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Saddle blade or no?

If you want a knife for safety reasons only, meaning in an emergency situation, look at something like this as an option. It is made to be attached to a skydiving rig to cut your tangled mess of chute and lines away in free fall if necessary before or after you deploy your reserve. It is super small and lightweight also.

 
I always have a knife they gave us at work. Has a standard blade, seatbelt cutter and magnesium rod and striker.
 
I wear this CRKT neck knife. I also have a whistle on the same lanyard. Last year I started using this knife to gut the deer and the short, stiff blade worked great. I like a real short blade for gutting because keeps you from inadvertently slicing into things that you do not want to cut such as guts or muscle in the process. The braided fob on the end of the handle keeps the knife from slipping out of your hand when you are elbows deep in a body cavity because your pinky naturally wraps around it.

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I usually keep a Petzl Spatha and a Fox whistle on shock cord, readily available in my one dump pouch. I usually have 2 or 3 knives available, but I keep the one on my saddle so that it is ALWAYS available when climbing or at height. Other knives may be on a pack, chest rig, underneath an outer layer, or in a restrictive pocket...
 
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shmelton said:
It amazes me how many grown men in this world don’t carry a pocket knife every day. I never understood why a man wouldn’t. I bet I use my pocket knife at least twice a day. I mean a string on a shirt always needs to be cut, finger nails cleaned, pencil sharpened, box opened, and the list goes on. Oh, and carrying a full knife is worse than carrying no knife at all.




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I would agree, I can’t imagine not having an EDC, even when hunting, but I have found it is hard to access my front pocket, and it would be especially difficult it I were hanging tangled up in a tree. Personally personally I carry my case sodbuster jr or my benchmade bugout 535-5
 
Nosaj said:
I wear this CRKT neck knife. I also have a whistle on the same lanyard. Last year I started using this knife to gut the deer and the short, stiff blade worked great. I like a real short blade for gutting because keeps you from inadvertently slicing into things that you do not want to cut such as guts or muscle in the process. The braided fob on the end of the handle keeps the knife from slipping out of your hand when you are elbows deep in a body cavity because your pinky naturally wraps around it.

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a neck knife isn’t a bad idea, thx for that nugget.
 
Publiclandowner said:
I would agree, I can’t imagine not having an EDC, even when hunting, but I have found it is hard to access my front pocket, and it would be especially difficult it I were hanging tangled up in a tree. Personally personally I carry my case sodbuster jr or my benchmade bugout 535-5
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I can see how getting in your pocket may be difficult if I in a precarious position. I may have to look into a option for an emergency situation.


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shmelton said:
I can see how getting in your pocket may be difficult if I in a precarious position. I may have to look into a option for an emergency situation.


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That is why I started wearing the neck knife with a whistle attached. It needs it be a neck knife that will break/pull away if you are being hung by it.
 
There are knives for rock climbers. Petzl for sure and edelrid I think. Typically a hole at the Pivot point big enough for a biner, our use would probably be better served by a soft attachment. They run about $35 I think
 
I just keep my Havalon knife in my cargo leg pocket. I have the fixed blade one in a sheath. Same knife for emergency rescue, or emergency deer on the ground. I think i have a backup buck knife buried at the bottom of my pack with minimal first aid, back up headlamp, back up release. This thread reminds me how grossly disorganized i am compared to most of yinz, but as far as a knife solution, it’s always there, and muscle memory one of the “essentials” i frisk myself for before leaving the vehicle. Keys, knife, ID/license, phone, compass, release, bow. And yes, I’ve walked further than I’d care to admit without a bow at least once!
 
Nosaj said:
That is why I started wearing the neck knife with a whistle attached. It needs it be a neck knife that will break/pull away if you are being hung by it.
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I can’t do a neck knife. I can’t stand something hanging from my neck. I’m thinking maybe a a smaller lock blade with a pocket clip, that can be hooked to a fly fishing retractable tether clipped to my saddle.


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I’d be very, very careful about what you hang around your neck while climbing trees. You don’t want paracord, you want something that breaks very easily. Maybe something like the ball chains the military uses for dog tags.
 
TheBlindCat said:
I’d be very, very careful about what you hang around your neck while climbing trees. You don’t want paracord, you want something that breaks very easily. Maybe something like the ball chains the military uses for dog tags.
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You are correct, most of the neck knives are designed that way however you need to check that. The one that I use has a pressure clip that holds each end of the paracord without stopper knots. The line pulls easily through the clip. I also do not have long tag ends that extend very far beyond the clip.
 
Nosaj said:
You are correct, most of the neck knives are designed that way however you need to check that. The one that I use has a pressure clip that holds each end of the paracord without stopper knots. The line pulls easily through the clip. I also do not have long tag ends that extend very far beyond the clip.
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If you use a ball chain - think pull chain for lamps - they break easily enough to be neck safe.
 
I know some people Really like neck knives, but I’m not a fan. I don’t like anything that is or could be around my neck while climbing or shooting a bow. They can altogether fall Off your head if you become inverted. And because of how they hang on your body, it’s quite Easy to accidentally cut yourself when deploying one, particularly when done quickly in a moment of panic.
 
I was in Harbor Freight the other day, and picked up one of these. I stuck it through a molle loop on a saddle pouch, and that’s where it will stay until i need to cut myself out something.


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shmelton said:
I was in Harbor Freight the other day, and picked up one of these. I stuck it through a molle loop on a saddle pouch, and that’s where it will stay until i need to cut myself out something.


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One of those hooked carpet blades would make a pretty good line cutter. Not sure it would fit 3/8" climbing rope though; maybe a straight blade or serrated is better for main lines.
 
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