BWRS Whale Rescue Blade

The BWRS Whale Rescue Blade was created as a specialized tool for the rescue of whales. Due to interest from military special operations units, Spyderco decided to make it commercially available beginning in 2012.

Appearance in catalogs

The BRWS Whale Rescue Blade first appeared in the 2012 Spyderco product catalog.

Designer

Jim Steele

Information from the Spyderco catalog on the web

BWRSH1 Whale Rescue Blade

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 currently in service in Australia, France, Canada, South Africa, Alaska, Hawaii, and the Pacific and Atlantic coasts of the U.S.

The original Whale Rescue Blade was made from 440C stainless steel. It featured a long, sweeping hawkbill profile with a blunt, rounded tip. This allows the blade to be gently maneuvered under tangled lines without endangering the whale. Once in place, the combination of its fully-serrated SpyderEdge and the strategic curve of the blade’s profile creates a tremendously powerful cutting action that easily severs even thick, water-soaked lines with minimal effort.

Because of its unique purpose, the Whale Rescue Blade had traditionally been an extremely limited item offered only to wildlife conservation organizations. However, based largely on interest from military special operations units, in 2012 Spyderco decided to increase production and make it commercially available. The commercial version retains all the salient qualities of the original, but with the added benefit of being made from H-1 steel. H-1 is a unique nitrogen-based austenitic steel that is completely impervious to rust, and therefore the ultimate material for this one-of-a-kind blade.

Spyderco is extremely proud of the Whale Rescue Blade project and our role in supporting the wildlife conservation organizations that rescue these amazing animals.

The BWRS Whale Rescue Blade in Spyderco's online catalog. The BWRSH1 Whale Rescue Blade H1 in Spyderco's online catalog.

Variations

The BWRSH1 is made in Golden, CO and features:

• no handle
• blunt tip
• long, sweeping hawkbill profile

SKU	Handle	Edge	Steel	From/To	MSRP	Note	Number made	Grind	Clip	Collectors club
BWRS	None	SE	440C	2006-2012	Not for retail sale	Spyderco bug logo found on blunted tip	Extremely limited production	Hollow	N/A
BWRSH1	None	SE	H-1	2012-end 2020	$179.95 (2013), $180.00 (2020)			Hollow	N/A

Most collectible variation

BWRS in 440C

Questions regarding collecting the BWRS

Some interesting questions we are looking for an answer to:

Questions with an answer:

Technical information

Measurements (mm and grams) of the BWRS Whale Rescue Blade:

Variation	Length overall	Length blade	Length edge	Hole Ø	Blade thickness	Weight
BWRS	286mm	286mm	203mm	None	5mm	186g
BWRSH1	279mm	279mm	215mm	None	4mm	162g

Measurements (inches and ounces) of the BWRS Whale Rescue Blade:

Variation	Length overall	Length blade	Length edge	Hole Ø	Blade thickness	Weight
BWRS	11.25"	11.25"	8"	None	0.196"	6.5oz
BWRSH1	11"	11"	8.46"	None	0.157"	5.07oz