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I see lots of knives on the market touted as "Rescue" knives. I have four simple requirements that make a good rescue knife...
1. Unpointed tip. As a rescue knife, you have no need to stab anything. So why have a pointed edge that will only end up causing harm to you or a victim when you try to cut a seatbelt or clothing. Look for the rounded over tip or blunt tip.
2. Serrated edge. Unless you keep your knives incredibly sharp, you need a serrated edge to cut through webbing, robe and thick fabrics.
3. Folding. Being as firefighters do not wear belts with their bunker pants, sheath knives are worthless. And even if you had a sheath sewn onto your coat, nothing beats a fold up.
4. CHEAP! Chances are your going to drop your knife many times. At some point you may have to pry with it or cut something that will kill the blade and lastly, chances are at some point, you will lose it. So these $50.00 plus "Rescue" knives that Gerber, Spyderco, CRKT, etc make are a waste. Sure, they look great and if cared for will last a LONG time. But a cheap knife will do everything an expensive one will, just not for as long.
I found a guy on Ebay who sells a knife that fits all of the above requirements PLUS, it has a seatbelt cutter and a hardened window breaker. And best of all, the price. I am not kidding when i tell you i paid .99c for one of them. He has since raised the price to $5.99. Still an amazing deal. I now have 4 of them. I keep one in my pants pocket, one in my coat pocket and i have two spares in my locker in case one of the two i carry gets lost of damaged and they make great last minute gifts! Here is a link:
http://cgi.ebay.com/Firefighter-FF-I...item3ca5d48ac0
But there are lots of different ebay guys selling them. All sorts of very cheap import knives that work great. Sure, Spyderco, Gerber, CRKT, Cold Steel, etc make much better quality knives, but at the end of the day, all that matters is that it cuts, right?
I carry a Gerber Multi-tool and an elcheapo pocket knife.
I always carry a multi tool, they are great for certain tasks. But definately not sutible as your go-to rescue knife. Way too complicated to use under stress one handed. And good luck trying to get just a blade out wearing firefighting gloves!
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WD6956, that's a fabulous deal on that folder - I may have to get a couple as gifts.
I like a straight knife, and have one of these on the outside of my coat, next to my mic (visible in my avatar). It's small enough not to hang up on stuff, and the sheath is secure. Blunt tip, serrated and straight edges. I did have to get someone smarter'n me to put a good hone on the straight side, but it holds an edge well once it has one. A great general-purpose knife, though not as cheap as WD6956's folder :D
I also generally have a cheap multitool under my gear, which is good for general tasks outside the hot zone.
Yes, it has a large stainless steel clip on it. And the thumb stud on the blade to pop it open is on both sides. So it's ambidextrousQuote:
Originally Posted by ColoradoDave
Based on the price, it seems to good to be true. But it's really not a bad knife. The blade is stainless too. If he ever puts them up again for .99c, i am going to buy a few more.
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That is the same type of knife i get from him. So it SHOULD have a clip. I do not even remember if it mentioned having one when i bought it.Quote:
Originally Posted by ColoradoDave
Yeah, I emailed the guy about if the knife had a clip or not, and got no response. I did however notice that he's now doubled his price for it. Nice! :mad:Quote:
Originally Posted by WD6956
I did find another almost identical (if not identical) knife by another seller for 99 cents with $6-$7 more for shipping. Either way, it's still a great deal and i'll prob pick one up.
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Cool, I was gonna get one anyways, but even better. Thx for the info Dave and WD6956.Quote:
Originally Posted by ColoradoDave
Hope I didn't hijack your thread. :D
How do you post pictures on here? Ill post a pic of it
Never done it before, but I think you just click on the 'Manage Attachments' button in the additional options section located below where you type your post.
Thx for doing that.
Here we go. I put it next to the Smith and Wesson rescue knife to give you an idea of size. It's a good size heavy duty clip.
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Nice. Like i said, even at $10.00 a piece you are getting an amazing deal.Quote:
Originally Posted by ColoradoDave
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