Spearo knife Spearfishing knives 2019 - 2020 ?

Mr. X · Dec 1, 2019

I am reviewing my spearo knife set-up and wondered what spearos are using and liking now.

E.g. Is arm- mounted OMER mini-Laser still loved and used, or is the mini-laser version without the plastic arm-mount better, either worn on the weightbelt or on the arm using one of the separately available arm bands from Salvimar/Omer/etc.?

Is the little Samurai knife a simpler, better bet? Or one of the fancy newer model such as the orange and grey one from Mares?

What happen to the wonderful, inexpensive, Omer USA mini laser knife? I can't find it now. I loved mine but lost before it saw much use, entirely my own fault (made a glued pocket for it but the glue failed ). The sheath was oddly big but I would like to get another, I would wear it on my belt now though.

Anybody use the full size non-mini Laser? Any good, pros & cons?

How about the new stilettos, big and small bladed?

Mr. X · Dec 1, 2019

How about Titanium?

One website claims that Rob Allen have switched to a new titanium mk2 version of their knife which supposedly supersedes the s/steel version. Only one website mentions it though, odd. Yet I read elsewhere that Titanium is light, can't rust but does hold an edge as well as steel! Surely Rob Allen would not sacrifice their edge?

Point sharpness and fine edge with good edge retention are the critical features for me. So I find the above shocking as my 420 s/steel dive knife cannot hold a good edge for more than one or two cuts, just awful. 420 is promoted as a good steel for dive knives!! Perhaps my Taiwanese knife missed out on the critical heat treatment required by 420 steel? Anybody use a 460 steel dive knife, I'm wondering if that might be better?

I started to assume all stainless steels are rubbish for knives, it is certainly inferior to good old carbon tool steels. But I notice that many good modern tools from Sweden, Ukraine, Switzerland and Austria are very shiny and less prone to rust. Presumably the steels contain chrome and are somewhat stainless. The steels are hard and sometimes described as bearing steel (i.e. used to make ball-bearings).

Also, I picked up a small, British made chef's knife at a carboot sale for 30p and repaired the damaged handle. It readily took a super-sharp edge and retained it through extensive use. I still find it hard to believe how good it is. I have a lot of different kitchen knives that I keep sharp but this one is in a league of its own. It's branded Jonelle made in Sheffield. With a small 5 or 6" pointed blade, it could probably be used as a spearo dive knife but it's too nice for that now.

Mr. X · Dec 1, 2019

My current knife set-up has changed much since I last described it on the forum, way back in 2005/2007. I am back where I started!

I did make & use a new, better, ikijimi/ikejime/iki-spike last year. You can now buy good, cheap wooden handled, small, stainless steel ice-picks on eBay and Amazon for about £2 or £3. I replaced the handle - which I then used to handle a file - with the red thermoplastic chainsaw-file handle used for my last iki. No waste! I use a section of car Ariel/ antenna as a sheath. Elastic from handle butt to a small hole drilled in the tip of the sheath holds it together and also holds it to dive belt.

Easy access and easy to use but it can be tricky to reseat on my belt after use (lost one like that ). I'm thinking of braising or gluing a bracket to the antenna tube sheath, so the sheath and spike can be separated. Being able to mount it on my arm would be a nice option too, not possible with the current implementation tho.

Okis · Dec 1, 2019

Regarding the arm mounted omer laser.

I've used it for over 2 years now, very convenient for braining fish, however the rubber is pretty bad quality and does degrade more quicker than most rubber i used while diving. It still works fine but on some occasions it will slide down after a few hours(I've got it mounted on my biceps). There is a replacement arm strap out there in another material and with velcro that probaly will be better.

So anyways yesterday i received a package with some new stuff including a new weight belt and I thought i would try a new belt setup with the knife mounted in the back. I have 4 other dive knifes that almost never been used but they are a bit larger/longer and i didn't like how far down on my butt the sheet was hanging.

So i took a look at the omer laser to see how the sheet was mounted onto the arm plate and turned out it is attached with just two screws and a nut. However the lower screw had rusted up and couldn't be unscrewed and in process of trying to get it off the screw and nut flexed out of the hole.

But yeah the knife have been used 3-4 times a week for over 2 years so i can accept that and if I want to use the arm mount again i will just use a ziptie instead of the rusted screw.

So you can buy the arm mounted one and if you don't like it you can screw the sheet off and have it on the belt instead.

Bill McIntyre · Dec 1, 2019

I like this one from Red Tide. Both sides are serrated but I never seem to use the other side of a knife anyway. I wear it on my forearm and have a bungee cord stretched over the end of the sheath to keep it from falling out, and to keep me from dropping it. Those straps are what come with Riffe knives, but you can buy them separately. They work much better than the hard rubber straps that come with most knives. I have a back up knife in a pocket on the left thigh of my wet suit.

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Mr. X · Dec 2, 2019

Nice Bill. The handle looks the same as the Omer Laser USA that I liked and lost but in hot red The blade looks similar to the Omer Laser USA's but longer, more like the Omer maxi laser. For the huge white bass you catch, I would think a dagger or iki spike that size might be essential.

Might be good choice for me, not because of fish size, but because I think getting a better, larger, emergency knife is probably a highly priority that replacing my iki spike.

Andrew the fish · Dec 5, 2019

I am using Kershaw Amphibian. It is somewhat a vintage, out of production for a few years. I ended up buying replacements on ebay. Another good one (for me) is Aquatech T-rex. Also one of those that I just have to replace with same species. Aquatech might be a bit more handy, nice meaty and plenty strong point, not too many knives made like that. Good sheath, well thought out curves. Both Kershaw Amphibian and Aquatech T-rex are stainless with an acceptable edge retention.

I find nothing wrong with 420 stainless, though it might be a bit softer than 440C but with dive knives it is always a compromise between corrosion and edge holding properties. Heat treatment is somewhat tricky with stainless, there is that too.

I can’t understand what is all the buzz about titanium. Titanium is not a blade steel. It might sound cool, and 100% rust proof but wouldn’t cut the rope twice.

marco15499 · Dec 5, 2019

I have been using for years the Cressi Killer. Good, nice and cheap. I've adapted a bungie like the one Bill uses. I always put it on my wrist before using it to prevent it from falling.

I have two spares just in case...

Bill McIntyre · Dec 5, 2019

I just read a post on another forum that seemed timely and relevant to our discussion of knives. I'm going to copy and paste it here.

"A few months ago I went on a 2-day trip on the Peace boat out to the Cortez Banks. We had an awesome weather window the first day and spent the entire day diving in 30-50 feet of water. Crew was awesome too. Decent viz, variable and sometimes heavy current, but overall fun conditions. Plenty of yellowtail for everyone.

Anyway, I shot a YT in the 15-20 lb class, but it was a relatively bad shot--about 2 inches below the pectoral fin. I saw where my shaft landed and didn't try to horse the fish to hard. Fortunately, when I kept a hand on the end of my fishing line, the fish just swam circles and pulled only a little tension.

A sea lion showed up and started chasing the fish. I figured I would rather have a chance at keeping the fish and risk losing him by pulling too hard rather than lose it to a sea lion. So I pulled in hard, but as I reached for the fish, it did a backflip and swam around my wrist. This maneuver looped the spectra slip tip line around my wrist and toggled the sliptip against the line.

The fish proceeded to swim circles, tightening the spectra around my wrist to the point of cutting off circulation. At this point my right arm was locked to the fish. If it decided to go anywhere, I would go with it. If the sea lion decided to grab the fish, I'd be going with it too.

I assessed the situation and tried to remove the line, but it was stuck fast. I grabbed my knife with my left hand off of my left inner lower leg. I held a death grip on it as I watched the sea lion circled and as I awaited for the fish to bolt. Fortunately, neither happened. It felt unnatural to grab the knife with my left hand, and I hadn't realized before this that I always hold the kinfe with my right hand.

Anyway, I was able to pinch the fish between my knees and brain it. I was then able to cut the flesh from the back of the fish to free my slip tip line.

Lessons learned....
For one, make sure your knife can be grabbed by either hand. A knife on an arm or belt may not always be accessible. I've carried 2 knives since.

Lesson two, even small fish can be dangerous when hot. I don't know where that line is drawn. I never thought yellowtail would be an issue. I'm looking forward to hear other experiences with this."

Mr. X · Dec 6, 2019

Woh. A timely reminder of Bill.

I like your red handled knife. I was hoping to spend less but perhaps it is time to invest in a better knife. One that will reliably cut dyneema, first time, everytime. The Red Tide spearos dagger, the Mares/sporasub Spider or Rob Allen X-blade (not Titanium) spring to mind.

Mr. X · Dec 7, 2019

I gave my old Union Taiwan flat spearfishing dagger one last good going over last night but it was hopeless. The burr just kept flopping from one side to the other. Awful.

So I just placed an order from the cheapest store I could find selling suitable spearo daggers, scubastore.com/DiveInn. I've had very shoddy service from them in the past but I'm hoping even they would struggle to screw up this order up but we will see. I don't trust their competence or honesty, from past experience.

I ordered 3 spearo knives, influenced by what I read and saw above. All are significantly discounted. I also found a minor discount code IKC5 but it only gave 5% off one knife, the Immersion..

1. "Spetton Pointed knife one size" - very similar to Bill's Red Tide knife but with a black handle and serrations on just one side. Currently planning to wear this on my right inner calf. @Bill, where do you wear your Red Tide dagger, belt/arm?

2. Immersion Vulcan - the same as the Omer Laser but red trim instead of grey and significantly cheaper. I plan to carry this on my weight belt.

3. Seac Samurai - green, the cheapest colour option (this was only £9 last week, inc. scabbard and wrist/arm band, £10 now). I plan to wear this on my wrist, forearm or upper arm. I expect this diminutive 7cm blade spearo dagger to be the most used knife but we shall see.

BTW There is one Omer spearo knife on sale for £8 currently. I was tempted but had taken some time to choose the above and decided to stick with that choice.

I dare say I will reduce and simplify that set-up as I start using it. It is all too easy to loose knives, so there may be some natural selection involved! .

I also have my homemade ikijimi spike to consider. It works very well for dispatching fish. And I found an old German kitchen knife in my garage, an old charity shop purchase from when I was looking for dive knife potential some years ago. It looks too aggressive for the kitchen and I thought it too big for a spearo dagger at the time but it might now make a decent large spearo dagger if the above knives aren't up to the job.

Bill McIntyre · Dec 7, 2019

Wow, you finally pulled the trigger on knives.

I think all of those knives like my Red Tide, Riffe, Mako, etc. are all made in the same factory. The only difference with the Red Tide is the serrations on both sides, but that's no big deal.

I wear my Red Tide on my forearm as shown. That is my primary knife because I can see it and get to it quickly. I wear my other knife in a pocket sewn onto the left thigh of my wet suit. The knife in the photo is not the one Im carrying there now, and I tuck the bungee into the pocket.

Mr. X · Dec 7, 2019

Btw I probably would have just bought the plastic arm mounted Omer mini laser dagger when I ordered my new spearguns recently from spearfishingstore.co.uk but they sold out just a day or two earlier.

I noticed today that they do have another knife that interests me - the Beaver Barracuda - but it is currently too expensive. Pity I didn't notice it when they had their 30% off Black Friday sales last week. Similar to the Spetton above and Red Tide but with a different handle, looks good. The Spetton and Barracuda both got very positive reviews, not all knives did.

Mr. X · Dec 16, 2019

The spearo daggers just showed up. Initial impressions very good for all 3 knives

The Imersion mini Laser comes in a very ungreen blister pack, which I didn't open. Otherwise looks very good, just like the Omer and Picasso versions. I plan to wear this on my weightbelt.

The Spetton's blades is only a little larger than the Imersion. Just about big enough for an emergency knife but big enough to dispatch even the biggest fish, as Bill already demonstrated with his red-handed lookalike. The leg/arm straps are different lengths, good idea. The longest strap is only just long enough to go around my right calf, so I will likely wear it on my left leg (1" less around the calf). Larger folk may have to wear it on their arm or belt, or find longer straps. It would make a good belt knife.

The Sporasub knife with its tiny 7cm blade is excellent. Love it. Wish I'd bought one or two of these years ago; they were surprisingly hard to find in the UK and ridiculously expensive to ship from Italy. The simple Velcro strap is long enough to go around my bicep, either way up, but probably more secure on my forearm or wrist. They suggest it could alternatively be worn on the leg, the strap might be long enough for ankle, rather than calf but didn't try it.

The handles on all knives are short. I would have made the handle on the Spetton 1.5" longer but, for dispatching fish, it doesn't really matter as the knives will be palmed as you push down on the cross-bar, which all 3 knives are well equipped with.

So far, really impressed by all 3 knives. Just what I was looking for.

Andrew the fish · Dec 17, 2019

just lost another one. Never ending story. Heading to Bangkok tomorrow, will be on a lookout for another knife, fat chance but who knows, Bangkok is full of surprises.

Okis · Dec 17, 2019

Andrew the fish said:
just lost another one. Never ending story. Heading to Bangkok tomorrow, will be on a lookout for another knife, fat chance but who knows, Bangkok is full of surprises.

I have a few spare ones and one of them I don't really like or well I don't like the sheat it came with and probally will never use it. You can have it for 500 baht+EMS if you want a real dive knife for a fair price in opposite to the overpriced stuff you'll find in thai dive/spearing shops. Send a PM if you want it.

It's the same as this one but with a chrome blade

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Get Spetton Mako 22 - Black, a Knives from Accessories for dive for only 28.49 $. Fast and reliable delivery at Diveinn!

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Mr. X · Dec 17, 2019

Just heard my son is planning to visit Thailand again, end of March. Lucky him.

Those Spetton Makos look good. I think there is a video of it on youtube. Maybe checkout kitchen knives if you can't find a suitable dive knife in time?

Andrew the fish · Dec 18, 2019

Mr. X said:
Maybe checkout kitchen knives if you can't find a suitable dive knife in time?

I would if I had to. I have spare one with me, so Im not completely “knifeless”.
Just checked into a hotel, right in Pratunam, and what do I do first? I log into wifi and check deeperblue forum haha.

Mr. X · Dec 29, 2019

Looking at and handling my new Imersion spearo dagger, similar to Omer Laser, post -Christmas, I really like the shape, size and feel of it. And the positive click as it locks into the sheath too.

I was going to attach a wrist lanyard of 3mm elastic bungee cord, as I have already done to the other 2 knives, but am unable to as, unusually, this dive knife has no hole in the handle. Pity.

I plan to use this as a belt knife, so might not use the straps (which are sometimes too small for my calves). However I notice the straps supplied have those plastic pinch release clips found on ruck sacks. I have mixed feelings about these clips but this seems like it might be a good use, allowing the knife to be fitted quickly, without adjustment once fitted. My reservations about these clips relates to 2 issues: they break if you tread on them and it is possible to fit them together incorrectly, in which case they lock and cannot easily be released.

The Spetton dagger has traditional shiny metal buckle straps. The quality looks good. They look just about long enough to fit my right calf, if not will have to fit to my left calf (1" smaller). BTW I notice this "estiletto" is marked as "medium", so there may be smaller and larger versions available too.

The little Samurai knife comes with a single, wide, long Velcro strap. I don't think I would trust this on my bicep but should be fine on my forearm/back of wrist.

ShawnM · Jan 2, 2020

Mr. X said:
Looking at and handling my new Imersion spearo dagger, similar to Omer Laser, post -Christmas, I really like the shape, size and feel of it. And the positive click as it locks into the sheath too.

I was going to attach a wrist lanyard of 3mm elastic bungee cord, as I have already done to the other 2 knives, but am unable to as, unusually, this dive knife has no hole in the handle. Pity.

I plan to use this as a belt knife, so might not use the straps (which are sometimes too small for my calves). However I notice the straps supplied have those plastic pinch release clips found on ruck sacks. I have mixed feelings about these clips but this seems like it might be a good use, allowing the knife to be fitted quickly, without adjustment once fitted. My reservations about these clips relates to 2 issues: they break if you tread on them and it is possible to fit them together incorrectly, in which case they lock and cannot easily be released.

The Spetton dagger has traditional shiny metal buckle straps. The quality looks good. They look just about long enough to fit my right calf, if not will have to fit to my left calf (1" smaller). BTW I notice this "estiletto" is marked as "medium", so there may be smaller and larger versions available too.

The little Samurai knife comes with a single, wide, long Velcro strap. I don't think I would trust this on my bicep but should be fine on my forearm/back of wrist.

I bought myself an Omer Mini-Laser on Boxing Day, comes with the arm holster etc.

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