Axis lock & scuba diving

W

Wunderbar

Joined
May 2, 2003
Messages
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How many of you have taken your BM axis lock knife scuba diving? I've seen many scuba divers with Spyderco Delicas so I wanted to know how well the axis lock holds up under water. :confused:
 
Many moons ago when I worked offshore in Louisiana we used Queen Cutlery's "Big Chief". Used to be able to get them for $3-$5 a piece in Morgan city. We sharpened them with a file for that poor-mans serrated edge.

Anything you stick in salt water will need to be thoroughly rinsed with fresh water, then oiled.

Kind of depends on what your looking to do, or needing to do while at depth. Mostly we used it for cutting rope and crap out of our way (commercially). For sport diving we got the cheapest dive "knife" we could find with a metal butt cap for pounding and either bevelled the tip or got one that way to use as a pry-bar/poke-where-you-didn't-want-your-hand-to-go kind of tool.

But we still used the Big Chief as our rope wrench. Just made a little duct tape pocket on our harness for it and cliped it to a lanyard.


Mike
 
I don't have much bottom time, but EVERY scuba knife I've seen is fixed blade. I have an Ocean Master Titanium that I've been happy with, not that I've used it underwater that much.

A fixed blade is one less thing to go wrong when you NEED it to work.
 
I can see no reason for it not to hold up. If it works in dry it will work in the wet. I have used mine in heavy rain and it did not slip so no worries.

Like posted before salt water will kill the blade so clean her off good when you are done.
 
I've used mine deep in the carcus of game I've killed, buried in blood and entrails... never had a problem with any of them.

Does that count?
 
This is not intended to slam anyone, just informational.

Please note that most scuba knives cost way too much and don't hold an edge worth a hoot. In my most humble of opinions, save your money. Besides, scuba knives are marketed towards sport divers, not real....working divers. In practical terms, they aren't much better than a pointy stick. However, most sport divers like big, flashy, shiny objects to impress the girls on the beach with as they go off into the sea. ;)

Basically, I liked to dive with as little as I could get by with. I hated a bunch of stuff hanging off of me. Just more to get hung up on stuff and then have to rinse later. Besides, it was just more weight to lug to the water and back.

The reasons for using the Big Chief were simple economics, durability and intended use and size. They were cheap so you didn't care if you lost it or it got "borrowed". The blade was stainless and the handle was aluminum so it held up ok in an offshore working environment. When at depth it would cut rope, tape most whatever we ran into. Size, it was small enough to make a little pouch on our safety harness to store it on our shoulder (easy to get to) and secure it with a lanyard. However, if something major came up, we would radio topside and get what we needed sent down.

Basically, use anything you want. I knew guys who would get cheap bayonets and use those as their dive tool. I have also used a hawkbill folder with liner lock. The blade allows for opening it if your wearing gloves. We used to get orange handled ones from Klein Tools, don't know if they make them or not anymore.

If your hunting sharks, get a harpoon. If your poking around the ocean floor watching crabs walk, get something cheap to poke and pry with. But always carry something that can cut in case you run into fishing line, netting, etc ... in most cases it doesn't have to be all that big. Just somewhat sharp and accessible.

The AXIS lock would work fine.

Sorry for getting wordy ..... way too much coffee today.

Mike
 
IF you take an axis lock in the ocean it will work fine. I know, I've done it. But, I too wonder about long-term dive use. I dive with my axis lock, then for some time (a few minutes? sometimes a few hours.) my knife is sitting around with salt water on it -- I know the blade is okay, but does it degrade the springs? Then I wash the knife off in fresh water -- does a quick rinse really remove all traces of salt, or will there be a light salt coating on the springs? If so, will I have spring failures in a few months? A few years? Or is it not a problem at all?

The big question for me, and it would be most interesting to hear from someone who has used their axis lock knife as a dive knife for a long time, would be how do the springs hold up to frequent dive use?

Joe
 
If you ever have to dive cold water you don't want a folder. If you have 5mm gloves on you can't open it if your cold or stressed ( when you might need it most )

I would suggest a larger cheaper stainless dive knife for use as a prybar and a hammer on the inside of your leg with a small fixed blade knife on your BCD that is hella sharp for cutting.

I would also suggest bright colored handles so you can find it easier if you drop it....
 
I would consider Puget Sound cold water, which is where I am, and had no problems with the folders I chose. In fact many of us didn't wear gloves all the time, just depended on what we were doing. The Gulf of Mexico where I also worked did not pose the same temperature issues as Puget Sound did. Personally, the only people I ever saw freak out or have major problems under water were scuba divers who only dove a few times a year. No cutting tool would have helped them.

I have never ran into a situation under water where a cutting tool would have saved anyone's life.

But, use what works for you. Though I think the AXIS lock would be fine, I think there are cheaper, just as good alternatives.

:)

Mike
 
I'm not going to do any scuba diving. In fact, I don't even own an axis lock knife. I just wanted to know how well they stand up to the under water enviornment. I think Joe pretty much answered my question. Thanks.
 
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