Basic diving cutting equipment - what to choose?

Underwater we may encounter many situations in which we will be forced to use cutting tools. The most common cause, forcing us to use a knife or secateurs, is entanglement during wreck diving in broken fishing nets and various types of lines wrapping the wreck. In order to minimise the danger posed by this type of situation, we should equip ourselves with an appropriate set of cutting tools.

A knife is usually our first choice. To make sure you buy the right one, pay attention to several elements. The steel from which the blade is made should be of the best possible quality. Another very important aspect is how the knife is designed and does it have an “eyelet” for cutting nets, for example? If so, is it positioned in such a way that it does not restrict your room for manoeuvre when cutting? It is also important whether the handle of our knife has been equipped with a “hammer” which we can use when we need to hit harder here and there. Remember that you want your tool to be functional and effective. So let’s skip big and impressive but bulky and ineffective blades from “Rambo” or “Crocodile Dundee” movies.

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Unfortunately, the multitude of dangers we can encounter underwater does not allow us to limit ourselves to just having a knife. If we are particularly fond of wreck diving, it is worth considering something that can deal with nets faster and more effectively than the aforementioned “eyelet” on the blade of our knife.

Among the available solutions, pruning shears, loppers and hook knives of all kinds are the most popular. As in the case of knives, the choice is considerable, and in making the choice we should again pay attention to quality of workmanship and functionality.

The hook knife is the easiest to build and use, yet extremely effective. Its design makes it much easier to cut nets and lines quickly. It is worth checking whether the model you decide on has replaceable blades.

Secateurs and shears are very useful and functional, whether we are dealing with net, line or hard steel line. However, to operate them effectively and quickly in a hand limited by a thick glove, we will need to gain some practice.

Source and Photo: Divers24