HOW TO: attaching Tekna Knife to Goodman handle

Wifebuddy is rather awesome at buying me stuff, and one such gem has been my new Tekna Knife.

It's essential that all divers carry at least one cutting tool on a dive; personally i like to carry two.

The Tekna Knife is a fabulous solution to carrying an extra cutting device, stowed rather splendidly out of the way.








I always have a stubby steak-knife on my waist band, and occasionally a set of EMT shears in my right pocket. I have been considering a wrist mounted knife of some description for a while, but could never quite sell it to myself. I like the idea of a blade close to hand, but i really hate clutter on my wrists. I don't like wrist slates, and i'm not overly fussed wearing a back up timer - i sometimes stuff it into my pocket to salvage what real estate is available on my arms.

Knowing me well, Wifebuddy popped the tiny little Tekna Knife into my Christmas stocking; with the premonition of me fitting it to the goodman handle on my primary light. She's very clever.

I have heard of plenty of divers bolting these knives onto goodman handles, but i had never actually seen one up close; or been told how to go about fitting it. With the aid of few pics scattered around the interweb, my supreme intellect, and a handy little bolt from a dive buddy (thanks Dave!), i was able to successfully attach the Tekna Knife to my lovely Halcyon EOS LED light.

Awesome.



Being completely thrilled with my DIY savvy, i figured i would share it with the masses, as i couldn't find a step-by-step guide when i needed it.



Well here it is; behold ...

HOW TO ATTACH A TEKNA KNIFE TO GOODMAN HANDLE

Step 1 - Get the bits together

• Tekna Knife.

• Bolt and nut (make sure it fits through the pre-drilled hole in Tekna Knife sheath).

• O-ring from SPG spool.

• Spanners / pliers.

• Drill and metal drill bit (size 3.5 metric).

Step 2 - Bin keyring

• The knife comes with a little keyring thingy - take it off, we don't need it.

Step 3 - Drill

• Drilling stuff is great, it's almost as good as hammering. Select the appropriate sized drill bit by sizing against the bolt.

• Drill a hole in the left side of the goodman handle, ensuring you have left enough room to fit the whole knife inside the grip.

Step 4 - Get the kettle on

• The bolt needs an o-ring on it. The o-ring allows you to tighten the bolt, create a little pressure to hold it in place, but can be deployed with minimal effort without grinding metal on metal.

• Boil the kettle and pop the o-ring into the boiling water to soften it up; takes about a minute.

• Put the o-ring over the bolt. I found placing the o-ring on a hard surface, then pushing the bolt into the centre worked well to get it started; then roll it up to the head of the bolt.

Step 5 - Assemble

• Place knife inside the handle. (It's better there as it won't get snagged anywhere, and is held in place by your hand).

• Bolt downwards from the inside out.

• Nut on the end.

• Tighten with spanners.

Step 6 - Bungee / Silicone

• I decided a little loop of bungee around the other end of the knife secures it further. It may not be necessary, but it is easily rolled off to free the knife handle for deployment.

• Wipe the blade with a little silicone to protect it from salt water.

Step 7 - Size it up

• The goodman handle is now a little thicker, so pop on your gloves and try it out, adjusting the handle as necessary.

Step 8 - Celebrate

• Revel in completion of this arduous task with an air-punch.

CONCLUSION

The Tekna Knife is a back up to a back up in my mind, but it's a great wee thing to have on your kit. It's nicely out of the way, easily accessible, requires minimal maintenance and may save you from a great white shark attack - remember, you only have to slow down your buddy ...

Safe diving folks!

HOW TO: Bungee in my Pocket

I got one hand in my pocket and the other one is giving an ascend sign!

After my post last week on “Top 5 Essential Bits of Scuba Kit” I received a few messages, (I love getting scuba mail so keep them coming) about where the hell I put them all.

Good question, and truth be known, I usually carry a few more bits and pieces of additional kit.

A certain amount of “stuff” is needed on every dive, certain conditions and environments require more, some less; it just depends on the dive. Either way, every diver needs somewhere to put all the “stuff” until it’s needed.

It is a valid question and one I asked myself when I began acquiring my vast array of scuba gear. I don’t have an instructor or dive mentor I can turn to for such things, so my old friend Google and I did some research.

The interweb gave me all sorts of wonderful advice and storage options for scuba equipment.

I was advised to clip stuff onto D-Rings, attach all sorts of wonderful cables and bits of telephone cord to my stuff, add on storage packs; or I could even buy some form of underwater suitcase that required trailing around.





All of these are viable options, and I have utilised them to a certain degree on some of my dives, except maybe, the waterproof suitcase; I only use that on special occasions. However, I didn’t really find them agreeable.



Unbelievably the answer was a little more straightforward; - pockets.

Bowstone Pocket

Amazing eh? Who’d have thought of just keeping stuff in your pockets?


I’m pretty sure the internet had suggested pockets at one stage, but I chose to ignore the simple answer in favour of a more technical solution; imagine that. I never stated I was smart - awesome and fabulous perhaps; but not smart.

I dive a dry suit pretty much all of the time, and amazingly enough, it has 2 pockets; one on the outside of each leg. I have found most drysuits come with at least one pocket; if not, they can easily be glued in place; the same applies to wetsuits.



So, I was pretty much sorted right? Not quite.



Somewhere in the vastness of the digital highway I found an article, I think it was in Diver Magazine, which suggested the use of bungee in the pockets. It had a picture to go with it, (which i now can't find) that really looked the part, and provided a brief explanation of why a diver needed bungee in their pockets.

'Bungee Cord' courtesy of Rose Brand

Why Bungee in the Pocket?

A loop of bungee in the pocket allows a diver to attach small items (with the aid of a bolt snap) thus securing them until needed.

[Attaching bolt snaps to equipment demonstrated here]

The article proceeded to explain; when an item was needed, rather than rummaging around for a specific thing, you simply pulled everything out, unclipped what you wanted, and stuffed everything back in again.



A splendid system.


However, upon closer investigation, I quickly realised my pockets didn't come factory fitted with bungee; it was a moment of pure horror from which I have barely recovered.


Thankfully Google and I were able to come up with a solution for attaching bungee to my drysuit pockets; grommets.

Grommets in my pockets™ provide a method of securing the bungee, therefore allowing the clipping of stuff; simple. [sidenote: i really must patent the term "Grommets in my pockets™" - stroke of genius]


So I got to work and configured my pockets, and here’s how I did it.


ATTACHING GROMMETS TO DRYSUIT POCKETS

You'll need a grommet tool and some grommets, or eyelets. I used an eyelet with a 10mm inner diameter, 19mm outer diameter.

Repeat these steps on either side of the pocket.

• STEP 1: Punch a hole at each side of the dry suit pocket with the grommet tool. I found a hammer was useful, and fun. I like hammers, it's something you never really get to use often enough in scuba.

• STEP 2: Place the top ring on the outside of the pocket and push it through.

• STEP 3: Place the thinner ring on the inside of the pocket.

• STEP 5: Apply the grommet tool, and break out the hammer again.

• STEP 6: Inspect your awesomeness and make sure the grommet is firmly in place. Re-hammer if needs be.

ATTACHING BUNGEE CORD TO DRYSUIT POCKETS

I have found 4mm bungee best as it is thick enough to feel with drygloves on, and has a good amount of resistance without being super loose; so that when you tug stuff out of your pocket it doesn't act like a catapult beating your buddy with random pieces of kit.

Repeat these steps on either side of the pocket.

• STEP 1: Tie a loop of bungee long enough to suit the size of the pocket. Tie a strong knot and burn the ends with a lighter to stop fraying, and securing the knot further.

• STEP 2: Feed the loop through the eyelet keeping the knot on the outside of the pocket.

• STEP 3: Tie a knot on the inside of the pocket, keeping the knot as close to the grommet as possible.

• STEP 4: Check knots are secure and the bungee doesn't pull through.

BEFORE AND AFTER

This is how my suit arrived, simple pockets.

This is how my pockets look now! - Aren't they fabulous?

Having 2 pieces of bungee cord in the pocket means I can effectively separate elements of gear. For example; in my left pocket I have an smb attached to one cord, and a spool attached to the other. If I need the spool I reach to the left cord, if I need the smb I reach to the other. If the pocket is big enough this technique can work quite well; if small, it simply takes a little practice.




I appreciate this post is really boring, but it is a useful trick for all divers and I recommend everyone tries it out, plus it’s always fun to tinker with scuba gear!


In order to liven it a little up i've included this picture:

Do you have any other tricks for storing kit?