I’m not sure about a standard wire size, but what I can tell you is most barbed-wire is two strands of wire twisted together; in an emergency situation you really wouldn’t want a barbed-wire fence slowing down your escape from an approaching fire.
I also wanted to add something to the drawing I posted. I think it would be totally possible to make the cutter with a replaceable blade Similar to how they do a lock insert on frame locks. That way you could keep as much of the knife stainless steel as possible and you are always insured have a sharp wire cutter.
40 Spyderco knives in 11 different steels,
1 Byrd and 30 “others”
Menipo, There are all kinds of Wildland firefighters. A lot of local and county fire departments have type 3 off road capable engines and we all work together. State and federal is a mix of full time professional firefighters and seasonal firefighters who work up to 9 months of the year but can work more hours than a regular 9-5 job all added up. In California, about 2/3rds of the force are seasonal and don’t make as much as local govt firefighter who can make up to double what a wildland firefighter can make. I guess what I am saying is that there is quite the range of pay even though we all assume the same risks.
PS
The name I had in mind was the “Wildfire” but I can see several different models along the theme and that could need a few names.
Fireman,
Thanks for the additional info. If only one WLI is to be manufactured, I would insist on my least common denominator approach: if there is such a salary difference (and in some places the number of those who make less double or triple the number of those who make more), the more affordable the knive, the higher the number of those who can consider to buy it.
But if we are not talking about one knife but a complete line of them with different sizes, steels or handle materials (I like the way you think big), there would be perfect room for both a Resilience type Wildfire and a Paysan type WildLand Inferno. Something like the Native - Native Chief maybe :rolleyes:
I think I would prefer to make such a model on the US.
sal
Hi Sal,
Great. The Resilience suggestion was just to lower the price and make the knife affordable for more people. But I, personally, also prefer the expensive alternative. Now that they can't hear me, I'll tell you that the knives in my collection are a bit classy and look down on those who don't have at least VG-10 credentials. Comically though, if my life ever had to depend on a knife, it would depend on a 8Cr13MoV blade (the Cara Cara 2 Rescue I carry in one of the compartments of the driver's door to slash my seat belt if I am trapped after an accident).
As to the name for the knife, I will give you a better idea. Call it the Spyderco CXX Gail. Name it after your wife in recognition of her years as a firefighter.
At some point in the knife design process, you may consider contacting someone at the Missoula Technology and Development Center (MTDC). This is a USFS research facility that's tasked with developing and evaluating wildland fire equipment. Smart and experienced folks who may take a formal or informal interest in this project.
The National Wildfire Coordinating Group is very serious about any life safety equipment on the fireline. Most people aren't aware of the amount of research and rigor that goes into this program.
Buck used to make a bayonet for the military that had a wire cutter built into it in combination with the sheath. It worked pretty good. However, that is a fixed blade. Having strung miles of wire and fixed miles of fence, I do not see how an effective wire cutter could be put into a folding knife.
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The knipex cobra line has some very effective and small pliers. Check out the 87 00 100 from them. If only it was wire cutters and not water pump style
"Yeah? Well, you know, thats like uh, your opinion, man" - Lebowski
Hi Doc Dan
Did you get a chance to see the videos I posted showing a wire breaker? Bending a wire to the point of failure requires less force than sheering it cut unless you have a tool that uses a different form of mechanical advantage and I have some of those but the trade off was more tools and more weight etcetera. My first thought was a bayonet style wire cutter and there are a couple ways that could happen but, testing, testing, testing.
Buck used to make a bayonet for the military that had a wire cutter built into it in combination with the sheath. It worked pretty good. However, that is a fixed blade. Having strung miles of wire and fixed miles of fence, I do not see how an effective wire cutter could be put into a folding knife.
Mule Team Army 001
MNOSD 008 Stable Mules; Z-Max, Z-Wear, Magna Cut, SRS13, Rex 76, Rex T15.
The knipex cobra line has some very effective and small pliers. Check out the 87 00 100 from them. If only it was wire cutters and not water pump style
Mule Team Army 001
MNOSD 008 Stable Mules; Z-Max, Z-Wear, Magna Cut, SRS13, Rex 76, Rex T15.
Interesting idea. I think the state and county departments come across a lot more barbed wire while fighting fire than the feds do. The issue of Barbed wire fences has not been addressed very well imho.
At some point in the knife design process, you may consider contacting someone at the Missoula Technology and Development Center (MTDC). This is a USFS research facility that's tasked with developing and evaluating wildland fire equipment. Smart and experienced folks who may take a formal or informal interest in this project.
The National Wildfire Coordinating Group is very serious about any life safety equipment on the fireline. Most people aren't aware of the amount of research and rigor that goes into this program.
Mule Team Army 001
MNOSD 008 Stable Mules; Z-Max, Z-Wear, Magna Cut, SRS13, Rex 76, Rex T15.
H1 SE is no slouch either. The Autonomy is made in the US so I don't see why they couldn't use H1 if that was the choice.
Depends on what you mean by tough, but I think most would agree that H1 is "tougher" than LC200N. Wear resistance would be higher on LC200N PE vs H1 PE, but are you really using it that much in a single day that H1 would dull on you? And depends on if you are talking SE or PE. H1 SE has shown to have insane wear resistance that most believe is due to a "work hardening" property of this steel, and Sal himself has said that H1 has shown to be the top performing steel in SE (although this was before LC200N became popular, and I haven't seen much regarding LC200N SE. I will find out for myself soon enough now that the SE LC200N Pac Salt is hitting dealers!). I was referring to H1 SE in particular as I would assume you would want this to be SE or maybe CE.
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Hi Steelcity16, Thanks for the input. We can be pretty tough on our tools, it is not what I will do to a knife in a day, when a wildland Firefighter goes to work in the summer we could be gone for a few days or a few weeks and in times like this year, months. Most Wildland firefighters do not carry a knife sharpening system with them in their gear (except a knife nerd like me) so edge retention is important. I prefer the plain edge and most people don’t seem to keep their serrated edges sharp and are all over the place in terms of being able to sharpen a SE. I wish more people would invest in a good sharpening system when they purchase a knife. Spyderco has some really good sharpeners and was the first one I ever bought. I would like to see a PE first if there was to be only one version and CE, SE as well so people can pick what works best for them individually in terms of cutting needs and ability to sharpen. LC200N is pretty easy to sharpen. I have been using that steel for over 10 years now because my chef knife is the same steel (I am a big cook and always wanted my pocket knife to be the same steel because how well it works) although it was called Cronidur 30 back then.
Mule Team Army 001
MNOSD 008 Stable Mules; Z-Max, Z-Wear, Magna Cut, SRS13, Rex 76, Rex T15.
Mule Team Army 001
Stable Mules; Z-Max, Z-Wear, Magna Cut, SRS13, Rex 76, Rex T15.
