RIFFE WRANGLER SPEARFISHING KNIFE

JParanee

JParanee

Joined
Dec 23, 2006
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I’ve been looking for a new Spearfishing knife and recently picked up a Riffe Wrangler Dual Serration





I also picked up a Spyderco Fish Hunter but do to its poor sheath retention have relegated it to a rod and reel knife vs something I’m gonna swim with

Now the job of a spear fishing knife is to stick fish in the brain and cut through super lines like Dynemma and heavy mono.

So ya need something pointy and serrations are desirable

For those of you not familiar with Riffe they are a great company with a rich history in Spearfishing and it’s Founder Jay Riffe is a legend in the world of spearfishing

I’ve been using Riffe Spearguns and on a recent trip to California and Baja Mexico I got to spend some time with J&J Spearfishings owner who is part of the Riffe Family and put the Wrangler to use killing some fish

The steel on this knife is Nitro B and while rust resistant if not really cleaned well after use will show rust quickly but that’s what salt and blood will do

What makes this knife system work is the sheath system and handle

It’s not fancy but the large drain holes and the way the knife snaps in as well as the small lanyard bungee that wraps around the tip of the sheath for extra security but still enables the knife to deploy by just yanking it hard and moving your hand out is well thought out

If Spyderco would have put more thought in their sheath I might have never picked up the Riffe

Yes I could do a custom sheath for the Spyderco but the Riffe knife package is close to what a good sheath bender would charge for a sheath

I still have aspirations to have Matt Gregory make me a custom Spearfishing knife and sheath over the winter when he has time but for now the Riffe Wrangler in its different configurations is a winner and priced very reasonable

Here is the knife in Baja being put to use on some small fish and some dive pics







You can see the knife on my side in the first pic



 
Nice write up.

I have used a few different dive knives over the years and agree that Riffe makes the best overall system.

Sheath comfort and retention are very important. I’ve also found it be very important that the knife can be re-sheathed with a level of protection from puncturing yourself.

Thanks for sharing.
 
MolokaiRider said:
Nice write up.

I have used a few different dive knives over the years and agree that Riffe makes the best overall system.

Sheath comfort and retention are very important. I’ve also found it be very important that the knife can be re-sheathed with a level of protection from puncturing yourself.

Thanks for sharing.
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Thx and I agree

The plastic wide belt loop area protects you somewhat while resheathing

The Spyderco is a nice knife but they really missed the mark on the sheath design




Like I said it’s relegated to a rod and reel and bowfishing knife now

 
JParanee said:
I guess we have no spear-fisherman or fisherman here :)
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I’m a pleasure Scuba Diver. Some Fishing too! For diving I prefer a leg mounted dive knife and I go with a cheap POS high Chromium knife cause I dropped one towards the end of a dive using it to tap on my tank to get the attention of my diver buddy to show her a large Morey Eel .. the knife fluttered away and down the shelf and my dive buddy was going low on air so I wanted to stay with her.. Nice Spidie, by the way!
 
Nice-looking knives!

That 4th photo looks to me like Mission Bay in San Diego.

Jim
 
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I see these ocean faring wanderers in my neighborhood but never venture out into those wretched shark, octopus, jellyfish and who knows what else, infested waters to find out what knife they’re using.
 
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A friend of mine asked me about dive knives and I suggested Spyderco. I don't dive and was unaware of Riff. I will pass along this
information and pics to him. I've only seen Nitro B on Italian knives and have a Fox Pathfinder. As usual your posts are
informative, thanks.
 
It’s been about 20 years since I’ve been diving and spear fishing. I had a Cresi Sub pneumatic gun and a couple of Akona knives. Dove the Gulf of Mexico for mostly flounder and snapper, 1 Amberjack and 1 Grouper.
 
shoegazer said:
A friend of mine asked me about dive knives and I suggested Spyderco. I don't dive and was unaware of Riff. I will pass along this
information and pics to him. I've only seen Nitro B on Italian knives and have a Fox Pathfinder. As usual your posts are
informative, thanks.
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I'm 99.9% sure that MAC knives out of Italy (owned by Boker, as is FOX) makes the Riffe knife. They make MOST dive knives in the market and private label them for dozens of small-time, niche spearfishing brands.

Some ppl request sheite 304 steel to keep prices low and others spend a bit more for quality. Riffe is using their best material, but the knife and sheath design is not my favorite .

Americans like big (4"+) spearfishing knives... But the rest of the world uses 3-3.5" blades and in my opinion, anything over 3.5" risks an accidental hand-stab while subduing your catch. 4"+ might be fine if you're only targeting 200# yellowtail, otherwise 3.5" is perfect and much safer on fish right down to 1#.

I use a 3.5" recurved blade of theirs in 4116 steel presently. It eliminates the "dagger" illegality I face traveling to some places, while still being a super useful fish "silencer", and also has other utility and geometry advantages that a triangular profiled dagger does not.

sub_9_2.jpg

Any knife with this shaped handle, the ubiquitous related plastic moulded sheath or a handle like the Riffe knife is made by MAC.

In my opinion and experience, the single best placement for a freedive knife is at 12:00 on your belt, so it can be reached with either hand.

This necessitates a sheath that has virtually no length of handle sticking up above the belt, so that it does not dig into your stomach when bending over, putting on fins, etc. No handle sticking up also reduces entanglement issues.

When I carry 2 knives (most times), they are on either side of my belt buckle.

If 3, then it goes at 6:00. I never wear a knife on my calf or arm and try not to wear one on either the 3:00 or 9:00 side of the belt.

The "Riffe" style of sheath leaves something to be desired in this regard. It works well for calf placement or hip placement, but as I said... Those are suboptimal locations and can even lead to increased risk of entanglement as well.

A symmetrical handle also better allows for ambidextrous use and if you're caught if some fishing line, netting or need to cut your shooting / reel line in a damn hurry, centreline knife placement and an ambidextrous handle is really the only option.

If Spyderco wants input on a design refinement, I'm available and very happy to discuss with @Sal Glesser

I know many ppl who would love a quality spearo knife, but the blade design and sheath system of the Spyderco just doesn't quite fit the bill. And yes, I get that it was a modification of the existing aqua salt design and had those constraints.

My little 3.5" knives with robust tips have taken down some large fish with insanely thick skulls.

I'd love a refined design in serrated H1 and have a design / idea for an amazing usable sheath that would be CHEAP and ideal for freedivers / spearfishernen.

Until then, the 9cm recurved MAC is the best compromise I've found through my years of spearfishing.
 
I can't imagine choosing anything but H1 (or LC200N) if you were on the water frequently. Rust and pitting that one time you were in a hurry and didn't clean up well would be a PITA. I understand the sheath dilemma though.

Really enjoyed your spearfishing vid Joe. :thumbsup: I had aspirations to get heavy into that years ago, but I figured being an hour from the coast would have been too much of a hassle. Here you go doing it from Pa!!
 
I have several ideas to improve upon these designs, but the first one will without question be to utilize a proper steel alloy with actual knife properties. Testing is already underway...;)
 
Matthew Gregory said:
I have several ideas to improve upon these designs, but the first one will without question be to utilize a proper steel alloy with actual knife properties. Testing is already underway...;)
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Awesome! Most spearo knives are 54-57 HRC.

Most spearos also NEVER sharpen their knife... Hence why pointy daggers (simple geometry) is so heavily relied upon.

We can do better!!
 
Those photos look very nice, but botophucket butchered them with low quality
 
Rhinoknives1 said:
I’m a pleasure Scuba Diver. Some Fishing too! For diving I prefer a leg mounted dive knife and I go with a cheap POS high Chromium knife cause I dropped one towards the end of a dive using it to tap on my tank to get the attention of my diver buddy to show her a large Morey Eel .. the knife fluttered away and down the shelf and my dive buddy was going low on air so I wanted to stay with her.. Nice Spidie, by the way!
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Thank you Laurence

My buddy has an old big chromium knife I gave him years ago and we drop it and as it flutters down it flashes and draws fish

One of these days we are gonna loose it :)
 
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