My son is getting a canoe: Recommendation for a good canoeing knife?

A

Albin

Joined
Aug 31, 2001
Messages
643
He doesn't think he needs it, but I'm slowly but surely turning him into a blade man - hopefully Blade 2010 will help.

He's wants a canoe to drive in the local North Alabama lakes, streams and rivers. He has a folding knife (CRKT, forget which model though - found it: Desert Cruiser with Tanto and partially serrated blade), but I think he needs a good fixed blade, 3"-4" max. He'll be wearing a life vest, so something that could clip to his vest would be good, probably upside down.

What do you guys recommend?

Thanks,

Al
 
Last edited:
Bob Dozier Canoe? ;) (Called Canoe due to the handle shape, not its intended use.)
 
Last edited:
Spyderco has the H1 steel for being around water. Plenty of folding choices. There is also the Caspian and Aqua Salts fixed blades that might suit your purpose. I like the look of a yellow Aqua salt with an orange lanyard. The Caspian is more a dive knife.
 
Truthfully I would just get a stainless steel Mora. They are cheap enough that if he accidentally drops it overboard (ive done this) it isnt a huge deal.
 
Those mora's are nice and cheap but the sheaths are not really suited for upside down carry.
You have to make or order a custom sheath which would be 4-5x the price of the mora knife. ;)

I would go for the spyderco salt series. I would choose a folder myself but you want a fixed and spyderco does have some suited for this job.

(Benchmade also has some "water" knives.)
 
Gerber has several models designed for paddle sports. I carry the "River Shorty", which has the blunt tip,attached to my PFD.--KV
 
Serrated Spyderco Aqua Salt for a fixed blade.
Serrated Spyderco Atlantic Salt, Pacific Salt, Salt 1 or Tasman for folders.

Any of those options come with yellow or black handles. I think the yellow really helps with visibility and is very important to have around water. Also, H1 just doesn't rust. Serrations are great for cutting rope and other hard materials. They also don't need to be maintained as much as a plain edge.
 
*jijoel* said:
Those mora's are nice and cheap but the sheaths are not really suited for upside down carry.
You have to make or order a custom sheath which would be 4-5x the price of the mora knife. ;)
Click to expand...

Urban Legend I say! :D Seriously, though, a custom kydex sheath for a Mora should be around $20-$25, nothing to break the bank. One advantage of the Mora for wearing it on a vest is its lightweight. My 510 with 0.093" kydex and kydex G-Clip weigh a whooping 4.3 oz :eek: Not much more than my swiss army knife (Victorinox rucksack)!

Here's my 510 and sheath:
WholeHammockPacked.jpg


Anyway, there's a lot of good options mentionned in this thread beside the mighty Mora :thumbup:
 
kvaughn said:
Gerber has several models designed for paddle sports. I carry the "River Shorty", which has the blunt tip,attached to my PFD.--KV
Click to expand...

I looked that up: that knife looks exactly what I think he needs. Decent price too.

I appreciate the help and ideas, keep'em coming!

Thanks,

Al
 
CRKT:
MUK- You'll need to get a Kydex made. There is a maker of the forum here with them in stock. If you like the looks of this one drop me a VM I'll find u a link. I'm taking mine with me to the gulf. You just can't beat the price!
0.jpg

Hammond ABC/ ABC E.R.
CRKTHammondNewNet.jpg

ER model (probaly best choice due to handle color and it's steel is better for water use)
CR2604ER_xlarge_9512_full_73.jpg

Available with either Tanto or blunt tip.
ABCBlades_full2%282%29.jpg

It already has a functional sheath.
 
defaultuser said:
Urban Legend I say! :D Seriously, though, a custom kydex sheath for a Mora should be around $20-$25, nothing to break the bank. One advantage of the Mora for wearing it on a vest is its lightweight. My 510 with 0.093" kydex and kydex G-Clip weigh a whooping 4.3 oz :eek: Not much more than my swiss army knife (Victorinox rucksack)!
Click to expand...

If someone is a little bit of handyman it won't cost a penny to make a sheath.
There was someone who made a sheath from a milk can.:D

But there are also people that really buy custom sheaths for about 40-50 dollars and i think that a little overdone on 10 dollar knife.:)

But i know the mora is light and i would buy an orange handled mora.
Some modding on the standard sheath could be an option to.
Al little velcro strap for example.

But the standard mora sheath stays the weakest point;).
 
I bought the Mora Craftline Serrated knife for just this exact purpose. I then made a Kydex sheath for it. It came shaving sharp. My intent is to never use it except in a real emergency. I didn't want to spend a lot of money on a knife that I almost certainly will never need or use.

The knife is bright orange and the handle very grippy and comfortable.
 
I'll go out on a limb here and recommend a SAK, whichever one best fits the intended use of the canoe. They make models for just about everything, from fishing to sailing, hiking, survival, and hell even office work. After spending thousands of bucks on high end folders and well made fixed blades I always find myself carrying a SAK because the simple truth is that it can do more than any of them. My favorite combo would be an ESEE RC4 and a Victorinox Hiker in a custom Kydex sheath to hold them both. throw in a pocket sharpener and you're set for just about anything.
 
I personally never used a fixed blade when canoeing - for years, I just used a SAK. IMHO, whatever blade you get, it needs to be 100% secure in its sheath or stay firmly closed. I have personally never needed to reach a blade in a hurry while canoeing, but a blade that falls out of the pocket or out of its sheath while shooting some rapids can be nine kinds of a hassle, and extremely dangerous.

For that reason, I would submit that a folder would likely be a better option for canoeing than a fixed blade - It's quite possible that in the ruckus of shooting some rapids, a fixed blade that isn't fastened into its sheath coming loose could cause some serious damage to person and kit. On the other hand, a folder that sits securely in the pocket wouldn't pose that sort of danger, and would accomplish the same sort of cutting chores (unless you intend to chop some trees down while paddling across a lake or baton through logs while portaging :p).
 
*jijoel* said:
Those mora's are nice and cheap but the sheaths are not really suited for upside down carry.
You have to make or order a custom sheath which would be 4-5x the price of the mora knife. ;)

I would go for the spyderco salt series. I would choose a folder myself but you want a fixed and spyderco does have some suited for this job.

(Benchmade also has some "water" knives.)
Click to expand...

Just another way to look at it... go ahead and get the mora, get the nice sheath made, and look at the knife itself as kind of disposable. So you lose one over the side. Big deal. Bring two or three on the trip and don't worry about it much.

:confused:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top