How about a new, dedicated divers knife in H1? (fixed blade)

[Dr Heelhook]

I've been thinking about it, it really is a bit of a shame that Spyderco hasn't got a proper fixed blade diving knife in H-1 in their line, now that both the Caspian and the Aqua Salt models have been discoed. I mean to what purpose would a rust proof knife be more suitable than diving, right? I'm thinking maybe a somewhat more conventional model than the Caspian, in order to keep the sales up, but still focused on practicality and all features that a diver would need. Just an idea to keep in mind for the future. What do you guys think?

[MIL-DOT]

This is a great idea. I was a dive instructor in Cozumel ( and surrounding region) for about 14 years, and I don't recall ever seeing a dive knife that didn't at least have rust where the handle met the blade, and often worse than that. A fixed blade H1 would be very cool, but it would have to be competitive with the cheaper knives, 'cause most divers aren't blade junkies, and won't be able to justify something really expensive that they'll just zip-tie to their BC and forget about . Also, it shouldn't be too large ( which would help minimize cost,as well). They used to be the rage, but more and more,folks saw the impracticallity of a giant Rambo-like knife, and started leaning towards knives just a little larger than an Izula.

[EricTheRed]

hopefully a revival of the "Aqua Salt"...or something along those lines.

[MIL-DOT]

hopefully a revival of the "Aqua Salt"...or something along those lines.

Not familiar with it, so I just Googled it up. Cool knife, but IMO, it looks like it's designed more for food prep than diving situations.
I would keep the heavier hollow grind, but shorten the whole knife maybe an inch and a half, and get rid of the pointy tip, as stabbing isn't something that comes up much while diving or digging around on the bottom. A flattened tip is stronger and can be used for prying.

[ChapmanPreferred]

Sounds possible to be modded into your design by purchasing the original design. Then regrind the blade or have it reground. You could also have the profile changed at the same time as the regrind.

Again, it sounds like you could easily have what you were looking for in a dive knife from the original design.

[agent clark]

Maybe a big solid hunk of H1 with no handle material, kinda like a mule. I have no dive experience, but I think the hefty chisel style knives are neat. I bought my brother one of the salt dive knives a few years ago with the pointed tip, thats what he requested, but then he said he kinda wished he got the flat tip.

[Half Sack]

I'm going to pick up a Caspian while I can, my site only seems to have the pointy tip but that won't stop me from grabbing it while I can. Since its been discontinued (discoed :) ) its also been through a price drop.
I have a feeling something should be in the works, if not the Jumpmaster would be the next pick for diving, but that doesn't seem like the best choice.

My guess is a new Caspian that has a sheath that will fit 2" webbing without zip ties, possibly a little bit smaller to match the sheath and save cash too.

Isn't the 2012 catalog out? If there's no knife in there we might need to wait till 2013.

[hunterseeker5]

Let me take a slightly different tack here. I think the problem with the various salt fixed blades is that they seemed like they were too much like diving knives, or just too expensive. The Aqua Salt line I believe died out just because they didn't look special and didn't grab you either as a diver or regular user. The rock salt was just plain too expensive, so while being incredibly cool it really couldn't make it especially given that fixed blades don't sell as well as folders to start.
The Caspian salts well...... they were way too diving specific. Double edged knives are a bit short on applications, restricted in some states, and on top of it all the design was so specific it was not likely to find a home with your average user as a real tool.
What does this suggest to me? We need a knife with that spyder pizazz that can meet a price point and that appeals to divers and regular users alike. Its a pretty tall order, but until someone manages it I feel they might have some difficulty producing a successful H1 fixed blade.

That said H1 isn't a spyderco proprietary material. Its a Japanese "steel" and I'm pretty sure that, usual Japanese production restrictions applied, any company could launch a knife in it. Of course if you are really taking a step back Boye produces knives in dendritic cobalt which is equally as rust free and also performs well as a blade.

[razorsharp]

i know a lot of divers and dive myself sometimes. Maybe i could get ideas from them and combine elements in a knife to send in, could kill some time and be fun :)

[hunterseeker5]

i know a lot of divers and dive myself sometimes. Maybe i could get ideas from them and combine elements in a knife to send in, could kill some time and be fun

For what its worth Spyderco doesn't normally take designs which have been shared publicly so I might recommend you don't post it here if you do come up with something. Sal posted a thread a while ago which explained how you should submit a design you'd like spyderco to make and also mentioned a few things that you shouldn't do.

[Blerv]

Frankly this thread is young enough people who want Salt FB's need to buy them NOW! If it was 2013 or 2014 I could understand but the Caspian is on clearance and the Aqua can be had for $60-80ish.

Don't think if you want one, just buy...in multiples.

[Brock O Lee]

Frankly this thread is young enough people who want Salt FB's need to buy them NOW! If it was 2013 or 2014 I could understand but the Caspian is on clearance and the Aqua can be had for $60-80ish.

Don't think if you want one, just buy...in multiples.

True! I recently bought a couple of Aqua Salts for $59 each. Glad I got some in time!

Maybe I should take up diving soon as an excuse to get a few Caspians too :)

[Sequimite]

Let me take a slightly different tack here. I think the problem with the various salt fixed blades is that they seemed like they were too much like diving knives, or just too expensive. The rock salt was just plain too expensive, so while being incredibly cool it really couldn't make it especially given that fixed blades don't sell as well as folders to start.
The Caspian salts well...... they were way too diving specific. Double edged knives are a bit short on applications, restricted in some states, and on top of it all the design was so specific it was not likely to find a home with your average user as a real tool.

The Rock Salt sold for around $120 for a very long time. This may have been closeout pricing, but if memory serves, it took around a year to sell out. Like many Spyderco/Ed Schempp designs I think demand grew very slowly but steadily.

The Caspian is not double edged. I EDC it more than any other FB because of the versatile blade design and very light weight.

[JD Spydo]

At the risk of sounding like an LP record album with a bad scratch in it :rolleyes: I'm going to suggest my ideal diving knife>> and that would be an original FB05 Temperance 1 fixed blade in H-1. Now I would like to see somewhat of a different sheath for diving purposes but to me that would be a very sweet diving knife.

The grip is just almost perfect for my hand and I use my VG10 model almost on a daily basis and it's been a GOD-Send for the work I've been doing here of late.

I would also like a nuclear yellow handle for obvious reasons and maybe have some serrations on the rear part of the spine. Or maybe they could do one of the Mule fixed blades made specifically for diving.