At  the recent Fred Hall Show here in California we were introduced to a new product that I think is first rate. Rod Weichelt and the crew from Cutting Edge Tackle cruised into our  booth brandishing some lethal weapons. The new Safe-T Gaff as it called is a little startling at first, when the button is pushed the high grade stainless steel hook snaps into place and locks in with a clank! The guys demonstrated this "switchblade" feature to us as they have done thousands of times and once you have seen it your sold. This product has just made the deck of any serious fishing boat very much safer. Take it from me and anyone that has worked on the deck, all those sharp and pointy things we use can cause serious injuries with gaffs being in the "most likely to hurt" category The simple locking feature would have prevented me having one puncture through my own thumb many years ago. The gaff comes in a range of sizes and uses high quality marine grade aluminum and stainless steel. The non slip grip gives you the sturdy feel that your ready to take on something substantial. What Cutting Edge Tackle has also opened up is potential to carry a gaff on your person without fear of impaling oneself. For those of us whom travel and fish places where you need to carry all your tools this is an essential. Currently I have one of the larger Safe-T Gaff's but look forward to testing and reviewing a 1ft version for lip gaffing and big fish control both in skiffs and land based situations.
From my observations the Safe-T Gaff requires little maintenance with a fresh water rinse and occasional dab of marine grease doing the job. The internal cabling is solid as is the hook head. Once we get a bit of real life torque testing in we will post a follow up review here on River and Reef but in the interim check out the details HERE.