Should you carry a knife when you climb?

Clint says "yes"

(best photo I could find, thanks Alpinist!)

A far more important question is do you bring a gun with you when climbing. I personally go nowhere without my Glock 20.

My friend Anthony taught me to always be the one who is carrying the knife. That way, you ensure that you are the cutter, not the cuttee.

climber1:"I can't find an anchor!"
climber2:"What?"
climber1: "I don't know where to go."
climber2: "I can't hear you."
climber1: "I'm going to keep climbing."
climber2: "OK. Cutting the rope."
climber2: "It's cut!"

Inspired by a weekend afternoon at the Wind Tower.

@IMG-110278309

never tried this, but sure you will have to put some elbow into it.

i think its better to carry then not to carry at all! 

I have a knife on me pretty much always- even climbing. It’s a useful tool for sure!

go to your nearest gas station/convenience store.  look around the counter for the box of super cheap plastic handled serrated edge knives with likr 1" blades and <1 oz weight.  spend $10, buy 5-6 of them, and put one into your zippered chalk bag pocket right next to your single LED emergency tiny flat battery light. forget about it till you need it.  good to go for climbing, who got there first, bear, beer, and first aid emergencies.

put one into your car, and hand out the rest to all your climbing buddies for good karma and who gets to lead glory pitches heated discussions.  

I keep a very lightweight folding knife with a ~2" blade in the zipper pocket of my chalk bag (along with a pair of prussik loops).  That way I'll have them when I need them, and they won't be  dangling around on my harness.  I don't use the knife much more than once or twice a year, but it sure is handy when you need to cut some webbing.

Briggs Lazalde wrote: You're gonna want a knife if your using a petzl attache. When that little f****r gets welded shut, your gonna need something to either cut the biner or cut something like a PAS attached to that f*****g biner. Yea, I was at the top of the 3rd pitch on a climb and luckily I found a sharp little rock to cut my PAS. Yes I weighted and unweighted and tried everything to unlock that POS biner. Can u tell attaches have rubbed me wrong? I carry a skeletool now on multipitch. It has pliers, screw drivers, a blade, and best of all a bottle opener 

I mean, if you're dealing with the Petzl screwgate problem, a pair of pliers or a monkey wrench would work better than a knife.

I have one of these. It's very lightweight, folds so it can't open while it's on a carabiner, and is serrated to deal with cord and webbing very effectively. The handle isn't big, but it definitely makes it easier/safer to use than a razor blade. I've used it a few times to cut tat. I usually carry a bit of cord to build rap anchors and having a knife lets me leave behind less material.

I used a knife on lead to cut a couple of slings out of a cordalette when I ran out. It saved my send.

My knife is a Spyderco ladybug with a small sling, taped shut and stowed in my chalkbag pocket.

Definitely, if you climb and purchase drugs in Shippensburg.

Greg Miller wrote: If you need a knife it means you have failed 

Could just mean I have cheese and crackers

its a little expensive at $23 but I like knives.  I keep it in the little zipper pocket of my chalk bag with an extra rap ring.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B015KRJXRI/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Greg Miller wrote: If you need a knife it means you have failed 

Do you even climb bro?

Curious about all the knives in chalk bags posts.  How often do you use the knife?   I guess I associate chalk bags with cragging/sport and thus rare need for a knife (other than cheese and crackers)
Do you carry the chalk bag in the alpine/significant multi pitch as well?

Sincerely not judging, just curious. 

I have an old Buck knife with a 1" blade and a bottle opener that I keep in a Velcro slot on my gear sling. It is tiny and super thin. I use the bottle opener about a 1000 times more than the knife, but I have used it to clean up some old sun dried slings before.

James Usher wrote: i think its better to carry then not to carry at all! 

bumped a thread from 2015...

Mark Pilate wrote: Curious about all the knives in chalk bags posts.  How often do you use the knife?   I guess I associate chalk bags with cragging/sport and thus rare need for a knife (other than cheese and crackers)
Do you carry the chalk bag in the alpine/significant multi pitch as well?

I do, yes.

I solved the problem this way. Carabiner keeps the knife from ever opening accidentally.