One of the tragic effects of commercial fishing efforts is the entanglement of whales in fishing nets and related rigging. As the entangled whales struggle to break free, the lines and nets are pulled taut, often resulting in serious injury and sometimes death. Fortunately, there are a number of wildlife conservation groups that specialize in rescuing these magnificent animals, but until a few years ago, their efforts were hampered because they did not have the proper tools for the job.

Douglas Coughran AM is the Senior Wildlife Officer, Marine Wildlife Operations, Department of Environment and Conservation, Nature Protection Branch, Western Australia. His teams specialize in saving entangled whales by approaching them with small inflatable rafts. Since the whales can approach 40 feet in length and weigh several tons, the teams use a 10-foot rescue pole with a blade at the end to cut away the lines entangling the frightened creature. Safely maneuvering a sharp blade at the end of a 10-foot pole in choppy seas is an incredibly demanding task. To ensure that his teams had the best possible tool for this job, Coughran contacted knifemaker Jim Steele to develop a design.

Steele knew that cutting tangled, water-soaked lines was a task best suited for a serrated edge and suggested that Coughran approach Spyderco, the pioneer in modern serration technology. In 2005, Coughran contacted Spyderco and explained his mission and his specialized needs. Spyderco embraced the project and created a custom-designed, SpyderEdge hawkbill blade with a blunt, rounded tip based on Steele’s design. Upon completion of the initial prototype, we sent the blade to Coughran to demonstrate it at Australia’s National Workshop for Large Whale Disentanglement. The Whale Rescue Blade was tested on 40mm and 50mm rope with extremely impressive results. Two days later, Coughran’s team received notification that a 10-meter Humpback whale had become entangled and immobilized by two sets of pot gear. They responded with the Whale Rescue Blade in hand, meticulously addressing the rope wraps and freeing the whale with five key cuts.

Since that initial rescue, Spyderco’s Whale Rescue blade has been used numerous times to save the lives of endangered marine life. Currently, dozens of Whale Rescue Blades are in service in Australia, France, Canada, South Africa, Alaska, Hawaii, and the Pacific and Atlantic coasts of the U.S.

The cutting power of our Whale Blade also attracted the attention of U.S. military units working with NASA. During testing of space capsule parachute systems, engineers needed a tool that could be used to quickly and efficiently cut the parachute static line in the event of a chute deployment failure. They contacted Spyderco with the hope that we could provide a tool that could cut the special static cord, which was made from a proprietary material many times more cut resistant than Kevlar. We sent them a Whale Rescue Blade to test and it worked perfectly, becoming a permanent part of their specialized kit.

Spyderco’s Salt Series features folding and fixed-blade knives made from H-1® steel, an extraordinary material developed in Japan. H-1 is extremely unique among blade materials because it is completely rustproof, it is an austenitic steel, and it is exceptionally tough. Traditional steels are produced by adding carbon to iron. The addition of carbon changes the molecular matrix of the metal, giving it the ability to be altered through a variety of heat-based processes to produce hard, extremely durable things like knife blades. Unfortunately, traditional carbon-based steels also have a significant flaw: they are vulnerable to rust.

Rust occurs when the carbon in steel reacts with chloride. To avoid this, H-1 uses 0.10% nitrogen instead of carbon to give the material its steel-like qualities. Nitrogen does not react with chloride, making H-1 blades completely impervious to rust, even when submerged in salt water for extended periods of time.

H-1 is also an austenitic steel. Unlike traditional martensitic steels, H-1 does not go through a traditional heat treating process. Instead, it is “work hardened” through the mechanical processes of shaping and grinding the steel. The areas “worked” the most—like the bevels and cutting edges—become the hardest. The result is a blade with differential hardness that provides an exceptional balance of strength, flexibility and cutting performance, just like a coveted Japanese clay-tempered sword. To ensure that they are completely immune to rust, all other components of Spyderco’s Salt knives are also manufactured from 100% corrosion-proof materials. The perfect choice for use in maritime environments, Salt knives are also ideal for deep concealment where corrosion due to perspiration is a concern.Spyderco’s Salt Series features folding and fixed-blade knives made from H-1® steel, an extraordinary material developed in Japan. H-1 is extremely unique among blade materials because it is completely rustproof, it is an austenitic steel, and it is exceptionally tough. Traditional steels are produced by adding carbon to iron. The addition of carbon changes the molecular matrix of the metal, giving it the ability to be altered through a variety of heat-based processes to produce hard, extremely durable things like knife blades. Unfortunately, traditional carbon-based steels also have a significant flaw: they are vulnerable to rust. Rust occurs when the carbon in steel reacts with chloride. To avoid this, H-1 uses 0.10% nitrogen instead of carbon to give the material its steel-like qualities. Nitrogen does not react with chloride, making H-1 blades completely impervious to rust, even when submerged in salt water for extended periods of time. H-1 is also an austenitic steel. Unlike traditional martensitic steels, H-1 does not go through a traditional heat treating process. Instead, it is “work hardened” through the mechanical processes of shaping and grinding the steel. The areas “worked” the most—like the bevels and cutting edges—become the hardest. The result is a blade with differential hardness that provides an exceptional balance of strength, flexibility and cutting performance, just like a coveted Japanese clay-tempered sword. To ensure that they are completely immune to rust, all other components of Spyderco’s Salt knives are also manufactured from 100% corrosion-proof materials. The perfect choice for use in maritime environments, Salt knives are also ideal for deep concealment where corrosion due to perspiration is a concern.