I use Sebenza in addition to shears when working as an EMT. I was thinking about getting one of those blunt knives with hook seat belt cutters but I never saw one in action. Until last Saturday… We get called to a very shady area in downtown Brooklyn for shots fired, men down. We get there and there is a guy in front of us saying that he got shot in the back. He is standing upright, crying for painkillers. I look at his back and there is no blood, not even a puncture on his leather jacket but if he got shot with 22 it will be hard to see anyway. I put a collar on him and dig up my shears to cut his jacket and my partner pulls that Benchmade hook from his belt and slices thru leather like it was nothing. In less than 6-7 seconds we have this guy’s leather jacket off. Shirt was even faster. Something that would take forever with regular shears or knife was done in no time. Of course guy wasn’t shot he just wanted some pain killers since he couldn’t afford or find his daily dose of crack. Bad enough for him we were the Basic Unit and couldn’t dispense medicine anyway so he got a night date with a PD. I was just really amazed how small this hook was and how sharp it was. If that was a real emergency those 20-30 seconds could have made a difference between life and death… Than I started thinking about it as a part of everyday carry for all other little jobs. Also this tool has a bottle opener and oxygen tank key so it’s a good deal.

See it here: http://www.benchmade.com/search.asp?blade_style=Hook

Matt

Matt:

That looks like a neat tool. I'm glad to hear they work.

In addition to shears I used to carry a pair of Fiskars serrated shears in my bag. They were good for cutting leather as well.

I also had one of those seatbelt cutters but never used it in 7 years. My regular EMT shears worked just fine on the belts.

Chris

Small follow up to this post:

Last night very sweet gril got beaten up outside the church (!!!!). It didn't seem like much at first but became a big big mess once in the ambulance. We made a notification, brought her to the trauma center and start working on her with team of amazing doctors. I gave my shears to a doc accross the table and I grabbed my hook, before he even got to her knee thru her pants, I had my side done and upper torso stripped clean, than I went around and did doctors side. This was one of those calls that every second counted. I highly recommend that tool to anyone. It works. I don't get a chance to use it often but when I do it's a life saver. Works amazing on seat belts and pay check envelopes.

Matt

This is one of the things I value the most about this forum, the real-world application of all the what-ifs and what would you do scenarios. Good stuff. Just one question - have you tried to go through airport security with this yet? It LOOKS harmless enough, but with the current level of "training" for our TSA baggage screeners, I'd hate to risk losing one.

I have a rescue hook, I love it. Excellent tool.

Damn! I want to be in your foxhole when the sh-t hits the fan.

Which model would you recommend? They have the model 5 ($35), the model 5W ($25) and the model 6 ($45). I'm leaning toward the model 6 but would appreciate your advice.

6 looks great to me and was not available when I purchased mine but... I think it's bit too big and expensive. For that amount of money and size I would rather get a dedicated knife such as Spyderco Assist. Don't get me wrong I understand the application of a bigger tool such as leverage and grip but in my case it is irrevalant. I would still stick with basic 5 model with soft pouch instead of hard sheat. I want something small and accesible on the outside. Having a hard sheat it's nice because it makes a tool smaller but than you have to carry the hook on your neck or in your pocket. If rescue turns bloody last thing I want to do is dig inside my uniform to get it out. Having a small nylon case attached to my rescue belt outside of my uniform puts the hook at my finger tips. Even if the case gets bloody I can wash it and I be sure that it's clean instead of trying to flush all the pathogens out of a hard sheat. That's just my opinion. In this case simpler is better. Maybe someday I will buy a hard sheat for a hook when I go on the road but I think my rescue knife is good for it for now. Hope that helps,

Matt

and vice versa my man. I take any of you guys on this board to hunt for charlie instead of some old platoon members I served with.

Matt

I never tried to get on the plane with it for the reason that it's not worth the agrevation. I know it's harmless, after all I'm a Member of Service but trying to explain all this and maybe loose it is not worth my time and money. I gave up and I will comply with rules and regulations of the FAA (even if they are retarded) because everytime my building shakes or plane flies too low I get a knot in my stomach that I had on 9/11 on 46th floor of WTC2. If somebody sets something off I will have to improvise and it won't be the first and hopefully also not the last time...

Matt