Spearfishing Knives: Fish Braining

That blunt tip Caspian Salt would be the ticket IMO. Serrated edge for rope etc is always handy by the water, the blunt tip would be stellar for clams, and the Steel is perfect. I dont normally dig serrations, but the Spyder edge ROCKS.
 
Where are you diving? What are you after? Are you freediving. If i was to spend the money I would want a knife that was a little more versitle than most kill knifes. I think the Spyderco aqua salt looks pretty useful in and out of the water. Same with the falkniven. The caspian looks, to me, like it was designed by commitee. I dont think given the rounder tip and the angle of the handle that it would make a very good kill knife.

Most speargun manufactures make a dedicated kill knife. Mako has some cheap. You can also google iki jimi. It is basicaly a spike with a handle. I think the cold steel spikes would work pretty good too. You can always just sharpen a screwdiver or use an awl.

Last weekend freedive Mendo coast. 8ft vis, temp 48degF. Depth around the 25ft mark.
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Food of the Gods- Abalone/cabazon ceviche
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Good hunting

Matt
 
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brother Matt, man you rock that stuff. i need to get over there and get some free dive time with you. you know any good, like minded guys we could hook up with.

i NEED to try the abalone and love ceviche.

ryan

sorry, slight drift. back to regular scheduled programming.
 
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Ive been doing this for a while and for braining, the easiest thing to use is an old screw driver with a sharpened tip. However, I personally use one of those $20 dollar dive knives they sell at any dive shop (can be had for probably $10 on ebay). The knives are sheap, come with a leg/arm sheath and all I do is reprofile the blade so its thinner.

When using a pole spear especially, a good braining tool is needed to subdue any fish, especially the rare larger fish you may be lucky enought to get with a pole spear.

This past weekend I was lucky to come across a nice snapper which I didint shoot all that well. If I hadnt had the knife on my leg it would have given me problems.

Also one more thing to consider, a dead fish attracts a whole lot less attention from predators than a struggling fish.

here is a pic of the knife:

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I think I paid $10 for mine and I bought two. All I do is reprofile the blade so its a little thinner and I sharpen the tip all the way around so its like an arrow head, it goes into a fish skull fairly easily and I still maintain the cutting edges on both sides in case I need to cut something with the knife (something you cant do with a screwdriver). It may be made of cheaper steel, but really doesnt need to be great steel since its mainly for braining. its actually prety rust resistant and all I do is rinse with fresh water and spray with wd40 after I use it.
 
I recently saw, on a dive equipment web site, a dedicated "brainer"; basically, an ice pick that screws into a metal scabard.
It was expensive ($70-$80) , but an all metal ice pick or awl should substitute nicely, assuming you don't need it to cut anything.
 
I'm planning on starting spearfishing. I just bought an Omer Puig polespear, and am slowly getting the other needed gear. Do you know of any custom sheath companies that make dive sheaths? I'd rather use a knife made with quality steel than buy the usual 420C dive knives...
 
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What size/length speargun would you all recommend for fish 15 pounds and under(stripers, bluefish, blackfish...red snapper & small reef fish)? How do you all travel with your spearguns? Do you put them in a hardside rifle case?
 
K Williams said:
I'm planning on starting spearfishing. I just bought an Omer Puig polespear, and am slowly getting the other needed gear. Do you know of any custom sheath companies that make dive sheaths? I'd rather use a knfe made with quality steel that buy the usual 420C dive knives...
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I would contanct someone from bladeforum, theres a lot of sheath makers here and I think kydex would work well. However, if you take into accoutn the price of the sheath and the price of the knife, you might as well get a spearfishing knife. I have a riffe spearfishing knife that I love, but to be honest the cheapo knives are just as good if you reprofile the blade. If you like I can sell you my old set up with a leg/arm strap and I can clean it up and polish it up for you, PM me if interested.

K Williams said:
What size/length speargun would you all recommend for fish 15 pounds and under(stripers, bluefish, blackfish...red snapper & small reef fish)? How do you all travel with your spearguns? Do you put them in a hardside rifle case?
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the size of the gun is not so much for the size of the fish your shooting, but more at the distance you will be shooting them at. In clear water you need a longer range gun because longer shots will be available for you to take. If you plan on fishing reefs or wrecks, your better off with a shorter gun. If you ask me, I would start with something like a euro style gun in a 90cm length. This is a good starting gun, and a great gun for reef fishing or not so long shots. I personally have a rob allen 90cm and its a great gun. The only gun I have ever shot aside from that one was a wong hybrid and although wongs are great guns, I prefer the euro style guns. PM me if you want more detailed info or suggestions, im not an expert but probably know more than the average joe.

I like the fact your stating off with a pole spear. It will teach you the hard way how to correctly stalk fish and waiting for a good shot. I started out with a pole spear too and its a great way to shoot fish.
 
culpritish said:
I recently saw, on a dive equipment web site, a dedicated "brainer"; basically, an ice pick that screws into a metal scabard.
It was expensive ($70-$80) , but an all metal ice pick or awl should substitute nicely, assuming you don't need it to cut anything.
Click to expand...

im working on some titanium spearfishing stringers that can double as "brainers" A stringer is a great thing to have because you can use it to string fish without having to go back to the boat or shore right away, and you can finish off the fish with them as well.
 
I love spear fishing! I have also been playing around with some kydex. I think I would go with the sharpened screwdriver or icepick with a lanyard hole. Then just form up a little "sheath" out of some kydex similar to the firesteel loops that many of the makers have, only slightly covering the handle for better retention. H-1 would be ideal, maybe Ti although I have never worked with it, or some stainless would be fine for tip retention. A screwdriver would be so cheap that rust wouldn't be much of an issue just spray it down with some wd-40.
 
culpritish said:
I recently saw, on a dive equipment web site, a dedicated "brainer"; basically, an ice pick that screws into a metal scabard.
It was expensive ($70-$80) , but an all metal ice pick or awl should substitute nicely, assuming you don't need it to cut anything.
Click to expand...

Rob Allen Iki Spike. I just saw it on a spearfishing website.
 
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