Knife For Shark Protection?

redsquid2

redsquid2

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Knifemaker / Craftsman / Service Provider
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:eek:

I found an old thread with the question of what knife to have at the beach, to protect oneself and family from sharks. Thread was closed. Just had to put in my two cents.

I have been watching underwater adventure shows since before I could walk, and I don't recall having heard of any SCUBA diver using a knife as an effective shark defense weapon.

What I have seen is a Jacques Cousteau team using special batons. About 14" - 18" long, something like a mace, except all the prongs are pointing in one direction, parallel to the handle. They are effective tools, IIR. You stick this thing out as a shark approaches, and you aim it at the nose. The shark feels the prick of the prongs, and it swims away. It's not like you are thrusting it; you simply use the shark's own momentum to inflict a painful wound on its nose.

That assumes you actually see the thing coming. Sharks are opportunistic, from what I have heard; they like to sneak up on their prey.

If there are sharks, I think I'll just stay in shallow water, like less than three feet deep. Either that, or I will have a mask on, and be submerged and have my eyes scanning all around for sharks.
 
Spear gun or baton that you have seen would be the best choice. Keep in mind a lot of shark attacks do come in shallow water. At the same time a person (even if they dive often) has a better chance of being hit by lightening than attacked by a shark. Common sense is your best protection, no open cuts, no bait in your pocket, etc. :)

(Been PADI certified since I was 13 and used to instruct.)
 
I'm picturing something out of Deep Blue Sea on this one. Dodging and slashing. lol.

I've done more snorkeling than diving, but most dive knives I've seen have a blunt tip. Mostly, they're for cutting lines that might entangle or chipping/breaking/prying/poking things you don't want your fingers in. I could see it for defense if you're bitten and held, but otherwise, I'd rather have a nice long spear.

The most effective hand held shark defense I've seen anywhere was a "bang stick" that the protective divers used in a shark week special that I watched. Basically a shotgun shell on the end of a stick. Pop the shark and down he goes. Then you have a few minutes to get out of there before the other sharks come.
 
redsquid2 said:
:eek:

I found an old thread with the question of what knife to have at the beach, to protect oneself and family from sharks. Thread was closed. Just had to put in my two cents.

I have been watching underwater adventure shows since before I could walk, and I don't recall having heard of any SCUBA diver using a knife as an effective shark defense weapon.

What I have seen is a Jacques Cousteau team using special batons. About 14" - 18" long, something like a mace, except all the prongs are pointing in one direction, parallel to the handle. They are effective tools, IIR. You stick this thing out as a shark approaches, and you aim it at the nose. The shark feels the prick of the prongs, and it swims away. It's not like you are thrusting it; you simply use the shark's own momentum to inflict a painful wound on its nose.

That assumes you actually see the thing coming. Sharks are opportunistic, from what I have heard; they like to sneak up on their prey.

If there are sharks, I think I'll just stay in shallow water, like less than three feet deep. Either that, or I will have a mask on, and be submerged and have my eyes scanning all around for sharks.
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When I was a kid there was a guy standing in the water waist deep and a Shark came in and took his leg off. This happened at Coney Island beach NYC Around 1958 59
PS. With that said for the number of people that swim, play or work in the oceans of the world shark attacks are rare what you need to look out for are crocks.
 
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Sorry to sound like an a$$, But what knife to take to a fight with a shark...... Someone been watching way too many action movies with the hero kills 20 bad guys run 10 miles and not even break a sweat or get his hair messed. Now if someone is talking about 2-3ft shark ok you would get away with it. Now get a 6ft shark you might get a chance. I say that cause im someone somewhere might have done it.. But im betting 100-1 on the shark. Unless you are getting ready for a shark attack. you would never know what hit you. If you are ready for it then get out of there or why not have the proper gear to fight off a shark. Same like some guys ask what is the best knife to fight off a bear.. With a shark you have about 1/20 of the chance you got to survive compare to a bear attack.
 
sasha said:
Sorry to sound like an a$$, But what knife to take to a fight with a shark...... Someone been watching way too many action movies with the hero kills 20 bad guys run 10 miles and not even break a sweat or get his hair messed. Now if someone is talking about 2-3ft shark ok you would get away with it. Now get a 6ft shark you might get a chance. I say that cause im someone somewhere might have done it.. But im betting 100-1 on the shark. Unless you are getting ready for a shark attack. you would never know what hit you. If you are ready for it then get out of there or why not have the proper gear to fight off a shark. Same like some guys ask what is the best knife to fight off a bear.. With a shark you have about 1/20 of the chance you got to survive compare to a bear attack.
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WTF you mean my rambo knife doesn't make me invincible?!?!
 
sasha said:
Sorry to sound like an a$$, But what knife to take to a fight with a shark...... Someone been watching way too many action movies with the hero kills 20 bad guys run 10 miles and not even break a sweat or get his hair messed. Now if someone is talking about 2-3ft shark ok you would get away with it. Now get a 6ft shark you might get a chance. I say that cause im someone somewhere might have done it.. But im betting 100-1 on the shark. Unless you are getting ready for a shark attack. you would never know what hit you. If you are ready for it then get out of there or why not have the proper gear to fight off a shark. Same like some guys ask what is the best knife to fight off a bear.. With a shark you have about 1/20 of the chance you got to survive compare to a bear attack.
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trailbum said:
Why.............
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DrivebyTrucker said:
Because Bear Grylls did it.
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As you can see, redsquid, there is a reason that threads like this get locked. People with no legitimate input still have to chime in and try to de-rail it. Then come subtle insults and trolling, then less subtle insults and more trolling, then, finally, outright insults and insane amounts of pissing off mods.

To your OP: I would much rather pack something like the bang sticks, but I see no reason that any knife wouldn't work as long as it had substantial grip and length. From what little I can ascertain, you don't usually see a shark coming, so you are looking more at how to get out of it grip. I would want anything I could stab with, but a good quality military issue knife, think pilot's knife, would probably work...if it were salt-water resistant. I had a Kershaw Amphibian that would probably do the trick quite well...or a Spyderco Atlantic SALT.
 
jaws-quint.jpg


Jaws6.jpg


It didn't end well in the movie.

n2s
 
trailbum said:
Why.............
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you never know... I've seen this guy circling around here
avatar117489_6.gif


But to answer your question, for the same reason you'd use a folder against a cougar, I guess. It *could* happen, not that it probably every would. Defense against a large predator is less far fetched than an end of the world scenario, imo. For the purposes of WSS this particular question is probably better addressed as it was by Bastid above than by speculating on any particular blade.
 
If you're reaching-out with a 6"-12" blade to an aggressive shark, your arm is as good as gone. Sharks are crazy fast and sometimes unpredictable. Knives are a completely unreliable tool for protection from sharks. To a diver, a knife is really about cutting entanglements etc. You'd be better served by walloping an attacking shark on the nose. A great non-lethal tool is a long [say 4' -5'] 1/2" s/s or aluminum rod that you can poke them with if they get too frisky. Having done a lot of diving with all types of sharks in Australia, they generally keep to themselves, but sometimes become curious and start approaching ... which is unnerving b/c of all the bad press they receive. I think places that sharks frequent that have reduced visibility, like a beach, are often the most dangerous [with respect to shark attacks] b/c swimmers can't see them and sharks don't necessarily know what they're biting into.
 
bang stick bro, and if a sharks coming at you your not gonna be able to do much. ive spent a few years working military ops doing water born insertion missions and unless your swimming in chum its not something to fret. i was issued seki-japan 6" sog knives and wenokas. thers a special revolver thats made to shoot special rounds underwater. get yourself one of them.
 
A knife can be an EXTREMELY effective tool in case of an impending shark attack:

Step 1. Brandish knife at shark.
Step 2. Turn and cut the person nearest to you. Note: can be a surprisingly small cut.
Step 3. Swim away from shark victim. :D
 
I'm sorry if someone already posted this, but there is a knife made specifically for shark attacks on scuba divers. The idea isn't to prevent an attack, but to cause significant enough damage to stop the attack, or have the shark release. It's call the wasp knife. http://www.waspknife.com/
 
As nice as it would be to believe that a knife vs. shark is reasonable, it isn't. Dive smart and safe and roll the dice.

Mark
 
There's lots of maritime-specific tools that are good for the job, and yes, there are lifestyles where shark safety is an everyday issue. I have lots of Navy EOD buddies that spend their lives in the shark infested Emerald Coast training on sea mines and doing underwater det. Dive knives, bang sticks and spearguns are everyday tools of the job. Even when recreationally freediving, the local bull sharks would get aggressively curious with us, especially when you get them in a pack of 8-10, which is normally how they hunt. Generating enough momentum in the water to punch or stab really isn't practical-it takes a long time and you don't build up much force. Maintaining a standoff distance or using tools that generate their own force are really the only way to go.

There is that one goofy knife that floats around here that was designed for underwater applications-it uses a CO2 cartridge in the handle and when you stab into the meat of a shark (or a person I guess) it empties the gas into the flesh, supposedly blowing out chunks.
 
The best knife for use against a shark, if confrontation was unavoidable, would most likely be a hydrogen bomb. But that's just my opinion.
 
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