A question about knifes. Could use some help.

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DPhoenixA

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I am looking to get a knife for emt/paramedic, but I need it to be between 2.5 and 3 inches also with a seatbelt cutter and a glass puncher. I am wondering if you guys know of any knifes that have a blade between 2.5 to 3 inches long?
 
That is awesome, but sadly I need it to be 2.5 inches to 3 inches. It is illegal to carry a knife on you in the chicagoland area to be greater than 3 inches and in chicago it is illegal to be longer than 2.5 inches. So I really need help finding a good knife in that ball park of 2.5 to 3 inches.
 
DPhoenixA said:
That is awesome, but sadly I need it to be 2.5 inches to 3 inches. It is illegal to carry a knife on you in the chicagoland area to be greater than 3 inches and in chicago it is illegal to be longer than 2.5 inches. So I really need help finding a good knife in that ball park of 2.5 to 3 inches.
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So you don't mind being illegal in Chicago? If you are in Chicago sounds like it needs to be less than 2.5" . Also on duty there may be some exceptions to size and styles allowed.

Might look at http://www.sportsmansguide.com/net/browse/browse.aspx?c=7&k=knife
 
I just carry a leatherman juice (smaller one) and my trauma shears will take care of the seatbelt
 
Im not a real big fan of carrying knives on-duty personally. Although the Glass Master knives are pretty cool and decent quality for personal use off duty.
 
So no one has any idea for a good knife. I dislike multi-tools I can't explain it I just don't like them so the leatherman juice is out. I was kinda hoping someone here can help more so. I wish the fire department made one around 2.5 to 3. All of theirs is 3.25 or up. It's really lame.
 
It's crazy, but we have this thing in one of our compartments on the ambulance: a tool box. I carry a pair of trauma shears on me for cutting things, and then I use the stuff in the tool box for whatever else. Screwdriver, hammer, window punch...all in there.

I used to carry a leatherman and used the pliers for opening the oxygen cylinder and then I learned how much less destructive it is to use the oxygen key for that task.

It's been liberating, walking around with only my spare pair of gloves, my check card, my scissors and a pen in my pockets. Easier to go to the bathroom, too, without a bat-belt to cause awkwardness.

:)
 
That's not the point a good knife would be light weight anyways. I am just looking for a knife that is suitable for my area and I figured you guys could help with this. But thanks for the tool box help I am sure I would of never realized that. Not in a Million years. :)
 
Too bad about the blade length, otherwise the obvious choice is the Gerber Hinderer: http://www.thefirestore.com/catalog..._Firefighter_Rescue_Knife_Serrated_Blade-2489

Its blade is 3.5". However, the serrated portion is less than that by at least a half inch, and the remainder of the blade is not sharpened. To reiterate: the smooth portion of the blade is deliberately dull, as dull as the back of a butter knife. So maybe that knife can slide by on a technicality, who knows...
 
This I carry all the time, on duty and off duty. I like it on duty because those pesky bags of beef jerky get aggresive sometimes, and need to get cut.

Any cutting that occurs near a patient is done with trauma shears, those "rescue" knives are a gimmick. If you HAVE to carry something, get a decent window punch, and a good flashlight.
 
DPhoenixA said:
That's not the point a good knife would be light weight anyways. I am just looking for a knife that is suitable for my area and I figured you guys could help with this. But thanks for the tool box help I am sure I would of never realized that. Not in a Million years. :)
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But what would you use it for? I come from a background of rednecks. I carried a knife when I was a kid. I realized that there is nothing I need to acheive with a knife that I can't do more safely with a pair of trauma shears. And then there's the added benefit that I don't have as much of a potential weapon on my person.

I learned this lesson very very well when I had a psych patient who was having auditory hallucinations telling him to kill all the people, and visual hallucinations of angels cheering him on...in a split second, he grabbed my partner's knife off of his belt and had it open in his hand. We took him down, and got the knife away, but learned a really valuable lesson.

Just sayin. Sorry to be snarky, but sometimes the bat-belt is so temptingly cool that it clouds our judgment.
 
JJR512 said:
Too bad about the blade length, otherwise the obvious choice is the Gerber Hinderer: http://www.thefirestore.com/catalog..._Firefighter_Rescue_Knife_Serrated_Blade-2489

Its blade is 3.5". However, the serrated portion is less than that by at least a half inch, and the remainder of the blade is not sharpened. To reiterate: the smooth portion of the blade is deliberately dull, as dull as the back of a butter knife. So maybe that knife can slide by on a technicality, who knows...
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Bad choice. Very soft steel for the money you'd be putting down. Also a well sharpened straight edge knife will cut everything a serrated knife will and then some. Serrations are also difficult to maintain, but I suppose this is all just my opinion.
 
adamjh3 said:
Bad choice. Very soft steel for the money you'd be putting down. Also a well sharpened straight edge knife will cut everything a serrated knife will and then some. Serrations are also difficult to maintain, but I suppose this is all just my opinion.
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The OP could probably find a very good simple straight-edge knife within his size limitations very easily, but he's not looking for a simple knife. It sounds to me like he's looking for a rescue knife, and that's what the Hinderer is. Its point isn't to cut everything something else can cut and then some. This is a very specific-purpose knife. If I need some serious straight-edge cutting power, well I have something in my boot to handle that (and it definitely wouldn't fit in to the OP's size restriction, either).
 
DPhoenixA said:
So no one has any idea for a good knife. I dislike multi-tools I can't explain it I just don't like them so the leatherman juice is out. I was kinda hoping someone here can help more so. I wish the fire department made one around 2.5 to 3. All of theirs is 3.25 or up. It's really lame.
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Unfortunately it looks like all knifes are above your requirement. I normally get supply from boundtree and they do not have anything below 3 inch
 
Do you think PD will be asking to see your knife to measure the length on scene? Which is when it'll be used...right? I don't think a half an inch is going to get you thrown in jail on scene.

Honestly, I've never seen the need for a knife on scene. Shears from the rig or your pants pocket can cut through most you need and with more control and less chance of cutting yourself, the patient, or someone standing around you.

If you HAVE to have a window punch, get a small hand held one that can go on your keychain.
 
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