Best Choices for Firefighter Carry?

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perpster

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Jan 19, 2006
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Looking for a knife to get me out of a jam in a structural fire. Because thick gloves are worn, one hand/arm may be pinned or injured, and auto-openers are illegal in my jurisdiction it will have to be a fixed blade in the 4"-7" range (give or take). Its main use would be to cut me or a fellow firefighter out of an entanglement (electrical wires, matress box springs, cords, etc.), but could also be used for punching through walls and windows if fire tools are lost or not available. It will have to stand up to rough treatment and exposure to, what else, water, without being dried off each time. Money IS an object, so it has to be in the $100 price range, give or take, max. I have one of the newer USGI bayonets, but to use the wire cutter you have to manipulate the oval onto the sheath stud. This would be way too cumbersome in zero visibility, and I should add that the sheath would be secured in the chest area of my outer "turnout" coat and detaching the sheath would be highly impractical under the conditions envisioned. I should also add that I carry a wire cutter and folder blade but they are in a leg pocket and not as easily grabbable as a fixed blade on my chest would be.

Any suggestions?

Thanks.
 
Here's one I'm working on with Ryan from UPTACTICAL. A black oxide coating would help with the corrosion resistance of it. It is an available option. If you or someone you know could sew a couple of nylon loops to your turnout jacket's front, these IWB bands on the sheath could attach it to your coat.

Here's his web site describing it:http://www.uptactical.com/EERK.htm

Here's a list of some of the testing I did with my prototype:
Pryed open MANY wooden crates full of turbine parts
Scraped numerous gaskets off
Pryed flanges apart while installing new flexatalic gaskets
Scraped paint
Cut everything from nylon webbing, to rope, to cardboard
Opened dozens of packages
Cut through/broke banding steel that was holding the crates to pallets
Used the hook to cut nylon cord used for pulling electrical wire through conduit, paracord, denim cloth (for rags), and heavy duty zip ties
I even used the skull crusher/window smasher to beat a shed door latch back into submission (after I accidentally hit the door with my plow!).
Even though its scratched up, looks a little rough, and had to be sharpened a few times, the prototype is still going strong. The only damage it sustained was on the front edge where I hit a nail- hard. It just rolled the front edge a little in two places. I was able to touch it up with a small sharpening stone. I wear it to work every day. I truly wouldn't want to be without it.

Scott


blackeerk1.jpg
 
Scott, I checked up on that blade and it one nice hunk o' steel. I'll admit that I have no use for it but hell you could pry a safe open with that thing! Nice work!
 
Scott, That's an interesting tool. How do you think it would do on wiring found inside building walls/ceilings? A bit pricey, but worth consideration for sure. How readily available are they?
 
KnifeCollector, That's an interesting knife but not exactly what I had in mind--it's still a folder. In the situations I'm envisioning a fixed blade seems to be a given. Does that one have a spring loaded punch? The link doesn't give much in the way of details.
 
You'll have to talk to Ryan about availability and ordering. This is a dealer special and as such only available through him. I don't think anything short of bolt cutters or electrician's wire cutters would be very efficient at cutting residential wiring. In a pinch - maybe. I haven't tried it. Most of it is 12-2, and as you know, that's some pretty rugged stuff. In old houses you're liable to run into the old BX armored cable too. Forget about cutting through that with any knife.

A bit pricey? Maybe by some standards I guess. These are hand made one at a time to order.
 
Scott, it's one I'll definately consider. I didn't mean pricey in that it's overpriced--just that $150 is up there. I'm sure it's worth every penny.

Knifemaker, that tool has got a 440A blade. It loses my respect right there. Otherwise it looks like a good tool (though not for what I'm looking for in this thread).
 
I never want a firefighter or soldier to not have one of my tools if they need it because of price, e-mail me I think we can work somthing out.

Ryan
 
You might take a look at the Ka-Bar D2 Extreme Fighting/Utility Knife. The Ka-Bar's are battle tested and the D-2 steel just makes it that much better. (You can find them for $99.95 on the net)

If you're looking for something chaper the original Ka-Bar fighting knives in 1095 can be had for about $50 bucks. BTW, I'm not generally into serrations but a partially serrated blade would come in pretty handy for cutting the wire or rope you may run into in your line of work.

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Take a look at the MAK-1 from CRKT on their ER Line page on the site www.crkt.com

It is a factory version of my MAK-1 that I have been making over 5yrs and are being used by many of the brothers with no complaints. CRKT has made the effort to produce an extremly durable and affordable tool for first responders . I have abused the proto and it is still asking for more .

If you have any questions or comments please give me a shout.

P.S. I have had my kydex in a lot of fires in my bunker pant poket with no problems.

Stay safe
James
 
I found the Gerber to be pretty well thought out, but the lock lacked strength and jammed on me. After that, it never worked properly and I lost trust in it. Soon after, I was given a Wilson Tactical Coptool that has served me very well. I pried open a set of double steel doors that were frozen shut as result of a sprinkler sytem going off and had no problems at all. Good luck.
 
flipe8 said:
I found the Gerber to be pretty well thought out, but the lock lacked strength and jammed on me. After that, it never worked properly and I lost trust in it.
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That's one reason why I'm only considering fixed blades. Thanks.
 
There was another maker who made an AWESOME firefighter knife!! I think K.V. Collucci might have one!! I WISH I could remember who it was! I wanted to get one for my brother that IS a firefighter.
 
Just thinking...

My idea for a knife a fireman would use is a locking folder, that has a blunt rounded tip, and serraded edge, with a rounded safe spine.

The blunt tip is needed because such knives might have to slide into a tight space next to flesh
A serraded edge as any cutting has to happen fast with no time for fooling around.
A rounded spine so as to allow the hand to really push down on the spine to add lots of cutting force to the blade.

If I had the ability, I think a 50/50 serraded edge with the normal section of the blade near the hand.
The handle would need to be of some type that will protect the hand should you cut a power line with the blade.
I also would want the handle strong enough to do a little banging on the butt end should you need to tell others where you are.
I would also think that it should be a very bright color so you can see it better in the dark.
The steel would not need to be stainless as it's kept in the inside pocket.
I think some type of coating on the blade and handle would be a nice idea if it helped the hand open the blade and hang onto the knife when wet.

I also think it should be a very normal type of locking folder, so that if tossed to another person they would not have to learn how to open it up with some type of trick. The knife should open up and go click like a type of folder we all grew up with.
 
Allan; to be honest most belts and clothing is usually cut with shears or hooks.
So for utility cutting any folder will do, I carry a $20 folder in my turn out gear for dirty jobs(that I don't mind losing) and a better folder in my station pants (sometimes a moddified Hinderer/Gerber, or spyderco or even Strider) Most of what we do is pry with thick gloves on and that is where a fixed blade must be used . There will never be one tool for all jobs but you have to rely on your own personal experiance and base your selection on that.

James
 
mcgoo7 said:
Allan; to be honest most belts and clothing is usually cut with shears or hooks.
Click to expand...
The idea I have in mind is that you would want the person to have on his person at all times a knife that would be of the very best design for the given job.

While yes, the human hand can learn to work with most any cheap design, I believe for this use I should rather have the very best design and the very best knife in mind.

Given this is the case , I would think that a true fireman's knife would be more-or-less of the design I have listed above.
I like the idea of a knife with a type of handle that could protect the hand should the blade cut into an unseen power line.

I also think such a blade has to be a locking folder as this is a type of knife that is always carried on the person in a pocket....it's always there and handy. On duty or off, it's always ready and within easy reach.

It does not have to be a knife thats got a clip to attach to a Turnout coat, for there are already enough great tools that firemen already use and are very offical to their gear.
But underneath it all, as a personal carry knife that has what it takes to be in the pocket of a fireman, I would not go with a cheap knife at all just because I might lose it,
Rather I would go with the best knife I can find, in case I might need it....
 
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