For a few weeks now, I am looking for a backup knife that has a stright edge ( around 4 inch) , a serrated back , and a chisel tip . It should serve as knife, make-shift saw, and a small prybar. A dive knife seems logical choice except for that line-cutting hook that almost literally split the blade in two parts.



I hate that hook.
So, here are my questions:

Q1 : Is there a dive knife with all of the above except the hook ???

Q2 : What do you think of this choice , and can you think of a better choice with the same , or more , capabilities ???

When diving, that line cutting hook is very handy, especially in waters where scrap fishing line is present. I doubt that it significantly affects the strength of the knife. The biggest issue with all the dive knives I have used is that they are pretty poor knives, but I am not familiar with recent products.

My choice for a "sharpened pry bar" is a County Comm product, their EOC mini breaker bar (a larger version is also available), combined with any of several knives. I use the knife for cutting, and the breaker bar for bashing, prying, and other rough uses. Since my knife is usually a multi-tool, either a Wave or Blast, I have a very decent, but small, saw available for anything 2x4 size or smaller.

The problem with dive knives is usually that the steel is very stainless and therefore doesn't hold an edge very well, in my experience.

If you really want a flat pry tip and serrations - some of the CRKT offerings have this or

http://www.heinnie.com/Boker-Plus-Divers-Knife/p-0-0-7319/

might be worth considering

I agree with about the county comm preacher bar but I want the tip to be a compromise between a knife tip and a chisel, not a full width like the county comm bar.

This knife is needed as backup , so it maybe the last thing I have and should handle several tasks. I even wish it has a full tang and metal butt so I can use it as a chisel if need be.

In addition, the other side of a dive knife is serrated, the prybar is not.

The poker plus seems to be serrated both sides. One side is fine serrations, the other side coarse serrations.

The knife I am looking for is a backup, in case I have to give it to someone else, or maybe I have lost my knife and need one thing to do many tasks. So, it has to have a stright edge, plus other features.

Except for the size, the CRKT Razel SS7 seems pretty close to what you are looking for (it has a 7.5" blade).

They have smaller versions of the Razel, but they don't seem to have the serrated back.

I don't have any experience with these knives so I can't say how well they work.

Thanks Denis

This razel actually answers another one of my wishes. It seems to be full tang with a metal butt for hammering it .... like a chisel would be hammered. However, that "can opener" thing at the butt makes me nervous. It is an accident waiting to happen.

Plus , off course, the 7.5 inch blade is too long for me.

Yes, their Ringed Razel is closer to the size you're looking for, but unfortunately doesn't have those same serrations on the back side:

If the chisel tip wasn't required, something like the SOG Team Leader Survivor might work for you, or maybe one of the SOG Revolvers?

--
Edited to add:

Thinking about this a little more, as a back-up & possibly only tool I don't think you'd go wrong with something like Wenger's RangerGrip 78. I have an older version of this knife and I don't think you'd be doing bad if this was the only tool left in your toolbox.

I disagree Hikermor. First the line cutter does weaken the blade. And second this is like when someone asks me for a skull crusher on a knife. You can cut lines with the sharpened or serrated edge of your knife. Just my humble opinions.

The key word is "significantly;" I would agree that by creating a line cutter, you have reduced the cross sectional area of the blade, but there is still plenty of steel left. I wonder how many blades have actually broken at the line cutter?

Doing SAR in monofilament infested waters, and working underwater, i found a line cutter really useful. In fact I took a cheap parong knife, cut off the blade squarely about an inch from the handle and ground out a line cutter in the stub, so that I had a line cutting tool that I could wield at close quarters in zero visibility waters without slicing my partners. Very specialized, but useful in that application.

standard diving knives - like the one you showed - are usually made out of fairly (cra**y) common stainless steel. they are used for bending, prying, and opening abalone shells. edge sharpness and retention are poor. But they are fine if all you need is a pry bar. otherwise the razel looks interesting ... but I've never owned one.

cheers,Pete2

Thanks again Denis

The Wenger SAK is great in its versatility , but won't be sturdy enough for prying and "dirty work" when you are in a desparate mode.

The SOG Revolver is also neat as a knife-saw combo , but again, won't help in prying/chiseling.

The SOG survivor , on the other hand, has potential. It looks like full tang with soem metal butt. If I can cut a bit of the tip to make it 1/4inch wide ( something between a pointed knife tip and 1-inch chisel tip ). This will offer the best of all worlds (for me at least).

Well, I know pete. But this is not a perfect world
Sometimes we have to compromise, or ask someone to make a custom knife. Custom knives are too expensive for me.

Why not just EDC a pry bar? They come in all sizes - I have a tiny one on my keychain, one about 2 feet long under the bed (I consider that a reasonable precaution, living in earthquake country) and a couple of six footers in the garage. The knife is for cuttin' and the pry bar is for shovin'.

I hate to sound so negative with all these suggestions. But I have already EDC'ed a 6-inch prybar and didn't use it for 2 years. The one time I had to use it, I had to cut something quickly and used the prybar's sharp tip. This is why I love multiple-use tools.

Anyway, seems the best thing is to buy something very close and modify it. I have now two knives in mind that have serrated backs. One suggested up there by Denis, the other is backpacjac's knife she mentioned in the other thread about serrated parts.







Cutting off the pointed tip is relatively easy and that should give me a narrow chisel tip.

Thanks everyone

No line cutter on this.

http://www.crkt.com/Renner-Neckolas-Neck-Knife-Blunt-Tip-Blade-Orange-Handle-and-Sheath

Another option is this, then have someone carbidize the edge so it'll stay sharp longer.

http://www.mec.ca/AST/ShopMEC/Paddling/KnivesSnorkelGear/PRD~5004-128/wenoka-squeeze-titanium-knife.jsp

thanks jzmtl

what I need is a knife that is both straight edge and serrated edge ( NOT partially serrated/plain edge) , plus the capability of chiseling/prying.

Dive knives are great example, except for hooks which not important for me ( and it weakens the blade/prying capability.

Yeah, the problem is what you want is basically a dive knife, and I've never seen one without line cutter.

If you really want one exactly like that it's probably easiest to ask someone to make you one, or do it yourself and have someone heat treat it for you.


Or if you are willing, buy a SOG DE dagger and grind the tip to flat, there are a few models.

Try the Gerber River shorty, which I own and like.

http://www.amazon.com/Gerber-05640-River...5692&sr=8-2

Or the Mcnett saturna dive knife, which i also own & like. I've never used the line cutter, but I don't think it weakens the blade.

http://www.amazon.com/McNett-Saturna-Blu...mp;sr=1-2-spell

They are both blunt tipped, and the saturna is plain on one side and serrated on the other. Blades are 3 inches long.

Both are low cost.

I kind of think that what you are after is going to involve a lot of compromises - Prybars need to be blunt, thick, robust and a little softer than knives where they are usually thinner need better steel and saws (if they are really to saw not just notch wood) need a different profile altogether.

I might be tempted to prioritise the tasks and think around the top 2.

Or I might be over thinking this....

CRKT ABC Aqua... don't have one, but looks like your requirement...variety of prices from $37 up

There are some reasonable Custom makers, Chisels. Back when I was selling what I made, mine averaged $250 per blade inch. You can find them much cheaper from a lot of makers. An apprentice to the craft could make just about anything you wat for a small sum.