Anyone carry a knife with them when water hunting?

[John (west central FL)]

I've thought about carrying one of those diver's knives. Might come in handy if I get in a bad situation with a shark Do any of you carry a knife, and if so, why?

John

 

[UncleTom]

You know how the beach can be, I strap on a dive knife for what ever kind of predator you find!

 

[Dig]

I'm thinking of carrying some pliers with a pair of nippers for the hooks and stuff I find. I worry about tetanus more than sharks...although I have come close enough to a couple last summer to shake hands.....Im not so sure about trying to have a knife fight with one. Afterall the only way your gonna know your in trouble is if your already in his mouth.

 

[GraveDiggerMax-VaBch-Va]

on one harness belt i have Gerber River Runner

on 2nd belt i have Smith & Wesson H.R.T.

back in the summer of 2007 i bought a nice fishing pliers.............still setting in garage
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[grumpyolman]

I carry a Stainless Steel knife made for diving. Has serrations and a regular edge. They have fishing line, called spider wire (and there are others as well) that are extremely thin and equally as strong. You can get tangled in some 30lb spider wire and not even be able to see it until it grabs you. Might need a knife to work your way out of it. I always do fresh water in lakes so haven't run across any sharks yet.Jim

 

[ashmonkey]

i used to take my divers knife with me whenever i was out digging, but the laws have gone very anti knifes in the UK. the police found it in my car, with my detector and wetsuit. and i was charged with possession of a offensive weapon in a public place. i went to court and argued that my locked car, can not be considered a public place. i got bound over for 2 years. check your local laws first!

 

[Sand Scoop]

When you say bound over is that like probation here in the US..I do carry a divers knife when detecting in the water around the piers. I dig a lot of sinkers with maybe 2 or 3 hooks that could end up in a toe when digging. Helps to have something to cut yourself loose before high tide..

 

[John (west central FL)]

That is a good point. I will have to inquire with the local police. I doubt that here they would do more than confiscate the knife. Most likely they would just tell me to put it in the car. The laws regarding knives here are usually very local. I would say it would definitely be illegal to carry a sheath knife in a place like New York City.

 

[Johny uma]

n/t

 

[grumpyolman]

I don't think any law folks would say anything about a person who was diving and had a dive knife as part of their equipment. If you were walking around a park with the knife after your dive, you might get questioned and like somebody else said, the worse they would do is confiscate it or tell you to lock it in your car. If you carried a knife that is one of those combat knives, that's asking for trouble. That's kind of like saying you're hunting and a carrying an AK. On the Predator land digging tools they have, "For digging only" stamped on them. I think that's to provide some defense if questioned. Heck! You can use that ball point pen you carry as an offensive weapon. Jim

 

[Cupajo]

Why bother with a ball point pen when you have a really nasty weapon disguised as a sand scoop most of the time when you are on a beach.

CJ

 

[stillhuntin]

I always have my knife on my side when i enter the water and when i beach hunt at night, i have talked to the beach police during the day with it strapped on and they have not said anything about it.They have stopped me at night and told me to pay attention as to what's around me that there has been people jumped out here at night, he looked at the knife then to and with no comment moved on.

 

[ashmonkey]

i wish the UK had the same laws as the USA. knife sales are even banned on ebay UK. i just use my leatherman multitool nowdays. and yes a bound over is like probation

 

[GaBeachsweeper]

n/t

 

[Lou from downunder]

Having dived for nearly 40 years as a competition spearfisherman and as a professional, I believe it is of the utmost importance to wear a knife in the water.
Even though the chances of entanglement are remote, it did happen to my stepson on a spearing holiday a few years ago.
He got his spear stuck in a ledge in 40 odd foot of water. On diving down to free it he first got caught in the spearchord as he was backing out of the ledge. He managed to free himself before he ran out of breath { we were fishing on snorkel} and took off for the surface only to become entangled in his float chord, which was attached to his gun, which had the spear firmly stuck in the ledge.
He was stuck only one foot down. He was'nt wearing a knife. His mate who was looking the right way was. He raced over and cut him free and thats the only thing that saved me from having to tell his mother that I lost her son.
As it was we still had to drag him semi conscious on to the rocks and revive him. He has'nt dived since.

Moral of the story is, a knife can be lifesaver.
They are mandatory safety equipment when fishing competitions.

As for protection against sharks?
Bit like believing a knife is adequate protection against a grizzly or a tiger. Oh, and if you do then you've been watching far too many adventure movies.

Lou.

 

[thepest]

U.K. Law is very oppressive... which is why our fore fathers revolted.... and took this country for their own.....
2 years probation for a diving knife locked in a car is nutts.... How bout the kitchen knife in your drawer ??? that's a concealed weapon.... you could go to prison for life... hope they don't find that....
if you got enough money to be able to afford a car over there in the first place.... that means you have a decent job... and a good work ethic... which also means you're re a responsible citizen.... doing exactly what you said you were... but if they let you off.... they can't grind you under... and make you obey....

 

[tidewalker2]

Having a sheath knife in New York is a technical illegality but in reality it depends on the situation and the law enforcement officer. If you are fishing its usually OK but if you are just walking around onthe beach it's a no-no. Diving is not permitted on New York beaches {boo-hoo). When I'm water hunting or on the beach I carry a good foldup in a sheath and never had a problem. For some reason it's the fixed blades that are frouned on. those i save for the subway. GH

 

[kaptainkosmic]

n/t

 

[Sandmagnet]

Recently, had a good sized shark swim right at me in chest deep water (Florida). It had to get past my scoop first lucky for me it then decided to turn away. I have wondered if sharks are attracked to the coil and shinny scoop!. I wonder if any studies have been done on this? Maybe a knife might be a nice add on to the old belt. This made me nervous the rest of the hunt and I decided to hunt in a little shallower water. I generally avoid areas were the bait fish are jumping! HH!

 

[diggindirt]

U.K. Law is very oppressive... which is why our fore fathers revolted.... and took this country for their own.....
2 years probation for a diving knife locked in a car is nutts.... How bout the kitchen knife in your drawer ??? that's a concealed weapon.... you could go to prison for life... hope they don't find that....
if you got enough money to be able to afford a car over there in the first place.... that means you have a decent job... and a good work ethic... which also means you're re a responsible citizen.... doing exactly what you said you were... but if they let you off.... they can't grind you under... and make you obey....

That's why I'm glad I live in this country

BUT, very worried about the direction we're heading