Good water knife

[xtremekramer]

I am a very outdoor oriented person (kayaking, rock climbing, skiing, backpacking). I Just lost my endera that I have had for years and am looking for a replacement. Recently got into kayaking and am looking for a knife that will be strong in all uses but not slip in white water. Had been looking at the stainless steal handels and am questioning the grip when wet. Any suggestions?

[BladeMaster]

Hi! I'm new here as well.
For your uses I would take a look at the Merlin. The volcano grip is great when wet and the shape of the blade prevents what ever you are cutting from slipping off of the edge.

[80L]

Hey Xtreme, I was looking for a knife for much the same purpose. I ended up getting the SS native. At first I got the lightweight, but I went and traded it for the SS. I was actually looking for an endura or dragonfly, but the dealer I went to didn't carry a lot of spydercos. Anyway, what I like about the Natives are that they have a rather large lanyard hole so you could attach a little resuce line to it if you're afraid of losing it. The remote release looks like a good outdoor knife. I personally like SS handles, but they don't have the greatest grip when wet.

The Native has been a great knife for me. 50/50 AUS10 blade or you can go with the Lightweight that has a CPM400 blade (either plain or serrated). I think its a very versitile knife.

Edited by - 80L on 8/21/2001 9:40:07 AM

[xtremekramer]

Thanks for the insite on the native. I had been looking at the native ss as a second all around knife. But that was with the planning of having my endura as my water knife. Not so worried about dropping it when in the water since I planned on having it tied on, more worried about it slipping through my hand when in/under water. This would cause more harm then help in a rope tangle situation.

[mundele]

You might take a look at the Rescue and Rescue Jr. models.

--Matt

[Clay Kesting]

I have a G10 Harpy specifically for sailing and kayaking. You may still be able to find one although they have been discontinued for a while. Otherwise I would go for the Merlin instead as I think the stainless Harpy would be too slippery for white-water use.

I bought the Harpy on the advice of Mike Sastre (River City Sheaths) who is an experienced white-water kayaker. I also bought one of his outstanding neck sheaths for it. These can also be attached to a PFD and hold the knife securely but ready for instant access.

Clay

Don't worry that the world might end tomorrow, in Australia it's tomorrow already.

[The Stare]

While I don't think that engraving would be likely to impart enough grip to enable one to be confident in water/underwater situations, I'm sure it would be possible to get a SS handle checkered. I read about that somewhere recently. Seems to me that the checkering was done by a woman who specializes in checkering parts of pistols. Don't know how expensive that might be. I know it would require a skill level it would take me years to develop.

I'm extremely fond of my Native ltwt. It is hefty enough to be able to deal with some force, and very versatile where the blade and grips are concerned. Plus that 440V steel.

I'm not drawn much to hawkbills, but certainly believe the Harpy or Merlin would be much very useful. I also wonder if the Rescue wouldn't be great, without the sharp point.

Either way, for something one can grip very securely once one has it in hand, I would think that the CRKT Bear Claw would be a very good water knife. They now make a serrated model that has a sharp point, in addition to the old one which did not, and the pointed PE model. It is also quite inexpensive. Am not sure how versatile it's sheath is in terms of attachment to PFDs, etc.

Stare

Edited by - The Stare on 8/21/2001 5:30:06 PM