Recommendation? Recommendations for a knife that is not made for diving but can be used while diving?

There are many good scuba dive knives out today. When diving in Florida I carried one with a wicked combo serrated and smooth blade for helping me if I was caught in any wire or line, my biggest concern. It was smaller than many but had a good handle and was easy to use.

 
I've been everyday carrying the Lc200n. While not exposed to ocean water. They have been exposed to salty sweat. Rarely taken out the sheaths.

Glass will rust, stain, or spot before lc200n does. It's a pretty neat steel and the performance is leaps ahead of H1.
 
There has been a lot of debate on the Spyderco forums about the relative merits of H1 and LC200N. From what I have read, there seems to be a consensus that for plain edges, LC200N is better over all, but perhaps H1 has better toughness. For serrated edges, many people report that H1 is about as good as LC200N.
 
Another Shepherd said:
There has been a lot of debate on the Spyderco forums about the relative merits of H1 and LC200N. From what I have read, there seems to be a consensus that for plain edges, LC200N is better over all, but perhaps H1 has better toughness. For serrated edges, many people report that H1 is about as good as LC200N.
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My experience is the Swick 5, serrated. Two of them. I don't use them to cut anything. But the sharp was tested. The serrated is more a self defense tool verses the plain edge. There's only one good use for serrations, the ability to slash cut meat.

Lc200n is perfect. But so is H2. Both resist body salt. Inside the waistband is the worse place to wear any steel even tempted to rust. Not a single worry with lc200n. I carry on the outside and it gets slightly less sweaty.
 
TC said:
You do not need Gold level to buy, only to sell.
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I had previously asked a knife maker for a price for his folding knife. He said he wasn't planning on selling it (At that time he was planning to take it to the blade show), but even if he was going to consider it, I needed a Gold membership to buy it. That's how it stayed in my mind. If so, I'm very happy. I really thank you for this.
 
ShaiHulud said:
I read that H1 can't be heat treated due to the trade off for its superior corrosion resistance, so it hardens by use, I always wondered if there was a limit to how hard it will get? Or will it get so hard by constant use that it becomes brittle? No clue
Titanium isn't the best knife steel by far but it was the gold standard for a knife steel in diving knives before H1 and LC200N was a thing. I owned an atomic aquatics titanium knife once, no issues with it and I threw it around beach sand and into water, no damage to the edge, nor did it suffer any serious loss in sharpness
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I have no idea about this either. The one I used was quite soft (spyderco). I didn't use it for a long time anyway and sold it. I also had a titanium diving knife, Amphibian Pro. They are great at rust proofing, but they don't hold up well.
 
whereismyknife said:
I had previously asked a knife maker for a price for his folding knife. He said he wasn't planning on selling it (At that time he was planning to take it to the blade show), but even if he was going to consider it, I needed a Gold membership to buy it. That's how it stayed in my mind. If so, I'm very happy. I really thank you for this.
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You're welcome! I have bought knives from the exchange with no problems. Allowing all member levels to buy makes the exchange more attractive to sellers.
 
Another Shepherd said:
There has been a lot of debate on the Spyderco forums about the relative merits of H1 and LC200N. From what I have read, there seems to be a consensus that for plain edges, LC200N is better over all, but perhaps H1 has better toughness. For serrated edges, many people report that H1 is about as good as LC200N.
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I've never used the LC200N, but I've read very good things about it since it was recommended in the thread. I used H1, I think its toughness came from its softness. It was around 54 55 HRC. I wondered why it was so good on serrated edges. Considering the difference in hardness, I was expecting the opposite and I was very surprised. Of course, I'm just learning that H1 gets harder with use. I learned this thanks to S ShaiHulud . Maybe it has something to do with this. Common sense tells me that harder steel will work better on a serrated blade (At least there is a difference of 4,5 HRC and I think H1 is a very soft steel)(unless it's powdered metal etc). I would be very happy if someone could explain the reasons for this.
 
Grasshopperglock said:
My experience is the Swick 5, serrated. Two of them. I don't use them to cut anything. But the sharp was tested. The serrated is more a self defense tool verses the plain edge. There's only one good use for serrations, the ability to slash cut meat.

Lc200n is perfect. But so is H2. Both resist body salt. Inside the waistband is the worse place to wear any steel even tempted to rust. Not a single worry with lc200n. I carry on the outside and it gets slightly less sweaty.
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That is very interesting. I am thinking about buying a serrated Swick. On the other hand, I use serrated blades most of the time, but except for steak knives, never to cut meat. In the last 24 hours, I have used serrated blades to cut baling twine, weeds, corrugated cardboard, a feed sack, and burrs in a dog's coat.
 
Lc200n is a pretty steel. If you hold it up next a carbon s30v blade. The lc200n has a deep silvery, grey look. The s30v is a more non grey look.

Then there's the, "ring". Lc200n has a different ring sound when it's tapped.

It's 2023 and we now have nitrogen based steel.

Lc200n is the bee's knees.
 
whereismyknife said:
I've never used the LC200N, but I've read very good things about it since it was recommended in the thread. I used H1, I think its toughness came from its softness. It was around 54 55 HRC. I wondered why it was so good on serrated edges. Considering the difference in hardness, I was expecting the opposite and I was very surprised. Of course, I'm just learning that H1 gets harder with use. I learned this thanks to S ShaiHulud . Maybe it has something to do with this. Common sense tells me that harder steel will work better on a serrated blade (At least there is a difference of 4,5 HRC and I think H1 is a very soft steel)(unless it's powdered metal etc). I would be very happy if someone could explain the reasons for this.
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A serrated edge does not need to be very sharp in order to cut well. And if a steel is very hard and therefore brittle, the points in Spyderco serrations would break off more easily.
 
The more scraggly a serrated is, the better it works.

What shards of metal would you be really caring about. If you had to use it to defend your life?

I hate half serrations blades. But I've endured one.

Completely serrated blade? Don't tell me the Spyderco salt is really meant to go swimming in salt water.

Rust is at the heart of the debate.
 
whereismyknife said:
I've never used the LC200N, but I've read very good things about it since it was recommended in the thread. I used H1, I think its toughness came from its softness. It was around 54 55 HRC. I wondered why it was so good on serrated edges. Considering the difference in hardness, I was expecting the opposite and I was very surprised. Of course, I'm just learning that H1 gets harder with use. I learned this thanks to S ShaiHulud . Maybe it has something to do with this. Common sense tells me that harder steel will work better on a serrated blade (At least there is a difference of 4,5 HRC and I think H1 is a very soft steel)(unless it's powdered metal etc). I would be very happy if someone could explain the reasons for this.
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I've found myself just avoiding it, I had a Waterway in 200N, very good knife but, ya know, lick it and pass it along and all that
 
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Because I was curious I dumped a ton of salt in some boiling water and dissolved it (didnā€™t look up what the ocean salt content was, just poured a bunch in) and left this stainless Mora in overnight. Only rust I could see was on the spine. Maybe from machining? The blade seemed fine. A cheap Mora is probably a good option. Especially if one drops it and it disappears
 
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