Need a good river/dive knife for kayaking

U

UpChUcK

Joined
Sep 17, 2008
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Greetings BF!

I need a river/dive knife recommendation that would be used primarily for kayaking but secondarily for camping, hiking and backpacking. Fixed would be preferable with a good locking sheath. Small to medium sized. It would be attached to a vest for quick deployment when needed like getting tangled in fishing line while kayaking or cutting nylon webbing. It would then be attached to the shoulder strap of a backpack out of the water. Stainless and good serrations are preferred.

These 3 are being considered:
Benchmade River & Rescue
CRKT Hammond ABC ER Knife
NRS Pilot

The reason the NRS knife is mentioned is because of the bottle opener. Gttoa have my import beer while kayaking and hiking. ;) :p

Any other recommendations are welcome.

Mahalo.
 
How about a Spyderco Aqua Salt? H-1 won't rust in salt water.

aquasalt.jpg
 
Have you had a chance to check out the Spyderco Salt series? They are all H1 steel that will not rust or corrode.
http://newgraham.com/store/product/4542/Caspian-Salt-PS-Pointed-SCFB21PSBK/
This is one of two fixed blades and IIRC they have 6 types of folders in the Salt series H1 steel, PE or SE. The one I have is in salt water quite often. Most times all it gets is a rinse before getting put up. Zero problems with rust.
 
I use the Benchmade you listed and love it. I really like the sheapsfoot blade and feel less like I am going to stab myself if I need to use it. I have had it for several years now and its held up great. I attach my BM to my vest and its about the perfect size. Not too big and not too small. I dont have any experience with the Spyderco pictured but it looks a bit long for me. But to each his own. It does have the H1 blade like the spyerco's according to NG http://newgraham.com/store/product/68/Benchmade-Yellow-Handled-River-BM100SH20/
 
If you would be intersted in something a bit less expensive ($50 MSRP) than the Benchmade or Spyderco, what about the Kershaw Sea Hunter? Available with either a spear or chisel tip.

36621123.jpg
K1008-1.jpg
 
Thanks for the quick responses. :thumbup:

What's the difference between X15 T.N Steel and H-1? Is one more stainless than another? Edge holding?
 
i use the kershaw responder when i go kayak fishing; blunt tip (you should want a blunt tip kayaking), combo blade w/gut hook that cuts fishing line, great grip, kydex sheath...it may be listed as a rescue knife but it is a great water sports knife...

for me it has been a multi-purpose knife for water sports and also for camping (it's with me crossing streams on lure-recovery missions)...
 
Either a Salt knife which wasn't available for me when I did a bit of that sport or the Gerber River knife which is a great little knife with clips to mount to your straps. I had one of these on my PFD everytime out and really liked it. Still have it actually. I have that 5640 model to the right and have owned it for years. Its never once even shown any beginnings of rusts or pits of any kind.

http://www.knivesplus.com/GERBER-KNIVES-FIXED-RIVER-BOOT.html

STR
 
:thumbup:Gerber River Shorty. Ive carried one on my vest for years and used it for everything from spreading peanut butter to cleaning fish to cutting rope. The only drawback is no point. I sharpened all the false edges.--KV
 
STR said:
Either a Salt knife which wasn't available for me when I did a bit of that sport or the Gerber River knife which is a great little knife with clips to mount to your straps. I had one of these on my PFD everytime out and really liked it. Still have it actually. I have that 5640 model to the right and have owned it for years. Its never once even shown any beginnings of rusts or pits of any kind.

http://www.knivesplus.com/GERBER-KNIVES-FIXED-RIVER-BOOT.html

STR
Click to expand...

kvaughn said:
:thumbup:Gerber River Shorty. Ive carried one on my vest for years and used it for everything from spreading peanut butter to cleaning fish to cutting rope. The only drawback is no point. I sharpened all the false edges.--KV
Click to expand...

I like the blunt/sheepsfoot feature. Better to not puncture inflatables.

There is quite a difference in price between the Spyderco and Benchmade and the Gerber River/Shorty. How would this translate into real world performance. Are the steels drastically 'better' than the Gerber's.
 
I love my Kershaw Amphibian as a dive knife. It is double sided to have one side plain edge and the other side combo edge -an attribute that I really find usefull. The serrations are great. The sheath that is comes with is superb and it comes with rubber straps for straping it to your leg.

I dont know how you would like it as a hiking knife though. I use it primarily for diving.

It is hard to beat for 30 bucks: http://www.myshopkart.net/honorfirststore/images/_products/moteng/K1006K.jpg
 
UpChUcK said:
Thanks for the quick responses. :thumbup:

What's the difference between X15 T.N Steel and H-1? Is one more stainless than another? Edge holding?
Click to expand...

H1 is a work hardening steel. It will get harder as you use it but will not get brittle. H1 is an nitrogen added steel as is the X15TN and they should be equal for rust resistance. IIRC they are both rated around 58-60 RC with the H1 getting into the 60s RC range at the edge, especially the SE. The H1 will scratch easily, but it will also buff out easily to a mirror finish. I think the use and availability X15TN is slowly going by the way side to the H1. I have both but prefer the H1 mainly due to it being available in more blade/knife configurations. Performance wise I have not noticed any big discrepancy's. Here are some old threads with good info.
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=192107
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?p=2231171
The Gerber Shorty is also a good knife and will hold up well in the SE, it just won't have the same edge retention of the H1 or X15TN in the PE section. If you are not in salt water it is fairly easy to keep any blade from rusting badly.
 
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buck made a knife specifically desinged for kayaking by famed desinger Ed Gillette. google on it and see what you find. I have one at home and it is perfect.
 
UpChUcK said:
I like the blunt/sheepsfoot feature. Better to not puncture inflatables.

There is quite a difference in price between the Spyderco and Benchmade and the Gerber River/Shorty. How would this translate into real world performance. Are the steels drastically 'better' than the Gerber's.
Click to expand...

I have absolutely no complaints about mine. Its a great pry bar, I've used it for food, for ropes, cutting fish heads off and more. Its always performed well for me. Is it ideal? I don't know. But as far as cheap reliable survival tools it sure passes muster. The blade is plenty thick and its tough as nails. You aren't going to break a shorty. For the money its hard to beat in my opinion. Its the only Gerber knife of all I have that I have kept. Well, not counting some highly collectible ones I have from pre Fiskars take over that are not users but old Sportsmans Slimline folders. Those I've had since the 80s in my collector box NIB.

The drop point never appealed to me for several reasons. One being what you brought up about inflatables. One of the other things I liked about the shorty was the snaps for mounting the sheath not shown in the link for how it mounts to your straps. Its simple but it works. I've not used the Salt knives shown. Like I said they were not around when I was young. The folding Salts I've owned though. I like H1 fine but I would bet that the Shorty is a lot tougher personally. The Shorty won't cut with a Spyderco though and the blade is thicker but it does cut when you need it. Thing is its really more than just a knife though and more than just a Kayak tool but a diving knife as well, and even a screwdriver in a pinch. If the edge is too thick for you thin it down and then it will slice better but as it comes its built for harder use.

STR
 
Thanks SOLEIL for your comparison of X15TN and H1. I learned something today.

Thanks also to STR for your River/Shorty assessment. You're right about the price. It sure does make make a case for that knife and knowing at least a couple people recommend it makes it easier to consider.

Anyone know about the UK Titanium Blue Tang Dive Knife? I'm thinking this may be more of a single purpose dive knife design. Maybe not so good for camping and hiking duties out of the kayak. No? Another titanium (Mission) was recommended too but how's titanium's toughness and edge holding compared to H1, X15TN or the other stainless steels.

I saw the CRKT MAK-1 mentioned by PayetteRucker but at 10 oz., it is just too heavy.
 
Mission knives will probably be the toughest, but it will also have the least amount of edge retention. Mission has made great advancements with their Beta-Ti blades but they can not compare to the edge retention of non-Ti blades. Some people love them, others pass them by.
 
My diving knife is Gerber Cliplock. Don't know if I really recommend it, I'm sure a Salt of some kind would serve you well, but I like mine anyway! :)

cliplock.jpg
 
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