Contact   Imprint   Advertising   Guidelines

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

Forum for kitesurfers
User avatar
kitezilla
Very Frequent Poster
Posts: 1266
Joined: Mon Oct 11, 2004 4:58 pm
Has thanked: 0
Been thanked: 0

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

Postby kitezilla » Sat Nov 24, 2007 11:21 pm

How do you know if your hook knife is sharp enough to cut a kite line?
How do you know if the knife that you carry, while kiting, is the best one?
How can you tell if your hook knife blade edge has become too dull to be useful?

Two answers come to mind:

(1) Test it.
(2) Take the advice of a self-appointed or certified "expert"
Attachments
ultimate.jpg
ultimate.jpg (41.64 KiB) Viewed 14875 times

User avatar
Bagels9000
Frequent Poster
Posts: 250
Joined: Sun Jun 25, 2006 4:57 am
Local Beach: White sands, Napeague, anywhere eastern long island
Style: freestyle
Gear: 9m,12m Naish Torch 07', Nobile 666, mystic warrior.
Brand Affiliation: We teach for Ozone only
Location: long island, NY
Has thanked: 0
Been thanked: 0

Postby Bagels9000 » Sat Nov 24, 2007 11:36 pm

You really OD'd
jesus

tungsten222
Has thanked: 0
Been thanked: 0

Postby tungsten222 » Sat Nov 24, 2007 11:38 pm

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit.
Last edited by tungsten222 on Mon Feb 01, 2010 10:39 pm, edited 1 time in total.

User avatar
Greg7
Medium Poster
Posts: 199
Joined: Wed Jun 13, 2007 4:04 am
Brand Affiliation: None
Location: Florida Keys
Has thanked: 0
Been thanked: 0

Postby Greg7 » Sat Nov 24, 2007 11:40 pm

They are so cheap I would just get a few per season.

User avatar
kitezilla
Very Frequent Poster
Posts: 1266
Joined: Mon Oct 11, 2004 4:58 pm
Has thanked: 0
Been thanked: 0

Postby kitezilla » Sun Nov 25, 2007 1:45 am

Greg7 wrote:They are so cheap I would just get a few per season.
Where do you buy them?

What brand?

It seems that the double bladed hook knives cost about $15 to $54 (plus shipping) each.

http://www.kitesurfari.com/store/hookknife.html

http://www.catchsomeair.us/shop/product ... 274&page=1

http://www.square1.com/manufacturers/sq ... aptorKnife

http://www.square1.com/manufacturers/sq ... #JackKnife

I wish I had enough money to consider those prices... "cheap".


How often do you change out your knives?

What do you use as your indicator for "time to replace"?

User avatar
kitezilla
Very Frequent Poster
Posts: 1266
Joined: Mon Oct 11, 2004 4:58 pm
Has thanked: 0
Been thanked: 0

Postby kitezilla » Sun Nov 25, 2007 1:56 am

tungsten222 wrote:I'm using double blade knives that have these old style razor blades as a cutting edge (one razor blade cut in half, to be precise). Change them every now & then, maintenance cost per year for two knives = 1,00€.

To your Q about sharpening: sharpen them the same way you sharpen your razor blades. Buy new ones.
Tungsten,

What brand of double-bladed hook knife do you carry?

Where do you buy the replacement blades?

Can you post a link of a place to buy the replacement blades online?
That sounds like a reasonable price for 4 blades.

So, as I understand it, you replace the blades every 6 months?

How did you decide on that replacement interval? Did you do a test to determine that the blades needed to be replaced at 6 month intervals? What was your test procedure?

Thanks in advance for the info.

fkb
Medium Poster
Posts: 154
Joined: Mon Jul 30, 2007 8:03 pm
Has thanked: 0
Been thanked: 0

Postby fkb » Sun Nov 25, 2007 2:00 am

$7.00 with pouch or $3.50 without seems pretty cheap to me.

Btw you can also order replacement blades for the aluminum z knives.

http://www.square1.com/manufacturers/sq ... cHookKnife

User avatar
kitezilla
Very Frequent Poster
Posts: 1266
Joined: Mon Oct 11, 2004 4:58 pm
Has thanked: 0
Been thanked: 0

Postby kitezilla » Sun Nov 25, 2007 2:20 am

Bagels9000 wrote:You really OD'd
jesus
I am interested in everyone's opinion, even when I don't quite understand what they are saying.

Do you carry a kite knife?

A lot of people do not, and from the results of my testing, I can see the merit in presenting a case for not carrying one... The argument would go like this: "Why waste the time, in an emergency, to grapple around for a kite knife, which, even if you find it and fish it out, probably won't cut the line, that you are tangled in!" or "Your time will be better spent on dealing with the tangle, in some other way, and not wasting valuable moments, running a "fool's errand", in fumbling with a dull kite knife, that won't work anyways" or "Knowing that you don't carry a kite knife will keep you more focused, knowing that you can't get yourself out of trouble, and therefore, will make you extra careful not to get into trouble, in the first place".

I would like to think that you were, in a subtle way, presenting that point of view, rather than just being rude.

Either way, I appreciate your participation in the thread.

User avatar
kitezilla
Very Frequent Poster
Posts: 1266
Joined: Mon Oct 11, 2004 4:58 pm
Has thanked: 0
Been thanked: 0

Postby kitezilla » Sun Nov 25, 2007 2:55 am

fkb wrote:$7.00 with pouch or $3.50 without seems pretty cheap to me.

Btw you can also order replacement blades for the aluminum z knives.

http://www.square1.com/manufacturers/sq ... cHookKnife

Don't waste your money on a single bladed kite knife!

The preliminary results of my testing has shown that the double bladed hook knives, that I have tested, cut the tensioned test line with mere ounces of force, measured by the scale.....whereas the single bladed hook knives, (even practically new ones), can vary radically in the force needed to cut the test line, and can take up to 20 pounds of force, when hooked on the line, without being held exactly right, so that a somewhat delicate sliding motion of the blade can occur.

If anyone is interested, I can present a lot more opinion, and the facts that I base it on, concerning the following points:

(1) None of the hook knives, commonly sold to kiteboarders were originally designed specifically for a kiteboarders needs, but were made specifically for Parachutists, fishermen, emergency personnel, etc., and the main point, I would argue concerning this observation is that, unlike a kiteboarder, who is in trouble and trying to cut a line, these other people will most likely have both hands to use in cutting the line. They will have a better chance of positioning the knife in their hand, and will have a better chance of stabilizing the line with the other hand, so that they can take advantage of the full length of the blade, by using a sliding motion of the blade, rather than, is the likely case with a kiteboarder, only being able to hook the line, and give it a pull. This is where the single bladed hook knife falls far short of the double bladed hook knives! Don't count on them, unless you have a positive answer to the question: "Do I feel lucky, today?"

I realize that my posts are "long winded" so I will shut up now. I will present more opinion and the details of my test procedure if anyone is interested.

fkb
Medium Poster
Posts: 154
Joined: Mon Jul 30, 2007 8:03 pm
Has thanked: 0
Been thanked: 0

Postby fkb » Sun Nov 25, 2007 3:13 am

Yeah you're right about the cut force.. guess I'll check out the double bladed knives. Seems like it would be easy enough to install two alternating blades in an aluminum hook knife.


Return to “Kitesurfing”

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: Bing [Bot], Brent NKB, CaptainKook, Dave_5280, duddd, evan, ham-er, jyka, Kitemenn, mati, Matty V, SolarSet, tomato, universalflush, Vivo3d, Yahoo [Bot] and 141 guests