Hook Knives...don't bet your life on them!

[afflatus]

Dudes,

You're killing me with this nerd crap...

go stone age:

Just fleck off a bit o flint, obsidian etc...

do an epoxy putty handle..................DONE

Think about it...they have 40,000 year old Clovis points that are as sharp now as any man made blade...

you guys crack me up

Damn...viscoelastic--lamb oil hehehehe
fo

[eree]

wow, people really rely on this stuff!
do ya really have time to cut some lines in a emergency situations? i don't think so

we should really rely more on the CL and QR

[RickI]

There have been times when neither pushing out the bar nor trying to open the Quick Release would do any good, as in the case of line tangles.

Guys have been saved by cutting free and in intense conditions too at times. So it is not only possible in some cases, it's also a very good idea.

Not everyone will be able to cut free, mainly because most don't bother to carry knives or they will drop them or they're too heavily wrapped up or moving too fast. So, it's not a perfect solution but sometimes it can make all the difference.

So, be able to try to cut free should the need arise or blow off your option to try?

Regarding your selection of knives cyoav, I would consider the first one because it is the least likely to be dropped by accident, allows the most leverage, has the best cutting surfaces of the lot and is less likely to cut the rider. That is if you can find a good out of the way but accessible place to stow it. If not, the second choice looks like a runner up worth considering.

btw, cave divers may carry up to FIVE knives and all they have is a single line, usually taught and secured at both ends. They don't have hydra of four hundred feet of high strength line whipping around overhead or pooling in the water beside them that could be tensioned by a drogue chute the size of a car in waves or current. Most of us don't bother with any knives, because ... ? "Won't happen to us," is all that comes to mind.

[afflatus]

When you consider all the hazards our pass time holds

I think it unconscionable to pimp it...

Why are you guys so dead set to pimp this sport?

I've never understood that?

Why do you go out of your way; make the effort to pimp it?

that's what I'd like to know .

Feel guilty for telling the truth? then try to make amends to the industry?

(that's it I bet)

talk about not thinking it'll happen to you...

Start thinking it could and just might happen to them,(the naive) but only if you manage to sell them...

why do you try and sell them?

answer me that my five bladed dive master

[cyoav]

My question is were can i buy the attached knife and / or what is the model name?

The Captian Hook knife seems to be too big.

[afflatus]

you hold it in your teeth...

or else you might as well forget about it...

there's a pocket on the back of most harnesses for it...

A wrist sheath maybe a leg ala dive boy.

[eree]

guys, i mean if you even have a knife in every possible place of your harness or wetsuite, you just have not time enough to reach to it and to save yourself.

winds

[RickI]

Guys have already done it as I mentioned and with just one hook knife. There's an interesting story about one case at the following link under "TANGLED IN KITE LINES, DRAGGED UW BY KITE IN 15 FT. WAVES":
viewforum.php?f=131
Good chance the guy would be dead but for his hook knife.

Usually, I would do a google search for "hook knife" and your country. A number of kiteboarding retailers as well as some dive and many hang gliding/paragliding retailers have them. I've had three of the knives in your photo. Two can cut the kiter's finger, the first one if tucked into a narrow glued on wetsuit pocket can stay well out of the way until and if you need it. If you're being dragged it is easy to fumble a grip on a small knife with a single finger hole. Also, you may need to cut more than just line perhaps heavier leaders as well. Best to have a good set of blades to have at it with.

[spork]

guys, i mean if you even have a knife in every possible place of your harness or wetsuite, you just have not time enough to reach to it and to save yourself.

Until you've experienced every possible situation you simply can't say that. And in my opinion it's poor form to try and convince people to forego valuable safety gear - just as it's poor form to tell them all will be swell as long as they have the right knife.

Fortunately, I have never had to use my knife for myself - but I have had to come to the aid of others on the water with my knife SEVERAL times. You won't prevent a lofting with your hook knife - but things can get very unpleasant at a fairly leisurely pace on the water. There can be plenty of time to think to yourself "now why did I decide not to carry a 2 oz knife?"

I know it's a different deal, but we had a guy land in the water with his paraglider. Others dragged him into the beach, and headed back up the ridge while he continued to pull his gear up onto the dry sand on which he was standing. He got tangled in the lines, dragged back into the water, and drowned. I'll bet he wished he had a 2 oz knife at some point.

Hook knives - when a smart ass comment just isn't enough.

(Although this reminds me of one of the best quotes heard over the radio when a bunch of friends were hang gliding, and one of the guys was going down in the rocky chasm on the back side of the mountain. When our victim stopped his terrified narration just long enough for another pilot to speak, that other pilot came on and said "shut up and die like a man!")

[spork]

Incidentally, I have had hook knives fail more often than work - mostly because I'd find them rusted beyond all reason when they were needed. Also, new Q-line can be nearly impossible to cut with anything but the sharpest dual-bladed hook knife.

As a result, I now carry a titanium folding dive knife, on the end of about 4' of Q-line (for when I innevitably drop it). There are some pretty serious downsides to a knife I have to pull out and unfold, just to have a weapon that can do me some fairly significant damage. But it's got both a smooth and serrated portion of the blade, and it won't rust.

I can't guarantee I won't draw blood, but I WILL get through any line I need to.

Your mileage may vary - I'm NOT an expert.