knife for climbing?

K

Knight939

Joined
Feb 14, 2003
Messages
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I know it's been a while but once again when I have a knife question this forum is where I go for advice. I've gotten back into rock climbing and rapelling recently and need a light knife that I can clip on to my gear. I'm not talking about pocket clips, more like hook clips I guess. My climbing instructor carries a Kershaw carabiner knife that also has a screw driver and can opener but I've also been looking at the Buck Revolution. Any of you knifeknuts have any opinions on the subject? I'm especially interested in how AUS6 (Kershaw) compares to 420HC (Buck). Also if there are any other options I'd love to hear them. Thanks in advance.
 
AUS6 is a better steel than 420HC & from my experience kershaw treats it right.
the type of knife you are looking for is not very wide spread.
what i did when i was climbing was to attach a very short laynard with a steel shakle to my spyderco salt1.
in that respect i think spyderco's rescue knives are great for climbing (does it show i'm a spyderco guy? :rolleyes: :D ) serreated VG10 blades make short work of any rope & the sheepfoot blade makes them very safe while cutting in mid air
 
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Spyderco, Snap it?
 
i was going to offer one of those but they're getting pretty hard to find aren't they? :)
 
You'd want to get a spyderco delica / endura fully serrated version.
 
what I did for my rock/mountain climbing friend was take a Camillus Arclight neck nife ($20) and then grind Kit Carson style half-moon reverse serrations into it. That means that instead of the usual series of pointy teeth for serrations, you make a fluid series of rolling hills, all round & no points. Easy to do w/a dremel & files, and does in fact out-cut spydie serrations in rope by a 3-to-1 margin. Then tape the kydex sheath to your rig, it's easier to get to fast than a folder. Also, it's very light. You can easily cord-wrap the handle for comfort. The end result is not pretty but it's the perfect tool for the job.

http://www.1sks.com/store/camillus-arclite.html
 
I have a Rescue version of the Snap-It, which would be ideal. I use it as my underwater safety knife.

I don't know if it is still available, maybe you can find one somewhere.
 
Maybe you could broaden your search if you were willing to use a short lanyard to attach the knife to your pack via a Berkeley clip or other clipping device. I'd think that a combo edge would be nice for cutting rope.
 
Thanks for all the great feedback. I've always been more of a Spyderco/Benchmade kind of guy and don't have much experience with Kershaw and Buck. I also don't own any knives with AUS6. My dad used an old Buck 110 and had it so long that when he finally retired it, the blade looked a quarter inch shorter and a lot thinner from the many touch ups over the years (I think his blade was 440C though). Attaching a lanyard to a knife will definately give me more options so maybe I will get a spyderco, I did think the Buck Revolution looked pretty cool but I've always been a little skeptical of 420HC. Once again thanks for all the great input. You guys have never let me down yet when I've need blade info or advice.

LT :D
 
also, I would get a serrated knife instead of a plain edge. Plain edge will cut well, but it requires you to do a proper cut - i.e. on a recuve blade, you have to push through all the way. Sometimes during climbing you'll have a limited range of movement, so it's probably more beneficial to get a serrated blade to just saw through whatever it is (i.e. rope)
 
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