knives

[Mlungu]

Hi All,

I have been looking into getting a new diving knife......I initially was going to go for the Riffe spearfishing knife but seems you can only get this from the US (spearfishinggear.com), so what with the shipping costs etc.. it came to be quite pricey. Decided in the end to go for the sporasub snake from Dive-Inn ....Iam hoping this was a good choice, anybody used this knife before?

Justin

 

[LongFin]

Yes its a very good choice you made...I have two of them and they have a handle locking setup so you don't have to use the attached rubber to secure the knife in place. The knife also is longer than the riffe but not as high a quality as the riffe but more practical if you need to dispatch your fish.

 

[Mlungu]

Yeah.... the Riffe looked a better knife, apparantly it has a teflon coated blade to prevent rust. I was going to get one of the Picasso blades, however many guys have reported problems with rust.Thanks for the comments Longfin!!

 

[LongFin]

The riffe knife definitely has a better quality steel while the sporasub must alway be washed between dives otherwise you will end up w/ a rusty piece of decoration.
You can unscrew the sporasub knife at the cap and pull the knife completely apart if you are a clean fanatic...I usually just drop it into a water filled container and drip dry after awhile, spray with WD-40 between dives and this knife should last you unless you drop it in the depths.

 

[Mlungu]

Rusting......seems this is the story with a lot of these knives

 

[Oldsarge]

Yeah! Even "stainless" steel will get eaten by salt water. Lots of fellers seem to think the stuff is immortal and don't take care of their blades. I have to advise all it is stain-less not stain-free!

 

[Rui Santos]

Mlungu,

The screwing cap is made in Aluminum and will suffer some oxidization.
This will prevent, to some extent, the build up of rust in the blade and the cutting edge will last longer.
Be sure to always clean the knife like Longfin said. If you don't, the cap might melt and it will be difficult to unscrew...
The Adaga Snake is a great knife...Well choose.

Cheers,
Rui Santos

 

[Mlungu]

Cheers Rui,

On the Picasso web site, Roger Yazbeck recommends putting silicone spray on the blade to prevent rusting, is this better than WD-40? any other ideas?

 

[jensen]

Hey Mlungu

No matter brand or material of your knife its always for the better to rinse it after each dive. I apply a very thin layer of silicone greece to the blade and specially to blade-handle joint. This is don after every two or three dives. Remember to remove the old greece before applying the new.



joe

 

[miles]

hiya

The problem with knives is the metal used in their construction. I'm no metallurgist (ask SASpearo, he'll tell you lots about metals ), but according to my understanding:
A knife that doesn't rust doesn't hold its edge as long as a knife which does rust. Some a knife manufacturer tries to comprise and get the best of both worlds.

Example: my omer flat hunt knife is 2 years old and has no rust on it, even though i dive at least once a week. It's blade does lose it's sharp edge very quickly though. Needs resharpening every two months. Whilst my cheaper first no name brand knife, which is also about two years old, has plenty rust but still has a sharp edge. I've sharpened it once since i own it. My dive buddy normally used it, since he lost his and i've always got a spare one on the boat.

Regards
miles

 

[Mlungu]

Interesting stuff Miles....

I recognise you're old knife, I used to have one like that, from Dive Factory in Durban. They are not bad but I found that the sheath elastic straps eventually gave up the ghost!!!

Here's some food for thought..... my job is a vascular surgeon and this one rep was trying to flog us some new scissors with CERAMIC blades.. never get blunt or rust. Sounds like the ideal material.

 

[Dogmatrix]

I think the ceramic's are the way of the future... from what I hear they are the sharpest blades out... not sure how they would handle spearing conditions but the blades are ment to be VERY sharp. Thats about all I have heard about them...

Next on the list...
Ceramic tip spears... ceramic tip hooks... ect ect ect
Rob

 

[Murat]

any link/shop to ceramic knife

 

[Mlungu]

Sounds like a way to make a fast buck!!!

 

[Mlungu]

Just after that post I found plenty of places to buy ceramic knives!!!!!

Seems they are easily available (mostly for kitchen use). Probably could be adapted quite easily for diving.

anybody interested try www.ceramic-knives.com

 

[Oldsarge]

The Japanese are the world's leaders in ceramic technology. The Kyocera company has even built a ceramic auto engine and markets very popular ceramic inserts for the cylinders. I suspect that all they need is a little encouragement to build what will have to be the ultimate diver's knife. Perhaps we should email them en masse.

 

[Amphibious]

I carry a UK Blue Tang and love it. stands up to rust well and is easy to use when wearing heavy gloves.

if I was hunting in tropical waters I would prolly look hard at an OMER flat Hunter.

I use a very thin coat of Heavy duty Automotive grease on my knives to keep them rust free. this stuff is dirt cheap, or free. go down to a garge with an empty 35mm film continer and ask them for a squirt in it. will last you a couple years. after every dive give it a good rinse with tap water and apply a very thin film of it to all metal surfaces.

Roger can have his silicon spray (and a whole lot more, but i won;t go into that just now :hmm)- stuff doesn't work near as good as grease and it ain't FREE

 

[heebes]

ceramic knives are great. they never rust and hold an edge better than most types of steel. right now kyocera is the top ceramic manufacturer anywhere and have a sweet product. the main problem is they are so damned expensive. i actually considered getting one and making a sheath for it, but the knives are $100+ and i believe my money would be better spent getting an omer or a riffe knife for $40 and a can of WD-40 for $3. not only that, but losing a $40 knife to the abyss is alot easier to swallow than losing a $100+ knife.

 

[Murat]

For me the problem is not rust, i ca clean them easy anyway. The main problem is blades lose their sharpness very fast and sharpening stones damage the blades edges every time you use it. Especially if its not very good and you don't get to use it:waterwork

 

[fuzz]

use PAM or cooking spray. Protects your blade & you don't get harmful toxins in your fish!