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Old 12-15-2022, 06:49 PM   #1
Bob Ballew
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Survval 101: Why 2 Knives is a Smart Move

...This week, a diver off the Big Island was attacked by a shark. Although seriously injured, he was able to pull his knife, stab the shark repeatedly and repel any further bites.
...Still, the shark took s sizeable chunk out of his torso, but, he survived. Had he been unable to reach his knife, the story might have resulted in a far different ending...The same week in Hawaii,, a female swimmer disappeared after a shark was seen nearby. Her dive mask and part of a swimsuit were recovered. A Tiger shark is the suspected species.
...After two confrontations with large sharks (a 16' Great White and a 9' Blue), I carry two knives; one on my right hip and one on my left calf. If I get hit on one side, I just may be able to retrieve a weapon on the other...I also carry a 68" speargun that shoots a 3/8' diameter five-foot long heat treated stainless shaft. It served me well when I had to spear the Blue at point-blank range...
...In this life, whether it is achieving wealth or, a long life, the key is in the preparation...

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Old 12-18-2022, 01:09 AM   #2
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Re: Survval 101: Why 2 Knives is a Smart Move

Thats some SCARY situations
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Old 12-18-2022, 11:07 PM   #3
asianspearo
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Re: Survval 101: Why 2 Knives is a Smart Move

Bob, I have never been in any situation that's even remotely similar to yours with the two sharks (knock on wood ), but I, too, carry 2 knives, pretty much the same way you carry yours, although sometimes, the shorter one rides on my left upper-arm. The reason for my wearing 2 knives has to do with 2 incidents that occurred in my native Vietnam, and which were related to me after the fact, the first by an eyewitness and the other, someone close to the victim's partners:
- The first incident happened in the early 70s, during a national spearfishing championship off of the remote island of Pulo Panjang (now, Tho Chau island). The victim, one of the participants, having speared a 10 lb. grouper, somehow got his leg tangled in the shaft line (back then, very few Vietnamese spearos used reel lines; float lines were unheard of), and the fish partially pulled him into a relatively shallow cave. Hours later, rescuers found his body at the entrance to the cave, still tangled, with one arm reaching out towards his (only) knife, which he must have dropped and was lying on the sea floor just out of his reach.
- The other incident was more recent, in the Summer of 2018, and I happened to be visiting the same spot where the incident had occurred just one week before that. The place was called Vinh Hy, in the central coast of VN, and where it had happened was off the cliff of the small archipelago, which dropped to ~ 60 ft. of water. The victim was a *lone commercial spearo who, having speared a ~ 90 lb. grouper, in a similar scenario, also became tangled in his own shaft-line and got stuck at the entrance of a cave. It is unclear if he even had a knife, but what is clear was, had he had one in his hand, he could have cut the line and freed himself, saving his own life.
Note: *Lone commercial spearo - The way most commercial spearfishermen in VN often operate is, several of them would pool money to hire a fishing boat. Once at the hunting ground, the boat would drop them off one by one, each at their (designated or preferred, according to their level of experience) spot. It would return at a pre-arranged time to pick them up. They usually carry their catch either attached to their weight belt or a home-made float towed behind them. Nowadays, most have guns with reels, but still very few care about floatlines. Just a matter of habit. AND, it is not unusual to see a VN spearo carrying no knife on their dives...
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Old 12-19-2022, 04:49 PM   #4
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Re: Survval 101: Why 2 Knives is a Smart Move

Heiho,

Those are really sad stories. I too carry two knives, one on my left forearm, the other on the inside of my right calf.

Since I frequently dive in and around kelp, entanglement is a constant hazard. Only once was I so entangled that I had to cut my way out to make it to the surface. I used the knife on my left forearm, but it was sure a comfort in that moment to know I had a backup available if needed. The knife saved my life.
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Old 12-19-2022, 06:30 PM   #5
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Re: Survval 101: Why 2 Knives is a Smart Move

Max, thank you for your input. My hope is more divers will listen to Bob's message (also ours). Diving is in itself a dangerous sport; add spearfishing, and it becomes even more so. We owe it to ourselves AND our families to not take any undue risk...
BTW, I love that line: "Neither fear nor foolhardiness."
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Old 12-20-2022, 11:37 AM   #6
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Re: Survval 101: Why 2 Knives is a Smart Move

...On a more humorous note, there was the time I only carried one knife and speared a 40 lb. sea bass off RPV. The fish did the usual wrap around kelp stalks on the bottom at 30 feet.. I dove and reached for my knife to cut the kelp. No knife....It had hung up on kelp and fallen out of the sheath.
...I had to use my teeth to chew thru four kelp stalks to free my fish. Over the years, I have found various lost knives on the bottom. Hopefully, none resulted in a lost life.
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Old 12-20-2022, 10:39 PM   #7
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Re: Survval 101: Why 2 Knives is a Smart Move

Quote:
Originally Posted by Bob Ballew View Post
...On a more humorous note, there was the time I only carried one knife and speared a 40 lb. sea bass off RPV. The fish did the usual wrap around kelp stalks on the bottom at 30 feet.. I dove and reached for my knife to cut the kelp. No knife....It had hung up on kelp and fallen out of the sheath.
...I had to use my teeth to chew thru four kelp stalks to free my fish. Over the years, I have found various lost knives on the bottom. Hopefully, none resulted in a lost life.
HaHaHaHa!!!!!!! Really? Why not just bend them sharply to snap them?
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Old 12-20-2022, 10:43 PM   #8
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Re: Survval 101: Why 2 Knives is a Smart Move

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Originally Posted by asianspearo View Post
Max, thank you for your input. My hope is more divers will listen to Bob's message (also ours). Diving is in itself a dangerous sport; add spearfishing, and it becomes even more so. We owe it to ourselves AND our families to not take any undue risk...
BTW, I love that line: "Neither fear nor foolhardiness."
Thanks. That's my philosophy on risk management. It applies especially well to diving.
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Old 12-22-2022, 01:23 PM   #9
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Re: Survval 101: Why 2 Knives is a Smart Move

As a SCUBA diver, over the past 50 years, I have gathered quite the collection of knives, that have been lost by many unfortunate divers ...
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Old 12-26-2022, 02:43 PM   #10
asianspearo
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Re: Survval 101: Why 2 Knives is a Smart Move

"I had to use my teeth to chew thru four kelp stalks to free my fish."
One more reason why I need that extra knife: my teeth would be useless in that kind of situation!
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