Bill said: <snip>This works for me but I'm sure it is not the only way. I think it's really >very important to have your knife access so that you can get it with either >hand. I have mixed feelings about attaching flotation to the knife. I would be >against floatation that would get in the way of the knife's use or deployment. On the subject of knives, kayaking, and tethering, I have a number of concerns. Delete now if faint of heart when it comes to definite opinions. I see a lot of kayakers and canoeists with mounted river knives high up on their PFDs, near their collar bone area. The knives are typically the pointed survival type. I question, in particular, this mounting location. If the handle of the knife is pointed down, it is entirely conceivable that during an emergency, it would be possible to draw the knife out in a wide arc and slash your leg. Conversely, with the handle mounted upward, it is also possible that upon withdrawal from the holder, the knife could slash your face. Another location for mounting is down low, handle downward. Sitting in the kayak, a short torsoed person could easily lean forward just the wrong way, and the knife could pop out of the sheath and then puncture something important, namely, said paddler. I prefer to see these knives mounted sideways, part way down, handle outward from the body. I also do not carry this type of knife anymore after some discussion with the coast guard SARTECHS who train the Zodiac crews for surf rescue work, who suggest carrying a folding style that flicks open with one hand. I use a teflon lubricant to keep mine functioning to proper specifications. I tether mine as a back-up to loss, on an easily removable clip, but use a length of 1/8" bungy cord which permits good range of motion and distance of travel. My "flick" knife is not my main knife On deck I have a divers knife that is housed in a high quality, quick release housing. Pushing on a stainless steel ball half the size of a marble, with one hand, is all you have to do to release it. The handle it tethered to a divers equipment coiled tether with a good range of motion and distance. I use this effectively for extraction from kelp in heavy breaking seas when I submarine under. The tether has a quick release velcro arrangement so the I can release the knife efficiently for use when I reverse submarine into kelp. I used to use a folding fish-fillet knife. While it did cut kelp much more readily, the pin rusted unannounced one day, and when I went to close it, the resistance made my finger slip and I received a nasty gash that would not heal for the duration of the trip. I also bought a spare holder for the diving knife, which I use for transporting the knife after paddling, for security reasons. The knife holder on deck is sewn on to my deck bag, and is very secure. My arrangement, my opinion, and works for me; and I think its pretty cutting-edge technology :-) Now, what will happen to me one day when my knife's tether wraps around my paddle tether while I'm trying to clip out of my boat-to-person tether in breaking seas because the tether tangled around my paddle float outrigger's tether, all because I was trying to release my camera's tether to get a picture of a passing whale, is anybodys guess! BC'in Ya Doug Lloyd *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - All postings copyright the author and not to be reproduced outside PaddleWise without author's permission Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************Received on Tue Oct 19 1999 - 23:24:22 PDT
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