Knife suggestions?

Hello,

I haven't purchased a knife yet.

I was just reading a post about someone getting their down rigger line tied up while trolling which made me wonder if anyone has had an experience to where they needed to cut rope or a line in an emergency situation.  If so , what knife did you use?  Would you recommended it?

Thanks -Nick.

I use two, a cheapo bait knife clipped to my PFD. and a Gerber Multi tool.  I also keep a Rapala filet knife in my tackle box for post mortem work. Often that stays in the truck till I get back. I like the Germer as it is easy to deploy (flip of the wrist), it has a small eyelet for attaching a lanyard to so I don't loose it. Stays sharp. I can use it if need be to remove hooks, tighten a screw, or pop a bottle top. The PFD Knife serves two purposes, one prepping bait and stuff. but if I go over and tangled in something it is quick to get to.

My favorite knife is Spyderco Pacific Salt. But any salt model with the H1 steel is gonna be awesome. It doesnt rust and I have the folder so I just tuck it into my vest, Eddie recommend I tie it to my vest so I added a paracord tether. This knife is a perfect light EDC that you can beat up and it resharpens super easy, I just steel it now and then.

I used to like the bird and trout neck knives, but Ive dropped so many into the ocean or chipped them due to rust that I stopped buying them. Get a spydie salt model and dont worry about it ever. I've swam with it, and rinsed it out in the ocean plenty of times.

check out any spyderco salt model but this is my recommendation https://www.amazon.com/Spyderco-Pacific-Lightweight-Folding-Non-Slip/dp/B0842BKD7X/ref=sr_1_6?dchild=1&keywords=spyderco+salt&qid=1610768040&sr=8-6.

*Brought to you by spyderco and the 'I Have Lost Too Many Knives Foundation'

Spyderco. No question at all. On the PFD, with a leash. Don’t play with safety. I never use mine for anything but emergencies. Used it once to cut my line when I was close to the rocks and big waves showed up while I got snagged. I was concerned I would flip. So I put the drive on reverse and got the hell out of there.
The H1 steel doesn’t rust. But I recommend rinsing it after every trip. I don’t always do that, but I apply Lanocote (I think it’s basically ship’s fat) and it’s an excellent protector.

Whitewater kayakers, rafters, and divers carry safety knives for use in emergencies, particularly rope entanglements. This kind of safety knife is available from boating and diving stores, and is a good choice for kayak anglers.  The picture below shows the safety knife I carry on my PFD.  The knife's sheath should be mounted on your PFD where you can grab it instantly out of its sheath with either hand.  Try to find a way to mount it where the handle doesn't stick out in a way which could hook on things when your're trying to climb back into your kayak.  I prefer to mount my safety knives with the handle pointing up, as that reduces the chance that the knife will pop out of its sheath and disappear into the water, but due to the location of the attachment points on most PFDs I usually find that I have to mount my knife with the handle pointing down.  I don't think that a folding knife is a good choice for a safety knife because some fumbling around, often using both hands, is required to deploy a folding knife. Safety knives with double-sided blades are better than safety knives with single-sided blades, because in an emergency, where you may not be able to see what you're doing, you don't want to end up desperately trying to cut something with the blunt back of a knife. Many safety knives have a blunt tip to reduce the chances that you might jab yourself while flailing around in an emergency. I think that leashing a safety knife is a bad idea; in an emergency, you don't want to be impeded by a leash. If you buy a safety knife, the first thing you should do is sharpen the heck out of it; a dull safety knife isn't very effective.  Safety knives with a lot of impressive-looking multi-sized serrations are harder to sharpen than safety knives with smooth blade edges.

But you'll probably never get involved in an emergency which requires the fast use of a knife. The most common use for safety knives is spreading peanut butter and other food and bait preparation activities.  I don't use my safety knife for those things, to keep it sharp.  I carry a folding knife which is leashed to my kayak by a retractor for use in gutting fish and similar activities.

If you hook your downrigger weight on the bottom while trolling in still water, it may take you a minute to figure out what is going on.  Your kayak will start turning towards the side the downrigger is mounted on, and even if you keep pedaling or paddling the "V" wave generated by the downrigger cable will disappear, but you aren't in any danger.  You release the downrigger brake, turn around and head back in the direction you came from, and try to pull the weight off whatever it has hooked on.  Downrigger trolling anywhere near the bottom in current or big swells is a real bad idea, but if you hook your downrigger weight on the bottom in those conditions, the fastest way to avoid a catastrophe is to instantly release the downrigger brake and let downrigger cable or line run out while you turn around and head back the way you came from. Releasing the brake is a lot faster than pulling out a knife and cutting the line.  The only reason you'd need to take the expensive step of cutting your downrigger cable or line is because you ran out of cable before you could get your kayak turned around.

Here's an educational safety knife story: a friend was running the Lochsa River, which is a Class IV+ river in Idaho, when he came across a rafter who had flipped and pinned his raft.  He pulled over to help.  The rafter wanted to lighten the raft to make it easier to unpin it.  He reached underneath the raft to cut a strap holding down some gear, and managed to cut an artery in his wrist.  My friend got to practice his first aid.

I completely agree with Pmmpete that a folding knife is not a good choice. After owning several knives I now use the NRS Pilot knife. It can be deployed instantly for an emergency situation.  The blunt tip prevents stabbing yourself specially around the neck and head area.  Here a real life example.

A also agree that a folding knife is not a good idea. I have a Spyderco H-1 folding knife and it's awesome, but not appropriate for emergency use on a kayak.

For kayak fishing, I have a Wenoka "deep see", similar to this one:

https://www.amazon.com/Aqua-Lung-Squeeze-Lock-Knife-Blue-Tanto/dp/B00UZJKA4C

It's attached in a fixed position on the front of my PFD where I can grab it in a fraction of second in case I need to cut the DR line, stab at an insane sea lion, or whatever. It even works OK to gut and scale fish.

I got both of these on me but i only use the spydie

The most likely things to go wrong when using a knife in an emergency situation are:
1. The knife is not coming out. It’s stuck.
2. The knife came out, but fell during use.
3. You quickly need to use both hands and the knife won’t go back to storage position.

Of course, there are other things that can go wrong as others have pointed, but I would use those scenarios as my guiding criteria.

+1 for Spyderco. I prefer Spyderco's SpyderEdge. About once every couple years or so I will send in for sharpening service depending on use.


• Blade sharpening (PlainEdge, SpyderEdge, or CombinationEdge) – No charge for the service; $5.00 for return shipping and handling (of up to four knives).
https://www.spyderco.com/service-support/warranty-repair/

I think there are some fixed blade spydies made of that h1 as well. Everything just rusts so bad so i think the steel is the most important thing. 

Thanks for the fantastic response!  For safety purposes, I'm definitely going with a double edged non folding knife with a blunt tip.   I recently purchased a filet knife and dropped it nearly puncturing my foot yesterday...

I've never used a down rigger so it's nice to know that there's an 'instant release' mechanism that can let out line as to avoid a roll over.

Many thanks -Nick.

Thanks for the fantastic response!  For safety purposes, I'm definitely going with a double edged non folding knife with a blunt tip.   I recently purchased a filet knife and dropped it nearly puncturing my foot yesterday...

I've never used a down rigger so it's nice to know that there's an 'instant release' mechanism that can let out line as to avoid a roll over.

Many thanks -Nick.

Smart chioce. I own both the NRS Pilot (bigger) and Co Pilot knives. I did 2 tests in determing which meets my needs. 1st. Ready for use in one swift motion. 2nd. Cut 80 lb Mono and also 50 lb braid like butter. The NRS Pilot performed the best. I rinse mine after every saltwater trip and rub with oil. It stays in top shape.

NRS Great knife and it has the much needed bottle opener

I've been using the same Fogcutter Knife for over 10 years now.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007ZJZUJA/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I like the versatility of this knife. just make sure to put a retracting lanyard on it.

Choosing the knife is a very personal choice.  Just like most fishing gear, I rinse and oil after every trip.