Life, and the things that make it worth it living, are rife with risk and with danger, and scuba diving and exploring the depths of the ocean are no exception to that rule. There are many things that can go wrong under the water and safety should always be a priority.
Being prepared with a good diving knife or pair of shears can come in handy in a variety of situations and could potentially even save your life or the lives of your dive buddies.
That’s why we hunted high and low and found five of the best scuba diving knives and shears that any would-be, or experienced, undersea adventurer should never leave home without.
So now, all you have to do is choose which one suits you best, and get straight back to doing what you love to do, venturing into, and touring, the world under the waves.
5 Best Scuba Diving Knives and Shears Reviews
BEST OVERALL
- Made from titanium, the Mako is strong, light, and small and is an incredibly dependable scuba knife that won’t let you down when it matters.
- Scubapro has made their name by sticking religiously to the philosophy that deep down you want the best. And they’ve poured all of that belief into this scuba knife.
- It’s simple to use locking mechanism makes it easy to free and use in any emergency and holds it tightly in place the rest of the time. It’ll stay by your side until you need it, and if you ever do, it’ll leap into your hand in an instant.
- With both serrated and traditional edges and a tip that’s sharper than a shark’s tooth, there isn’t an undersea problem that the Mako can’t help you deal with. It’s a multi-purpose dive knife that’s been built to reassure, and inspire, you.
Pros
Scubapro has thrived thanks to their simple credo; deep down you want the best. And that’s exactly, as far as value usage and practicality are concerned, what they imbue all of their dive and scuba equipment with.
When you’re living below the surface, you want a knife that you can rely on, one that’ll quickly and effectively do what it was designed to and help to get you out of any potential trouble, quickly and efficiently.
Made from rust-resistant titanium, the Mako is a lightweight, strong, game-changing scuba knife.
Featuring both a serrated and traditional edge, it’ll cut through almost any fishing life in a flash and saw through any netting cleanly and precisely, and has a razor-sharp tip and blunt edge that make it able to deal with any unexpected issues that might raise their heads under the waves.
And when you’re back on the boat after a successful dive, you can crack open your soda or beer of choice with the Mako’s built-in bottle opener.
It’s unique, easy to use locking mechanism, allows the Mako to be freed from its sheath with one hand, so you keep your attention focused on any potential problems while accessing your simple, Scubapro solution.
It may not be the biggest scuba knife that you’ll ever lay your hands on, but the Mako has all the underwater power of its namesake and is just as uncompromising and unstoppable.
OUR FAVORITE
- Available in both titanium and stainless steel models, the Skorpion is a knife that’ll never succumb to the rust inducing touch of the ocean.
- Designed to be an affordable and effective knife for all scuba enthusiasts, even the titanium version of the Skorpion is pocketbook-friendly. It may not be the prettiest dive knife on the market, but looks aren’t everything, especially when all that really matters is how well a knife can, and will, do what it’s meant to. And the Skorpion is very good at everything that it does.
Pros
With a rich and trusted seventy-five-year history in the world of scuba, free diving, and spearfishing, Cressi makes knives that divers have been putting their faith in for generations.
And their Skorpion blade, while manufactured in Taiwan is a one hundred percent, Cressi designed and guaranteed scuba knife.
Available in both stainless steel and titanium, the Skorpion is built to resist the ravages of the ocean and at four and three-quarter inches in length is long enough to satisfy the size requirements of even the most hardened diver.
With both a serrated and traditional edge and a purpose forged wire cutter, the Skorpion hasn’t encountered a net or line that it can’t slice through with ease and won’t fall foul of any underwater menace.
The Skorpion also has a one-handed release mechanism and comes with two rubber straps, which allow it to be fastened to whichever limb suits you best.
It’s a knife that’s been designed and made for divers by divers and has all of the versatility and problem-solving prowess that you’ll ever want, and need, a scuba knife to possess.
BEST VALUE
- The Trilobite is simplicity itself and was engineered to be easy to take apart and put back together so that you can replace it’s stainless steel blades and always ensure that it’ll be as sharp and dependable as the moment it left the production line.
- It’s small, compact, made to be carried anywhere on a wetsuit, and is incredibly safe and straightforward to use. And that’s exactly why it’s become such an essential piece of equipment for legions of divers.
- And it’s also priced to fit comfortably in the budget of any underwater fanatic. The Trilobite won’t break anyone’s bank.
Pros
Eezycut claims that the unique design of the Trilobite provides the cleanest, sharpest, and most effortless cutting action available, and having tried it a couple of times, we have to agree with them.
It might seem like it’s a pretty bold statement to make, but when it comes to slicing through line and netting, the Trilobite is a league of its own.
Designed to be used with almost any kind of webbing, the Trilobite can be carried almost anywhere on your wetsuit, or mounted in its pouch for easy access.
Its rear-facing blades make it incredibly safe and intuitive to use and in an emergency, will cut straight through almost any line or net that you find yourself, or anything else you want to free, entangled in.
Made from durable stainless steel, the Trilobite is strong, light and has become an essential piece of the everyday kit for veteran divers and scuba newbies alike.
The Trilobite is an ambidextrous cutting tool that was made to be as effective in the hands of an amateur as it is in those of a seasoned professional, and can, and will, cut through drysuits and wetsuits as easily as it does lines and netting.
It won’t just keep you safe, it might save the life of your dive partner too.
- Available as both a blunt and sharp tip knife, Promate covers all of scuba knife bases and makes it a blade that’s suited to every diver’s requirements.
- The hammerhead on the end of its handle adds even more versatility to this already versatile knife and makes sure that, if you’re carrying it, you’re prepared for almost anything that the ocean can, and will, throw at you.
- It comes complete with two rubber strips and a sheath so that you can tie, and fasten it, to whatever limb you prefer to strap your knife too.
- And the Promate has a double button release and locking mechanism, which makes it more secure in its sheath and easy to release when you need to use it.
Pros
Promate might not be a name on the tip of every dive master’s tongue, but they don’t need to be as their scuba gear speaks for itself.
They design and manufacture affordable, effective, and easy to use dive equipment that you can put your trust in and depend on when adversity rears its, all too often, ugly head.
The Promate’s fully rust-proof titanium blade is four and a half inches long and features both traditional and serrated edges, which makes it ideal for cutting and slicing through any, and all, line and netting.
It’s also available with a regular, drop-through point or a blunt tip, the latter of which makes it ideal for use as an underwater screwdriver.
While it’s been forged with all of the usual bells and whistles of scuba knives, the Promate also has a titanium hammerhead on the end of its handle, which allows it to be used for hull-striking and signaling as well as cutting its way out of trouble.
It’s those sorts of little extras that push Promate to the top of the scuba knife scoreboard.
- A two in one dive knife and scuba shears, the Alligator is made to help you conquer any potential issues that you might be confronted by while exploring the world beneath the waves.
- It’s a Cressi dive knife/scuba shears combination and while that name might mean much outside of dive circles, inside those circles, it’s the stuff of legend.
Pros
Combining a dive knife and shears in one, this Cressi designed and made Alligator offers the best of both worlds in one convenient deep-sea tool.
Engineered in Taiwan under Cressi’s supervision, the Alligator is a highly versatile dive tool that’ll provide a solution to any undersea problem that you might swim headlong into.
Made from stainless steel that’s been specifically treated to withstand corrosion and water damage, the Alligator has a four-inch blade that can convert into scissors with a flick of the locking grip and can be turned back into a knife when the grip is fastened again.
Whatever you need to slice through, if the serrated and traditional blade edge won’t carve straight through it, the scissors will.
Cressi took the tried and trusted dive knife and made it even better, and more versatile, with the Alligator.
It’s a crucial piece of dive equipment that rests somewhere between being a knife and shears and utilizes the best of both to make it indispensable for any safety obsessed scuba devotee.
Best Scuba Diving Knives and Shears Buying Guide
What Are Dive Knives And Shears?
Dive, or scuba, knives, and shears are an essential part of the intrepid diver’s equipment.
They’re a one-stop problem solver that’s designed to help scuba enthusiasts and divers free themselves, their dive partners, and ocean life from entanglement in fishing lines, netting, and wires that line the floors of and pollute, the world’s seas.
They’re also able to quickly and effectively slice through wet and dry suits should you need to rescue and deliver immediate first aid to a dive partner.
Designed to be worn in a scabbard or sheath by a diver, and to be easily removed from the said sheath, dive knives and shears are also corrosion and rust-resistant, which makes them ideal for use in the water.
Smaller than an average knife, most dive knives and scuba shears have blades of less than five inches which makes them light, compact, and easy to carry while diving.
Dive knives are also made in two very different blade types, blunt-nosed and sharp-tipped. The latter is a more conventional knife, while the former offers a higher degree of versatility as the tip can double up, and be used, as a screwdriver.
Which Scuba Diving Knife and Shears Is The Right One For Me?
That all depends on what you want a knife or shears for.
If you’re looking for a line cutting tool to help you escape from, and deal with, any entanglement issues, then we’d always recommend the Eezycut Trilobite, as it’s a lightweight, durable, and strong cutting tool that can easily deal with ninety-nine point nine percent of any fishing line and netting that you might become ensnared in, and by.
However, if you’re looking for a more versatile scuba friendly blade, then we’d suggest that you opt for a dive knife instead. In which case, we’d always happily point you in the direction of the Scubapro Mako, which is, and always has been, our dive knife of choice. It hasn’t let us down yet, and we’re more than confident that it never will.
That said, whichever scuba diving knife or shears you decide is the right one for you, always remember the first rule of scuba diving. Be safe and have fun, and maybe one day we’ll see you out there under the waves.