Knife Visibility !!!

pitdog

pitdog

Joined
Apr 13, 2007
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During a recent hike with forum member Satsumatengu the subject of gear visibility was discussed. ST has recently had a custom sheath made for his Swamprat R4 and like I usually do had opted for a green drab Kydex which he'd then wrapped in green paracord secured with black ranger bands. Coupled with his Grey handled/black bladed knife this was now the perfect colour combo to lose if dropped !

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So after the said discussion I realised how many of my knives could easily become lost and figured I should attempt to make them a little more visible against the forest floor.

This is my German Army SAK, I keep a whistle attached both for whistling my dogs back and also to make it easy to pull from my pocket~

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Being very green/camo paracord/ black whistle it is fairly hard to spot when dropped ~

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So I switched it up a little, Orange paracord/orange whistle ~

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Placed in the same position as before it stood out way better ~

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Now hands up being honest how many didn't notice my Swampwarden to the upper right of the pic ?

This thing is terrible for blending in, check it out hanging from this tree !

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Having a Satin blade can also help visibility as my Swamprat Vex clearly shows here ~

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Talking of the Vex I tried it out making a Fuzzy today, I was very impressed !

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Found the parts of a figure 4 I'd made a while back, touched them up with my Vex and set it up.......All ready to catch a Jack Russell for lunch !!!

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Here is a plant that is always very visible against the undergrowth, Indian Pipe, pretty cool plant !

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Great pics.

Never saw the SW but in my defense I was focusing on the orange!

I'm currently trying to pick an outdoor knife/knives system that I can get handled in Orange G10 for this reason. I'm not trying to hide, or be the next rendition of Red Dawn, so high vis while outdoors doesn't bother me one bit.
 
I fully understand putting high vis colors on a field knife, it definitely makes sense. I just like the looks of more subdued colors I guess. If I ever drop and lose a knife in the scrub brush, I will probably regret that decision though!
 
This made me look at my field knives and i realized just how camouflaged they are. I am the same way. I like the subdued earthy colors.
 
For quite awhile i've used pink/purple "GLOcord" by Sterling Rope for my lanyard (it comes in orange as well). With it's bright color's it's really easy to spot in the forest/on snow and at night a simple beam from a headlamp illuminates it quite well if i set it down for a minute.
 
I don't like to use bright colors generally outside of hunting season, but I do like how much easier they are to spot. I have been meaning to get some orange 550 though. :thumbup:
 
Great pictures !

Particularly the one with your buddy by the trap. High vision colors are definitely the way to go when in field. Great decision. also glow para-cord is another great decision for carry at night.

Good Dog.
 
I'm not one for blaze orange handles but recently changed out my OD lanyards for blaze orange para cord and it makes a huge difference in visibility. Best of all 100% reversible if I need to go stealth mode, which is likely to be never :)

This way I still get my cool tactical look and much easier to find if I drop my knife, which I have been fortunate to not do so far!
 
I carry a bundle of "royal red" 550 paracord with me and have taken to using it for flagging on knives (through the lanyard) or sheaths (though eyelets or belt loops). Most knives I buy end up having dark or natural colored handles and after enough use the blades develop enough patina to have virtually no glare. Plus, red paracord is good for trail marking, so it's a good piece of kit. I'm sure bright yellow or orange would work just as well, but what's interesting to me is how different people spot different colors faster or slower. I see red easier than yellow for some reason (brain damage perhaps?) so I equip myself accordingly.
 
In my experience, I'm much more likely to drop, misplace, or forget a knife than break one.

The pocket knives I carry are either satin stainless, silver alox, or a bright yellow minigrip, and I have reflective orange lanyards on the knives I regularly take to the field.

I'm almost the opposite extreme... I always try to carry a few items that are brightly colored (orange bandanas or stocking caps, yellow flagging tape on my pack, etc.). I figure if I want to hide I can, but I might not know ahead of time when I'll need someone to find me or my gear.
 
Years ago I worked for a camping/hiking store and sold 1 gentleman three camouflage wallets during a single hunting season. After the last one I asked him what was going on. He stated he kept dropping them from the treestand and couldn't find them. I sold him a blaze orange wallet after that and never saw him again.

Got me to thinking about it and also having searched frantically for that knife I just sat down I find I really like the bright colors when I'm outdoors. I'm not hiding in some ghillie suit from the zombies so visibility is a good thing to me. Saves me a lot of money from not having to replace gear.

Charlie
 
I like orange, Scales or at least a lanyard, or orange 550 wrap on my sheaths. My favorite color of kydex is the orange.

I noticed the scrapyard, but only because the kydex rivet was shining.

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fantastic point. I've said it before, and I'll say it again. Camouflage colors and coated blades are for operators. Anybody else is better off with traditional or hi-viz colors and non-coated.
 
always I use blaze blue in my bushcraft tools as possible.
IMHO blue is only color out of wildeness so it´s easier to see ...............
 
Here are 2 photos of 2 Siegles -one with an Orange handle


One close--other further away--Orange sticks out

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