Best Paddling Knives

hso

hso

Joined
Dec 16, 1998
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I've spent 20 years as a recreational whitewater canoest, kayaker and sometimes raft guide. I've paddled most of the well known southeastern whitewater runs and many less well known creeks. I've also been collecting knives for longer than that. The point of all that is, I've just finished reading the Blade magazine article on whitewater knives and I'm annoyed about some of the knives they identified as suitable for whitewater and astonished over the ones left out.

For you paddlers out there, whitewater, flatwater,and sea, what do you consider to be the best knives going and why?
 
I think you need to draw a distinction between a knife just for the water and a knife that will do everything on a canoe trip. I paddle an Old Town Discovery 169 and I’ve done rivers fast and slow and lakes and coastal inlets (or Lochs as we call them). I do not own a “river knife” as I’ve never had any use for one, i.e. I don’t do enough grade 4 rivers with tangling problems to make it worth my while. I make do with one belt knife (Fallkniven F1 with coated blade and Kydex sheath my best ever paddling knife) and a Spyderco folder with serrations in the left hand pocket of my PFD if I might be going for a swim. I think that river knives look cool and the blunt tip dual edge Gerber might be good in a tight spot but I’ve always found that a 3-4 inch belt knife will do the business on and off the water. Most river knives are poor camp/utility knives. I have worried about taking out a knife whilst standing in fast water but I’ve been OK up ‘till now. If I found myself rolling in a wave I would hope I’d have enough sense to part company with the knife before I had to end up pulling it out of my groin, but you never know, just part of the fun of canoeing I suppose…
SD

PS I always coil my painters under the decks so they come into use when I need them.
 
I don't know about you folks but I have lost a knife in the water before. Of course, I've also lost a watch, shoes, a hat, a brand new rod & reel.... I think I'm seeing a pattern.

I am careful to not wear my favorite knives on the water. I carry an older one that would not be missed too badly.
 
How about a Stainless Mora? There are several styles available in stainless with plastic sheaths. If you want a blunt tip just put the blade in a vise with an inch sticking up and whack it off with a hammer, smooth the edge with a file...good knives for under $10.00 :)
 
Th problem with the Mora's is that the sheath is most ill suited for...well, for just about anything. They are terrible. You'd need to duct tape it to the PFD to hol it in place.

I have recently gotten interested in kayaking. If I am able to find the time to "get into" this hobby, I was planning on using a CRKT Stiff Kiss MDP.
 
RH,

While I like the Stiff Kiss for a small carry knife I can not advise you consider it for kayaking. Regardless of those folks that tell you that they use their knife more for food prep than anything else I consider the knife you hang on your PFD to be as much a piece of rescue equipment as the PFD itself. I don't use my whitewater rescue knife for anything else. If I'm window shaded and get tangle in some lost throw rope I want to know that my knife hasn't been dulled on something else. I also want to be certain that I've got a knife with a good grip that I can index to the cutting edge. Many knives just don't accomplish this easily, the Stiff Kiss being one of them. If you want an inexpensive piece consider the advantages of the CRKT Bear Claw or the Spyderco Merlin. Until a friend of mine died on the Ocoee partially due to having his femoral artery cut by a rescuer I thought that a good strong point was a characteristic to include. Now I know that there are greater dangers in that point than the benefit of cutting through the deck of a pinned poly kayak (something even the best knife would probably fail at). Get a knife with a hand-filling handle, protection from sliding down on the blade, blind indexing, serrations, and a good sheath that will attach to your PFD.

Take care.

Mike
 
Wow. That's a sobering "review" of the Kiss's appropriateness (or lack) in this role. In light of your experience, what are your thoughts on the new R&R from Benchmade? I've also thought the Polkowski Companion might be appropriate.
 
I can only offer the perspective of a southeastern whitewater boater and there probably are different characteristics that are needed for flat water and sea boaters.

I was on a trip on the mighty Hiwasse ;) (beginning class 2 whitewater) and we came upon a shivering drenching wet Wildlife Resources Officer in full uniform with duty belt and side arm that had flipped his aluminum canoe near the bank at river left. For some reason he had tied a rope to a cinder block and then to the back of the canoe (probably some sort of anchor for fishing). Since the current was a little swift the boat was about 2-3 feet under water in ~6 feet of water and secured in place by the line and "anchor". When we got there he was trying to haul ~400 pounds of boat and water against the current up onto the near verticle bank beside the railroad tracks that ran beside the river. My pals and I stopped to help and after some of the younger, stronger members of the party tried pulling at the boat to no avail I pointed out that if someone would put a line on the downstream end and we cut the "anchor" line and let the boat float we could pull it to the shore and roll most of the water out of it. Astonishingly, the only other person than my wife and I that had a knife was the WR Officer and his was a Case 2 blade pocket knife. We attached the second line and I handed my knife over to the kid (~20yrs old) in the water who cut the "anchor" line. The boat sluggishly came to the surface as it pivoted downstream and was secured to a small tree a few feet down stream. Rolled partially over dumping half the water out and then back upright it rode a little higher with the gunnles out of the water and the Officer was able to bail the rest out and pull the boat up on the bank with our help. He asked one of the canoes in our party to run him down stream because he had lost the one paddle he had brought. Since he could walk down the tracks to the takeout faster than we would get there by river (if we stopped to play as planned that is)the guy in the canoe declined.

What's the point of this story? The officer was already cold enough that his thinking and manual dexterity wasn't 100% even after a brief time in the water so a small knife wouldn't have done him a lot of good. The greatest hazard on whitewater that a knife can handle is drowning or hypothermia due to getting tangled in synthetic rope or line and an unserrated blade may not cut this material as well as a serrated edge. A knife in the pocket won't do any good when you may only have one hand free so a sheath knife or one hand opener that you can deploy even wearing gloves is the only thing to have. To that point a knife worn where you can get to it with either hand may be better than one worn to one side or the other. (Mike Sastre tells horror stories about panicked swimming raft cargo grabbing centrally mounted knives on PFDs so you need to decide about where to mount the thing vs what possible difficulties the location may present you.) Regardless, make sure the knife can be reached and correctly indexed and deployed with either hand with your eyes closed after soaking you hands in a tub of ice water while friends are jostling you about mercilessly while others pour a continuous stream of ice water over you. If you can do this without cutting yourself, or any of these so-called friends, you've probably got the right rig.


Take care.

Mike
 
I absolutely agree on the Mora. I never hit the river, or the boonies without my Companion. The sheath is no problem, because I keep it in my seat pocket (I usually use either my Advanced Elements Convertible, or Sevylor Rio inflatable kayaks). I also keep an Opinel #10, or 12 for back-up. I keep a Spyderco Byrd Series Cara Cara II in my pocket at all times, for quick emergency access. I also usually have a Victorinox Swiss Champ, or my Gerber Nautilus in the other pocket. I always have my Gerber Suspension Muli-tool on my belt. The last, and most important item in my river tool kit is a Missouri Meerschaum corncob pipe, and some Frog Morton On The Town tobacco, in a small drybag. You have to set some priorities......:)
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Pentlatch said:
How about a Stainless Mora? There are several styles available in stainless with plastic sheaths. If you want a blunt tip just put the blade in a vise with an inch sticking up and whack it off with a hammer, smooth the edge with a file...good knives for under $10.00 :)
Click to expand...
 
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My second Gerber River Shorty has been on my PFD for 20+ yrs. The first was lost when the PFD was stolen. I mod mine to sharpen the dull side. Does everything I need xcpt fillet fish. Does everything from opening clams to spreading peanut butter.Works very well for what I need on the water. I have other knives for camp duty when canoe camping.--KV
 
decent knives are cheap, so have on on the PFD and one on your belt, too. and avoid people who panic so easily. if you are one of the latter, avoid fast water.
 
I bought 2 Mora bush craft knives just for the purpose of kayaking and canoeing. They are stainless, cheap to replace if I lose it and sharp as a razor. I have one on my belt and one on my PFD.
If I am canoe-camping. I also bring my better camp knives and store them in a dry bag and secure the bag to the canoe.
 
whatever you choose, either make it a cheap thing and have 2, or rig a lanyard to its sheath, make certain it can't get out of the sheath unintentionally.
 
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