Rescue Knives: new tools for saving lives

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.

Add comment April 2nd, 2007

Gerber Hinderer rescue knife

Gerber Legendary Blades has developed a new fire/rescue folding knife. The Hinderer is made by knifesmith, and trained fireman, Rick Hinderer. Here is his knife, shown with the Hobbit Hole’s standard, the Camillus Rescue Heat.

The knife is very solid, with sturdy stainless steel liners. The rectangular hole on the clip side is a wrench that fits the standard firefighter’s air tank valve. The heavy “tail” is a lanyard hole, and glass breaker.

With the blades open, we see more details of both knives. The Gerber has a blunt tip, while the Camillus tip is fashioned into a screwdriver. The small button on the side of the Gerber is the release that allows the blade to be closed. The Camillus is assisted-opening, while Gerber has a large thumb stud on each side for opening.

The left side of the knife also has a swing-out seatbelt cutter.

The knife comes in a nylon pouch that attaches easily to MOLLE gear. It also has an extra pocket that holds a L-shaped handle, adapter, and some assorted tool bits.

My review

As with all Gerber products, the quality is first rate, and nothing can be faulted there. I have a minor quibble about the add-on tool set. The tool bits don’t add anything to help rescue people. They’re just small parts that can get lost, and add cost to the knife.

Cost is my biggest concern about this knife. It would cost us considerably more to supply this knife to the troops than what the Camillus Rescue costs. The swing-out seatbelt cutter is nice, but I don’t think it will work well with military harness. The concave curve of the Camillus blade tends to gather the material and keep it in contact with the blade, and seems to work well with a pulling movement.

The Gerber Hinderer is a fine knife, and will do its specialized job well. However, we will continue to supply the Camillus Rescue as our standard emergency knife.

If you do rescue work, or especially if you’re a firefighter who works with air tanks, the Gerber is a great item. Our evaluation model will go to the first person who asks for it. All we request is you be honest, so this knife can go to a trained firefighter who needs something with an air tank wrench. For medics, combat lifesavers, aircrew, and vehicle drivers, the Camillus Rescue is still there to get you out of a tight spot.

2 comments May 6th, 2006

Announcing: The Brand-New 2005 CRKT Ultima!

The Columbia River Knife and Tool Ultima is a new concept in fighting knives. The handle was designed by orthopedic specialists in an attempt to redesign knife handles, which have been basically unchanged for about 5000 years now.

That sounded intersting to me, and the troops that visit the Hobbit Hole. I put my order in on February 3, 2005, and waited.

And waited, and waited, and waited.

The knife finally arrived in late March, 2006, slightly over a year after I ordered it. Was it worth it? We’ll answer that at the end of this article.

First, the Ultima comes with either a 5 or 7-inch blade, serrated or plain. The sheath, with a hard liner for safety, is a definite winner, with easy attachment to any MOLLE gear. Here they are, with the Camillus BK2 Campanion as a comparison.

The next picture shows the blades themselves. The high-tech handle design is apparent. The handles have “sipes” like tire treads, and the grip is very secure and comfortable, even though it’s a hard plastic. The blade is a modified tanto style with the top edge thinned down to almost a false edge. This makes for a very light blade, with most of the knife’s weight in the handle.

Here’s a better view of how the knife and handle are built:

The thought and ingenious design work that went into this knife is apparent. If you need a fighting knife, this one would be a “keeper”.

If you need a knife for utility work, survival in the wilderness, and general cutting chores, there are better choices. In fact, the blade design, in my opinion, disqualifies the knife from anything but knife-fighting. Even the “shark tooth” serrations are large and jagged, making cutting rope or paracord difficult. They would do a good job in opening up an enemy.

About the only token of utility is the butt, which has a “beak” for breaking glass, or prying things open:

Despite the negatives from my point of view, let me say again that the design and workmanship is great, for the knife’s intended purpose. If they ever offer a model in the future with more of a utility/survival blade, the could quickly become a favorite of mine. But if you want a “pure” fighting knife, the CRKT Ultima will do the job nicely.

As things stand now, we have four sample knives, two large, two small, with and without serrations. We have no plans to buy more unless there’s overwhelming demand. So the first request from a servicemember gets first pick, until all four are gone. If you really really want this, despite the limitations of the design that I pointed out, just ask. We are here to help to serve the American military that serves us. Thank you.

3 comments April 5th, 2006

Big News from Camillus

It’s been a while since I’ve written anything, but that’s because I’ve been busy with processing all the requests. Please forgive me when I say we’re still behind, and probably getting “behinder”.

But that does not detract from this fantastic new knife from Camillus: the 18-Xray tactical switchblade. My photography skills just don’t do the knife justice, so I’m using the Camillus publicity photos, which I’ve had for over six months, but was sworn to secrecy.

Now I have to inject some harsh reality after tantalizing you with pictures of this fantastic knife.

First, being a for-real switchblade, federal regulations prohibit me from shipping these in interstate commerce to anyone except active-duty police and military.

Second, the active-duty person must provide me a signed statement that he or she is active duty, and is authorized to carry this knife in performance of those duties.

Third, this switchblade can only be shipped within the continental US. Anything going to an APO has a customs declaration on it. The post office, Customs, and the military mail system would all have a cow if they saw this, since this would be a prohibited item. If you’re heading overseas, you’ll have to carry this over in your luggage. And have a copy of that letter from your commanding officer when the MPs spot you.

Finally, the toughest hurdle of all: money. Good switchblades aren’t cheap, and this is one of the best. It has a MSRP of $269, which is in line with the other quality switchblades (some in the federal supply system) out there.

We get a substantial discount from Camillus, as we do on all their other fine products. But this will be the most costly item we’ve ever offered.

So if you can jump through the other hoops, we ask for a small donation to help defray our costs.

If you’re really serious about getting this high-tech Hobbit Hole switchblade, contact me, and I’ll fill you in on the details. There are things we both have to do to make this transaction legal, and keep the Hobbit Hole afloat financially. And you’ll have a tactical switchblade with the same I’d-bet-MY-life-on-it quality as our other knives.

4 comments April 2nd, 2006

new CRKT “desert” hissatsu

Another evaluation knife we just got in is the Columbia Rive Knife and Tool (CRKT) “desert hissatsu”. A hissatsu is a specialized form of Japanese tanto, the all-purpose knife of the samurai. Here it is, next to the Camillus BK2:

The hissatsu is strictly a combat knife, although it looks like it would make a quick job out of opening a stubborn MRE pouch. The blade is long, thin, and pointed, with plenty of sweep. That allows for impressive slashing and penetrating capability. The traditional tanto has a wider, less-swept blade with a chisel point for piercing armor.

As you can see from the picture, the CRKT desert hissatsu comes with a hard plastic sheath, and a belt adapter that can be attached in many different ways, to a belt. It leaves something to be desired when trying to hang it on MOLLE gear.

The Blackwater MOLLE adapter comes to the rescue again, as it did for the CRKT “First Strike”. With the generous amount of velcro tape provided, it allows the sheath to be mounted on MOLLE equipment.

The soft plastic handle provides a secure grip, and the flared front of the handle provides sufficient security for the knife’s intended use.

This is a very specialized combat knife, but if you feel that it’s just what you’ve been looking for, just ask. As with all our evaluation items, it goes to the first troop that asks.

2 comments December 27th, 2005

(More) Goodies from Gerber

The Hobbit Hole is pleased to announce, due to the generous support from Gerber Legendary Blades, more products from the Gerber lineup. These will be given to any servicemember who requests one.

The first item is another one of those taxpayer-supplied goodies that you can never get through the federal (non)supply system. It’s the very nice, and handy, Gerber 600 Multitool, model 5770. It is available with either standard jaws and tools, or cap-crimper jaws, and C4 punch. A black ballistic nylon belt pouch is included.

The next Gerber Goodie is the military model of their Recon multi-color flashlight. It uses a single AA battery, and features a rotating color filter that provides white light at full illumination, and red, green, and blue lights at reduced levels.

The light is made of aluminum, and is quite solid. Waterproofing on the “M” model has been improved with a second O-ring under the tail cap, and better sealing of the rotating filter ring. It’s now even more water-resistant, but is not a diving light. There’s a pocket clip, and a hole in the tail cap for a lanyard.

This light has several uses. Sometimes, only white light will do, when color recognition at night is needed. The red light preserves night vision the best, while the human eye is most sensitive to the green light. The blue light was included at the request of Navy SEALS. It’s known as a “blood light”, and its purpose is to differentiate between mud and blood at night. We hope nobody will ever need the blue light.

And as a small tidbit of information, current Gerber LMF IIs are coming in a plastic clam pack, rather than the usual cardboard box. This requires me to risk life and limb (I almost had the first knife slide into my lap) while cutting them out of their plastic armored packaging. I have to remove the knives from the packaging so they will fit in our heavy-duty mailing boxes. Everything is there, including the informative cardboard display. Future Gerber LMFs may come in either a box, or the clam pack.

These pocket tools and lights are now part of the regular Hobbit Hole inventory, although we presently have only a small supply until we get a better feel for the demand. As with the rest of the Hobbit Hole “product line”, ask, and we will do our very best to get it to you.

6 comments December 9th, 2005

Kershaw E.T.

This is an item I just couldn’t pass up for review. It has that mixture of ingenious design, impressive craftsmanship, and just plain weirdness. It’s a pocket knife by Kershaw called the E.T. (External Toggle), shown here with a Camillus 904S for comparison. It won the Blade Magazine award for “most innovative American pocket knife” for 2005.

The knife is opened and closed by pressing down on a small ball at the end of the stainless steel toggle/pocket clip. It actually takes two hands to open or close the knife, since you have to hold on at the grooved area while “snapping” the toggle handle. You can get a better idea of how it works in this picture, which shows the blade at the halfway point.

Even after several dozen attempts, I could open the knife fully on the first try only about 50% of the time. The blade ran out of momentum at the halfway point. I’m sure there’s more of a trick to getting it to work, I just haven’t found it yet.

The craftsmanship is superb, and the ingenuity is amazing. But I have to rate the practicality as low. The knife does make an interesting collectible, and can be quite a conversation piece as you challenge others to figure out how it works. I have a few other pocket knives in my collection that look deceptively simple, but are not easily mastered unless you know the trick.

This knife is not simple in its construction, since I counted over 30 components to the knife, including pivots, rivets, screws, springs, and Nylock nuts, in addition to the blade and toggle mechanism.

As with other gadgets here at the Hobbit Hole, this knife goes to the first Soldier or Marine that expresses an interest in a knife that’s unique and collectible, even if not very practical.

2 comments November 26th, 2005

Magic NSNs

While taking a break from mailing out knives, and reviewing new gadgets, I thought I’d share a deep, dark secret:

The United States government, through the generosity of the American taxpayer, carries in its military supply system some of the very same items we give away. If you’re serving in the military, all you need is the number, an understanding supply NCO, and some (or a lot of) luck.

Here are the NSNs (NATO Stock Numbers) of some of the most popular items we’re giving away. In this case, they’re already bought and paid for by the taxpayer.

Camillus CQB1SG: 1095-01-493-1793
Camillus Bk2SG: 1095-01-493-1798
Camillus Bk3SG: 1095-01-493-1802
ATC LaGana improved Vietnam Tomahawk: 4210-01-518-7244

“Blizzard” survival blanket: 6532-01-524-6932
large “Israeli” one-hand bandage: 6510-01-515-7528
small “Israeli” one-hand bandage: 6510-01-460-0849

In the case of the tomahawk, it’s supposed to be part of the standard breaching kit, too.

Of course, none of the government-supplied items have the Hobbit Hole logo on them. That’s one reason we put the logo on, so someone can tell which were donated by the taxpayer, and which came from the generous folks at the Hobbit Hole. You won’t have to turn in your personal Hobbit Hole blade.

If you can score one of these items through the supply system, more power to ya. Meanwhile, we’ll do the best we can to supply our troops with these important items.

Add comment November 26th, 2005

Hobbit Hole skunk works, part 1

This is the first edition of a new series of articles at the Hobbit Hole. Mainly, it consists of neat stuff that troops can use, but which we only bought limited numbers of.

In this case, it’s the Conneticut River Knife and Tool “Falcon”, designed by custom knifemaker Pat Crawford. It’s a high-quality linerlock, and when I was able to buy it online for 60% off, I had to jump on the offer. I just can’t let bargains for our troops go away without snagging at least a few. We have three and only three to give away, so the first three requests get the knife.

Here it is, with our standard Camillus 904S folding knife as a comparison:

It’s a large, sturdy folding knife, with a blade of AUS6M steel. Above the pocket clip is a special “safety” that can be engaged to prevent the liner lock from being disengaged while the blade is open. Overall, a very nice knife.

Keep watching for further installments of the Hobbit Hole “skunk works” for one (or three) -of-a-kind special items.

4 comments November 15th, 2005

LaGana modernized “Vietnam” tomahawk

Due to stupendous luck on my part, the Hobbit Hole got a great price on a very limited edition item: the American Tomahawk Co. Tony LaGana Vietnam tactical tomahawk. This is a modern version of a handy little tool used in Vietnam. It has a chopping edge like a regular hatchet, a hooking edge, and a spike.

This “tool” has been improved with a new idestructible nylon handle that is permanently attached to the head, and a nifty new safety sheath. The sheath has a hard plastic liner for safer carrying, and can attach to MOLLE gear, a belt, or even a rifle sling. And our tomahawks have the Hobbit Hole logo on them.

One change I made was to hot-glue some black foam plastic (Sears tooltray liner) onto the hard plastic protector to muffle the sound of steel ratling against plastic. We at the Hobbit Hole do our part to fight battle rattle.

Now for the most important part:

If you feel you qualify, tell us your story. If we’re convinced, the tomahawk is yours. We can’t give this tomahawk away along with a Hobbit Hole knife, so please don’t ask for a knife to go along with it. We’ll be honored to present this tomahawk to the first five Marines or Soldiers who make a good case for it.

3 comments November 13th, 2005