A knife for protection at sea

P

PJay

Joined
May 30, 2002
Messages
4
Greetings all, from a new subscriber.I would appreciate advice on a choice of knife for marine use. I use a kayak on the ocean off the coast of New South Wales [ Australia ] and this can involve encounters with sharks. No kidding! We have had several recent incidents where sharks have either attacked a kayaker or a surfer.
So I plan to upgrade my personal protection from a small folder which I carry on a lanyard around my neck!
To give you some idea of my thinking, the Ontario Spec Plus Navy Knife looks the goods. 11+ inches overall with a six inch 440A stainless steel blade. I guess it is for marine use, with appropriate leg holster.
Appreciate any advice. [ I am not an expert! Just trying to stay alive !] :)
PS: The assumption is that a shark attacks the boat and tips me out. This has happened several times in recent Australian summers.
Cheers.
 
i dont know anything about fighting off sharks but if you want a knife for salt water use 440A is probably a good choice.

I dont really like Ontario knives, i would check out SOG, they have some cool 440A products.
 
Initial thought: You don't want a knife. You want shark repellant. sharks are not easy to kill, simply waving a knife at them won't scare them off, and they also move a lot faster than your arm/knife will under water.

Other than that, anything in stainless or titanium will work. I'd go for the biggest, meanest legal knife you can get. If daggers (twin edged knives) are legal in Oz, get one of those. If not, something with a good tanto or clip point. Slashing attacks simply don't won't work due to slow speed of movement underwater and shark's tough skin. You want something you can thrust/stab with rather than slice. I wouldn't mention any specific knives or even specific brands, they're much of a muchness and everyone has thier own preferances.
 
YOU REALLY ARENT GOING TO KILL A SHARK! you want is to let it know you are not a seal or easy pickings. a hand gaff, with one straight and a curved point on it is your best bet. poke him right in the nose. no guarrenties here :D a bang stick is another way to go. dont know if you can have one ther in oz.
 
you spill blood... even Shark Blood, and you suck in every other shark within a crapload of miles like flies to poop....
 
i agree with the other posts i would carry shark repellent although i know this isnt 100% but it owuld be my first line of defence. I would also carry a boker orca dive knife. Its meant to be excellent tactical dive knife, coated blade to resist corrosion. Its being considered for use by german special forces if you believe the boker web site. Im sure there are alof of equally good dive knifes out there, some of the things i would look for in a dive knife for sharks(assuming corrosion resistance already) is

how well does the sheath hold it in? its no good if you go for it and its fallen out or if it falls out onto your surfboard and sticks you in the leg

length of blade...personally if i had to fight a shark off id want a considerable blade that was razor sharp

piercing ability...if your fighting a shark with a knife your only chance is to stab at the gills and eyes, the knife must be razor sharp with a wicked piercing tip shark skin is incredibly tough

as you will be stabbing some design feature to prevent your hand slipping down the blade, your likely to encouter considerable resistance trying to force a knife into a shark. look for either a finger guard or a handle design that will stop your hands going onto the blade. the last thing you want is your own blood in the water before you scare the shark off!

in fact thinking about it I would take a knife yeah...but my weapon of choice for this would be a harpoon. either a co2 powered harpoon gun or just a hand held one. a knife is a last resort for fighting, especially fighting wild beasts. sharks are a bigger problem than most as firearms are impractical and potenitally dangerous. harpoons were developed for this environment.

another thought are those electronic shark reppeler devices. i saw those on TV they seem to be amazing you could look into that.
 
Uhh... no knife you could possibly buy will beat off a determined shark.

However if it absolutely cannot rust, try something in Talonite, Stellite 6K, or a Titanium bladed rig from Mission Knives, be warned however, that all of these are high-cost.
 
Go with a bang stick, or at least a spear gun. A knife isn't going to do much good.
 
With a model 18 RAndall attached to the end and a 500 magnum handgun...that combination might work...:D

I think I'd just go kayaking elsewhere..:D :D :D
 
If you really want a knife for use in saltwater, you absolutely cannot go wrong with one of the Mission Ti knives.
They are extremely tough, lightweight, take a great edge and hold it very well, and Mission is a pleasure to deal with.

I have been using/abusing my MPF for awhile now, and aside from some marks on the blade, it shows no signs of wear/damage.
 
Originally posted by jimsbowies
With a model 18 RAndall attached to the end and a 500 magnum handgun...that combination might work...:D

I think I'd just go kayaking elsewhere..:D :D :D
Click to expand...


LOL!!! .. hey why not fit a harpoon cannon off an old whaling ship onto your kayak? im sure you can pick one up cheap in japan... there she blows!
 
Shark medicine on a tight budget is nothing more than a 4" piece of 1.5" dowel rod. Just jab the bastard in the beak with it and it will deliver quite a message.
Doc
 
Pack a nickel-plated .38 on the deck.

It is kinda' like hiking in grizzly country though, nothing that you would feel like packing would do you any good.
 
i reacon a 20 gague elephant gun or an automatic assault rifle and a 30mm grenade launcher backed up with a .44 magnum packing hollow nesed rounds would do me just fine in grizzly country........ but then thats just me :)
 
A power-head/bang-stick is the way to go. A knife will only put your arm closer to it's mouth. Shark repellant has been shown to not work.
 
Not to mention that any knife will not have an easy time with shark skin. Shark skin is something like 30 times as tough as leather.
 
Thanks guys, for interesting posts! I think you'all have the same mind as me, and that is, if the shark REALLY wants you, he wins, every time! No contest, you are in his environment and he is superbly equipped to take you out, and if he doesn't, his mates will.
I accept that; and we seakayakers take the atttitude that we are in hostile territory and we are there courtesy of the sea and its inhabitants.
That said.. we still want a fighting chance, albeit, a slim one.

I should point out that I do carry what we call a 'powerhead'and you call a bang stick. But in real life, the chances of being able to reach it in a shark emergency are pretty slim. Hence a knife strapped to a leg. Just to give me a chance. It is the suprise element in a shark attack on a boat which is the killer. You don't have time to reach for weapons. You are in the water.
I carry my powerhead loaded on deck. That's the best you can do.
But thanks everyone for your suggestions on knives. I shall continue to do my research and let you know what I choose, for the record.
[that's if I survive ! :) ]
 
good luck d00d, although ive said alot that a knife is really a last line of defence, that should be interpreted also as 'a knife is THE last line of defence' its your last thing, the one thing you can rely on being there, it wont jam it wont freeze up, it wont misfire, it wont run out of ammo. if you choose correctly it wont break. its just there and it just works there are few things you can say that for. you should definately have one on your personage somewhere, sharks might not be overly intelligent but if you stick a 6 inch dagger into ones eye ball its not gonna hang around. for the extra pound or so in weight your adding...go for it
 
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