Recommendation? Folding knife for diving

[Therom]

I would really like to give the Native salt a try

 

[lieferung]

I was just thinking the other day that it's just a crying shame that Spyderco doesn't at least do a Sprint Run of their old Caspian Salt fixed blade diving knife.

That's one design I'd like to try! Really unique.

 

[dan35]

I would stick with what you have. If you wear thicker gloves when diving you may want to consider a larger folder like the Atlantic salt. I used a ss mariner for 3 years in my vest and I could open it with 5 mm dive gloves in the winter.

 

[James Y]

What you already have is good, but if you wanted something else, look at the Caribbean.



LOL! Only if you believe the bull that comes out of that guy's mouth. Stolen valor and all that...

I thought that was Mick Strider?

Others have mentioned the Pacific Salt, but if the Caribbean’s blade is too long for OP’s length requirements, the Pacific is also too long. In that case, I would probably suggest he keep using his Salt 2, or get the Native Salt, which seems to be what he’s leaning towards anyway.

Jim

 

[Evany]

I've used both the Pacific Salt and more recently a Salt 1. The Salt 1 is very compact for the amount of usable edge you get. I try to remember to rinse them after diving, but I've forgotten many times. Never had any rust issues, or any issues at all with either of them.

 

[Mitchell Knives]

I used to teach SCUBA, and my primary dive knife was a serrated Victorinox paring knife with and ground off tip in a custom sheath. Cheap and a great cutter.

 

[sv4]

Highly recommend the Atlantic Salt :

 

[Cscotttsss]

I don't dive, just fish but I will highly recommend the Native Salt.

Untitled by Caleb Bender, on Flickr

 

[Taylortat]

I’ve been diving with these for years I use the folders for mainly line or entanglement issues and the fixed for dispatching fish while spearfishing. They all have some rust around where the handles are but they have spent a lot of time in salt and not getting properly rinsed. Unfortunately I have two of the fixed blades on the bottom of the ocean. I wish they had a button style release on the sheath. I have the folders on a retractable lanyard.

 

[5-by-5]

Sal just bombed a Spyderco forum thread with the Pacific salt 2. It'll be linerless Endura 4 frame. H1 at first. LC200N in consideration.

I'm having a LC200N itch real bad. I'm thinking of ordering the Autonomy 2 Christmas eve

 

[nephron]

Sal just bombed a Spyderco forum thread with the Pacific salt 2. It'll be linerless Endura 4 frame. H1 at first. LC200N in consideration.

I'm having a LC200N itch real bad. I'm thinking of ordering the Autonomy 2 Christmas eve

No restrictions on the purchase since it is an auto, or are you working in the right discipline to order? Be nice to have both variations but since I don't play the lottery or rob liquor stores...

 

[5-by-5]

No restrictions on the purchase since it is an auto, or are you working in the right discipline to order? Be nice to have both variations but since I don't play the lottery or rob liquor stores...

I'm a Peace Officer. I don't think any distributer checks though. Will my order be delayed ordering from a neo-communist state?

 

[nephron]

I'm a Peace Officer. I don't think any distributer checks though. Will my order be delayed ordering from a neo-communist state?

You should be good, enforcement seems to spotty at best.

 

[archieblue]

I dig my Native salt for snorkeling for sure. I can recommend one of them without hesitation. And a Waterway. And a Siren.

 

[loon#r]

SE Pacific salt! I don’t cut much when diving/snorkeling. But the pacsalt is the perfect folder for me. Great for reaching, poking, moving things aside and mild deterrence.

 

[Rhinoknives1]

I used to teach SCUBA, and my primary dive knife was a serrated Victorinox paring knife with and ground off tip in a custom sheath. Cheap and a great cutter.

^^^ This! i usually dive in N.P. preserves in Hawaii & I have an old Italian scuba pro or some such in my dive bag. 90% of the time it gets used to tap on my tank to let the others I’m diving with to come look at a sea creature I’ve found or that we need to start heading back to the boat etc & then there’s cutting abandoned fishing line/rope to clean out of the sea. A few licked on a stone brings the edge up for these needs. I was taught to keep dive knives as cheap as possible because if you lose it, there’s usually no finding it & you’ll only need to make a few cuts on anything..

 

[sodak]

A lot of the places I've dove (diven? dived?) don't allow knives or gloves. I've always used crash shears (EMT shears), they work perfectly, and are cheap. Easy to take on a plane, keep them rinsed, and they won't rust.

 

[JD Spydo]

That's one design I'd like to try! Really unique.

The Caspian Salt was well loved by the people that did buy one. It is actually a well designed fixed blade dive knife and I think it would be a great candidate for a Sprint Run in LC200N.

There was also talk at one point about a Salt Series Dyad model which is a double bladed model with one PE and one SE blade. To me that would be one I would personally like to take snorkeling. But there is also a lot to be said for using fixed blades in harsh environments. If they did a Sprint Run of the Caspian Salt in LC200N I would make a way to get it.

 

[John_0917]

I don't swim let alone dive and I'm not saying it can't be done but I just think that an auto would be easier to open while diving than a manual folder. To each, his own.

Actually quite a few autos will not reliably open when wet, the Kershaw launch series in particular.

The autonomy is made to get wet and function in those conditions, I would not worry about it’s internals rusting, that was a design focus.

I had to buy a “dive” knife on a trip to the Keys once bc I flew Spirit (Greyhound with wings) and carried on, I figured I would buy a folder there. Well, Kmart is basically the only store between Florida City and Key West that sells anything practical (I wasn’t going all the way to KW), I ended up with a S&W folder, all black.

Took it in the ocean several times, didn’t rinse it. It didn’t really rust at all except very minor spots on the edge, in spite of salt water exposure. The sad reality is that the crap Chinese steel it was made from is probably so low on carbon that it didn’t rust.

It ended up getting lost at sea from my pocket and is somewhere on the bottom off Islamorada...if anyone finds a (probably still not rusted) S&W folder on the bottom near the lighthouse, you’re welcome!

 

[dcycleman]

To each their own, but I would recommend an enuff with the H1 blade. thats what I use on my seakayaking pfd. (right now i have an aqua salt on my bc but will likely change that to an enuff as well) it is zip tied to the shoulder harness. that way in an emergency, all i need to do is feel for that handle and pull. No fussing about trying to extract a knife from a pouch or struggling to open a folder with thick neoprene gloves. I own a bunch of salt folders and they are awesome, Caribbean is at the top of the list.