait/tackle shops.

http://www.kzreelrods.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=13_16&products_id=10

  I like these.  They can be found on Ebay fairly cheap.

http://www.coldsteel.com/k4neckknife.html