Good knife for an EMT?

I

imacf90

Joined
Oct 15, 2009
Messages
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I'm going to be taking classes to become an EMT soon. As a knife guy, I can't help but immediately think of the knife I'm going to carry on the job. I just learned today Rick Hinderer has a rescue knife with gerber's name on it. Turns out hes a volunteer firefighter & paramedic as well as a knife maker. I'm not so sure of the validity of that(if anyone wants to validate that, that'd be cool). Anyway, if anyone has any experience with that knife, is it any good?

I don't care about blade steel or price. I prefer help from people who are actual paramedics/firefighters/military although any help would be nice.

Thanks in advance
-Ian
 
I have been a Paramedic for over 20 years now, and I have used a pocket knife on scene (as of today) exactly 0 times. I have used my pocket knife several hundred times on my lunch, or opening a box or envelope! Sunday I actually had time to set in the sun and peel a Granny Smith apple with my uber high tech tactical "rescue" Case Sod buster Jr. You will be better served IMHO with a decent set of trauma shears. Just take a second to think about it, there is a lot more room for error with a sharp pointy knife in a high stress situation than there is a pair of blunt tipped trauma shears, plus it really sucks trying to peel an apple with a seat belt cutter and or a rescue knife!
 
hunter s thompson said:
I have been a Paramedic for over 20 years now, and I have used a pocket knife on scene (as of today) exactly 0 times. I have used my pocket knife several hundred times on my lunch, or opening a box or envelope! Sunday I actually had time to set in the sun and peel a Granny Smith apple with my uber high tech tactical "rescue" Case Sod buster Jr. You will be better served IMHO with a decent set of trauma shears. Just take a second to think about it, there is a lot more room for error with a sharp pointy knife in a high stress situation than there is a pair of blunt tipped trauma shears, plus it really sucks trying to peel an apple with a seat belt cutter and or a rescue knife!
Click to expand...

Amen. With some ambulance companies or fire districts, pulling out a pocket knife with a patient in transport can get you fired ASAP.
 
Benchmade Triage.
Or A Nice ZT - I Would Say 0350, 0200, Or A 0300 Series Knife.

Or If You Want To Go With A Decent Steel, A Great Company, And A Lower Price, Kershaw Rescue Blur.
Maybe A Kershaw With A Composite Blade - Like A Rake, JYD II, Or A Tyrade.
You Can Get A Rake And A JYD Blem For $55 For The JYD II, And $59 For The Rake From Kershaw Guy. Two Wonderful Great Knives And A Really Great Price.

And You Could Buy Them Both For Less Than You'd Pay For The Triage Or The ZT. And They're GREAT Knives, I Truly Love Them.
 
Most EMS people use something like this.
pm87.jpg
 
Get a multi-tool and a nice, small, EDC flashlight.

You will not need a knife.

But, since you are a knife guy and you'll want to carry one anyway, get a Hinderer after you start working as an EMT - because you can.:D
 
hinderer for sure. you can get one at the actual price and if you dont like it can sell it.

but id personally go with a emerson sark. It has no point and was designed for rescue work. I have thought about getting the psark (police search and rescue knife) for myself to carry.

I know everyone says that you can open beers with an emersons wave but i find that it is easier to use the ti liners to pry them off.
 
Actually:
Get A Kershaw JYD II Composite Blem Or A Rake Composite Blem.
A 4Sevens Quark Mini Or Preon One Flashlight.
And A Decent Multi-Tool. Maybe The Leatherman Skeletool CX. Or Something With Scissors. The Juice Is Really Nice.
 
What better info than from someone who's actually got the knowledge and experience. Another great thing about this forum. Thanks HST.

hunter s thompson said:
I have been a Paramedic for over 20 years now, and I have used a pocket knife on scene (as of today) exactly 0 times. I have used my pocket knife several hundred times on my lunch, or opening a box or envelope! Sunday I actually had time to set in the sun and peel a Granny Smith apple with my uber high tech tactical "rescue" Case Sod buster Jr. You will be better served IMHO with a decent set of trauma shears. Just take a second to think about it, there is a lot more room for error with a sharp pointy knife in a high stress situation than there is a pair of blunt tipped trauma shears, plus it really sucks trying to peel an apple with a seat belt cutter and or a rescue knife!
Click to expand...
 
I bought the triage as a backup for ems work, and as others have said I never used it on a rescue. I was riding volunteer, so I also carried and used the triage at my day job. Where I am living, only the bigger cities have paid crews, so ems wasn't really a full time option for me. The other option I had was with a private company, but the private companies mostly only do medical transports, so no need for a knife.
 
How about a Spyderco Assist? It has a blunted tip, Spyder Edge and retracting carbide glass breaker.
 
I'm a Firefighter Paramedic, and I use my rescue knives nearly every shift. I carry a Kershaw Blur Rescue or Spyderco Assist everyday. Those are the top dogs in this category to me. The Triage is just to expensive for the flogging my knives take at work. I had one, and liked it, but I found myself babying it and it had to go.

Occasionally, I mix it up with the CRKT M16 Big Dog (not my favorite, but it's a great back-up defensive tool should you work in a bad area of town like I do) and a SOG Flash II Rescue.

The SOG Flash II Rescue has the best utility blade of them all. It removes jeans way faster than a set of trauma shears. You just slip the blade under the clothing and pull up and away and it just zips through the material. It comes super sharp out of the box. Only bad part for me is that it doesn't have a glass-breaker. If it did, it would be my go-to.

The glass-breaker is a must on extrications when prepping the car for the jaws or cutters. This is also where seatbelt cutting comes into play. I think when most people fantasize about using their seatbelt cutters or rescue blades, they are envisioning a trapped victim and using the cutter to free them. The reality is much more mundane. 90% of the time, when I'm cutting a seatbelt, it is so we can finish removing a roof that has been cut from the car.

Anyways, I think whether or not a rescue knife is a necessity for you will depend on what kind of jobs you find yourself doing at work. If it is simple EMS with most of your time spent hauling old folks around, it really won't matter all that much. If you're going to be on a busy big city fire department, you will get a ton of use from a good rescue knife.
 
I would check with your superiors and see what kind of restrictions are in place.

I asked my friend a few minutes ago. He is an EMT with about 2 and 1/2 years on the job and a member of the counties search and rescue efforts for three years now.

He has always carried an auto safety tool with a seat belt cutter, built in glass breaker, etc. for a couple years now. He also carries a sheepsfoot Griptilian. He said he has only used his knife maybe 10 times or less because it is usually not needed, and also somewhat frowned upon since most sheeple do not realize its a special blade that is made for the purpose of not cutting people in emergencies. He said the chances of someone panicking when they see you pull out any sort of knife is a big risk.

He also said sometimes its the best tool for the job. Rarely but sometimes.
 
hunter s thompson said:
I have been a Paramedic for over 20 years now, and I have used a pocket knife on scene (as of today) exactly 0 times. I have used my pocket knife several hundred times on my lunch, or opening a box or envelope! Sunday I actually had time to set in the sun and peel a Granny Smith apple with my uber high tech tactical "rescue" Case Sod buster Jr. You will be better served IMHO with a decent set of trauma shears. Just take a second to think about it, there is a lot more room for error with a sharp pointy knife in a high stress situation than there is a pair of blunt tipped trauma shears, plus it really sucks trying to peel an apple with a seat belt cutter and or a rescue knife!
Click to expand...

Yup. I was a paramedic for eight years and carried a Victorinox SwissTool and a Spyderco Rescue. I used my multitool everyday (turning on O2 tanks, maintenance, etc.) and I almost never used my Rescue. Our company didn't have a policy for knives per se, however, you would get a talking to if you decided to whip out your fancy new auto. Trauma shears all the way.
 
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