This is a bit of an odd posting really. It’s something I’ve been thinking about for a week or two but something I saw on another post made me decided to type it up. It’s about knives and lines…
Since I started kayak fishing I’ve always carried a knife for escape purposes. Initially it was just a sharp old sheath knife I’d bought as a kid with a stainless blade made in Chine. I recall it cost about £3. It holds a very good edge and has never rusted…but it wasn’t really right for this sort of sport so I went out and bought a divers knife.
[img]http://www.survivalthrowingdivingknives.com/files/1863347/uploaded/K223.jpg[/img]
Now this was really quite good, holds a good edge and the rope cutter works well. I drilled a hole near the pommel for a cord loop and kept it inside my boot. It hasn’t rusted yet but tends to get used all the time for bait cutting and all the other sundry uses that knives have. It’s too big to attach to my PFD but was good nonetheless. Then a mate gave me another safety knife more suited, so it seemed, to what we do.
[img]http://mirror.altrec.com/images/shop/detail/swatches/GRB/19.15576_d.jpg[/img]
Looked ideal. Yes, you have to open it and it’s not that easy one-handed but can be done. The rope cutter is very good and it holds a very good edge. It’s also small and clips to the PFD easily. Trouble is it rusts like you wouldn’t believe. Lovely knife, but rubbish for this application. Next I was given another fancy knife, again a diver’s one.
[img]http://www.watersportswarehouse.co.uk/images/product/main/typhoon-divers-knife-chisel-end_350102.jpg[/img]
Well, it’s as big as my first diver’s knife. The tip is blunt which is handy on a yak, the rope cutter and hook are pretty good and the pommel is weighted – handy for dispatching fish, and no rust…I was pleased with it and used it as a general purpose knife again, much like the first. I noticed it was blunt the other day though and tried to sharpen it. I gave up after a while as I just couldn’t get a decent edge on it. Try again.
I’d seen the ‘hooked’ rescue knives somewhere and decided that I’d look for one. Not easy. I found what I wanted in a dive shop on holiday – well, in their catalogue. Back home I ordered one and it arrived last week.
[img]http://www.ts-heinemann.com/images/scubapro_mesh_cutter_edelstahl.jpg[/img]
Well, there’s no chance of using for cutting bait with the ‘mesh cutter’ but the good thing about it is that it’s small enough to go on my PFD (in a pouch too) and won’t upset the law. The hooked part has a good edge on it (though I imagine it would be difficult to sharpen) and it is not supposed to rust. You pull it through the rope rather than cut like normal so should be safer to use if struggling under water…it remains to be seen if it’ll rust but it looks promising. I think it’s something I’m going to be happy with. But the small hook area led me to thinking about the lines I might get tangled in…
Fishing line - braid or mono…yep, goes through ok.
Leashes – yep, goes through my paddle leash (3mm cord) if I need it to – it’s a quick release leash anyhow so shouldn’t be an issue. I’ve also made some rod leashes now 0 don’t normally use them because I don’t like them, again in 3mm.
Anchor line – this is thin cord and usually under a lot of tension so this’ll go through with no effort at all.
Here it got interesting…
Tow line – 5mm floating rope. No, not easily. But this is Quick Release as well so it shouldn’t (hopefully) be an issue.
Anchor trolley – 5mm cord. No, not a hope. To be fair the other knives struggled with this too. This got me thinking – do I really need such strong cord for my anchor trolley? No I don’t. I used it originally so it wouldn’t stretch, but the bungee at each end takes the shock up anyway so it shouldn’t be an issue. I took the opportunity last week to get some new cord – 3mm black purlon (paracord) and have redone my anchor trolleys in this. I now have both yaks rigged with full length trolleys on each side with cord that I can cut easily but that is strong enough for the job.
So, I’ll still have a general purpose knife in my boot but I think I found the answer to improving my chances with the mesh cutter and thinner lines…but have I answered my own question and made the adjustments where I fell short? … Can I cut it? Yes I can.
