- Joined
- Oct 2, 2006
- Messages
- 2,122
I purchased a Pacific Salt when they first came out about 10 years. I carried an Endura every day and I thought the no rust feature was neat and I wanted to test it out on trips to the beach, lake, etc. I have been carrying it every time I go on or in the water ever since. It has stayed in the pocket of my swim trunks on three trips to Myrtle Beach, a trip to the Jersey Shore, and a White Water rafting day in Gatlinburg to name a few of the more memorable places it has been. It has been used hundreds of times for menial things like cutting off tags and opening up freeze pops for the kids. I have even kept it in my pocket when we go to the pool. The only maintenance I have ever done was to rinse out the pivot with fresh water and put a little oil in there to make it smoother. I give it 10 swipes on the white Spyderco stones at the beginning of each season just to touch it up a bit. Little did I know how useful this knife would be to one young man on this year's vacation.
One week after the Blade show I was with the family lounging in the sand at Myrtle Beach when a lady started going up and down the beach yelling for a doctor or a paramedic. I am neither, but the Eagle Scout in me is hard to turn off so I asked what was wrong. She stated that a boy had stepped on a hook. When we arrived several days earlier I had seen several men in different places fishing on the beach pretty close to where we were swimming in the ocean. I remember being curious if anyone ever got hooked from the line drifting into a swimmer. The chance that they would get snagged and loose a hook did not occur to me at the time. As lifeguards were arriving driving a Gator to help the youth I went down to the water to see if I could help in any way. Now I don't know what I was expecting to see, but that hook was a LOT bigger than I was expecting. The entire curved part was inside his foot and the straight shank was about 3 inches long! The young man was about 16 years old and taking it pretty well all things considered. I saw that he had a plastic leader and a big lead weight rolled up in his hand so that they did not pull the hook in his foot. The lifeguards talked quickly about lifting him into the Gator and one of them commented that they should cut the leader first so the hook didn't move in his foot. They looked back and forth at each other and patted their pockets in the classic "why isn't my knife in my pocket?" until they realized they were in swim trunks and both said they did not have their knife.
I said "I have one" and opened up the Pacific Salt. The young man then got nervous but not for the reason you might think. He stated "Dude that better be sharp. If you start sawing away on this line I am going to puke." I could tell that his girlfriend was kneeling with him and he really did not want to puke. I replied calmly "Don't worry, it is really sharp." One light slice and I was through the heavy leader and the leader and weight were laying on the beach. For just a second you could actually see the surprise in his face as if he was saying "Wow that was the sharpest knife I have ever seen" but the look was fleeting and he was worried about his foot again.
I closed the PS with one hand and put it back in my pocket and helped load him in the back of the Gator to be taken to the hospital. The excitement over, everyone went on with what they were doing. I looked down and the cut leader and weight were still laying there so I took them with me as a souvenir from when the Pacific Salt saved the day. Thanks Spyderco!
One week after the Blade show I was with the family lounging in the sand at Myrtle Beach when a lady started going up and down the beach yelling for a doctor or a paramedic. I am neither, but the Eagle Scout in me is hard to turn off so I asked what was wrong. She stated that a boy had stepped on a hook. When we arrived several days earlier I had seen several men in different places fishing on the beach pretty close to where we were swimming in the ocean. I remember being curious if anyone ever got hooked from the line drifting into a swimmer. The chance that they would get snagged and loose a hook did not occur to me at the time. As lifeguards were arriving driving a Gator to help the youth I went down to the water to see if I could help in any way. Now I don't know what I was expecting to see, but that hook was a LOT bigger than I was expecting. The entire curved part was inside his foot and the straight shank was about 3 inches long! The young man was about 16 years old and taking it pretty well all things considered. I saw that he had a plastic leader and a big lead weight rolled up in his hand so that they did not pull the hook in his foot. The lifeguards talked quickly about lifting him into the Gator and one of them commented that they should cut the leader first so the hook didn't move in his foot. They looked back and forth at each other and patted their pockets in the classic "why isn't my knife in my pocket?" until they realized they were in swim trunks and both said they did not have their knife.
I said "I have one" and opened up the Pacific Salt. The young man then got nervous but not for the reason you might think. He stated "Dude that better be sharp. If you start sawing away on this line I am going to puke." I could tell that his girlfriend was kneeling with him and he really did not want to puke. I replied calmly "Don't worry, it is really sharp." One light slice and I was through the heavy leader and the leader and weight were laying on the beach. For just a second you could actually see the surprise in his face as if he was saying "Wow that was the sharpest knife I have ever seen" but the look was fleeting and he was worried about his foot again.
I closed the PS with one hand and put it back in my pocket and helped load him in the back of the Gator to be taken to the hospital. The excitement over, everyone went on with what they were doing. I looked down and the cut leader and weight were still laying there so I took them with me as a souvenir from when the Pacific Salt saved the day. Thanks Spyderco!
Last edited:
