First responder

Sak sucks for medics dude. You need something one handed, reliabe, safe, and easy to open with a gloved hand. Get a benchmade triage. One,of the best knives ive ever owned and has an a,azing rescue hook. A good enough hook that my entire crew owns them now.

-FireMedic
 
I work in LE. I carry a waved Matriarch 2 always. I also carry an auto Benchmade, Spyderco Sage 3, or Spyderco SE Endura. I carry an ESEE 4 in my bag along with several more pistol and rifle mags
 
I will vote for a Spyderco Assist. I gave one to my mom, who is an EMR.

It is only $70 new or $50 used, and you get:

Spyderco quality
One hand opening hole
Strong back lock
Good and reliable steel even if it doesn't have a fancy name (It has VG10.)
Sheep foot blade shape to avoid poking things
Serrations for quick cutting of seat belts/etc.
Retractable carbide glass breaker for breaching glass
Good ergonomics
Light weight
Emergency whistle
Option of a black or silver blade
 
Take a look at the buck flashpoint or the walther rescue knife . Both are good and cheap .
 
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Budget wise I would go with the Spyderco Assist or the Gerber Hinderer Rescue. If you are willing to spend some more money I'd go with the Benchmade Triage. I own/use each of the ones I listed. I am a fire-medic as well.
 
Have you considered a dedicated "rescue hook"? The benchmade model 7 is great quality, includes a really nice belt sheath and is small enough to not be in the way when you don't need it. I don't currently but come summer time mine will go back on my belt.
 
spydercobenchmadekai said:
I will vote for a Spyderco Assist. I gave one to my mom, who is an EMR.

It is only $70 new or $50 used, and you get:

Spyderco quality
One hand opening hole
Strong back lock
Good and reliable steel even if it doesn't have a fancy name (It has VG10.)
Sheep foot blade shape to avoid poking things
Serrations for quick cutting of seat belts/etc.
Retractable carbide glass breaker for breaching glass
Good ergonomics
Light weight
Emergency whistle
Option of a black or silver blade
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+2 for the spidey... carry one in my first aid pouch in the truck. was issued it years back to cut myself out of seatbelts or whatnot and its a phenomial piece of cutlery. rounded tip is perfect for getting at seatbelts without cutting the patient and its as sharp as you'll ever need, easy to open and solid.
 
You don't mention what kind of first responder you are. The needs of a LEO differs from that of a fire fighter or a EMT. But I'm.assuming you're a medic, since thats what the term is originally.

If money is a issue and you only want one blade, the go with the Leatherman Wave or Charge regardless of what field you're in.
 
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Kershaw, Spyderco, CRKT, Cold Steel, Leatherman.
All these companies have a multitude of offerings for well under $100, and even under $60.
 
Stevenspenner said:
Firefighter
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You might get better information by searching the firefighter specific forums. You can restrict your search to specific sites by using the SITE: command in Google.

E.g.
site:firehouse.com/forums knives
site:community.firerescue1.com/forum knives
etc.
 
Something I rarely see mentioned in discussions about first responder knives is handle material, specifically as it pertains to temperature. For instance, I think a rubber or Kraton handle would be immediately disqualified because it won't withstand heat. I suspect aluminum would be out as well, both for use in extremely hot or extremely cold conditions. It seems to me that toughness and edge retention would trump ease of sharpening, because sharpening in the field isn't practical, and you definitely don't want something brittle.
 
Inazone said:
Something I rarely see mentioned in discussions about first responder knives is handle material, specifically as it pertains to temperature. For instance, I think a rubber or Kraton handle would be immediately disqualified because it won't withstand heat. I suspect aluminum would be out as well, both for use in extremely hot or extremely cold conditions. It seems to me that toughness and edge retention would trump ease of sharpening, because sharpening in the field isn't practical, and you definitely don't want something brittle.
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In all honesty, the knife shouldn't be exposed to enough heat for this to make a noticeable difference. Most of the time the knife would be in or under the firefighting gear, which limits the amount of heat that it would be exposed to. I have carried a knife (and many other small tools) through many fires and they do not show significant heat damage. The only tools I remember damaging due to heat are plastic bodied flashlights and some radio parts, because they stay exposed and are higher (hotter) up on me. A little known fact (outside the fire service at least) is that the face piece on our breathing apparatus is the weak link in our gear. It is polycarbonate for now, but newer higher temperature resistant designs are being currently worked on.

As far as aluminum handles, they would also be fine. If its hot enough for the knife to heat up, (or cold enough) I am wearing gloves anyway. The ability to use the knife with gloves on is a bigger deal to me.

Additionally, during the actual firefighting a knife is not much use to me (sacrilege, I know). I use either an axe/firefighting tools or some form of shearing tool. Diagonal cutters/wire cutters/lineman pliers are especially useful in a pinch if I get entangled in wire, drop ceiling ties, etc.

My knives have seen much more action in routine duties, with the occasional seatbelt on an auto extrication. And that is usually not because they are jammed, but I need to cut the belt when removing the roof off of a vehicle. I have cut clothes with knives also, but I prefer trauma shears from a safety perspective (and cost 'cause their provided). A Benchmade Rescue Hook, and a Gerber Hinderer have served me well also when I have carried them.

Now others may have different opinions, as you know what they say about them.

Mine is based on about 17 years in the fire/rescue/EMS service, 13 of those as a career firefighter.

I am looking to get a Triage to try out as well, but I am hesitant at potentially carrying a losing a knife that nice at work.

Stay Safe.
 
I am trying to get into the fire service, still going to school. I have operated my Cryo with leather gloves on if I remember correctly as well as a Kershaw Black Horse II among a few others. Not fire structure gloves but normal leather gloves. Rick Hinderer is an retired volunteer firefighter if I remember correctly and quite a few of his knife designs seem to be towards the overbuilt side and geared towards EMS and what he wanted in a knife. So I start by looking at knives designed by him, in which case Kershaw is working with him if you want a cheaper production knife. Off hand a few of them are Cryo, Cryo II, Thermite, I own the Cryo but it just feels a bit small if you decide on that I highly suggest stepping up to the Cryo II.

I also found carrying a thick knife on your belt to be a bit annoying as I found that even with the turnout coat on that the ladder and other objects would frequently catch on my Black Horse II. With the case it's a bit over an inch thick. It seemed like having a small thick object just made it very prone to catching things when it was on my side, I stopped wearing it after a short while because of it.
 
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