22 September 2008
Although we don’t normally think in terms of emergency conditions, search or rescue work when we’re prepping for a leisurely hike or a weekend camping trip, sometimes I think we should - at least when we’re selecting some of the pieces of our equipment. I know plenty of folks who pick their “pocket knife” based on how cool it looks or because it has the longest blade of any folder they could find. I think we might be better off to include a good lockblade folder specifically designed for rescue work. Why? Read on...
The beautiful thing about the great outdoors is that it's just so untamed... so wild... so untouched by the hands of man. That same beauty can be looked at another way: there aren't any ambulances or rescue squads nearby. Often one of our most basic "emergency" needs is to cut ourselves free of something - or to cut something free of us. Our emergency need may be the need to cut wood or trim a piece of rope. The need may be to quickly cut away our hiking partner's pants leg to get to the bleeding laceration he got falling down a slope. Yes, all of these things can be done with any decent knife. The quckness of cutting though may be done faster with a serrated edge, and perhaps a sheepsfoot blade is the better design for cutting away clothing?
The first specifically designed folding rescue blade I'd like to look at is the R.E.S. (for Rescue, Escape & Survival). Shown below the RES has three blades. Two of the three blades are held open by a postive liner-lock system, with the third being automatically deployed at the push of a button. The three blades are:
- a drop point general purpose blade
- a wood saw
- a nylon / cloth / rope / wire cutting blade
The design assumes that two mot commonly deployed blades will be the general purpose blade and the cutter blade. The general purpose blade is equipped with a thumb-stud for easy one-handed opening, while the cutter blade has a blunt tip (to prevent injury in rescue / EMS situations) and is deployed automatically by pushing the release button. The wood saw is in the middle and is opened by lifting it at its blunt tip. An interesting - and potentially invaluable - safety feature is that the cutter blade cannot be deployed while either of the other two blades are already open. The knife is made by Extrema Ratio. To purhcase yours, visit http://www.italianblade.com or the Exxcess Quality Products website.
Next on the list is the Assist from Spyderco. In their design Spyderco to the rescue concept one step further and incorporated two specific "field" rescue features into the knife. The first is the whistle. If you look at the picture shown right you can see two small red dots near the rear of the handle. Those are the bottom of the whistle holes. When you blow through it the whistle emits a high-pitched piercing little screech that is just uncomfortable to the ears but can be heard for quite some distance. The second design feature is obvious and we don't even see it. Note the finger grooves molded into the handles? If you open the blade partially and put rope in between the blade and handles you can squeeze the blade shut on the rope and cut that rope with a single squeeze. The rope gets held in one of the finger grooves (works best with the two closest to the hinge point) and the mixed-serrations of the blade cuts right through. For doing more urban work, when you're holding the closed knife, if you squeeze the blade in tight a window-breaker punch protrudes out the end of the grips - but it's otherwise hidden. The Assist's blade goes beyond "sheepsfoot" as it's not just a slightly down-turned curved blade tip, but a blunted flat tip made for light prying as well as protecting victims from cuts. The thumbhole has a hood on it to make the knife easy to open even if you're wearing thick gloves.
Also from Spydero is the Rescue knife. Shown to the left you can see the sheepsfoot blade, ergonomically shaped hanles mixed serrations and standard thumbhole. Obviously not packed with as many features as the Assist, the Rescue isn't as wide either measuring about 2/3 of the width of the more versatile blade. The Rescue knife is a basic rescue blade: it has the mixed blade cutting surfaces, sheepsfoot end, is blue for identification as "other than regular knife", and pocket clip that is reversible. Although this knife - like those above - can perform many other outdoor chores, Spyderco had rescue work in mind when they designed it.
Our last blade today is the Buck Code 3. The Code 3 has red handles and the nationally recognized EMS logo on one side. It was obviously designed by Buck for EMS, Paramedics, Rescue Workers, etc. Closed, the knife measures 4.75" end to end. It measures 1" wide (not including the flippers noted below) and is 1/2" thick. It has two blades: The Rescue Blade is of sheepsfoot design, is 3" long, and has about 2.5" of serrated cutting edge. That other half-inch is NOT plain edge. It's dull and allows additional protection to the victim you're assisting if you have to cut off clothing, seatbelts, etc. The Utility Blade is a modified drop point design measuring 3" with plain cutting edge the length of it. The blades are not side-by-side opening in the same direction as things always used to be. Instead, they open from either side of the knife. A thumb-stud is provided on each blade for easy opening, in addition to a modified version of the Carson-flipper that allows you to push the blade out from the back instead of using the stud. The blades are locked out by individual liner-locks. Thanks to the grooves that Buck milled into each handle for the thumb-studs, disengaging the liner-lock is pretty easy if you're trying. I had to say that carefully because they will not disengage accidentally - it's not that easy. But there is a nice recess in the handle so your thumb has plenty of room to reach the liner lock to push it out of the way.
I have each of these in my knife collection and the one I carry the most is the blue Rescue knife from Spyderco. The Assist is part of my regular scuba gear, but looking at it again I may have to move it into my Go Bag (or get another one for that). The RES from Extrema Ratio is an excellent knife but is priced a bit higher than the rest. When I carry it I consider it more for general use that specifically rescue work. The Code 3 is, in my opinion, an excellent rescue knife because instead of mixing blade cutting surfaces Buck simply put in two blades. It's not designed for any other purpose. Pick any one of these knives and you won't be dissatisfied when you unexpectedly need a rescue blade during one of your outings.
Happy trails!
