Bill Leonhardt asked about knives; >Doug, you and others have indicated a preference for folding knives. I confess that I don't have much knowledge of what's available and how it works. I have seen the knives that have a large loop on the blade so you can flick the blade open with the thumb of the hand that's holding the knife. Are the folders that you have in mind loose enough to just flick them open or does the blade need some sort of assist? Bill, I do have some knowledge in this area. Possibly the most popular folding knives among rescue people at this time is the Spyderco brand. They have two models that are equipped with snaps. They are a brand that has popularized the large hole in the blade. This hole is for flicking the blade to an open and locked position with your thumb. A knife blade should not just flick open without an assisting device (thumb assist, strong flicking wrist action or spring loaded pushbutton). Spring loaded knives (switchblades) are illegal in many states and controlled in others. >I'd like to ask the people with folding knife experience to comment on how easy the knife is to deploy while swimming, possibly tangled in multiple tethers with cold and/or gloved hands. Really, I'm not trying to be a smart-ass, but I feel that a knife is important to have and it must be accessible in all circumstances. I would say that the ease of deployment questions is unanswerable. A sheath knife may be more easily deployed, but, a good sheath knife will probably have a release of some sort on the sheath. Oh, yeah, stainless means that it is less susceptible to stain not that it is stain proof. I use Never Dull Magic Wadding Polish to polish my knives. It is available at most Marine Supply Stores and hardware stores. A five dollar can will last for years. Another tidbit, a common serrated blade has about 2.5 times more cutting surface per inch than a traditional blade. Bruce WEO *************************************************************************** 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 Wed Oct 20 1999 - 17:29:29 PDT
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