hook knife

[Yossarian 0]

has anyone here had to use a hook knife? and why students aren't allowed to wear them? we were told a story about a student whos reserve prematured in the door and wrapped round the tail, they immediatly chopped (didnt do anything obviously) then whacked out the hook knife and cut themselves loose before falling away, obviously not alot happened when they tried to deploy the main, how much of that is true however i have no idea...

[mdrejhon 8]

I think I read one unfortunate incident from one source, then heard about this from another. It's a pretty sad sounding story.

Ouch. Just goes to know which parachute is over your head first before using a hook knife.

[TomAiello 26]

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has anyone here had to use a hook knife?

I have. Video is here.

I think my case was extremely rare, but had I not had the knife, I'm certain I would not have walked away from the landing. Maybe hopped away, but I've certainly have ended up with at least a broken ankle.

I recommend searching for Hooknswoop's posts about his attempts to test hook knife use with a line over on a skydiving canopy. As I recall, despite his level of experience (extensive) and the fact that he had intentionally packed the line over and knew which line to cut, the violence of the spin made using the knife a practical impossibility.

None of that bears on your question about students, but at least it's a little more food for thought.

-- Tom Aiello

Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com
SnakeRiverBASE.com

[NickDG 23]

It's funny now that most rigs have built in hook knife pouches, but I recall one guy who had a hook-brush in a two sided pouch. A hook knife on one end and a hair brush on the other (the 80s ).

The worst thing we did is wore hook knives on our shoes. Intergrated into our shoelaces and they looked cool sitting there, but as canopies became speedier the spins went higher-G so you'd be looking at your hook knife, and your shoe, and the horizon spinning around and around . . .

Everyone should carry a knife even though the chances of ever needing one are slim. A rare line-over on your reserve? Some could do it, but find and pull out your knife, find and cut the right line, and do it all in a spin . . .

If it was a real course of action the lower control lines would be, at least, color coded. You're probably be more prone to needing a knife to help someone else, i.e. someone hung up in a door or like once we had a seatbelt that wouldn't release, so I wacked it . . .

Still, it's always better to have and not need . . .

It's also one reason lower aspect ratio reserves have some advantage as they are "slightly" less prone to line-overs and if they do, and the canopy is big enough, it's not an automatic death sentence. But the landings are worse overall, so pick your poison.

If jumping a high aspect ratio "and" highly wing loaded reserve you're burning that candle on both ends.

I'm thinking rigs need to be built the other way around with the reserve on the bottom. I know it's a geometric nightmare in rig design, but we are forced by the fact our mains are smaller and so must be our reserves.

If hurt, dazed, or slightly malfunctioned under a reserve, bigger is better . . .

NickD BASE 194

[RossDagley 0]

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I'm thinking rigs need to be built the other way around with the reserve on the bottom. I know it's a geometric nightmare in rig design, but we are forced by the fact our mains are smaller and so must be our reserves.

If hurt, dazed, or slightly malfunctioned under a reserve, bigger is better . . .

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My reserve is bigger than my main, and thats the way I intend to keep it for as long as possible. Other than 'style' (and thats not a significant reason to me), theres simply no excuse for having a reserve smaller than your main. You're GOING to be low. You're likely be landing off. You're possibly dazed/partly lights-out. So why not jump a smaller reserve and add to your problems

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