RE: [Paddlewise] Knives and tethers

  I carry a Spyderco type stainless steel folding rescue knife in the
mesh pocket of my PFD, which closes and locks with a plastic buckle.
The knife has been on many trips, and can't really fall out of my  
pocket. Because it is well secured, it would be almost impossible to  
access quickly
in an emergency. In addition, it has acquired a certain amount of rust from
exposure to salt water, and has become amazingly difficult to open,
even while sitting on a warm, dry beach. The knife is very sharp, with a
serrated blade, and is excellent for cutting apples and chunks of cheese.
In terms of actually being used in a rescue or emergency, it probably won't
be possible. Maybe it's time to add a second (or even a third) knife.

Brad Crain



Quoting Paul Hayward <pdh_at_mmcl.co.nz>:

> Peter asked:
>> Do any Paddlewisers clip knives to a holster on their PFD
>
> Peter, I know this is one of the religious debates for kayakers - so let me
> state at the outset that I'm not trying to make any conversions - this is
> just my point of view.
>
> I have finally found a solution I am happy with. Yes, I have always carried
> a sheath-knife clipped to my PFD and with a non-stretch lanyard, just as
> long as my arm, which tucks into a pocket about 2" (50mm) below where the
> haft rests when the knife is in its sheath. Until July, it was a cheap
> stainless knife - of the sort that anglers keep in a tackle box - which did
> occasionally fall out of its sheath in rescues.
>
> This was not good - and I did (a few years ago) buy a lovely Gerber knife
> with an incredibly powerful retaining clip - which in theory would have
> allowed the necessary one-handed 'draw', but would certainly have prevented
> _any_ inadvertent release. However, the more I played with it, the less I
> liked it - it was too sharp, with a double-edged blade and the release
> required spot-on application of considerable force with/by a thumb-tip. I
> could never bring myself to deploy it and it's still sitting on my 'will get
> around to it soon' table.

> Paul Hayward, Auckland, New Zealand
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