Posted on 03/14/2012 7:02:14 PM PDT by marktwain
Gilbert, AZ --(Ammoland.com)- Quick thinking and a one-hand opening knife saved a construction worker recently, as posted by “Seth” on BladeForums.com. Below is his post (edited for readability)
“I work in construction, mostly in copper fabrication and seamless gutters, but also a bit of everything. Last Friday, I was helping a co-worker do some roofing, We were installing Permaclad sheets, a very typical roof setup here, galvanized 26 guage steel sheets with a U-panel design. The roof was somewhat steep, but it was dry and we had decent traction. The sheets were 18 feet long x 3 feet wide.I was about 14 feet up from the edge, marking out screw lines, when someone on the other side of the house sprayed water over the roof. Nobody will admit to it, but a wet Permaclad sheet can be like ice.
This house was built backing a gully, and from the front of the house, only 10 feet to the roof. On the back of the house where I was, it is about 35 feet drop to the ground. I started to slip, couldn’t get up to the ridgecap, and nothing behind me to stop me.
Luckily, I remembered my 551 Grip (Benchmade Griptilian one-hand opening folder), yanked it out of my pocket, flicked it open and I slammed it as hard as I could into the (steel) sheet. The blade went through right to the thumb stud, and it held my weight. I spent about 2 minutes trying to remember how to breathe (well, maybe 20 seconds, but it seemed like forever) and my heart was beating like mad. When I looked behind me, I only had about 4 feet of panel before a long fall.
Thank God for having a good knife in my pocket. My only other tool was a 18v cordless drill for driving home, no harness, stupidly, as usually it becomes more of a nuisance due to lack of anchoring points on the roof. All I kept thinking was, ‘thank God for a strong knife.’”
If you have a story of a life saved by a knife, please share it with us at Knife Rights. Carry a Knife – Save a Life is a Knife Rights inititive to emphasize the value of carrying a knife every day for those unexpected instances when it can literally mean the difference between life and death.
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Read more at Ammoland.com: http://www.ammoland.com/2012/03/14/carry-a-knife-save-a-life/#ixzz1p99mURDL
Knives are arms protected by the Constitution.
I carry 2 multi tools with me. One is a small one on my keychain and the other is full sized and stays in my glove box.
I carry one clipped to the bib of my chest waders.
If I slip in the river, I want to be able to rip those waders open from the inside in no time flat.
knife Shrade SG7
flashlight coleman Max
Lighter
P38
spoon
1911 .45
I am ready for what ever life dishes out.
Why a spoon and not a spork?
Nope, I no longer travel to states that have restrictive knife or CCW laws. Not even for business. Sates that have CCW reciprocity with Colorado will get business. Others won’t.
That’s real smart!
never fished with waders but did some beaver trapping; had a knife somewhere but not that convenient.
The clips are kind of a new thing for an old guy...
I always carry a Leatherman Skeletool (has an outside accessable blade,) a SOG Twitch II (assisted opening knife,) and a Victorinox Classic SD.
I’ve been carrying a Leatherman Wave for more than a decade. Never had any trouble, even in Stalinois.
Leatherman is a heavy democRAT supporter. I wuld never buy their ommie crap.
I’ve carried a knife for about 50 years, since I was a boy. Never once used it as a weapon, but I keep it sharp. Just in case.
And that’s why smart people wear fall protection when doing roofing work.
Love them Benchmade knives. And CRKT. I have a number of assisted openers... I suppose by now I’m officially a “collector”.
My daily carry knife is a CRKT Fire Spark AO. My spare in my briefcase is a Benchmade Carson drop-point AO.
The jewel of the collection is a magnificent Benchmade Gold Class, damascus folder with a pure white mammoth ivory grip. It’s breathtaking. :-). But that one lives in the gun safe.
Wat back when the kids were still young we went fishing down at Port Aransas. We were in the boat near the end of the jetties ,anchored off with a bow line and maybe 75 feet of line.We were fishing for sheephead near the rocks so I dropped a stern anchor to keep us in one spot, just straight down. A coast gaurd cutter came through, kinda close pushing a helluva wake. The first wave hit and I realized the anchor was hung up and water came over the stern, the second wave was much larger , I had my knife laying out I was using for cutting bait. It was sharp. I used it to cut the anchor line before the wave hit saving us from being swamped and sunk. Since then I always keep an open ready knife anytime I am boating.
Not a knife story but a friend was at the fuel dock
on the lower mississippi when a tanker came up river
The bow wave sucked all the water away from the dock
his 24 foot boat went under the dock and then the water
came back up , crushed the top and console. he was lucky
to be in the cockpit. A real nightmare.
I carry an Emerson, and spend my time away from FR over at Bladeforums.com, happiness is a quality knife.
Much of they energy for the pending knife legislation in Georgia is coming from Bladeforums,in support of Blade Magazine’s annual “Blade Show” in Atlanta, right after Memorial Day. Many of the attendees have had issues navigating the patchwork of local ordinances down there.
You know, most people have no idea just how dangerous boating can be, you can go from silent night to jiffy pop in about three seconds. I see so many stupid people out on the water some days, overloading, people riding on the bow, crap like that. Every time I read about a water tragedy, drowning, whatever, it reminds me just how unforgiving the water can be.
Currently carry a 3” Buck lock-back. Very light weight, very good quality blade, very sharp. Use a diamond stone first then follow with a crock stick. If I have the time I finish with a jeweler’s hard Arkansas stone.
Am 64 now, past being dangerous. Would still like to own a Kukri. Think they are beautiful blades.
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