At GiantMouse, we are always interested in the different relationships people have with their blades. For this installment of Knifestyles, we talk to Fire Captain, diver, and all-around badass Asha Wagner about her incredible career and the role knives play in it.

There’s not a whole lot Asha Wagner hasn’t seen. A nearly 30-year fire service veteran, she’s dedicated her life to facing disaster, earning the rank of Fire Captain in 2014. Each day brings the unexpected, from structure, forest, and vehicle fires, to rescues, medical emergencies, hazardous materials, you name it. When duty calls, Captain Wagner comes running.

Prior to joining her current department in Northern California, Asha spent six seasons as a Wildland Firefighter, including one as a Helicopter Rappeller. In 2022, she joined FEMA California Task Force 3 as a HazMat specialist, and now serves on the South Bay Type 3 Incident Management Team. And oh yea: She leads NS6 Athletic, helping firefighters and others develop strength and preparedness through boot camps, kettlebell instruction, and personal training.

You’d be hard pressed to find someone tougher on their tools than Captain Wagner. An adventurer at heart, she’s also an avid diver and watch aficionado, not afraid to push her timepieces to the limits. And when it comes to knives, Asha’s pretty much the stress-test expert, requiring serious performance on and off duty.

We caught up with the self-described gear nut to talk blades, EDC, and lessons from a career in emergency response and community service.

On my off-days, I primarily use knives for standard everyday tasks such as opening packages and cutting twine. At work, I carry a folder in my uniform pants that has a window punch and a blunt tip serrated knife, which is useful for cutting through seatbelts and side curtain airbags.

I carry a fixed blade on the outside front of my turnout jacket that is serrated on one side and straight edge on the other. This one I primarily keep mounted right at the chest pocket level as my contingency knife, in case wiring from a drop ceiling falls on me during a fire and becomes an entanglement hazard.

I’ve also used it to cut through vinyl membranes on commercial building roofs during ventilation operations, so that the membrane doesn’t gum up our chainsaws. During fires, we will cut a hole in the roof to let out smoke and hot gasses, in order to increase visibility and survivability inside. It has also come in handy during vehicle extrications. When we remove doors from vehicles in car wrecks, I use the knife to cut the wiring connecting the door to the car.

Captain Wagner’s go-to EDC: A small key shaped multi-tool on my key ring that has a knife, three screwdrivers, and a bottle opener. And I almost always have a folding knife.

One of my all-time favorite wildland fires was a lightning strike right before sunset, 9000’ up at the top of a mountain in the middle of the wilderness. The helicopter dropped me and another crew member off in a small clearing a little ways away from the fire. We hiked an hour and a half into the fire, cut a fire line around it, and then curled up in the dirt taking turns watching out for any hotspots that might flare up during the night.

When the sun came up, the helicopter flew in some MRE type meals called Smokey Snacks and more water to finish up fighting the fire. As I looked around at the 360 degree view, I couldn’t see a sign of another human. Once the fire was out, we packed up and hiked out to the clearing where the helicopter picked us up and flew us back home to our helibase.

Once I sat back and thought about it, it occurred to me that the Federal Government paid me time and three quarters for a scenic helicopter ride at sunset, an hour-and-a-half nature hike, had a campfire waiting for me when I got there, gave me breakfast in bed, and then another nature hike and scenic helicopter ride, all to visit a spot where very few other humans will ever set foot.