Tactical/Survival Applications

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haliaeetus70

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Jul 22, 2014
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I'm new here and wanted to ask your expert recommendations. I am a Helicopter Pilot and wanted a specific knife for emergency applications. I was looking for a folding one-hand knife maybe partially serrated, that would be good for cutting out of seat belts/5-point restrains that are quite a big stronger than car seat belts, in case of god forbid accident you'll want to cut out and get out asap with maybe only using one hand. I don't care much about price as long as it is top notch knife, quality is #1 for life saving. I was looking at SOG and CRKT, but I don't know much about knives and or brand quality. Thanks in advance for your help, it is much appreciated!!
 
The Benchmade Triage and Spyderco Rescue come to mind as they are blunt tipped so when ripping a seatbelt/restraint off you don't have to worry about stabbing yourself. The Rescue is fully serrated I believe and the triage comes in multiple configs IIRC.
 
Sog and crkt arent the best. I would suggest you take a look at spyderco. Maybe something serrated from them would be your best bet since you might have to cut through harnesses and what not.


Or take a look at some benchmades like the barrage or mini barrage that you have the option if getting with partial serrations. Comes with a spring assist so it's even easier to open one handed

Or a cold steel like the recon 1 or mini recon 1. This line of knives is super tough.

Basically, the brands you wanna look at most are:

Benchmade
Spyderco
Zero Tolerance
Kershaw
Cold steel
And a few others

I would stay away from sog and crkt
 
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K.O.D. said:
The Benchmade Triage and Spyderco Rescue come to mind as they are blunt tipped so when ripping a seatbelt/restraint off you don't have to worry about stabbing yourself. The Rescue is fully serrated I believe and the triage comes in multiple configs IIRC.
Click to expand...

What he said.

1) Benchmade and Spyderco are really "can't do wrong" brands.
2) The ones KOD mentioned are "specific knife for emergency applications"...which is what you said you are looking for. Something like a Cold Steel Recon is not.
3) Welcome to BF.
 
what kind of flying are you doing/ what kind of helicopter? if its mainly over water flight and just want something to simply get you out of the harness, id look at just a strap-cutter, benchmade makes a few really nice ones. but if youre flying somewhere where you would also want to have a knife with you afterwards, the benchmade adamas autos are a really great choice for a rugged use knife.

Also, where would you be carrying it? on your gear? on your person? on a go-bag?
 
Are you looking for folders only? Because there's plenty of fixed blades that would serve above and beyond getting yourself out of a bind.
 
Look into the Zero Tolerance line if it's a folder you are looking for, ZT 0550 is an extremely solid knife. The steel is very good, it's thick enough that it could be used for prying if necessary. There is a guy that put it through serious torture testing on YouTube, I think it'd be a good choice for you!
 
ZT makes some excellent assisted openers like the 300 series or the 566. They aren't too big but they can be carried a lot of different ways. The assist part makes them pretty easy to open in a stressful situation and they're big enough & tough enough to do most anything you'd need to do. As already mentioned, both Spyderco & Benchmade also have good offerings that will serve you well.

I'd also consider a small to medium FB, though. There are quite a few made to be carried horizontally or at an angle on your belt so they'll be accessible with either hand. ESEE, Becker, Dozier, and quite a few custom makers here on BF can provide just what you're looking for in a FB.
 
I'm a very big fan of the Zero Tolerance 05xx family, but I strongly agree with the Benchmade Triage recommendations on this one. Part of the reason is the design and inclusion of the belt cutter. Having a dedicated and well executed cutter allows you to use the main blade for lots of other things without worrying about the edge quite as much.
 
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Thanks so much for all the replies!! Looks like I'm leaning toward the, 2014 Benchmade 9170 Auto Triage, I like that hook safety cutter in the back and the carbide glass breaker. Also I read that N680 steel out performs 440? Thanks again.
 
Sheath?


And where do you live? Autos are illegal in many places

N680 may be better than 440, depending on what 440 it is. It probably beats 440A and B, but might not beat 440C in edge retention. It will most likely beat it in corrosion resistance though. That's the main selling point of n680.
I think the triage is your best bet if you want something specifically for extracting yourself from a sticky situation. My earlier suggestions were based on the thought that you wanted something that would serve more purposes than just that.
In regards to fixed blades, they might actually be easier to use in a bad situation, since you would just have to draw it from its sheath instead of having to retrieve it from you pocket and deploy the blade..... But its entirely up to you. If it were me, I would grab an esee 3. Its tough as hell for its size and would be easy to keep on you and retrieve if necessary
 
Since I like it and it serves your purpose and then some, the Victorinox Dual Pro X swiss army knife. Has a serrated blade (blunt tip for seat belts) and a full sized cutting blade that you can open with one hand along with some of the other SAK tools that I find extremely useful.
 
Victorinox makes a rescue tool designed for cutting shatterproof glass and a seat belt cutter not assisted but most of the tools can be opened w/ one hand and has a yellow glow in the dark scales.
 
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