River Knives

There was a post on P.com on attaching a river knife to your PFD. I’ve had an NRS Pilot knife on my PFD for years – once you attach the clip the lash tab it is never coming off. To be honest, I’ve never been in a situation where I needed to use it for anything other than spreading peanut butter. The blade definitely rusts over time. When it gets too rusty I buy a new knife (cheap, so maybe you get what you pay for). They hadn’t changed the design in years, so the new knife still fit in the old clip. I knife I have is now in close-out, so I just bought one last knife

NRS Pilot River Knife

I never thought to actually try to cut rope with this knife until I saw this video. Just like in the video, it took 5-6 swipes to get through an old safety rope. I think the little cutting hook at the base of the blade made it harder to get through the rope. I had better luck with just the serrated section of the blade. On the newer version that hook is a lot smaller.

Just for kicks, I dug out my father’s old river knife – turns out it’s a Gerber Blackie Collins River Master. There are different versions of this knife, and all are rare and collectible. This is the version that I have. 

Gerber Blackie Collins
River Master Knife

With a longer blade and better serrations it usually cut through the rope on the first or second swipe. Leave it to my father – he always bought the good stuff. I’ve never used it as a river knife. It’s been in my kitchen kit for years. It still has a sharp factory edge, so I guess I’ll keep it there.