Some knives also come in titanium or have specialty coating designed to function in salt water. There are many varieties of stainless steel, but whatever you go with this will be the best bet for rust resistance. You should also look for a knife made of stainless steel. Typically this will be sandwiched between the handle and attached directly to or through the tang.
#Gerber mk1 blunt tip full
The best river knives will have what’s called a full tang, where the knife is one solid piece of metal from the tip to opposite end of the knife and won’t fail on you when you need it. If you are unfamiliar with knife construction, the tang is the metal part of the knife that the handle is built around. You need your knife to reflect the most common scenario you will face and if the image of that common scenario changes it may be time to change your knife.Īnother important point for longevity for all knives is to make sure that your knife is made with a solid tang.
![gerber mk1 blunt tip gerber mk1 blunt tip](https://starlex.net/media/2020/06/large_3612_gr07520g-01_1812_3c4.jpg)
When these knives go to work, people’s survival depends upon them doing what they need to do and common scenarios that rescuers face on the water and their knives reflect these special uses.Ĭutting through at raft with a person pinned under itĪgain this depends upon what type of user you are and what you are doing more than 50% of the time. Their knife must cut rope, clothes, and fabrics quickly and reliably. This sub set of river users has a very specific and time sensitive mission in mind when the knife comes out. police, fire, and SAR teams), Class V river guides, and expedition boaters.
#Gerber mk1 blunt tip professional
This is contrasted by the rescue knife which is employed by professional rescuers (i.e. Anything can happen on the water and you may need a knife that can not only cut a bit of rope, but works well for peanut butter or cutting veggies for dinner for your clients. Typically a utility knife is used by the private rafter or Class III/IV guide who does longer day or overnight trips. To understand this a little further we need to understand who is using these knives. They will cut rope in a hurry, but don’t try to cut a melon with these. They are designed to be there when you need it and do a relatively small number of tasks extremely efficiently at the cost of all else. Rescue Knives – A rescue knife is monster when it comes to cutting efficiency and retention while working. These knives seek to maximize the number of possible uses by utilizing as much real estate as possible on the entire knife and converting that into tools.
![gerber mk1 blunt tip gerber mk1 blunt tip](https://wildernesstoday.com/app/uploads/2017/12/Ka-bar-versus-Gerber.jpg)
These knives have to do a little bit of everything from cutting rope to spreading peanut butter to being a screwdriver. Utility Knives - This knife often serves as the go to tool before a multi tool is required. These two theories of carrying produce two wildly different tools for use on the water both the form and the function of such tools is very different. Generally in the river world there are two reasons you would want to have a knife on the water: That is why it is important to figure out why you are carrying the knife in the first place. As with any piece of equipment though it is important to remember that with additional function comes additional risk.