How to Choose Your Diving Knife

At first you want to pay attention to the length of the blade and a handle. I prefer 4- or 5-inch blade that is efficient enough for any diving tasks, and a comfortable handle of about the same size. You should have a comfortable and secure grip  so that your fingers do not accidentally get cut by the blade. Yet too large knife would become a burden and will not be comfortable to wear on your BC, you will have to strap it to your leg. So you definitely have to pay proper attention to the size. Every one has his own preferences, too, of course. This advice is not intended to be universally accepted and fully objective.

It is nice to have a knife with both straight and serrated edges. Straight or plain edge is used most for cutting lines that would otherwise get caught in between the serrated teeth. Plain edge should be sharp but not for shaving  underwater. Diving knives are used mostly for slicing, it is similar to sawing, so even plain edge should have microscopic teeth for better efficiency.

Serrated edge is used for sawing thicker ropes. Knives with round serrations perform better than big saw teeth. Yet often serrations on diving knives are more ornamental than really useful. There could be a line-cutting notch that is very useful for snapping monofilament lines. Blunt tips are used for hammering purposes, and sharp tips will likely puncture yourself sooner or later.

Effective guard is a divider between handle and a blade that protects your hand from slipping to the blade. There is sometimes a special place to put your forefinger for better grip.

There are other considerations in terms of corrosion resistance, sharpness, price and sheath. You can learn more about diving knives and titanium diving knives on our blog.

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