Rescue Knives: new tools for saving lives

April 2nd, 2007

While The Hobbit Hole has had to suspend its knife donation program, I still have been buying the “odd” knife here and there for evaluation purposes. A flood of new designs in rescue knives has just hit the market, and there are now enough interesting items to evaluate, and give away.

First, we’ll look at some products by Benchmade Knives. Among their high-class products are a line of seatbelt cutters that range from the simple to the ingenious. First, the simpler models:

You wrap your finger through the hole, and rest your thumb on the ridges. The hooked area is very sharp, and allows you to slice through seat-belt type straps with ease. The Rescue Hook can be carried in a nylon sheath with belt loop, or in a hard plastic scabbard with a neck cord. Added features include a wrench for medical oxygen tanks, and a bottle opener as part of the finger ring.

A little further up in the Benchmade product line is the “big” Rescue Hook, and the ERT1.

The “big” hook allows a firmer grip, and a bit longer reach, which might be important in some situations. It comes with a Foliage Green sheath that can attach to a belt or MOLLE gear. The ERT1 is actually a folding rescue hook built more like a pocket knife, with a pocket clip on the reverse side. The black cap on the bottom is a spring-loaded glass breaker. Pushing down with the body of the knife cocks and fires a spring-loaded punch that can shatter tempered safety glass, which is found in the side and rear windows of cars.

The ERT1 also has a small LED flashlight that is aimed at the cutting hook, to help out in the dark.

The ERT1 has some very nice features for a rescue knife, but the bright yellow color is not very “tactical”, so it should be carried inside a pocket or pouch unless needed.

Next are a couple of more conventional knives, but with features needed for rescue work. At the top is the Boker rescue, and the bottom, the Victorinox “Rescue Tool”, with its bright red belt pouch.

The Boker rescue has a blunt tip, and recessed serrations for cutting seatbelts. It also has a cutter hook, although it might be a bit narrow to accept some kinds of webbing. The butt has a glass-breaker tip, and there’s a pocket clip on the reverse side. The Victorinox has a specialized seatbelt cutter blade, plus other special features.

The Victorinox features glow-in-the-dark yellow handles (again, not very tactical, but definitely handy at times), along with a glass punch. There’s a regular blade, and a special saw blade for cutting (but not breaking) laminated safety plate glass. There are also a screwdriver and an awl blade. The knife seems well-equipped to cut belts and handle many kinds of glass.

Moving on, we come to two more specialized, and larger, folding knives. The top “knife”, isn’t really a knife at all, but rather a jumbo cutting hook. It’s the Imax Tool 911. Below it is a true collector’s item, a Camillus CUDA3 Rescue. The product line was discontinued almost three years ago, but it’s still a fine rescue knife. It’s a shame it’s not made any more, although the Camillus Rescue Heat, the current Hobbit Hole standard, does a fine job, too.

The 911 is a real handful, and has a seriously large glass breaker on one end. The hooked blade is quite wide, and will not only accommodate seatbelts and harnesses, but smaller body parts, too. Caution is advised when cutting. The Camillus CUDA3 has both a serrated blade, and a well-protected hook. It has a one-handed opening mechanism, and is sturdy enough for almost any kind of rescue work.

Our final rescue knife is the CRKT (Columbia River Knife and Tool) MAK-1 (Multiple Access Knife). This sheath knife is a smaller version of the tried and tested Camillus BK3 TacTool. It’s primarily a very heavy pry bar with some sharp edges for cutting. The butt has a glass-breaer point, and notches for removing glass from window frames. Another notch assists in disconnecting car batteries. The knife doesn’t have a seatbelt-cutter, but there’s a cutter much like the Benchmade rescue tool in an accessory pouch. The MAK-1 is shown alongside a Camillus 904S, our standard Hobbit Hole pocket knife. As you can see, it’s not a large knife, but the blade is quite heavy, and just made for prying.

This is a very well-thought-out knife, designed by a firefighter for firefighters. That explains the non-tactical orange lanyards with reflective thread in them. That can be easily replaced with regular 550 paracord. There is also a white reflective patch on the accessory flap, but that can be removed, and stored under the flap using the generous amount of Velcro on the accessory pocket.

While the Hobbit Hole can no longer offer our usual knives to troops that request them, I’ve accumulated enough of these different rescue knives to offer them to anyone who requests one. To avoid disappointment, please supply a first and second choice in rescue blade.

Just remember, there’s only one knife of each kind, and it’s first-come-first-served. I also ask you to consider that these tools are best used by medics and rescue personnel, and refrain from requesting one if you don’t genuinely need it. Thank you.

Entry Filed under: Troop support, Hobbit Hole Knives, Troop Tech, Hobbit Hole Skunk Works