Slip Joint Locks

C

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I was watching the DISCOVERY CHANNEL last night -- an episode of I Shouldn't be Alive. A guy was trapped under a rock in Australia and another hiker took out his trusty Swiss Army Knife to cut away at a small tree so he could use it as a lever. Anyway, after sawing at it a few moments, he notices his hand is all bloody from where the lock had given and it had sliced him and the tree about the same number of times. I thought immediately of this forum, then I thought, "I hope if I'm ever out in the wilderness that the person who tries to rescue me has a decent lock-back knife, or fixed blade!"

I know people like their slip joint folders, but if there's any reason not to own those things for outdoor use, this show pretty much covered it. Make mine a lock back Trekker at least!

Oh, and both guys made it, anyway. (Can't imagine two guys out hiking in the middle of nowhere and NEITHER one having a decent knife. No wonder they shouldn't be alive!)

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I watched that one too. I think there was more to the cut on his hand than the lock giving way. I do believe he said that his hand slid up the handle onto the blade and due to his adrenaline pumping he didn't notice that he damn near sawed his fingers off. Either way. I still trust my SAK plenty. Never let me down. However the worst cut I have ever sustained from a knife was a SAK that closed on my thumb and cut me to the bone.
 
he mentioned the scales came off, i imagine he simply cut himself on the edges and pins. At least that is what it looked like to me, not any cuts on his fingers, just the palm of his hand.
 
I've used SAKs in SAR operations and never had a problem with them. They are backups for my main fixed blade, of course, but the saws get used a lot and I've never had a problem with them.

I didn't watch that episode of the show, but I've seen a couple and been shocked by the lack of minimum equipment, knowledge and preparation those guys had.
 
I'm returning to SAKs for their usefulness, but reserve most harder cuts to my locking blade. This sort of makes me think of Aron Ralston, the climber whom had to cut his hand off at the forearm when it became pinned under a fallen rock with a POS Chinese multitool. Sometimes, the tool you have is better than no tool at all, but if you're going to carry a tool, it really should be suited to the tasks. That's not to say we should be carrying a wrecking bar in the event we get pinned by a rock, but we should take our own safety seriously when we venture into the woods. Enough to be reasonably prepared, anyways.
 
MrSuicide said:
he mentioned the scales came off, i imagine he simply cut himself on the edges and pins. At least that is what it looked like to me, not any cuts on his fingers, just the palm of his hand.
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Yeah that was it. The scales came off. The lock didn't fail. Thanks for clearing that up. I knew it was something like that.:thumbup:
 
Okay, I stand corrected on the actual events. But your comments have certainly borne out the need to carry a well designed knife which can be used in emergency situations. I also can't quite figure out why two people that far from civilization would only have one knife between them and it's a dinky little utility knife. Is it illegal to carry substantive knives in the land down under? (I know the U.K. is going after knives, but didn't think it was a problem in Australia.

I'd also want to have a decent knife in a situation like being caught under a rock if for nothing else than to open a vein if things looked hopeless. Again, I think both of these guys seemed ill-equipped for what they were doing.
 
What is an appropriate knife to carry for getting pinned under a rock in the wilderness???
 
stevekt said:
What is an appropriate knife to carry for getting pinned under a rock in the wilderness???
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A sharpened prybar of course ;)
Because that would be a RLSS.

The TV incident sounds like operator error to me.
Just because someone buys a tool it doesn't mean he knows how to use it.
Add the circumstances to that and you have an accident waiting to happen.
 
stevekt said:
What is an appropriate knife to carry for getting pinned under a rock in the wilderness???
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We all know there isn't:) , but I think it kinda goes along the line of people whom neglect to carry basic items based on what they are doing and where they are going are likely to make poor choices when they get there as well. Choices that require the use of the very items that they probably didn't bring with them... I didn't see the show, so I really shouldn't comment any more on the subject.
 
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