Anyone carry a Dive Knife?

[Boom-stick]

Does anyone use a diving knife for CCW, SD etc...?

The thought crossed my mind whilst I was away diving. My dive knife is a titanium T-rex with multiple carry options, calf, bicep, horizontal belt, vertical belt, can even mounted on harnesses and clothing.

No one batted an eye lid when I walked around with it clipped to my shorts on a resort in Cuba and it is a very strong and sharp blade.
And when you push the release button on the sheath it almost ejects the blade in to your waiting hand.

Any thoughts?

 

[JShirley]

I have got to say that is probably the ugliest non-fantasy knife I have ever seen. Congrats.

John

 

[wheelgunslinger]

Yep. Occasionally, I use one as a ccw under a long sleeved shirt. I strap it to my forearm and keep in on the underside. You have to be careful to wear the right shirt so you can draw the knife if needed. What I like about carrying this way is that there's not much of a telling motion like grabbing for the waist area, should it need to be deployed.

 

[cmidkiff]

I have a couple of dive knives, they're much less 'fancy' than yours, but either would make a decent carry knife. They are brightly colored, as most dive knifes are, that could be a concern for CC. Never really thought about it before... Thanks for making the suggestion

 

[Boom-stick]

Didn't think it was ugly or fancy
Pic's don't really do it justice but it is made to function well and that it does.
It's still razor sharp dispite the things I've used it for. It has made short work of the various lines and ropes I've managed to get myself tangled up in whilst free-diving, that's when you need it to perform!!

Is this any better?

 

[hso]

Ti dive knives have one draw back as a knife goes. The materials they are made of don't hold an edge as well as steel. That may not be much of an issue in a SD knife since if you don't use it as a utility knife dulling the edge all the tie with mundane cutting tasks a Ti knife should be sharp enough for the few cuts made in self defense. The big advantages would be in the weight savings and in the corrosion proof materials. No worry about sweat eating your blade.

 

[Valkman]

hso is correct, as usual, as Ti does not heat harden so it's not hard enough to make a hard use knife. For SD it should be great, and for occasional use - just keep it sharp.

 

[hso]

Valkman,

This will blow your mind: I found a Ti folder several years ago made by Ocean Master that would make 15 push cuts on cardboard before it stated to skate! Looked like a copy of the early Benchmade AFCK with a thumbstud and a back lock. Same size as well. Good lockup. Easily opened. Ti clip. Weightless. I carried it around and cut everything but my toenails with it. Afte a month of abusing it I sent it to the president of one of the smaller knife manufacturers and suggested he strike a deal to mainline the knife under their name and steal a march on Ti folders.

 

[ecos]

some titanium grades will heat harden just not to the extent that good steels will. there are 3 classifications of Ti. aplha grade, alpha-beta, and beta. aplhas wont harden, aplha-beta (6al4v is in this catagory) will somewhat harden, and beta hardens the most.

6al4v will get about 30% harder by heat treating, im not sure how much it affects betas. even with heat hardening i think its only hitting high 30's on rc scale

awhile back i was looking into making Ti. knives....never got around to it other than simple letter openers.

heres something else ive been wanting to try but havent gotten around to it.
http://www.dynamettechnology.com/Knive Brochure.htm

sorry to get all techy

 

[hso]

ecos,

Yep. Powder metalurgy ceramic composites. The certamic is held together with a metal matrix material. They start out as fine powder and then are cast or injection molded to shape. The blank is then centered to full densification. The normally very brittle ceramic is supported by the metal. I expect that the Ti matrix would best work with a Ti carbide or nitride material so that you get some improvements in centering. The product comes out at a near finished condition and it should take very little final handling. Good thing too when you consider your belts would get eaten up in a hurry.

 

[bp78]

Why does that thing have a point?

All my dive knives are blunt tipped. Dive gear reacts poorly when poked with pointy things. Your BC or dry suit doesn't need the holes.

Any knife makes a poor defensive weapon in my opinion, not to mention it's illegal in my state (NC). The CCP is good for handguns only, no dive knives, SBS's, switchblades, nun-chucks, slapjacks, ninja-thing-majicks, or other things.


Sorry. Just noticed you're in London. Shouldn't you be handing in that knife anyway?

 

[Boom-stick]

Yes i'm in London, and I'm not handing in anything!!. I have a rather extensive collection of sharp pointy things I've gathered from all over this planet and I'm not about to hand them over

Anyway they'd probably be more interested in the .44mag in the basement (it is legal!!)

I got a pointy one instead a blunt tip so I can dispatch fish after spearing them.

It must be the harder type of Ti as I've cut through various ropes, lines etc and it will still shave the hairs off my arm
It might just be a piece of freak Ti but I'm happy with it.

I've got one of the ceramic-mix based knives, a folder and that really holds an edge, I use it every day and you could still shave with it

 

[hso]

SOG has a great alternative and I'm frankly amazed that the dive knife manufacturers haven't jumped on it. A simple slot in the sheath serves as a line cutter. No exposed pointy tip.

 

[bp78]

SOG makes a cool looking knife. Not real practical for most divers though.

Short of the spear diving communities special needs for stiletto blades and .44 powerheads to finish off fish:



Most divers only need a short, blunt tipped knife and a pair of EMT shears. Those two items, mounted on your harness & not tied to your leg, are less likely to snag stuff and more accessable when trying to cut yourself out of a fishing line or net entanglement. Even a cheap homemade knife works very well.

 

[Boom-stick]

Most divers only need a short, blunt tipped knife and a pair of EMT shears. Those two items, mounted on your harness & not tied to your leg, are less likely to snag stuff and more accessable when trying to cut yourself out of a fishing line or net entanglement. Even a cheap homemade knife works very well.

+1 to this, but a Ti knife does look cooler
even if it costs x10 as much (I do have cheap knives as well)

I Freedive and teach freediving and don't recommend knife placment anywhere other than the belt.

The first tangle underwater I had was only because of a knife on my ankle
Not clever when you've only got a lung full of air.

 

[bp78]

Just to clarify, my above post was just to make the point that a GOOD dive knife should make a POOR defensive tool.

 

[Valkman]

The way Ti prices are going a knife made of it won't be affordable soon. Our aircraft industry buys much of it, and China and India are driving supply down as they need more and more. It's going to get much more expensive than it is now.

 

[leonsr43]

DIVE KNIFE

TRY A LOOK AT BÖKER ORCA, IT'S A GOOD D.K. AND NOBODY WANTS TO MESS WITH IT.
LEON IN HOLLAND

 

[ecos]

hso,
whats your opinion of the powdered ceramic Ti.'s? have any experience with them?

all i know of them is what ive read, they look good on paper but i have no info on everyday usage of them.

i dont even want to think of how horrible it would be to grind lol. just grinding edge bevels on 6al4v is a pain in the butt because of the constant oxide skin that forms. even though the material is far softer than steel i go through 3-4 times as many sanding belts..using zirconia.

i wrote the company to see what their minimums are and additional info but i havent heard back yet. im not really in the position to play with it right now anyways so i havent started pestering them yet.

 

[hso]

The blades are very durable for edge retention, less fragile than ceramic, more fragile than steels. They're a pain to sharpen if you want a razor edge, but if you want a toothyer edge the do well. Very cool for saltwater spray environments, but still a novelty away from corrosion rich environments.

I think they'll make the next improvement with a boron nitride or carbonitride whisker reinforced composite. That way you'll have something like a ceramic/ceramic whisker/Ti composite with lateral strength.

 

[secamp32]

I have a Titanium folder dive knife

That I carry at the beach or pool. It nice to have something in my bathing suit pocket.

 

[sithanas]

My dive knife is pretty much for diving only. Never used it outside of the water.