There are a lot of rescue knives out there. There are some with all the bells and whistles – oxygen tank wrench and torque bits and special seat belt cutters.. There are some no bells and whistles – just a serrated blade and that’s it, which hardly makes a knife especially intended for rescue. And there are some, like this Spyderco Assist, with an adequate amount of features, including an actual whistle, a partially serrated blade, and a squeeze-activated glass breaker.
The 3 11/16-inch, VG-10 stainless steel, blunt-tipped blade is eighty percent SpyderEdged serrated, with one inch near the tip left plain edge for detailed cutting. The 14mm Spyderco round hole is oversized for easy ambidextrous one-handed opening, even with gloves on. A Cobra Hood feature over the round hole is a machined flange of steel which serves the function of directing the thumb in opening the blade, and as a leveraging platform for the thumb while cutting.
Another interesting element of the Assist is the wavy pattern cut from the top of the blade. This design element was created by a firefighter from Sweden. Place a rope between the half-open blade and one of the finger grooves along the handle, place your fingers on the wavy patterned top part of the blade, and squeeze the knife together to cut the rope like scissors.
The Fiberglass Reinforced Nylon handle is lightweight and molded with Bi-Directional textured contours that ergonomically fit the palm. When the blade is closed and squeezed deeper in the handle, a retractable carbide tip comes out the butt for smashing windows. And, what will probably be the least used function of the Assist, a “shrill and attention-pitched” survival whistle is located on the handle’s spine.
The Assist is made from quality materials assembled in a well thought-out design. What’s most important, when danger is present or someone’s life is on the line, is that you have options in your rescue knife, but not too many options. The Spyderco Assist gives you just that.
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