what's a river knife?

I

ipm

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Feb 26, 2009
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I was shoping for a knife the other day in an outdoor store of all places, and I saw something called a 'river knife', by Gerber, I think.

I have never heard of a 'river knife'.

To me it looks like the term refers to the fact that its cheap as insurance against loss, it has a blunt tip to prevent puncturing, and its holder has a life jacket clip. I don't think its plastic handle is enough to keep it afloat.

Whatever the case, the one i saw was blunt even on its serrated edge so it did not enter the purchasing equation.

I guess my question is, is the term 'river knife' basically marketing or is there more to this idea?
 
River knives are for rafting, kayaking and typical freshwater sports. It is meant for emergencies like cutting yourself free if you are trapped under water by rope or straps.

They are stainless, small and light so to be easily carried and accessible though not all have blunt tips like the one you saw.
 
When you're kayaking, you're sitting on your rear with your legs straight out in front of you. You're in an enclosed plastic/fiberglass boat, and you're often in rough water.

Get that boat stuck between two rocks in a Class Five river, and the boat starts to bend with the monumental water flow. Your legs are stuck out in front of you, and the boat traps them. They will break if you cannot cut the boat off of you.

Hence, a river knife. Blunt chisel tip so you don't mess yourself up too much in cutting yourself out. Generally a partially serrated blade to saw through the boat. You wear the river knife on your float vest.

At least that's how it was when I was kayaking in the '80s. I never had to cut myself out, but I watched two other guys do it. I got stuck on some rocks one time and was grabbing for the knife (the bending boat hurt my legs) but couldn't get it out due to slipperiness and loss of dexterity due to cold water on the hands, but two other guys rammed me like porpoises and knocked me off the rocks. Jolted the heck out of me. I was young, so it all seemed fun at the time.

I don't do that stuff anymore. :cool:

Edit: CWL answered while I was typing. Said the same thing in far fewer words, I see. :)
 
It's what you carry when you do this!!!!

riverdance.jpg
 
Like Erich said, some nasty things can happen in whitewater. One of my friends watched a buddy die in a submerged/trapped kayak (logs and roots trapped the boat underwater). They couldn't get him out or get the boat open with knives. He now carries a serious rescue saw as well as the river knife.

Traditionally "river knife" sheaths often had a clip that attached to a dedicated mount on your PFD to facilitate a rapid downdraw removal in an emergency.

DancesWithKnives
 
You couldn't ask fopr a better description that that. The are very useful tools for the underwater and rafting crowd. I learned the importantance of a river knife when I was 25. My local drinking crew had a tradition of hitting the waters of the Chesapeake Bay on our Zodiac (we called it that anyway) after a night of drinking down at Fells Point...wel live in Baltimore, MD. Anyway...we were maybe ahundred or so yards from the mouth of the bay when I here, "Oh....thats not good..." My buddy had just put a huge hole in the side of our boat with his Gerber...previously used to empty a peanut butter jar (that gave us the energy to overcome our hangovers). Even if you're not a boater/waterman you can appreciate the situation of being at the mouth of the bay in a small inflatable boat whose oars had just beebn rendered ineffective by the rapidly deflating boat. Any...water and pointy knives=bad. A river/dive knife needs serrations and should have a blut tip. I use an XS Scuba Fog Cutter with a blunt tip and shears when I snorkle or dive. Its helped me out more than once. I just bought a Benchmade River Knife to see how it fairs.
 
cool. i had no idea.

you may have to cut the boat off of your self. brutal. that sport sounds ridiculous.lol.

my experience is limited to a J-stoke-ing a canoe on a lake in summer/fall in Northern Ontario: watch an animal drinking, look at the fish, paddle through some grassy/marshy areas, take a portage or two, etc. nice and calm.

i wish i had a knife that could potentially float though, just in case. hmmm.
 
Theoretically you could make a knife that's not too heavy float if you attach something buoyant to it with a lanyard.
 
If you go to www.sierratradingpost.com and search for "floating knife", they have a cork-handled folder. [Don't know if it's worth a damn.] I imagine you could do the same thing with a river knife if the blade were fairly light. If the blade were light enough, wood might provide enough flotation. Flotation could help in a canoe on flat water but in whitewater, it would likely not be useful as often.

DancesWithKnives
 
Gerber has made a few river knives. I've had both the original versions made in Italy, one with chisel tip and one with a point. It's a good beater on land, too, and the sheath is the best plastic sheath I've ever had.

When I gave the chisel tip to my brother for a rating trip, he dummy corded it immediately. Safer than hoping it floats, which in white water is a moot point anyway.
 
IPM, my dad's got a house up on Superior up 80 miles N. of the Soo. Gorgeous up there. I did some J-stroking myself there. What a country you have.

No need for a river knife on Superior, tho. And I found that in a C-1 (enclosed one-person canoe), you don't really need one, because you're kneeling and your legs aren't trapped stretched out when the boat starts to bend. Just pull the skirt and shoot yourself out of the cockpit! :)
 
Think as a river knife as a dive knife marketed to people who don't dive - fishermen, boaters, rafters, etc. They make perfectly competent dive knives as well.
 
I took my Gerber River shorty and sharpened the edges I wanted sharp and left the blunt tip dull for obvious reasons. It lives on my whitewater PFD and I dont hit the river without it.--KV
 
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