Rigging knives

[markwesti]

This one is on my radar . I really like how he puts the blade sharp angle on the guard . Yes I'm a fixed blade fan .
https://boyeknives.com/basic3.cfm

[belizesailor]

Originally Posted by StuM

Left to right:
1. Wichard - main rigging knife, but not carried all the time.
2. Spiderco - always on my person, either clipped or in a pocket.
3. Ceramic paring knife - stays in the marlinspike dittybag for working with HMPE.
4. Cockpit knife - goes over the side if needed.
5. Cheapo from Whitworths - the one that I let others use.

Ive got an old one similar to your #5, that Ive carried for decades. Has held up well and is slim so easy to carry.

Recently bought a Wichard, but its bulkier so I end up not carrying it (at least not on me). Releasing the lock blade mechanism is awkward too. It glows in the dark which can be handy.

[FSMike]

Originally Posted by SVNeko

-----I mostly use a leatherman.

Me too, all the extra gizmos save a lot of steps.

[brianlara 3]

My most often used Leatherman is the "crunch" Yep, proper name.
Amongst other things it's a mini vise-grip which will pick up a full 20lb gas bottle. !!

[Ita]

Originally Posted by StuM

Left to right:
1. Wichard - main rigging knife, but not carried all the time.
2. Spiderco - always on my person, either clipped or in a pocket.
3. Ceramic paring knife - stays in the marlinspike dittybag for working with HMPE.
4. Cockpit knife - goes over the side if needed.
5. Cheapo from Whitworths - the one that I let others use.

My dad, a Navy pilot, gave me your #5 when I went to the Naval academy in 1979. After years of gray ships, regattas, tall ship, and now living aboard full time, it looks and works like new. My Leatherman serrated blade cuts faster , perhaps not as clean

[markwesti]

This one is my favorite , Ka-Bar fixed blade . Now before you keel haul me for bastardizing this great knife hear me out please . First I got just the knife off ebay for something like $3.00 it was missing one scale and the PO tried to put a sharp on it with a bench grinder , fortunately they stopped before to much damage was done . I got some Corian tile for the scales I made the pins a new guard and the spike , in separate ebay buys I scored the sheath and then the pliers . Someday I'm going to try some Scrimshaw .

[pete33458]

I will second (or third or fourth) what has been said about Boye. It simply does not rust and the edge is extremely durable. The one missing feature that I cannot understand is why they didn't make it so that it can be fully operated with one hand (it can be opened, but not closed). But other than that I am extremely pleased with it. As mentioned, it is not cheap...but you generally get what you pay for.

Pete

[Suijin]

Originally Posted by pete33458

I will second (or third or fourth) what has been said about Boye. It simply does not rust and the edge is extremely durable. The one missing feature that I cannot understand is why they didn't make it so that it can be fully operated with one hand (it can be opened, but not closed). But other than that I am extremely pleased with it. As mentioned, it is not cheap...but you generally get what you pay for.

Pete

Folders that can be closed with one hand rely on a spring mechanism that you push to the side with your thumb to unlock the tang. I have a Camillus like that. I think it's a fundamentally less robust design than a locking mechanism that uses the full width of the backspacer.

Honestly with the Boye, opening it with one hand is not reliably easy either, but I think that's in part a function of how compact it is.

[pete33458]

Originally Posted by Suijin

Folders that can be closed with one hand rely on a spring mechanism that you push to the side with your thumb to unlock the tang. I have a Camillus like that. I think it's a fundamentally less robust design than a locking mechanism that uses the full width of the backspacer.

Honestly with the Boye, opening it with one hand is not reliably easy either, but I think that's in part a function of how compact it is.

I'm not sure how much less robust it really is, I have a one-hand Schrade (non-marine) that can be used as a crowbar (and has...). I could see how it might affect strength to some small extent, but the upside (one hand operation) is, in my opinion, worth it. I know we've all been in situations where you'd rather not have to press the spine of your knife into your ribacage to fold it!

[StuM]

Originally Posted by Suijin

Folders that can be closed with one hand rely on a spring mechanism that you push to the side with your thumb to unlock the tang. I have a Camillus like that. I think it's a fundamentally less robust design than a locking mechanism that uses the full width of the backspacer.

Honestly with the Boye, opening it with one hand is not reliably easy either, but I think that's in part a function of how compact it is.

I can close my #2 (Spiderco) with one hand, and that's not a side spring - it's a full width backspacer. Not that easy, but it just takes a bit of practice at shifting your grip.

[markwesti]

My first riggers knife was a Telo( I think )like this one https://www.amazon.com/Davis-Instrum.../dp/B0014ZOJ34
It was made in Japan, I think it was a 440c ss blade it held a sharp nicely . Problem was the blade did not lock , one day I was using it and I had my finger positioned where it would be a stop for the blade , at that moment the fixed blade became my friend . I think one of the reasons mfgs. make you two hands is because they want you to think about it . The Ka-Bar folder riggers knife in my first post has a very strong spring for the blade to open and close (but no lock) I don't really trust myself around it .

[jbinbi]

Have a spyderco , just looked at boye, 225 for folder with Marlinspike. Ouch.

Sent from my KFTBWI using Cruisers Sailing Forum mobile app

[pete33458]

Originally Posted by jbinbi

Have a spyderco , just looked at boye, 225 for folder with Marlinspike. Ouch.

Yeah, it stings a bit. If you can afford it, it's really quite a knife, though. If you don't lose it, it should be a lifetime possession. Pete

[hafa]

A bit of thread necromancy here, but seems the most relevant/newest one on the subject; apologies if this if a bit OT and rambles...


Back in 2015 I "invested" in a "quality" (read:expensive) rigging knife: a Myerchin Gen 2 Captain's knife. Worst. Knife. Ever. Brand new, couldn't cut butter on a hot day, would not hold an edge for more than half a cut, and weighed way too much for its size.


Prior to the Myerchin, I had been carrying (and enjoying) a $1.99 Craftsman box cutter as my sailing knife.


Today, the Myerchin is a rusty, nasty, unusable mess. It began rusting the first day of use, and within a week, the marlin spike spring had broken. Even though it got rinsed and lubricated before storage in a sealed ziplock after that, it turned into a nasty pile of rust.


The craftsman box knife, however, has seen constant use and abuse. I never bother to rinse it and it never rusts. Blade dull? 5 seconds and a 50-cent blade later and it's razor sharp, ready to cut ancient hardened thick line like it's nothing. Each blade gives 2 uses, as it's reversible. Extra bonus: it's so light and thin, you easily forget it's there.



Sometimes you get what you pay for, sometimes you get taken for a ride. The Craftsman knife is so good and so cheap, I buy them in bulk and give them out to anyone who crews as a 1-cent "gift". (yeah, I follow that old superstition).


At any rate, I thought I'd share this to promote these great Craftsman knives and/or in the unlikely event someone thinking about buying one of these crappy Myerchins stumbles across this thread. Picture for comparison; the Craftsman was purchased in 2014:

[pete33458]

My experience with Myerchin knives was similar, and although I'll not insist that a box cutter can't work as a sailing knife, I'd take my Boye knife any day. Never rusts, frighteningly sharp, holds an edge forever. Worth every penny. Pete