Best First Responder Knife

A friend of mine is an EMT and he carries a leatherman Raptor as mentioned above. I ,however, have no experience, but he really loves his raptor.
 
Spyderco Autonomy first gen gets my vote, full serrations. I've seen paramedics with them, as well as the BM triage but mostly Spyderco, if they carry.

I've been in an ambulance more times than I can remember, at least 30. So I've seen a lot from that perspective.

Interestingly, I once had a doctor who carried a Spyderco leafstorm. Emergency room doctor.
 
You mean second responder knife? Only cops are FIRST responders :D

Anyway I carry two knives on duty, well technically three, hell four. PD knife usage is probably a little different than AMR but I keep a Kershaw knockout for all the dirty work and beat the tar out of it. It's held up like a champ after nearly three years of straight up abuse.

I keep my Benchmade Altitude stowed away on my off hand side for gun grab situations and a cheapo mossy oak multi tool in my duty bag. The multi tool has a couple of blades on it but I primarily use the pliers.

Basically something lightweight that can easily be opened one handed and you won't be too torn up about if it gets lost or broken.

I know the general consensus around here is AO knives suck but I like the confidence in knowing the blade will deploy even if I don't get enough wrist flick or push a thumb stud just right.
 
Disclaimer: I am not a first responder. I am a hazmat response dude who is trained for incident command and have a first responder and rescue team at my disposal.

My guys say the best knife they can use is the one that is available. Most prefer to keep the medical shears on hand. The company buys the spyderco response knives and puts then in their equipment bags but the guys generally prefer the shears in all but a few scenarios. They are not knife people, so they have no preconceived notions about having to have a knife or a particular knife. I don’t care what knife they use as long as they are happy and can do the job.
 
Filthyj24 said:
You mean second responder knife? Only cops are FIRST responders :D
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Two problems here. 1) a cop can’t carry a knife? And 2). Not to take away from the boys in blue but there is a whole slew of scenarios where they need to just stand back and let someone who is trained take over. EMS won’t run into a domestic dispute and a cop shouldn’t run into an overturned chemical truck. He has a role and need not run in to be first. That uniform won’t protect him from danger beyond the human kind.
 
Every cop I've known has always carried a knife of some sort as part of their gear. Typically a medium-size folder of some kind. There's no rule the says cops can't carry knives.
 
I'm not a professional first responder ... but spend quite some time in traffic. This is my emergency knife, can't imagine a better one, for several reasons: serrations, fast and easy to open one handed, even with motorcycle gloves, high HRC and good toughness, <= 4" blade which is OK everywhere where I live (CA), even in gov. buildings.

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I am a professional medic on a 911 ambulance for 15 yrs and mostly used whatever flavor of the day knife is, mostly for just packaging and such, Never prying doors or anything silly like that. I have had the bm triage and works awesome for its intention. Mostly got use of the hook for removing clothes, as we have punches for glass no need of accidental hands going through glass, which has happened at my dept with people using breaker tips.
Raptors r very popular here as with ER . I don’t have them but have used someone’s and they’re great.
 
But also like what’s already been mentioned half the time i get best use out of those ol cheapy disposable trauma shears
 
Are they really that popular?

That folding design seems to me like it would be either annoying (having to unfold them every time they’re needed) or just pointless (since they’d fit in the shear pocket of the pants I wore exactly like normal shears).

the big thing for me though is I can’t imagine they’re easy to get or keep clean. Anything and everything that sees use on an ambulance gets GROSS at one point or another. If you can’t take them apart, you’re never getting the mystery fluids out of them.
 
Diablogt90 said:
A friend of mine is an EMT and he carries a leatherman Raptor as mentioned above. I ,however, have no experience, but he really loves his raptor.
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SVTFreak said:
Disclaimer: I am not a first responder. I am a hazmat response dude who is trained for incident command and have a first responder and rescue team at my disposal.

My guys say the best knife they can use is the one that is available. Most prefer to keep the medical shears on hand. The company buys the spyderco response knives and puts then in their equipment bags but the guys generally prefer the shears in all but a few scenarios. They are not knife people, so they have no preconceived notions about having to have a knife or a particular knife. I don’t care what knife they use as long as they are happy and can do the job.
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I love knives, but you have to love trauma shears, they're awesome. I keep a few pairs around the house, and I'm not cutting the clothing off injured people, they're just great for cutting stuff.

If I needed shears on the go I'd totally get those folding Leatherman Raptor ones. There are also piles of trauma shears with carabiners built into one handle ring.
 
evilgreg said:
I love knives, but you have to love trauma shears, they're awesome. I keep a few pairs around the house, and I'm not cutting the clothing off injured people, they're just great for cutting stuff.

If I needed shears on the go I'd totally get those folding Leatherman Raptor ones. There are also piles of trauma shears with carabiners built into one handle ring.
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I have a pair in my toolbox in my shop that I use quite often lol. I love knives, but those scissors are awesome. Fiberglass cloth, tape, all sorts of cardboard, vinyl, leather, carpet, and paper, I use the snot out of them. Also use the surgery scissors a whole lot also out there. (I build cars for a hobby).
 
SVTFreak said:
I have a pair in my toolbox in my shop that I use quite often lol. I love knives, but those scissors are awesome. Fiberglass cloth, tape, all sorts of cardboard, vinyl, leather, carpet, and paper, I use the snot out of them. Also use the surgery scissors a whole lot also out there. (I build cars for a hobby).
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Yeah, they're great. So much sturdier and better cutting than regular scissors. Between trauma shears and a good pair of snips, everything is scissor bait. I have nice Klein snips, and some Dewalt compound action snips that are super comfortable to use as well. Every time I awkwardly use a knife to pop a few wire ties I kick myself when I switch over to those Dewalts. Cutting even thick wire ties is effortless with them.
 
I think you've misunderstood me completely. In my city there is a friendly rivalry between fire and pd. A common joke is that fire calls pd when things get "too scary" hence the second responders.

There's also quite a bit of back and forth between pd and sheriff department due to the discrepancy between call loads. As much sh*t talking happens we're all brothers at the end of the day and respect each other.

I'm not sure where you got that I said cops don't carry knives. I don't know anyone at my department who doesn't carry at least one knife.
 
Taking an inside joke out in public never plays out well. Nobody gets the humor.

I’ve been in a similar fued with Italians my entire life but i don’t bring it up here when ever someone mentions spaghetti.

He put a question mark after the “cops don’t carry knives”??????

Meaning or implying he wanted your opinion on best knife too.
 
He put a question mark after the “cops don’t carry knives”??????

Meaning or implying he wanted your opinion on best knife too.

I've really grown to appreciate my Kershaw knockout, so much so I just ordered the USA made blade exclusive in M390.

I like it because it opens quickly, reliably and easily with one hand thanks to speed safe and its nice enough where I'm not embarrassed to pull it out but not nice enough for me to loose sleep over if it gets lost or broken.
 
Being in the fire service in the USAF for 4 years, and currently going on 38 years where I'm employed as a Battalion Chief for the past 25, I'd be seriously upset if one of my guys was cutting someone's clothing off with a knife. That's just asking for trouble. Your basic trauma shears will get the job done just fine. As far as a knife, a sharp, fully serrated blade is your friend for rope, and such. Seatbelt cutters are made for that specific purpose, not your favorite, EDC flipper. If you're working an entrapment, the last thing I want to see is a razor sharp blade slicing stuff among fellow responders vital limbs.
 
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