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Which Emergency Knife?


rusty69

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We have a serrated Gerber E-Z out as an emergency rope cutting knife on our sailing boat,its pretty good.

I have heard a cheap an cheerful bread knife would work at a push.

What do people keep near the helm on their boats for cutting ropes in an emergency situation?

 

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I also have a Gerber, left over from my sailing days. In addition I use a bread knife for clearing stuff from the prop.

I also have a pair of bolt croppers in case I get any wire wrapped around the prop, but so far haven't needed them.

Ken

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I have a bunch of different knives from my days running the foredeck on offshore racers, I wouldn't use any of them down the weed hatch, they are all too sharp and if I can't see the blade in relation to my pink, pointy bits, I won't use it. 

I have used a variety of 'tools' down the weed hatch, everything from the scissors out of the kitchen drawer (don't tell 'er indoors), to a set of mole grips - depends on what is wrapped around the prop.  I also have a small set of bolt croppers on board, but like Ken, never needed them (if that isn't the kiss of death, I don't know what is?!?!).

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The best bit of kit is what I was taught to use in the Royal Navy and they know their stuff. A hand axe near the driving position and one at the pointed end. If you make a booby and are about to hang up or for whatever reason need to sever a taught rope one whack on the  rope against the steel or whatever and it will instantly part. We used big axes on warships but a hand axe will suffice on tiddly boats like mine.

Edited by mrsmelly
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1 minute ago, mrsmelly said:

The best bit of kit is what I was taught to use in the Royal Navy and they know their stuff. A hand axe near the driving position and one at the pointed end. If you make a booby and are about to hang up or for whatever reason need to sever a taught rope one whack on the  rope against the steel or whatever and it will instantly part.

Does it need the backing of the steel/hard surface in order to work effectively? Must admit hadn't thought about using my chopper.

2 minutes ago, keith. said:

http://moraknives.eu/Companion_MG

 

Mora also make carbon steel blades if you can keep them protected from rust.

Looks good.

Which prompts the next question.Serrated or non serrated?

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4 minutes ago, rusty69 said:

Does it need the backing of the steel/hard surface in order to work effectively? Must admit hadn't thought about using my chopper.

Looks good.

Which prompts the next question.Serrated or non serrated?

If rope is taught as hell a sharp axe will part it. If rope is taught and against a steel narrowboat deck etc a relatively blunt axe will part it. One good whack. I have done it at sea and in my early narrowboating days I hung up going down a lock and instantly parted the rope with a hand axe :cheers:

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6 minutes ago, mrsmelly said:

If rope is taught as hell a sharp axe will part it. If rope is taught and against a steel narrowboat deck etc a relatively blunt axe will part it. One good whack. I have done it at sea and in my early narrowboating days I hung up going down a lock and instantly parted the rope with a hand axe :cheers:

Maybe I'll just sharpen up me chopper then.

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1 hour ago, rusty69 said:

We have a serrated Gerber E-Z out as an emergency rope cutting knife on our sailing boat,its pretty good.

I have heard a cheap an cheerful bread knife would work at a push.

What do people keep near the helm on their boats for cutting ropes in an emergency situation?

 

I have one of these

http://www.silkyfox.co.uk/natasingle.php

Although it is far to lovely a thing to actually use, yes I know how odd that sounds.

I also have two gerber pocket knifes, both of which are stupidly sharp and I normally have one in my pocket when boating.

None of the above will ever see the inside of my weed hatch, thats what cheap and nasty bread knives are for

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7 minutes ago, rusty69 said:

Now that looks nice. I feel my engine room being converted into a knife room. Or would that be illegal?

I suppose carrying something like that onboard would be ok in the arms of the plod.

My excuse is I use them for work :)

I have my eye on a couple of hand made axes just because they are things of beauty,  so a knife room seems a perfectly normal thing to me

 

This for example

https://www.gransforsbruk.com/en/product/gransfors-scandinavian-forest-axe/

<3

Edited by tree monkey
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1 hour ago, tree monkey said:

My excuse is I use them for work :)

I have my eye on a couple of hand made axes just because they are things of beauty,  so a knife room seems a perfectly normal thing to me

 

This for example

https://www.gransforsbruk.com/en/product/gransfors-scandinavian-forest-axe/

<3

I have their small forest axe at home. I split a bit of kindling with it when I first got it, but the thing is just sooo gorgeous it's more of an ornament now! Each one is hand made and individually marked by its maker. Superb quality and a tool for life. I have a cheaper, mass produced hand axe aboard for chopping kindling and emergency use as MrSmelly described. 

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9 minutes ago, tomsk said:

The type and choice of 'Emergency' knives and their placement is entirely subjective.

"Which emergency knife" may be subjective.

"Best type of emergency knife" may have been more appropriate.

Edited by rusty69
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1 hour ago, rusty69 said:

"Which emergency knife" may be subjective.

"Best type of emergency knife" may have been more appropriate.

But equally subjective dependant on the range of 'Emergency's' envisaged surely?

Its all very well boating with a theoretical axe constantly to hand but in practical terms it could be a real bore.

A sharp, safe knife in the pocket at all times is essential.

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Mines a William Rogers of Sheffield, bought in Falmouth to remove a stubborn Welly boot.   I once was helped a garage equipment installer friend of mine for a couple of days to install a new compressed air system in the lorry workshop at BOC's north London.  We heard that they had fish and chips in their canteen at lunch time. We turned up there and sat down at a table with the usual vinegar and brown sauce bottles with rivulets of old dried out sauce running down it and the red plastic tomato shaped ketchup container with the same rivulets of sauce stuck to it, the salt in the seller was damp and wouldn't come out either and no table cloth.  Anyway Lil the chief dinner lady ''canteen chiefs are always call Lil'', complete with turban and pinny declared that the fish and chips was nice. So we payed our money and went to collect our cutlary from the cutlary box, but lo!!, no proper fish knives or forks with bone handles to eat our fish and chips with. We gingerly approached Lil to complain about it. She went berserck, shouting with a voice louder than Peggy Mount to Doris her helper, ''ERE Doris, ark these two wanting fish knives to eat their dinner with, bone andles an all'' well we ain't got none see, cackle, cackle, was her reply.  So we ate our fish and chips with those horrid cold all steel knives and forks, with no salt and blobs of sauce.   Next day we decided to wind up Lil proper for a giggle. We took along to the canteen our own bone handled fish knives and forks plus table cloth, salt seller, and to really wind up Lil a bottle of wine and two wine glass to eat our fish'n'chips with, in a bit of style.  The place had a very strong union at that time and workforce were threatening to come out on strike unless they had fish Knives too and dry salt in the sellers.  Poor old Lil was very disturbed about it all, but perked up when she heard that we'd be finished that day and wouldn't be back.   Well, that's my knife story, which is quite true.

 

 

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If we are talking emergencies, where a boat is being hung up on a tensioned rope, then pretty much anything with an edge will cut through. I've cut a loaded caving rope with a person on the end of it with a blunt pen knife and it seems like you only need to touch the knife to it for the rope to part. Before anyone accuses me of trying to kill someone, this is part of a recognised rescue technique we were practising and there is another rope to catch the person on the end!

For clearing the prop, whatever works. I've used kitchen knives, Stanley knife, bolt cropper, wood saw, wire cutters and pliers on the weird and wonderful things that end up wrapped round.

Jen

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35 minutes ago, dor said:

Errr, I've got a bread knife in the galley drawer, will that do?  (and I keep it well away from my chopper...)

In extremis? Yes, probably, providing it's sharp, you always know where it is, can access it quickly at all times and it's not of the rubber variety.

I would rather have instant access to a sturdy pocket knife with 2 lockable blades, one should be 3" serrated, the other to be retractable and equipped with a fresh disposable blade of quality.

Stanley's 'Quick Slide Sport' is where it's at.

Good luck with the breadknife, you'll probably find it in the bottom of the sink eventually.....

Don't move without a proper knife, ever.

T

 

Edited by tomsk
Idiocy
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