A question about knifes. Could use some help.

I use a scalpel if I need to shank a patient.
 
This topic now has my attention.
 
Ha, if I carry a knife around a psych patient, I'm done. If they get a hold of that knife life would be over.
 
Exactly the reason I am not a fan of EMS carrying knives. If there isn't a weapon on-scene already there is one now.
 
Don't think there's a situation where you couldn't use shears in place of a knife. Using a pointed knife to cut a seatbelt is just waiting for bad to happen.
 
18G said:
Exactly the reason I am not a fan of EMS carrying knives. If there isn't a weapon on-scene already there is one now.
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There is ALWAYS a weapon on scene. Take a look around you right now, what could you use as a blunt weapon? What could you use as a penetrating weapon? Be creative.
 
Hahaha, to shank a patient hahaha. It's more for off duty then it really would be used on duty. I still prefer a knife on me than not. I have realized that all knifes I have found have been over but one. I was kinda hoping for a better idea. I do appreciate the help.
 
feldy said:
I just carry a leatherman juice (smaller one) and my trauma shears will take care of the seatbelt
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I carry the Leatherman Kick everyday off duty, great little MT. the blade is 2.6 inches according to the website. little bigger then whats legal, that might jam you up sometime.
on my duty belt I have a Leatherman Surge, the Surge is a full size MT. it's heavy, but it has many tools built in.
I bought the Surge first thinking it will be my daily carry. Wrong, it was too heavy for casual wear. I found myself not having a MT when I needed one. So I got the ligher, smaller Kick.
When I'm doing my EMT gig. the Kick, LED flashlight is on my belt and penlight and trauma shears in the leg pocket.

Although the tools do not lock in the Kick, it does have several screwdriver bits that will work great for auto glass. or use the pliers point.

the Bigger Surge is a wonderful tool to get rusted license plates off of cars.

the knife blads are not ment for heavy duty prying, made for cuting. use the proper tool and think ahead when using MT's.

www.multitool.com is a wonderful resourse to discuss these EDC tools.

EDIT: check out Ebay for LM's PST MT. the PST is the first LM tool. small, light. and it might have a blade lengh you can live with.
 
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adamjh3 said:
There is ALWAYS a weapon on scene. Take a look around you right now, what could you use as a blunt weapon? What could you use as a penetrating weapon? Be creative.
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You make a good point of which I am aware and I think others are aware too. It's one thing to have a patient throw a book, lamp, etc. at you and another for a patient to grab the knife on your belt while your turned around, bent over, and preoccupied and end up with a blade stuck in ya.

If it's not necessary to have a knife involved in a situation than why have it there? That's my point.
 
18G said:
You make a good point of which I am aware and I think others are aware too. It's one thing to have a patient throw a book, lamp, etc. at you and another for a patient to grab the knife on your belt while your turned around, bent over, and preoccupied and end up with a blade stuck in ya.

If it's not necessary to have a knife involved in a situation than why have it there? That's my point.
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Glad to know, just giving something for the less... situationally aware to think about.
 
So size does matter? Oi vey, so confused!

Anyways, to reiterate...in all my urban, rural, arctic, tropical, war zone, natural disaster work, I have never needed a knife. Shears did fine as well as other tools on the truck.

Now I did carry a knife in some of those situations, but I never needed one. The scenarios where I carried were more for survival purposes than everyday use, city environment needs.

In regards to window punch, they should be on the truck next to the ring cutter...very rarely needed but stored away in case. A flashlight works better and as any extrication class will teach you, every car has a window punch...it is called an antenna. They snap right off and shatter a windshield perfectly.
 
akflightmedic said:
In regards to window punch, they should be on the truck next to the ring cutter...very rarely needed but stored away in case. A flashlight works better and as any extrication class will teach you, every car has a window punch...it is called an antenna. They snap right off and shatter a windshield perfectly.
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Just to be difficult...No, not every car has an antenna. Not one that you can snap off, anyway. Retractable ones might be too difficult to pull out, and the antenna in some cars is a wire embedded in the windshield or backlight.
 
I hear ya, but to counter that,I did say one on the truck is fine if you do not have a flashlight and second, I can count on one hand the number of times I had to break a window in 18 years of doing this...individual experiences will vary, but just giving a perspective.

Those times I had to do it were not immediate life threatening situations...
 
JJR512 said:
It amuses me that you'd make a grammatical error to point out a spelling error; in other words, that in your haste to point out the spelling error, you failed to use a complete sentence to do so. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muphry's_law
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Grammar =/= spelling. One grammar "mistake" =/= misspelling a word multiple times.




But technically, so did you. Ironic, no?
 
i find it amazing that people work in this field and havent had a use for a cutting tool almost every day. I use a simple 5 dollar 4 in folder multiple times a day, I use it when im working around the station constantly. today i used it to cut a hole in a screen door to gain access to a patient, a scissor wouldnt have worked in that situation.

As far chicago goes, you will be hard pressed to find anything smaller then 3in. i dont know what the EMS-PD relationship is like in Chicagoland area but no cop around here would bust us for that.
 
I find it amazing that people "find" uses for a knife every day in this field. I have worked many high volume services and simply have not needed a knife on the calls.

Actually while working EMS in an ambulance, I have never carried a knife and never found myself saying I wish I had one.

My knife carrying days was in the Arctic, the Philippines, post Katrina and Rita and even then I simply do not recall any extraordinary event that required me to use it.

I am saying there will never be a time, no...but statistically, the odds are exceptionally low/rare that you will ever need one. And I do not know why scissors would not work on a screen...puncture then cut or open scissors and slit then cut but I was not there and I am not trying to justify knife use either.
 
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