ECO TIPS - Knives for Kayakers The proper knife can enhance your safety and be an essential tool for any kayaking trip. Every knife is designed for a specific purpose. Knives are a necessary piece of equipment. The following information can assist you in your choice of the proper knife for paddling and around camp. Some knife styles for kayaking: Deck Knife Filleting Knife Emergency Knife Cooking Knife Bush Machete Folding Knife Multi Purpose Tools Hiking/Camp Knife Specialty Knives Blade Materials Stainless Steel: Advantages: rust resistant and longevity Disadvantages: does not get as sharp as carbon nor keep an edge as long. Note: a stainless steel blade will rust depending on the amount of carbon in its composition Care: Rust can usually be removed with a vigorous wipe of oil. Store dry in a sheath. Carbon Steel: Advantages: has the sharpest edge and keeps the sharpness the longest Disadvantages: rusts easily especially after contact with saltwater, citrus fruits, acidic vegetables Ca re: clean blade with lemon juice and salt, store dry in oiled cloth or leather sheath. Most blades comprise of blends of both carbon and stainless steel ingredients. It is important to match the blend to the use. Ceramic: Renowned for their blade sharpness and ease of care. This type of blade is not well suited to the kayaking environment as it is very brittle and breaks easily. It does not rust at all. Blade Profiles Clip Point: is a style that has a concave bend in the spine of the knife and narrow to a fine point at the tip. It is excellent for delicate jobs such as piercing holes and removing slivers. It's disadvantage is that the tip is more delicate due to it's thinness. Some knives even have the top edge sharpened. Drop Point: is a style in which the blade drops at an even rate to the tip of the knife. The knife is sturdier in this design, but it lacks the fine tip for delicate work. Ground Styles Flat Ground: is a knife that when looked at straight on, narrows at an even rate from the spine to the cutting surface. A knife like this is very sturdy but more difficult to sharpen as more material needs to be removed in the sharpening process. Hollow Ground: is a blade with a thick spine and narrows visibly below the spine to the cutting surface. This style tends to be the easiest for re sharpening in the long run. Serrated Blade: is a wave-like pattern ground onto the blade. This is best for cutting lines rapidly. It is the most difficult to sharpen. Many of the Spyderco knives come with a serrated blade. Handle Materials Wood: is the traditional handle as it is warm, pleasant to hold, and comes in a variety of hardwoods, some with intricate inlay. Stamina Wood: is a plastic that looks like wood but can withstand submersion in water and acidic environments. Zytel: is the most common plastic handle as it is lightweight, durable, non-slipping (with wet hands) and comes in attractive colours. Staghorn: is another traditional handle that works well with wet hands. It is made from the horns of various large game animals. Generally appears on premium fixed bladed knives. Deck Knives Uses: cutting rope, fishing line, fish, emergencies Things to look for in a deck knife: Plastic Sheath with lock and lanyard hole Stainless Steel Blade no longer than 6 inches Full or semi serrated blade Compact size Plastic handle Pointed tip Some Examples of deck knives: Gerber River Master Spyderco Snap-it, Rescue Knife Kershaw Sea Hunter Filleting Knife Uses: these knives characteristically have long thin blades to allow cutting away the fish from the small bones of a fish. Things To Look For in a Filleting Knife: Plastic Sheath Stainless Blade with a width of 3/4 inch and 5 inch to 9 inch length Flexible fixed blade Plastic handle (some float!) Very pointed tip Some Examples of Filleting Knives: Frost Filleting Buck Filleting Kershaw Floating Filleting Spyderco Catcherman (folding filleting) Emergency Knife Uses: quick cutting action, emergency survival kit. Things to look for in an emergency knife: Stainless Blade 2 to 8 inches long Plastic or Stainless housing with lanyard hole Single folding blade Full or semi serrated blade Compact Size Plastic handle Pointed tip Some Examples of Emergency Knives: Spyderco Rescue, Snap-It, Endura, Delica Gerber Clip Point, Rivermaster Kershaw Sea Hunter, Amphibian Cooking Knife Uses: for camp chores, such as chopping vegetables, etc. Things To Look For in A cooking Knife: Long blade Thick spine Stainless steel blade Some Examples of Kitchen Knives: Russel Original Knife Gerber Pro Guide, Drop point Bush Machete: Uses: clearing brush, trail making, fire wood, camp uses Things to look for in a Machete: Solid handle to blade connection (through Rivets) Long stiff blade 6 to 14 inch Stainless or Carbon is fine Some Examples of Machetes: Barteau all models of machetes. Folding Knives: Uses: carving, fire starter chips, food slicing, filleting, rope cutting, general camp uses. Things to look for in a Folding Knife: Locking blade when open Ease of opening Length and thickness of main blade Stainless or Carbon blade Some Examples of Folding Knives: Spyderco Pro Venator, Executive, Hunter, Worker, Mariner, Endura, Delica, Police,. Buck Folding Hunter, Ranger, Bucklite Kershaw DWO, Elk Spring Gerber Gator Mate, Gator Mate Serrator Multi Purpose Knives: Uses: Everything from making holes to fixing rudders Things to look for in a Multi Purpose Tool: Ease of use Variety of tools to meet your needs Handy tools: Pliers, awl, screwdrivers, serrated blade, can opener, bottle opener, cork screw, file Strong knife blade Some Examples of Multi Purpose Tools: SOG Paratool, Tool clip, Microclip Gerber Multi Pliers Leatherman Mini, Standard, Super Tools, Micra Buck Swiss Hiking/Camp Knife: Uses: carried on the belt for hikers or around camp Things to look for in a Camp Knife: Sturdy fixed blade at least 4 inches long Stainless is OK but Carbon is preferable Solid sheath with good attachment to belt Blade tang through handle and riveted in place Good balance in the hand Non-serrated blade or semi serrated Some Examples of Camp Knives: Grohmann Original Russel, Boat Knife Gerber Pro Guide, Drop Poin SOG Tom Cat Blunt Tipped Knives: Uses: For prying shellfish, repairs, snorkeling Things to look for in a Blunt Tipped Knife: Stainless Steel Blade Blade length of 4 to 6 inches Hooked rope cutter Serrated blade and straight blade combined Plastic sheath that fits on the leg Some Examples of Blunt Tipped Knives: Sea Quest Diver Kershaw Amphibian Blade Sharpening All blades will require sharpening. The carbon content of the blade will determine the method and frequency of tuning up your blade. Stainless blades have various degrees of carbon in them. A higher carbon content allows for easier and sharper tuning. Blade angle depends upon the blade profile and ground style and is generally 10 - 20 degrees. Stone lubricant can be anything from saliva to machine oil. Begin with the coarsest stone to set the angle of the edge and to take out any nicks. Always draw the metal onto the blade. Putting the knife on an electric grinder will achieve the same results but may take excessive amounts of the blade away. Move on to the finer stones, trying to keep the angle you established on the coarser stone. Use the same amount of stroke on each side. The blade should be able to cut the hair on your finger when properly sharpened. Serrated blades require sharpening less often because not all of the blade comes in contact with the cutting surface. Use a triangular stone designed for serrated knives. Carefully draw the blade down the stone, drawing the metal onto the blade. Be careful not to over sharpen the damage the serration. Click here to purchase a knife.