Knife for a chemist

FullMetalJackass said:
Howdy sharpest minds,

I'm looking for a knife that will be suitable for a (female) medical lab researcher.
She does all the funky experiments with the vials and explosions and toxic spills, in a hazmat suit.

The catch is, it's in a radioactive environment.

No, she does not need a 4 inches tactical folder (guess the radiation kill all the mutants).

I'm looking for something useful and stylish. Was considering something about the size of a Dragonfly/Ladybug.

I'm all ears for steel and model advice.

Thanks for your time!
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My degree is in chemistry and I worked for a number of years as a chemist before turning to engineering. I was trained to be a first responder in case there was a chemical spill, which means putting on the zoot suit, gloves, and boots, with air supply. I also used to suit up frequently to work with toxic chemicals. Again, the works. When suited up, my personal pocket knife was inside the suit with me. Anything I needed to use in my work when suited up, was not my personal equipment, because it got tossed or left in the work area when the job was done.

I said all that to say that I would not look for a tool your gal can use when suited up. Look for something handy she can use when she isn't all suited up.

Spyderco makes a number of small knives. I would probably start my search there.
 
knarfeng said:
....I said all that to say that I would not look for a tool your gal can use when suited up. Look for something handy she can use when she isn't all suited up.

Spyderco makes a number of small knives. I would probably start my search there.
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The stainless steel or "metal" knife concept might be a very good. If a knife is needed while suited up, the employer will likely be providing that. It just depends on what the environment she's working in more than anything. I can only guess. I don't care to be suited up on supplied air.
 
knarfeng said:
I said all that to say that I would not look for a tool your gal can use when suited up. Look for something handy she can use when she isn't all suited up.

Spyderco makes a number of small knives. I would probably start my search there.
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The lab director where I work most often uses something sharp(ish) to open packages when they come in; solvents, parts, glassware, etc.
Any of Spyderco's smaller knives would work fine for what gets done around the lab, except for a few instances where it was handy I had a more full-sized knife.
But those were out of the ordinary instances, few and far between.
 
When I was working in the lab, I just rotated all my knives. Just make sure to clean them up and I used coated blades for dealing with any corrosive tubing I cut. My boss always went to me to borrow my knives since he would use scissors lol.
 
plasma scalpel or gamma knife ;p

What about an auto, perhaps a rescue type with a sheeps foot
 
SAK was my first thought too. My other choice is a multi-tool if you think she might use the needle nose pliers.
 
I ruled out SAKs and assimilated, as they are a pain to open when you wear gloves.
So far it's a tie between a Meerkat, a Ladybug, a Manbug and a Serrated Dragonfly.
Can't find the Benchmark up North, unfortunately.
 
Knife + encapsulated HAZMAT= bad juju

I have HAZMAT training, you dont have much dexterity in an encapsulated suit. Usually you don't bring anyting except the suit into or out of that type of lab environment to prevent contamination. Or god forbid it tears the suit. So whatever she'll like for any other time, because its not going to be used in that type of environment.
 
I don't pretend to be a chemist anymore, but if I ever went back to work in the lab, I'd probably carry my FRN Delica 4 and/or my Fallkniven U2 every day. Or I might get a Native 5 Lightweight in S110V.
 
Personally I'd suggest a Rough Rider Doctors knife. Cheap, well made, has a spatula blade that is useful in labs as well as a cutting edge. Also has a "pill crusher" base. Non-threating, useful, easily replaced.
 
stabman said:
I just say "It's a pocket knife."
Seems to be the best way to go about it. :)
It does cut things quite well, but I generally don't carry it very often. Some of my other knives do better as "all around utility" knives. It has one of the most comfortable handles of any knife out there though.

I just wondered how many knives it was possible to carry and still be somewhat comfortable for a full day of work, and the answer turned out to be seven. :D
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I'm guessing this took place during colder months so you had a few extra pockets to throw a few knives in?

Truth is it is super easy to get up to 4 knives without even realizing it. For example today I had:

-Spyderco Street Beat
-A small higonokami
-SAK classic on my keychain
-Cardsharp in my wallet (the ammount of metal detectors I have accidentally smuggled this through, always forget its there)

Of course when I leave my house I feel I am only carrying 2 knives, not thinking of the ancillary blade to my backup shiv to my spare shank.
 
Lapedog said:
I'm guessing this took place during colder months so you had a few extra pockets to throw a few knives in?
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It was on Monday.
I had to add a couple of the hated belt pouch sheaths to get it all to work out, but it turned out that I could work an entire day in relative comfort while wearing seven knives. :D
I could have stuffed a few more in coat pockets, but then I wouldn't have been wearing them all through the day, and that was my side experiment for Monday.
 
If they are wearing thicker PPE, get a big handle knife with a big opening mechanism and easy to use closing mechanism. I have to assuming they aren't in nitrile or vinyl gloves with good dexterity but something thicker so getting it open and closed will be important. I find liner locks, frame locks, and some back locks to be easiest with gloves as they don't require too much dexterity or force from a solid surface. For liner and frame locks I have milled out some of the opposing scale to get to the lock effectively.

About the only cutting we do in our lab is boxes, tape, cardboard, and similar such things. A lot of nylon ties and package strapping for lab supplies. I'm only in a microbiology lab these days so I don't have special requirements other than it needs to be cleanable so stainless is 100% a requirement for me for use in the lab.

I used a stainless spyderco byrd crossbill for a long time and it worked quite well. It was very weapon looking but it functioned very well on zip ties and straps because you could easily slip the tip under the straps and get a strong, safe reverse pull cut like you would with a swayback harvester type knife. The thumb hole was an odd shape but there's plenty of metal exposed to just grab around the hole and get it open. It wasn't as great for closing as the lock was a bit stiff but you could one-hand close it by using the spine against your leg. I would grind the point spots on the handle near the blade tang if I were to use it again. It cost me all of $25 I think.

Spyderco Sage 2 could be the perfect knife for such a task as the frame lock is easily accessible with gloves, the blade is a good size, the knife is all metal, and it looks classy. I used that one a while when I worked in a refrigerated environment and liked it a lot but when the gloves came of in the cold for quick things the metal was a bit cold to touch compared to the FRN on my mini-grip which is what I have left.

I do not work in a radioactive environment so I'm not aware of those special situations. I do know carbon steels, which are magnetic, can be a Bastid in a high magnetic environment like being around and NMR. I've never really needed a knife in that area when in school but we had some other situations where other students had some things happen (good way to wipe a credit card or cell phone). In the micro world, we've come across a UV sanitation box that quickly sanitizes surfaces (intended more for ipads and such devices in the medical field as they move to electronic records) and it has limitations on textured surfaces (like the backs of ipad cases where I gave the company some flack about addressing that).
 
If for work in the lab (and I assume it is - why else mention the lady's job description), I suggest a titanium non-magnetic MISSION MPU. Its impervious to.....well, almost everything.
 
FullMetalJackass said:
I ruled out SAKs and assimilated, as they are a pain to open when you wear gloves.
So far it's a tie between a Meerkat, a Ladybug, a Manbug and a Serrated Dragonfly.
Can't find the Benchmark up North, unfortunately.
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How about a Para3 they're small as well and come with plain/se or a police for something a little larger?
 
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