Dang It Sal, Look What You Did!

[JNieporte]

After using my Cara Cara Rescue a lot (usage info here... http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/765960-Cara-Cara-Rescue-After-Use and review here... http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/688707-Byrd-Cara-Cara-Rescue) I finally got to using my plain-edged version. After seeing the "old" fully serrated Rescue being replaced with the "new" plain edged one, a lot of the people at the firehouse wanted their own. Sadly, the plain-edged Cara Cara Rescue didn't carry over to the Cara Cara Rescue 2.

I keep mentioning how the Rescue line needs a better color, like international orange or rescue yellow. Even caustic lime green would be good. I added glow-in-the-dark yellow cord to mine for a lanyard, and opened up the knife to add orange glow-in-the-dark plastic to the holes between the liners and handles...

With a little bit of grinding, I could see this being a wharncliffe-style blade with a point...

The orange inserts really help at night time.

For some reason, this looks a lot nicer to fire personnel than the fully serrated version of the same model...

As a reminder, the fully serrated Cara Cara Rescue is still great in its own right.

Sal, the plain-edged Cara Cara Rescue has been requested by a dozen or so firefighters, and seems like it would be a fun knife to mod. "Dang you" for making such a cool knife, then discontinuing it. I have the Cara Cara Rescue 2, and I really like it, but I wish it came in a plain-edge version. If there were a low-cost way of making the Rescue in colored handles, it would be nearly perfect. You've already filled in the holes in the handles, which was needed, and the handles seem grippier now as well. I sold nine of the fully-serrated Cara Cara Rescues and six of the fully-serrated Cara Cara Rescue 2s to firefighters, EMTs, and combat medics. I've gotten nothing but good reports, and the occasional "well, is there a plain-edged version of this?"
Yes, there is, but you're not getting mine

Note: References to the "Rescue" are referring to the Cara Cara Rescue, not the Spyderco Rescue.

 

[Sal Glesser]

We can look into that.

sal

 

[JNieporte]

We can look into that.

sal

Look into the plain edge, or the coloring?
In truth, the coloring would be a more welcome change than to have a plain-edge rescue knife. The plain edge is just my preferences. Lime green, bright orange, or high-visibility yellow handles would be great. No need to glow in the dark. Everything else - the lock-up, the position of the lock release, the size and position of the opening hole, the blade shape and size - all of those are where they should be. I kid you not when I say that if the knife were offered in a highly-visible handle color, it would be the perfect folding rescue knife. I've sold or given away a high number of them without the high-visibility colors and everyone has been happy. The knife doesn't melt or deform in the heat of a fire, chemicals don't bother it, and it just plain works.

 

[Sal Glesser]

We can look into both plain edge and colors.

sal

 

[JNieporte]

We can look into both plain edge and colors.

sal

That actually sounds great. The plain edge is just preference, but the colors are kind of mandatory for a rescue knife. I'm glad you're willing to look into it. Now if it doesn't happen, you're going to make the firefighters cry :sulkiness:

 

[JNieporte]

After some work, I got the blade shape where I think it should be for rescue tasks. It kind of reminds me of the Centofante 3...

The hump on the back was reduced, but the cutting edge is the same length. I wanted a rescue knife that could be used to pierce, yet could be slid under a belt without injuring the patient.

As much as I love the concept of not injuring the person you're trying to help, I do have the occasional need to pierce things without changing knives. I'm not asking Sal to change the design (I'm sure most First Responders are happy with the large hump) but this works a little better for me.

Oh, I mentioned selling six of the fully serrated Cara Cara Rescue 2s; I gave away two today. They're much better than the Smith & Wesson rescue knife the Firefighter had, and the "tat cutter" that the E-1 had. They both agreed.