Recommendations for coast guard knife

F

Fax

Joined
Oct 6, 2011
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What im lookin for is some advice on a knife one can carry for the coast gaurd... the only real limitation is budget and blade length. The rules pertaining to carry on the ships is a 4 inch blade or less. The budget is 100 bucks. The knife isnt for me but a friend. What would be ideal is a knife with good edge retention because "she" isnt keen on upkeep.. which also means its got to be rugged. Excellent corrosion resistance is necessary due to always being near the ocean. Assist opening would be cool but not needed as a folder is deffinitly needed for concealment on ship. The knife needs to double for combat and edc use. Just wondering what your guys opions would be. All the while shes never had a nice knife and cool factor would be an added bonus! thanks for the input
 
ZT 350 sounds about perfect, for your limits. Maybe a little over $100, but it has CPM S30V, assisted opening, tank tough build. American made. I'm not a fan of recurves, but it does work for its intended purposes.

This dumpster was empty when I started, all pieces of cardboard were cut into 2'x3' pieces by my 350, still

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Good luck in your search, I hope you find what you're lookin' for.

Moose
 
Im not particularly found of recurve blades either but Ive heard nothin but good about them. Im very familiar with kershaw but have yet to get my hands on a zt. A little pricey but money well spent if its guna be carried everyday religously right, how much trouble do you have resharpening that blade?
 
Welcome Fax! Well, for starters, what is your friend's rating and will she be on a boarding team? The boarding teams are usually well armed anyway and a knife for combat purposes is actually a low priority. There is a lot to choose from but I suggest a corrosion resistant finish.

Cutting lines is very important and will make up a large percentage of use on a ship. Price wise, I think a Benchmade Griptillian would be fine and would work very well for her purposes. But this is up to you and maybe her. There are plenty of knives out there to choose from and you will get a lot a great input from the others here.

Good luck
 
Fax said:
Im not particularly found of recurve blades either but Ive heard nothin but good about them. Im very familiar with kershaw but have yet to get my hands on a zt. A little pricey but money well spent if its guna be carried everyday religously right, how much trouble do you have resharpening that blade?
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CPM S30V is some tough stuff. I use diamonds on it, and it gets scary larry sharp. You have to be a little more patient witht the recurve, but it can be done, with minimal muss and fuss.

Moose
 
Bohica, she isnt part of a boarding team.. yet. She will be as she is new to the gaurd.. Her rating i am unsure of as of now. The reason i ask for a combative style blade is more for the non-duty fun time... which includes bar hopin in boston currently... I know its unlikely but some sort of defense i feel is nessecary when in strange city settings. Heaven forbid something should happen but if it does id personally feel better if she had a defensive weapon on her being. Im goin to forward her pictures of recommended knives to see what her preference is. The griptillian is one nice a$$ knife. Moose, ive heard that about the s30v steel and i guess if it comes down to that option ill be working on my honing skills haha
 
I was in the USC G U A R D for 10yrs and had a griptilian for a while. That's a good choice. She will more than likely be issued a Gerber or something unless she is a SN/BM then it's just frowned on for them to own sharp objects. J/k what ever she gets tell her not to loan it, cut line aka rope-dulls knife fast, don't loan it, use it as a screwdriver, paint scraper, and a bunch of other stuff I saw people use a knife that was questionable. They make em in girlie colors. Boston huh? She probably make better use of duct tape for peoples mouths.
 
Deadeye, you know you arent kiddin haha, i might send her a roll for kicks. Ill have to school her on use. But commin from a small town up here in Maine i just feel uncomfortable in all city settings lol. If the griptillian has seen use in the roll already im starting to see that it deffinitly is not a bad choice at all... Is there an actual use for serrated edges for the job or are they just as unecessary as usual?
 
I've edc'd a plain edge Ladybug H1 for almost 2 years now. Spyderco's H1 is essentially rust-free, but not so great at edge holding. It is easy to sharpen however. The serrated blades are supposed to hold an edge better due to extra work-hardening, but serrations are a p.i.t.a. to sharpen. Spyderco makes a variety of shapes & sizes.

X-15 T.N. as in the Benchmade H2O Grip is supposed to stay sharp longer than H1 plain edges, but at the expense of lesser rust resistance.

I would at least consider these knives as they were designed with saltwater in mind.
 
+1 on the Benchmade Grip 550SH2O. Large enough for defensive purposes, light enough to carry all day. The partial serrations work great on rope and other materials with enough plain edge for any other tasks The blade is pretty rust resistant and not to hard to sharpen. Also the axis lock IMO is just a fast to deploy as an assisted opener with a little practice.
 
I sail and have carried a H1 serrated Spyderco Pacific for a couple of years. The serrations hold up very well and the knife won't rust. It's great for cutting rope and canvas. If you're worried about sharpening you can get the knife and a Spyderco Sharpmaker for around $110. Slightly over budget but a great combo for a person new to knives.
 
Check out the Salt series from Spyderco, they have varying blade sizes and shapes, wont ever rust, and the spydie-edge (fully serrated) holds a working edge for a LONG time.

A buffing wheel (with appropriate compound) will bring the edge back pretty quick.

Love my fully serrated Pacific Salt:thumbup:

-sh00ter
 
My brother in law is stationed at Fort Macon right now. I bought him a Pacific Salt with a full serrated edge as a wedding present, and he loves it.
 
I don't have any and have never used a recurved blade, but I do know that sharpening them with a Spyderco Tri-Angle knife sharpenener is easy. In fact, there's no difference.
 
The Spyderco Salt Saver looks nice. Good and blunted for no accidents when it's dropped...
 
I would say a serrated Spyderco Salt of some sort. Serrated H-1 has great edge holding, my better than a plain edge S30v blade IMO. But yeah, a knife is a tool. Using a knife in a defensive situation is not sensible. First off, the knife can be disarmed/reversed very easily and it's just dangerous unless your highly trained. Buy here a serrated Atlantic or Pacific Salt!
 
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