most "responsible" knife: a rescue tool?

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swedgie

Joined
Feb 17, 2008
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For me, visions of worst-case-scenario will sometimes accompany buying & owning knives. Probably natural. I buy most of mine for looks & feel but I often wonder if I should be carrying the knife that would best get me out of serious trouble. I mean, since I'm carrying a knife. . . For me, I guess this means getting out of a seatbelt - or car in general - or getting myself or my kid free from some stangling piece of material. So I wonder if I should prioritize the carry of a rescue knife (warncliffe serrations, sheepsfoot point, glass breaker, whatever). Maybe a sailor knife with the marlin spike. You get the idea. It's not like these knives couldn't open my chips and cut off clothing tags, after all.

I want to buy and carry what I like. Most of the time I feel it's good enough just to have a knife. Rescue knives and the like aren't at the top of my list. (Lately I've been digging that Lionsteel Daghetta.) But if a serrated edge gets your kid out of the carseat a second faster, jeez. Ever wonder if it's irresponsible not to carry the SHTF knife? What rescue knives can you recommend? Thanks.
 
I'm thoroughly confused, what is a shtf knife exactly? Since when does a tool have characteristics such as responsibility, as opposed to the person carrying it?
 
You know ya can carry more than one knife; just carry what ya like and have the rescue knife as back-up should ya ever need it.

As far as which one, Spyderco's serrations are hard to beat, they tear through anything:thumbup:

-sh00ter
 
For a lot of my years on the force, I carried a serrated Spyderco Delica. Never felt the need to have anything else.
 
Doesn't SHTF still mean "Sh@t hits the fan"? Is it unclear what qualities a SHTF knife might have? Are you saying you REALLY believe I'm assigning the human trait of "responsibility" to an inanimate object? Really? Does my question annoy you? Sorry.

RevDevil said:
I'm thoroughly confused, what is a shtf knife exactly? Since when does a tool have characteristics such as responsibility, as opposed to the person carrying it?
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Pretty clear what he means. A rescue knife is a common item from many knife manufacturers, as opposed to a more dagger or tactical style knife.

I carry a ResQMe on my keychain. It is a glassbreaker and seatbelt cutter.
I have a Spyderco Assist in my gear bag, also handy for chopping thornbushes away from the nature trail here. :)
 
As a curiosity, what does a serrated edge do that a properly sharpened plain edge not do? Further i wonder what tool would outperform a quality slipjoint pocketknife? JUst asking....Herb
 
A serrated edge is a little more aggressive on things like seat belts. Not much, though, and I doubt it would save you more than a second or two. I can't think of a situation involving a knife where a second or two has ever made any real difference.
 
A couple of years ago, I bought some seat belt material. I did some cutting tests to see how much of a blade it took to cut it. Answer: Any blade I own will cut through it quite quickly, from a Vic Classic to a Spyderco.
 
Popular knowledge seems to maintain that serrations rip through "fibrous materials" more effectively than plain edges. I remember a video where a Spyderco rescue knife demonstrates it's ease in cutting through a seatbelt. I guess I'm talking about shades and degrees here, but my point is that whatever's faster or more effective - even by a second or two - shouldn't that knife be a consideration? I don't like serrations. But they apparently don't need the level of sharpening maintenance a plain edge does. And, for me, my plain-edged knives are pretty sharp most of the time, but sometimes not as sharp as they might need to be. Yeah, I should fix this.

But it's more than just edges & serrations I'm talking about here. It's the other stuff like the sheepsfoot & glassbreaker that help make up the better "rescue" applications for the dreaded "worst-case-scenarios" I'm referring to. You can't slice as well with 'em, I know. But you can still do your edc cutting AND, arguably, have a slightly better live-saving tool.

But like shooter01 just said, I guess I could just carry the rescue tool AND whatever sweet little edc I wanted. . . Just was wondering if other folks had similar thoughts.


oldgoat1911 said:
As a curiosity, what does a serrated edge do that a properly sharpened plain edge not do? Further i wonder what tool would outperform a quality slipjoint pocketknife? JUst asking....Herb
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oldgoat1911 said:
As a curiosity, what does a serrated edge do that a properly sharpened plain edge not do?
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It can saw trough some softer metals & hard wood/plastic , not a bad thing if you are in a SHTF type of situation .

1234,,,,,:)
 
oldgoat1911 said:
As a curiosity, what does a serrated edge do that a properly sharpened plain edge not do? Further i wonder what tool would outperform a quality slipjoint pocketknife? JUst asking....Herb
Click to expand...

A serrated edge will continue to rip through material long after a plain edge has gone dull (or lost an effective edge). If it's a rescue knife, I want easy one hand opening, because it's likely when ya need it most, your adrenaline's gonna be pumping and fine motor skills will seem a little harder;); I also want a lock because quite it's east to bump something and hurt yourself without even realizing it until after the fact (no accidental blade closing for me:thumbup:).

But the choice is up to you, this is just my $.02

swedgie said:
But like shooter01 just said, I guess I could just carry the rescue tool AND whatever sweet little edc I wanted. . . Just was wondering if other folks had similar thoughts.
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Another idea, if you're opposed to carrying it in pocket, is to clip it to the visor of your vehicle, since that's the most likely place you'd need it. Just bend the clip out till it fits nice and snug; it not a bad idea to have one there anyways as getting to your into pockets while inverted isn't easy:D:thumbup:

-sh00ter
 
I think you are asking a valid question. Yes, I think that you choose your EDC based on what uses you may need from it. No, I don't think you should just buy for "looks & feel". Function/performance should be at the top of your list.

If you think a rescue design will be most valuable for you, then go right ahead. Best to be ready and never need it, than not have what you need in that moment of crisis.

Personally, I also prefer plain edges. If you know how to sharpen your knives, PE are much more useful.
 
swedgie said:
Doesn't SHTF still mean "Sh@t hits the fan"? Is it unclear what qualities a SHTF knife might have? Are you saying you REALLY believe I'm assigning the human trait of "responsibility" to an inanimate object? Really? Does my question annoy you? Sorry.
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Not annoyed, your post just seemed worded a bit...interesting I guess. In my opinion, any knife can cut a seatbelt. A knife is a knife is a knife, carry what you like. There is no "responsibility factor" in the equation for me. If the person, has a cool head and acts responsibly, that is all that is needed. There is a lot of hype around the old SHTF thing, especially with all the end of the world talk that has gone on this year, zombies, and the like. Don't buy into marketing hype so quickly, as a former EMT my rescue shears/trauma scissors made quick work of just about any seatbelt or clothing. We were never allowed to use a knife to remove seat belt material, it was considered by our department as a liability. Build yourself a small 1st Aid kit and throw a pair of them in, they run around $20. Just my .02
 
swedgie said:
Just was wondering if other folks had similar thoughts.
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Nope.

Like I said, I checked what I would need in order to cut a seat belt. Turns out any knife will do it just fine. So it turns out I've been carrying the only thing I needed for the last 50 years. Course, in that time, the only time I "needed" to cut a seat belt was when I was doing my testing.
 
I really don't like serrated edges. Maybe I'm just lucky, but I've never had any trouble cutting fabric, tomatoes, bread (the usual things folks say you "have to use a serrated edge" to cut) with a normal, well-sharpened knife.

I did have an interesting conversation with a deputy a couple months ago, however. I was asking him his thoughts on a cop-tool/rescue knife, and he told that he really does like serrated edges specifically for cutting folks free, not from seatbelts, but deployed airbags. He said they are very tough and will dull a decent PE knife pretty quickly. Then again, he also said there's usually an EMT around for those kind of situations, and they have nice tough scissors that handle that particular job even better.
 
What will a plain edge cut that a properly sharpen serrated edge won't ?

Any way, I'm thinking knarfeng's is the rout to take. Get some seat belt and see what it takes.
 
any knife you edc and use will need a resharpening. according to murphy's law, you will need to use it just before it was resharpened.
i placed a rescue knife in the glove compartment, i dont use it for any thing alse (there is also a swisstool next to it...) so if i ever need to use it it's ready. beside that i have my EDC that i can use knowing i have a backup (or two).
 
IMGP2182.JPG


sits in my car,and it glows :)
 
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