Recommendation? Underwater knife

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Anmol

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Jan 28, 2019
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Hello people, I am a scuba diver and am looking to buy a new knife for use in the water. I want a knife which will last for a decent period of time . There is a knife which I like but am not sure about it's suitability in salt water. The material is 5Cr15 and it says stainless , inoxydable. Can you please tell me if this one will be good to use underwater ?
 
Depending on what you want for design, if you are around salt you want something in LC200N or H1. Spyderco does both folders and fixed blades in these steels, look for the Salt line. I think there are some other makers, but spyderco is what jumps to mind. 5Cr15 will be pretty rust resistant, but with salt water you easily get galvanic corrosion as you know, and LC200N and H1 are far more resistant to that.

This of course presumes you want something that you don't need to baby, wash, dry, oil, tend every minute. Some other folks will chime in if I've missed a steel that is also good in the salt.
What sort of uses/design are you looking for? Also, how much are you willing to spend, that will help others throw in some good advice.
 
gadgetgeek said:
Depending on what you want for design, if you are around salt you want something in LC200N or H1. Spyderco does both folders and fixed blades in these steels, look for the Salt line. I think there are some other makers, but spyderco is what jumps to mind. 5Cr15 will be pretty rust resistant, but with salt water you easily get galvanic corrosion as you know, and LC200N and H1 are far more resistant to that.

This of course presumes you want something that you don't need to baby, wash, dry, oil, tend every minute. Some other folks will chime in if I've missed a steel that is also good in the salt.
What sort of uses/design are you looking for? Also, how much are you willing to spend, that will help others throw in some good advice.
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I am looking for a clip point, not tool long. My main requirement is that it should not get rusted or corroded very soon. Also, can the 5Cr15 hold up if taken good care of?
 
When I am diving I usually take my Salt 2 with me.
I don’t really see the point of a fixed blade where I am diving so this small folder work just good for me

I have it since 3 years and no issue of any kind with it
 
Most here will recommend the Spyderco salt line, and for good reason. But we probably ought to ask what your budget is before we recommend you those knives.
 
Your budget would be some helpful info as well.
LC200N and H1 are both great steels that spyderco use.

If you want to go custom you could even pony up for Vanax. It's like LC200N on steroids with 3 times the nitrogen!!!!!
 
I know U.S. Gladius makes an all titanium fixed blade for salt water. I doubt it will hold much of an edge, but you don’t have to worry about rust! :D

upload_2019-1-28_6-33-13.jpeg
 
Anmol said:
...I am a scuba diver ... There is a knife which I like ...The material is 5Cr15 and it says stainless , inoxydable. Can you please tell me if this one will be good to use underwater ?
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Generally there are limits to which a particular grade of stain-less steel will withstand corrosion.
For years 420 stainles steel was utilised for diving knives.
The qualities of the PRC steel type you have in mind has been brought up as a topic of discussion previously...
https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/5cr15mov.651051/
The suggestions on securing a product made from H1 steel may be a better choice.
Though there are other materials available which even aquaman might give a nod to...
http://www.missionknives.com/index.php/why-titanium
 
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Hey guys, thank you so much for your suggestions. My budget maxes out at around 150$.
Does the 5Cr15 hold good against rust if cleaned and stored properly after use?
I see also that it doesn't hold it's edge for long but, that isn't that big of an issue
 
In all my years of diving, the only reason I ever pulled knife from sheath was to rinse, dry and silicone lube it after a dive.

No need to get anything expensive. I never pulled one, but I did lose one once. Get something you won't mind losing.

I prefer blunt tip, so I don't pop a hole in my BC or my suit or my epidermis. Something with a bright handle.

A metal butt is useful for banging on the tank, (old school underwater comms). There's other gadgets for that, though.

Here's a site to look at. Myself, I like the TUSA mini knife.

https://www.scuba.com/scuba-gear-30/Knives-Knives.html
 
Serrated Victorinox paring knife and a Benchmade hook. Most likely uses will be getting out of entanglements, no sense spending a bundle on something that might get lost. You can also get aftermarket sheaths for those paring knives specific to diving.
 
I was a very active scuba diver for more than 25 years and owned more than a few dive knives. Most were nice pieces of stainless and rubbish as knives either because they couldn’t keep (or even take) an edge or had very steep bevels (often both).

My last dive knife was a Spyderco Enuff Salt - H1 steel, proper edge, blunt tip, serrated (so I didn’t need a line cutter as well). It’s still on my BC harness. Often I carried a Dive Rite Z knife as well.

Whatever you end up getting it needs, in my opinion, to have a line cutter (or decent serrations) as most of your cutting tasks underwater will be monofilament or polypropylene line. Fixed better than folder as I used my knife as a pry more than I used it as a blade. It needs to be attached to your BC where either hand can get to it. It doesn’t belong on your leg where it can snag.
 
NRS Pilot knife and smaller Co-Pilot knife are both available in titanium for $130


The sheath looks pretty cool!
 
Anmol said:
Hey guys, thank you so much for your suggestions. My budget maxes out at around 150$.
Does the 5Cr15 hold good against rust if cleaned and stored properly after use?
I see also that it doesn't hold it's edge for long but, that isn't that big of an issue
Click to expand...

5cr15 is pretty close to 420hc. It’s probably stainless enough for usage if you keep wiping it down, but it’d eventually stain.

H1 would be more stain resistant by quite a bit. Lc200n would also be more stainless and have better edge retention.

If you want a folding knife, I’d get the native salt or pacific salt depending upon the size you want. If you want a fixed blade the fish hunter, enuf, or aqua salt would be my picks. There’s a reason why a lot of people are recommending Spydercos.
 
Anmol said:
Hello people, I am a scuba diver and am looking to buy a new knife for use in the water. I want a knife which will last for a decent period of time . There is a knife which I like but am not sure about it's suitability in salt water. The material is 5Cr15 and it says stainless , inoxydable. Can you please tell me if this one will be good to use underwater ?
Click to expand...
That blade will rust. Salt water is really hard on blades I have taken SS blades down and hosed them off and oiled them after and they still rust. I would recommend Something Titanium or look into the Spyderco H1 blades. These guys have given great recommendations. Good luck!
 
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