The trouble with dive knives is that the really cheap stuff that I am willing to lose are really not worth carrying at all. I fish and dive and have tried using my dive knife during both activities. The conclusion is that it can't be sharpened to a good edge and what it has is lost very quickly when cutting the heavier fishing lines.
I finally switched to using my Spydie Delica, which promptly rusted when I forgot to take it out of the BC and rinse it. But this was a good knife and while not as cheap as some of the rubbish that gets foisted off as dive knives, is cheap enough that I wouldn't loose sleep if I lost it. Well, the Delica, I would, since it has great sentimental value, but not my new Endura. Not yet, anyway.
Perhaps an acceptable way is to make your own from Stellite, if you have some grinding equipment. I think a bench grinder would suffice, since the profile of a dive knife is quite simple and Stellite isn't easily affected by heat. I wonder if they still have those Stellite "knife blanks" going for $15 over at HP Alloys.
Looks like they still do, but I remembered it wrong. They are Talonite (6BH), and probably not worth your while since they are only 1/2" wide.
You can check it out here.
[This message has been edited by Steelwolf (edited 06-18-2001).]
