Take Care of Gear for Longer Life
Taking care of your tools in the boat will ensure longer life and easier usage when you need them. (PAA: Alan Clemons)
PAA Communications
It’s a moment of aggravation that easily can be avoided: you reach for the pliers to remove treble hooks from a fish and they’re locked shut.
Or, worse, the blade on the trusty knife you’ve used for everything from cutting braid to trimming fillets or cleaning ducks has rusted. The edge is dull, or if it’s a folder then maybe you can’t even open the blade.
Metal and water don’t mix. We all know that. Many, if not almost all, of today’s tools we use in boats or around the house are stainless steel. But even careless use and time can conspire to cause problems.
“Some of the products, like the Silver Creek line, have the titanium-coated blade and all you have to do is wash it off well and dry it with a cloth,” said Bob George with Buck Knives. “Those blades are rust-resistant but you still need to take care of them.
Bob George of Buck Knives says it only takes a few moments of cleanup and care with knife blades and tools. (PAA: Alan Clemons)
“Over time, when you’re using a folding knife for cleaning fish or other animals, if you’re hunting, you’ll get little bits of stuff or gunk in the liner. I’ll use a compressed air can to blow it out like you use to clean a computer keyboard. Just blow it out, clean it and dry it. But that’s one reason I really like a fixed-blade knife because it’s just one blade, you can wash it up very quickly and dry it.”
Pocket knives once were a staple of, seemingly, every man and boy. They were used for everything from slicing apples and trimming twine to cleaning fish, various repairs and digging out splinters. Now, for various reasons, they’re not as common.
George said the model 110 Folding Hunter locking blade is one of the most popular in the Buck lineup. It has myriad uses, he said, and has been one of Buck’s best-selling knives since its introduction in 1962.
“A lot of guys who are fishing carry the 110 because they carry it all the time on their hip,” he said. “It’s right there for just about anything they need to use it for.”
About 15 years ago, though, “multi-tools” hit the scene. More upscale than the old Swiss Army Knife – remember the red knife with blades, corkscrew, screwdriver, awl and toothpick? – the multi-tools were stronger, more durable and quickly became the go-to accessory for hunters, anglers and outdoorsmen.
Multi-tools are great if you’re wading or walking the bank of a farm pond. But in the boat, it’s common to see anglers with needle-nose and blunt-nose pliers, scissors and maybe a medical hemostat to remove deep hooks. Scissors are great, and smart, to have to easily cut braided line as well as monofilament and fluorocarbon.
“I used to bite my line and chipped off one of my teeth, so now I try to use scissors all the time,” George said. “Bill Lowen, who fishes professionally and is on our Buck Knives pro staff, loves our shears. It’s not a knife but it’s a tool he uses on the boat quite often.”
Scissors can rust and become useless, too, without care. Some models, like Buck’s Utility Shears, separate with a specially-designed hinge and can be cleaned and sharpened.
Caring for your tools in the boat with a quick cleanup and spot of light oil at the hinge will add to years of use. They’ll also be ready the next time you have a monster largemouth that smoked a crankbait and needs to be put in the livewell so you can get back to fishing.
