Picking a dive knife? Blunt or sharp tip?

I need to get a good dive knife.  Blunt tip or sharp?  My main use for it will be for safety but I am thinking eventually I may use it for dispatching fat fish also.  I talked to a guy at the local dive shop who told me he carries a knife on his leg and then another small knife with a sharp tip on his arm for stabbin fish.  This weekend I hope to get up to a lake to try out my new diving gear and get some practice.  I can't wait to get back to the ocean for some abs and maybee some spearin!

I have three different dive knifes. My first is a huge sharp point I bought in the late 70's. It's way too big, so I don't use it.

Now I carry a small blunt on my bc and I have a blunt Blue Tang knife for my leg. I worry about poking a hole in my bc with a sharp point. I also carry some cheap emt shears in my bc to cut wire and fishing line.

Whoa, howdy!  Travis and alfredo, you boys dive?

I'm a re-entry diver who will be geting his new wetsuit this week.  Did SCUBA back when dirt was being invented; now going to work on just freediving. Way out of shape.

Kayaking, fishing, diving, freshwater, Valley boys - we have got to get together.

By the way, I have the twin to alfredo's big knife - good for smashing open stuff only.  Supposed to be getting a fish-killing titanium, sharp tip, serrated blade with line cutter knife that I will carry on my pfd and move to my weight harness? belt? (haven't decided which) when I dive.

I should be comfortable with my Hobie Adventure to meet you for some messing about very soon, if you are interested.  Crew (aka darn cat) is too much of a homebody to travel with me, but I can show you my latest scratches. (Crew: I heard that, maybe I can update your collection for you?)

Good to hear from you.

Whoa, howdy!  Travis and alfredo, you boys dive?

I'm a re-entry diver who will be geting his new wetsuit this week.  Did SCUBA back when dirt was being invented; now going to work on just freediving. Way out of shape.

Kayaking, fishing, diving, freshwater, Valley boys - we have got to get together.

By the way, I have the twin to alfredo's big knife - good for smashing open stuff only.  Supposed to be getting a fish-killing titanium, sharp tip, serrated blade with line cutter knife that I will carry on my pfd and move to my weight harness? belt? (haven't decided which) when I dive.

I should be comfortable with my Hobie Adventure to meet you for some messing about very soon, if you are interested.  Crew (aka darn cat) is too much of a homebody to travel with me, but I can show you my latest scratches. (Crew: I heard that, maybe I can update your collection for you?)

Good to hear from you.

I have not done much freediving but I plan to get out a lot this year.  This Friday or this weekend I am going to a local lake to get some practice and do a little fishing.  Maybee we can hook up.  I am leaning toward a sharp-tip knife.  I really like this one-  It is made by kershaw and has a 3 3/4 inch blade.
I'm also looking at the Riffe knife.

Don't get the Riffe.  The knife is made by an Italian company and sold by different retailers.  Riffe charges the most.  The knife is one or the best for cutting line, kelp, and for braining fish. 

You can buy it from Scubastore for $20 with about $11 for shipping.  That's still $10 cheaper than a Riffe, and it's the same knife except one has "Riffe" on it and mine has "Spetton".

If you have time this Saturday, come down to San Carlos.  There is a big Speargun Show and Tell and it'll feature alot of gun and dive gear manufacturers.  Here's the link with more info:

http://www.spearboard.com/showthread.php?t=28527

I have forgotten who manufactures the knife  I am getting.

I would love to get together somewhere local to fish and to do a little cautious, shallow, diving to get the new gear wet.  I want to take a class or two to get up on the latest freedive theory and practice before getting too ambitious, but maybe you are a more advanced diver than I.

Somehow watching "Blue" a few times and reading Terry Maas book a couple of times doesn't make me feel qualified to do more than stay in the kiddie pool.  Maybe somone with qualifications can join us for some basic instruction?

Anyway, I'll be your surface spotter if you'll be mine.  [Crew (aka darn cat) says if we need help spotting the surface we may not be ready to do any diving; Captain decides explaining it is more trouble than its worth.]

hey don, david laird at wallins dive center in san carlos offers a freedive and spearfishing class for 100.00. he is one of the guys who made BLUE movie. As of a couple years ago he was the only SSI certified instructor to teach freediving. He would cover the basics as well as modern techniques. I took the class and so did many others i have dived with. Even those who diver before taking the class have found it very beneficial to enjoy their time in the water even more. Safety is always stressed in the class.

Travis, as for dive knives. I have the INOX bladed Riffe knife. I second Spinal Tap's advice though because its kind of overpriced. It has served its purpose for a while now and still works ok. The gripes I have are about its sheath and retainer. The rubber retainer has been lost as of a while ago and i now use a think bungee to secure the knife in place which is attached to the handle end. then when i am done with the knife i stick the blade in the sheath and pull the bungee loop over the long end of the sheath. i can get the knife out in a second that way too and i have something to put around my wrist when i am braining a fish. the knife i use is on my weight belt and is directly in front of me when i am diving. yes it does get in the way sometimes and i will be moving it to my forearm.

definitely if you plan on spearfishing get a sharp tipped blade with a sharp sawing edge that is not too wide or an iki spike. the advantage of the knife is that you can also cut gills.

if its a larger fish i will either rip out gills or saw the gills so they bleed out. for smaller fish braining it behind the eye or up from the gill into the brain is also good. anything but leave it flapping about!

Thanks.  I have seen other posts here and elsewhere that have good things to say about Wallins.  When I am ready to get more serious about freediving the saltwater, I will definitely take his class. 

The local Dolphin Dive Center has some decent freediving instructors and some freshwater dives and  classes that are more convenient now.  I am going to take an intro to freediving session, then focus on gearing up, working on conditioning, finding some dive buddies - maybe a club, and then taking more in-depth classes in a few months when my mind and body are more fit for the challenge.

It's not that bad out there.  I took two folks out sunday that'd never freedove w/ wetsuit and weight belt and they both got abalone and had a good time. 

This saturday looks pretty ideal, find a veteran to tag along with and give it a try.

Thanks for the encouragement!  It won't be long.

oh yeah, as for freediving, just try to keep everything low profile as possible. you'll appreciate the fluidity of the dives you can go and you'll go through kelp like a hot knife through butter.

its a lot safer to keep things close as well. less likely to get stuck.

stay relaxed on each dive and rest well before each dive. the more relaxed you are the better you will be at handling anything that happens under the surface. for kelp snags either drop down and release the kelp or snap it. i never found time to fumble for a knife and cut away.

john

When im diving I cary a wenoka sharp point knife I have never had to use it for kelp I always found it better to relax and let the kelp come free if i had time or just snap it, but on the other hand I got caught up in some pretty serious fishing line comming in at mendo behind the bathrooms, this stuff was tuff it had to be about 80lb mono or something and if I didnt have the knife i would have been in trouble well maybe not we were in a big group that day but the point remains fishing line is a divers worst enemy and you need a way to cut it. by the time I got the blade out the mono line was wraped pretty good around my left ankle and Im not sure I could have fit a blunt end in between my 6mm suit and the line

Just my opinion

Until I learn better:

Deep Sea Wenoka squeeze lock Blackie Collins titanium sharp point, fish-killing knife arrived.  No line cutter despite promise it did but wicked sharp serrations should do.  Nice knife, going to keep it despite lack of line cutter notch.

Added bungiee wrist lanyard and straps for sheath - probably wear on left arm with lanyard snug around left wrist until weight harness ready, then wear centerline on chest, handle down, lanyard tucked under.

A dremel tool can easilly add a line cutter to any reasonably wide knife.

sharp