Some conclusions about knife placement

I did a couple of days of diving experimenting with a new to me knife position and knife. The knife I used is the Wenoka Squeeze lock which is identical to the omer laser.

I've always worn a knife on my inner calf. What prompted me to experiment is that I figured since I'm always moving my legs it would be good to have them as streamlined as possible. Placing the knife on the inner calf greatly limits the possibility of entanglement so that wasn't an issue.

The first place other than the leg that the knife could go with little modification was the belt. All I had to do was reposition the weights. I had in mind two possible positions; one that I've seen Pipin Ferreras demonstrate which is at the small of the back, the other was directly on the side. In front positions are precluded because it interferes with doubling over when starting the dive unless the knife is placed horizontally. In my case there's no room for that because I have the powerhead pouch directly to the left of the buckle and I load the speargun on the hip to the right of the buckle. The Wenoka squeeze lock being small lend itself well to this experiment.

My considerations included ease of access and deployment, comfort, and streamlining as far as the possibility of the knife getting caught on anything. Particularly important is ease of access and deployment because I consider the knife an emergency tool. Braining and gutting fish can wait, being entangled with fishing line on the bottom at the end of your breath hold can't.

I discounted the small of the back position immediately. Apart from having to remove too many weights before removing the knife every time weight adjustment is necessary, the position is completely blind. The knife can be reached with either hand but it's a difficult stretch and you have to go completely by feel. There is no way I'm counting on that position in a moment of emergency. I can't believe that Pipin advocates this position in an instructional video on basic spearfishing gear and techniques.

Therefore I dove a couple of days with the knife on my hip. My conclusion is that I don't like the position. While the knife is visible and easier to reach the movement is still not fluid and requires more dexterity than I would want to count on in an emergency situation. It also pokes my side when I dive and when I turn right underwater. The Wenoka knife being small did not diminish this effect. Placing the knife back in the sheath was a bit of guess work, more time consuming than pulling it out. I didn't like the function of the knife's locking mechanism either. It required more dexterity than I would want to use. No matter how many times I gripped it there was always a necessity to readjust after the first grip to squeeze the locking plastic tabs correctly. I realize that this might not be such an issue if the knife is in a very visible and easy to reach place. I also found it too short for my liking.

In conclusion I've discounted the belt as a place to keep the knife. If I find myself using borrowed gear I can deal with it but ideally don't want to. Also I don't want to lose one more thing if I need to drop the belt. The next placement I will try is on the forearm or bicep. The only disadvantage I see with that is that I can only reach it with one hand.

No disadvantages that I can see. I agree that it would be a great place for it. However short of gluing a pocket on each wetsuit I don't know of another way to do it. Some of the wetsuits we wear here in the summer are very thin, too thin to glue a pocket to, and we also use rash guards. A gun holster type of mount is not reasonable.

Some of the wetsuit material is too thin to hold the sheath in place even with just drag and weight as the acting force, never mind pulling out and sheathing the knife.

At this time I have 3 levels of protection wear that I use. Rash guards (lycra) in the summer, 1mm for the fall and spring, and 3mm in the winter. Only the 3mm will hold a pocket or a sheath directly.

Monster, I agree those elastic straps are good. Did you ever get your similar material Jeff? I also agree that two knives at the locations you described are the best solution.