Kayaking Knife

Anything from salt series, or the BM H20. I'll be using my Becker Necker for use while canoeing on the Arkansas River this spring. I'd rather have a fixed blade neck knife since I'll be wearing a pocketless swimsuit. Yea It's carbon, but hopefully one dip in the river wont rust the blade completely off. If I do get it wet, I'll dry it off asap.
 
The Spyderco Aqua Salt fixed blade is an excellent knife. If necessary, you could modify the tip to a more sheepsfoot profile.
 
The BM H2O is an excellent knife. My manager does diving and he uses one.
 
kgd said:
You really should consider a fixed blade, kydex sheath and attach it to your PFD.

If you really need your knife in an emergency, you don't want to be fiddling with opening it up (spyderhole or not). One handed opening a wet knife with cold wet hands in confusing (i.e. underwater) circumstances is bound to lead to a dropped knife.

There are a number of good options for fixed bladed dive knives. The Gerber river knife is a good cheap one. Benchmade has a dive knife (made of X15) that is corrosion resistant; Spyderco caspian salt and the aqua salt are both in H1. All come with a nice kydex sheath.

I do a lot of boat work myself. I used to use a gerber river knife. I lost it though. I now carry a cheap buck diamond back guide (stainless steel) on my PFD strap. Eventually will go for the Spyderco aqua salt or benchmade dive knife. I'm leaning more towards the benchmade because it is a bit more compact (3.5" blade versus 4").
Click to expand...

I am a white-water addict (30+ year old habit that I can not seem to shake :D) and agree 100 percent here. A fixed blade would be your best choice. If you are percolating in a violent hole and are snagged on a rope, the last thing I want to do is having concern over opening a folder.

My answer was to attach a Gerber river master to my PFD. It just stays there.

Early Spring 2008 on the Little River in N.E. Alabama in a rubber duck. (not bad for a 52 y.o geezer.) ;)
picture.php
 
If you do like the Spyderco Salt folders you can buy a sheath made to hold the knife when open. This allows you to use the knife as an EDC during the week and then with the sheath attached to your PFD it gives you the speed of a fixed blade...best of both worlds. This one is from http://kydex-maker.co.uk/index.html

IMG_7030.jpg
 
Jake Bauer said:
Anything from salt series, or the BM H20. I'll be using my Becker Necker for use while canoeing on the Arkansas River this spring. I'd rather have a fixed blade neck knife since I'll be wearing a pocketless swimsuit. Yea It's carbon, but hopefully one dip in the river wont rust the blade completely off. If I do get it wet, I'll dry it off asap.
Click to expand...

Do be sure that necklace will break under stress. Last thing you want is to be choked by a piece of paracord or something similar. Use a chain or a break-away clasp.
 
+1 for a fixed blade.
I would also recommend plenty of very grippy handle.
Make sure it is 100% ambidextrous accessible.
And if not fully serrated, then a mean, toothy 100 grit or less, edge on it.
I also carry a one hand opener clipped to my pocket, just in case.

Beckerhead
(just an hour from Cossatot Falls, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cossatot_River)
 
I have a older Gerber attached to my PFD, but the shealth is lousy, the blade is too short and I don't trust it much. So I DONT recommend the Gerber. My next knife will be the Benchmade H2O.

The running joke in my whitewater club has always been that most people have only cut cheese with their river knife. All joking aside, I would not want to be on fast water without a good knife. I would go fixed blade. If you are upside-down underwater in a current, I think a folder only increases the chances of dropping your knife.
 
A folder is safer when you thumbling and one hand opening ,big,locking SAK is rustproof enough ,more useful and cheaper then spyderco or benchmade
 
Picture yourself in a huge industrial size washing machine with it going at full speed. That is about the best comparison I can make to being caught in a hydrolic or hole.
The power of water is very very strong and a swimmer circulates in there back and forth up and down violently (if it is a big hole). You really can not fight it no matter how well and strong of a swimmer you happen to be. Many times the only way out is to get your bearings and push off from the bottom away from the hole. It might take several efforts. You have to have this happen to you a few times before you might be conditioned to be able to open a folder. It can be a very scary thing until you go through something like that a few times. Just getting your bearings and staying calm is a learning experience.

Sometimes those holes have all kinds of stuff circulating with you in there, fishing line, discarded rope etc.

You might even have a few logs bouncing around in there with you.

As much as I love folders, in this particular application a folder is not the correct tool for whitewater rescue situations.
 
Last edited:
I've whitewater rafted at least two dozen times and I used to carry a Spydie Spur. After about 10 trips, I decided I needed a lighter and easier opening knife, so I got the Spyderco Salt. It has served me well on all those trips.
I've gone over the side a few times and fortunately have not needed the Salt for any rescue/escape.
However, having gone over, I agree that a fixed bladed knife is much easier to bring into action when in the rapids. It really is like a huge industrial size washing machine trip.

Given that, I would recommend the Spydie Caspian or the Gerber Shortie.
I would lean more towards the Caspian because the design keeps your fingers off the blade while the Shorty doesn't really have any 'guard'. Even with its aggressive handle texturing, I could see some fingers sliding onto the blade.

Lots of good advice on this thread and have fun researching and shopping.

Regards,
Mike
 
The Spyderco Caspian Salt and the Benchmade H20 would be excellent choices---each are available with a blunt blade to avoid cutting yourself, are manufactured from non-rust-prone and even "rustproof" steels, and especially with the Spyderco, have an excellent retention mechanism (the integral hole featured in the design of the handle, much like the SPOT and Swick series). :thumbup:
 
Thanks for all the advice guys! I hadn't really thought about how difficult it would be to open a folder while getting munched in a hole. Alas this is why we ask these questions isn't it? I have the money and I think that the spydie caspain is a better option because I do quite like the finger hole for rentention purposes and would most likely be easier to use with cold and not exactly functioning digits. But the benchmade looks awfully nice. It is however more expensive. Is it worth it?
 
Guyon said:
Do be sure that necklace will break under stress. Last thing you want is to be choked by a piece of paracord or something similar. Use a chain or a break-away clasp.
Click to expand...

good call Guyon. I was gunna put it on a dog-tag type chain.
 
I've been kayaking whitewater for well over 25 years, and making sheaths for rescue knives for almost twenty. Fixed or folder is a personal choice, mine (and many professional rescue people) is for a folder in a quick release kydex sheath attached to your PFD. This thread resurfaces fairly regularly and mostb of the pictures i'd post have been posted before, so I'll give you a link to my site.
http://rivercitysheaths.com/whitewater.htm I've got a SpyderHawk on my PFD, though my recommendation is the Spyderco Tasman Salt, as hawkbills are more efficient, and time is your enemy in a rescue situation (been in a few).
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top