Good Dive Knife Steel

[craytab]

Spyderco H-1 or Ceramic, take your pick. I've been hearing pretty good about the Spyderco Salt full cerrated quite a lot.

The problem I would see with ceramic is most are very brittle and also very hard to sharpen.

 

[zhyla]

What exactly are you saying here. Do you think the Spyderco Salt folders don't qualify because they are folders?

More specifically, because they aren't DIVE knives. A dive knife is a particular kind of knife, not something you happened to take underwater.

Fixed blade, a locking sheath, usually some serrations and often not very pointy. They're for cutting yourself free of kelp and rooting around with on he ocean floor. Not for hand-to-fin combat

 

[craytab]

More specifically, because they aren't DIVE knives. A dive knife is a particular kind of knife, not something you happened to take underwater.

Fixed blade, a locking sheath, usually some serrations and often not very pointy. They're for cutting yourself free of kelp and rooting around with on he ocean floor.

Okay, but lets reread his posts:

I would like to get a dive knife but don't know what kind of steel to look for. It doesn't necessarily need to be dive specific but just a good steel for high exposure to water. I have looked at the titanium dive knives but I'm not looking to spend that much on it. I realize I will still need a good amount of maintenance to keep it from rusting, but which steel needs least?
Thanks, Ders

And this was his answer when ak585479 and myself answered with H1 and the Spyderco Salt series:

That's actually perfect. I'm not on the ocean and don't have a dive certification yet. Swimming and free diving is when I would carry it. Thanks a lot!

He's not looking for a dive knife per-say, just a good corrosion resistant steel. He is not dive certified. He is not on the Ocean. What he would be doing with this knife is swimming and free diving.

H1 would be the perfect steel. And one of the Spydercos in H1 (one with a clip) would be perfect. No need to have a big old thing strapped to your leg while free diving and swimming about. My Pacific Salt stays comfortably clipped to my swim shorts while swimming, going down water slides, boating, and inner tubing. It goes with me on jogs and to the Gym. Haven't lost it yet and there has been no rust with very little maintenance (a wipe down here and there).

 

[B34NS]

Been a fan of N680 when I can find it.

 

[Xytras]

The problem I would see with ceramic is most are very brittle and also very hard to sharpen.

Yep, a ceramic knife is an absolute no go to me, what if you would have to pry or use it as a lever to get free if you're stuck, it would break immediately...
Personally i have a small 420 dive knife clipped to my BC and a middle sized titanium one on my leg.
If you're affraid of rusting, you can smear a thick layer of silicon grease on the blade, i did it on the 420 blade, never rinse it (except when i rinse my entire BC) and it never stains.

 

[singularity35]

I wonder if you can still find Caspian Salts these days...

 

[craytab]

I wonder if you can still find Caspian Salts these days...

That's what I was thinking but it would need to be on the secondary market.

 

[KenHash]

For swimming and skin diving in freshwater I'd wear a Seal Pup in Kydex. Don't need anything more
or expensive than that plus I'd get to look cool when I come out of the water. LOL

 

[crom]

To expand on somebody's post about the folding Salt series Spyderco's not being true dive knives. A few years back I was watching some show where a salvage diver was diving to the bottom of some pylon or rig footing, whatever it's called. This guy had on a serious dive suit with a helmet and oxygen lines and the like. Anyhow, he had not only one, but TWO Salt folders, the yellow ones, attached to his vest in plain sight. I posted that to the Spydie forum some years back, for more details my 42 year old brain can't recall one could do a search for it. EDIT, I wouldn't tell this guy his stud-less, slipjoint of unknown origin aint to freakin true dive knife!

http://www.titansalvage.com/Media/I...ine-Salvage-New-Flame-Diver/(language)/eng-US

Two Salts:https://www.gdiving.com/sites/default/files/global/project-photos/dive__500.jpg

 

[AR RiverValley]

+1 for the Spyderco Salt.

Dive knives with blunt tips certainly have their place and I have a few. But I dive with a Salt as do a number of other divers here, including our local rescue dive team leader. My diving is 99% fresh water but my Salt has gone with me on recreation dives in the Gulf and has yet to show any issue with rust.

 

[Dave from State Farm]

For swimming and skin diving in freshwater I'd wear a Seal Pup in Kydex. Don't need anything more
or expensive than that plus I'd get to look cool when I come out of the water. LOL

Lol Ken, my dad used to dive with this thing strapped to his leg and the stares he would get were fantastic:




It was a little prettier back then...

 

[foofie]

That's what I was thinking but it would need to be on the secondary market.

I love my Caspian salt! It took me a few months to find it on the secondary market. That said, I leave it at home for my dives - never had a need for it. If worried about cutting line, a disposable plastic handled line cutter (like a gut hook) works well.

 

[KenHash]

Lol Ken, my dad used to dive with this thing strapped to his leg and the stares he would get were fantastic:


View attachment 496008

It was a little prettier back then...

Way back then Divers were seen as Lloyd Bridges, James Bond or USN UDT and expected to carry huge blades so we could fight off sharks. LOL
I bought my Scubapro in 1973 while in high school and used it until about 1985.
You can see the size compared to my Buckmaster 184.

 

[zhyla]

Okay, but lets reread his posts:

Yeah, I read what he wrote.

Swimming and free diving is when I would carry it.

And I'm saying if he wants a knife for free diving he should just grab an inexpensive dive knife. Proximity to an actual ocean and certification has nothing to do with it.

I'm glad and interested to hear at least some diver out there takes Spyderco folders below. Personally I don't want to fiddle with something that small while in the water. Your hands aren't quite the same underwater.

My Pacific Salt stays comfortably clipped to my swim shorts while swimming, going down water slides, boating, and inner tubing. It goes with me on jogs and to the Gym. Haven't lost it yet and there has been no rust with very little maintenance (a wipe down here and there).

Glad to hear it hasn't come loose. I'd be more worried about dropping it while drawing or using it. You may not want to go down after it depending on where you are.

Since it will almost certainly not be used there's not wrong answer here. The Salt folders are great. I "need" to get one for my fishing gear.

 

[EChoil]

For any watersport, be it diving, snorkeling, canoeing, kayaking, I have a fixed blade first, if for no reason other than being better/stronger in an emergency---far more reliable pryer, no having to get it open in a panic, no joint to break or fail, and a better handle because I can custom wrap it if necessary. Preferably, it'll be double edged and sharp, half serrated, and have a good strong point.

I'm not one who has been swayed into a blunt edged, rounded tip kiddie knife because I read of some canoeist sticking themself trying to cut free of a line in Maine or a kid in canoe camp slicing a finger. If ya gonna end up stabbing ya PFD, so be it. You won't do it again.

Why carry a folder when weight or space conservation isn't really an issue for the average person underwater? I can clip my dive knife/sheath anywhere you can clip a folder. If I carried a folder underwater anywhere other than the local swimming hole it would be more as a novelty thing than a goto blade.

If I'm taking a knife I'm taking a knife. A real one. As far as multi-tools in knives clothing, If I want a specialty chisel-bar that said "Knife" on the box it came in I'll take it in addition.​

I wonder if the diver in the pic on the first page didn't also have a fixed blade somewhere handy when he was down there. I would be surprised if he didn't.

I'm sure that Spydie Salt and others are good knives and that a lot of people have fun carrying it while splashing around at the waterpark or in an array of water activities.

Personally though, when I think 'dive knife' I think fixed blade.

 

[AR RiverValley]

Crazy how passionate folks get over fixed vs folder. Both have their place and neither is perfect.

As a master diver I'll just keep on "splashing around at the waterpark" with my Pacific Salt Seriously though, a good idea might be to get a fixed blade diver and try it out. See which works best for you. There are a ton of inexpencive diver knives so you can check it out before investing in something quality that will last.

As I posted before, I prefer the Spyderco while my fixed blade divers usually stay home. BUT,,, keep in mind that according to my wife I'm quite often WRONG about most everything

 

[perchjerk]

I have little to add except my own experience. I live is Southeast Texas on the coast. I spend many many days each year fishing in the salt water, most of the times wading. I carry a spyderco pacific salt plain edge cliped to my pocket on my swim trucks or wade belt. It only gets rinsed with fresh water if it sees fish guts. Usually put up wet. I have had it for several years now. Not a speck of corrosion whatsoever. Im talkeing multiple days in a row where the knife is submerged in salt water for 4-5 hours at a time. Ill never not have a knife from the salt series with me while im fishing. Its the perfect tool for what I need it for.

 

[craytab]

For any watersport, be it diving, snorkeling, canoeing, kayaking, I have a fixed blade first, if for no reason other than being better/stronger in an emergency---far more reliable pryer, no having to get it open in a panic, no joint to break or fail, and a better handle because I can custom wrap it if necessary. Preferably, it'll be double edged and sharp, half serrated, and have a good strong point.

I'm not one who has been swayed into a blunt edged, rounded tip kiddie knife because I read of some canoeist sticking themself trying to cut free of a line in Maine or a kid in canoe camp slicing a finger. If ya gonna end up stabbing ya PFD, so be it. You won't do it again.

Why carry a folder when weight or space conservation isn't really an issue for the average person underwater? I can clip my dive knife/sheath anywhere you can clip a folder. If I carried a folder underwater anywhere other than the local swimming hole it would be more as a novelty thing than a goto blade.

If I'm taking a knife I'm taking a knife. A real one. As far as multi-tools in knives clothing, If I want a specialty chisel-bar that said "Knife" on the box it came in I'll take it in addition.​

I wonder if the diver in the pic on the first page didn't also have a fixed blade somewhere handy when he was down there. I would be surprised if he didn't.

I'm sure that Spydie Salt and others are good knives and that a lot of people have fun carrying it while splashing around at the waterpark or in an array of water activities.

Personally though, when I think 'dive knife' I think fixed blade.

Wow! Why don't you tell us how you really feel

 

[Dave from State Farm]

I've seen that old Scuba Pro before. Indeed a beast! All my recreational gear is/was Scuba Pro. The Classic BCD is still my favorite to dive with in salt water.

Way back then Divers were seen as Lloyd Bridges, James Bond or USN UDT and expected to carry huge blades so we could fight off sharks. LOL
I bought my Scubapro in 1973 while in high school and used it until about 1985.
You can see the size compared to my Buckmaster 184.

 

[Ders]

Wow... Uh... I haven't checked the thread since the day after I made it and wasn't expecting this much activity so I don't really know what to say. I saw some helpful stuff here so I'm not gonna complain. Thanks all.