I would say that the drying vent (Harpy,mariner)exists on other knives(like wichard)and it is primarily to screw off shackles but why call this a drying vent?
Don't worry with HARPY!!
Drying vent???
Hi Caleb. The knife was designed to cut fishnets. The drying vent was put there to permit the blade to dry out in the salt water environment. It was shaped like a shackle key because of the shape of the handle. I imagine it could bed used as a shackle key, but the shackle might hit the edge of the blade when closed, and would not be safe to use as a shackle key when opened, especially in a rough sea.
sal
sal