What kind of rigging knife do you have?

[DannyS]

Long story short... I asked for a new pocket knife a couple years ago for Christmas and got a very nice Kershaw "Leek" knife from my Dad. It was a beautiful knife, half serrated, smooth assisted opening blade. It was stolen from me last summer. After having received that knife I realized that a knife with a marlinspike would have been a good idea, but too late, I had a great knife.
Well, now my wife bought me an early birthday gift...the very same knife to replace the stolen one. My quandry is that I might return this knife for something with a spike since I don't mind offending my wife but would never have dreamed of returning the one my Dad gave me.
I've looked around some but haven't found anything with assisted opening and a spike. At minimum, I want single hand opening.
Any suggestions?

 

[Ken Prichard]

Have a look at these:

http://boyeknives.com/

 

[SamLust]

Several companies make very nice one piece aheath knives which they sell as a package with a separate spike. Neither has a pivot and so neither is likely to break at the pivot. Plus, when you pull out the knife it is already "open" so you don't need one hand opening.

 

[sailingdog]

I like the Boye knives... since they're never going to rust, they hold a good edge for cutting rope and the marlinspike is titanium.

The folding versions can be easily opened with one hand, either left or right....and are available in a pointed or blunt tip blade.

 

[Todd Smith]

The blade is pretty short, but I think its the best overall rigging knife/tool.

Blade, spike and pliers, all in one and pretty cheap.

http://www.defender.com/product.jsp?path=-1|118|119|312085&id=1343366

 

[Ray Bowles]

Make sure your wife's knife is shorter than yours.

If she reads the post she might have a different thought about being "offended".

 

[BobM]

I bought myself a beautiful Myerchin rigging knife. It has a spike and it folds and locks. It has never been on the boat in the two+ years I have owned it.

My favorite onboard tool is a cheap and light leatherman knock-off that has pliers I can deploy with one hand. I always seem to need them for pliers rather than a knife. Plus I always have a screwdriver...bottle opener...etc...

 

[sailingdog]

In addition to my rigging knife, I do carry a Leatherman Surge pocket tool, which I find invaluable.

I bought myself a beautiful Myerchin rigging knife. It has a spike and it folds and locks. It has never been on the boat in the two+ years I have owned it.

My favorite onboard tool is a cheap and light leatherman knock-off that has pliers I can deploy with one hand. I always seem to need them for pliers rather than a knife. Plus I always have a screwdriver...bottle opener...etc...

 

[zeehag]

mine is a knife and a shackle key and a marling spike all in one unit--folds and is able to be worn on a lanyard---tried other stuff like gerber knives--didnt like--love this 3 in one unit

 

[kenn]

In the boat toolbox, we have a nice, simple Wichart knife with a part-serrated blade and a spike/shackle-key. Nice basic knife. We have a stand-alone splicing spike in the toolbox as well.

I am a bit of a knife geek though, with the requisite desk drawer full of Leathermans (...Leathermen?), Gerbers, etc. When we were in Europe in 2008, about the only souvenir I bought myself was a Victorinox "Swiss Army" knife known as the 'Skipper'.

I call it my "Swiss Navy" knife

It's a handful, but pretty darn useful. When sailing, I keep the knife on a lanyard, and in a pouch threaded onto the strap of my inflatable PFD.

 

[Andy1237]

I have a "dress knife" and a "working knife". I primarily use the working knife (esp. on deck); its an inexpensive stainless knife with marlinspike, shackle key, and blade. If it falls overboard I haven't lost too much. Matter of fact I saw one in Harbor Freight Tools for less than ten bucks! Purely utilitiarian.

But sometimes I carry my "dress knife". Looks a lot prettier with all the same features, better quality and wood sides and a nice belt loop case. Blade is more sturdy and it is obviously more expensive and something I would hate to donate to the sea.

 

[chuckwayne]

The Boye knives are great! In addition, they are one of the few knives that will quickly cut through the new hi-tech lines. Even large nylon lines cut with just a few strokes

 

[higgs]

I use the Leatherman Wave in almost all situations. i do have a sheathed diving knife strapped to the pedestal for emergency gotta cut the sheet type stuff.

 

[DannyS]

Thanks for the responses. I, like most of us I think, have a drawer full of swiss army knives, leathermen, etc. but after looking at and reading the posts I think I'm narrowing down my criteria. I'd like to have a knife that I can open one-handed, has the spike for knots, can be clipped securely to a PFD, and can be carried or clipped comfortably in a pocket.
The Boye knife appears to fit the bill but will take quite a few bills to make fit. I'm a little concerned about having such a pricey knife meet its fate overboard. I'd make sure to have a lanyard on that one. The Myerchin looks the most promising but it's a little clunky.
My biggest problem is that there are very few places that stock decent rigging knives so I can't physically hold one to know how it feels in hand.

 

[sailingdog]

If you're good at not losing things... the Boye is the way to go IMHO. The fact that it won't ever rust is a major factor, at least it was for me. The blade and marlinspike are NOT steel. The blade is cobalt carbide and the spike is titanium.

As for the Myerchins, the P300, which looks like this:

is poorly designed, at least in choice of materials. The handle is aluminum and in combination with the stainless steel blade and frame, will be a corrosion problem in a salt water environment. Also, it wil tend to be slippery compared to the synthetic handles found on the Boye, Spyderco and other brands. Also, a shackle key, like that found in the marlinspike on the Boye knife is usually more useful than the small pliers that the Myerchin features.

Thanks for the responses. I, like most of us I think, have a drawer full of swiss army knives, leathermen, etc. but after looking at and reading the posts I think I'm narrowing down my criteria. I'd like to have a knife that I can open one-handed, has the spike for knots, can be clipped securely to a PFD, and can be carried or clipped comfortably in a pocket.
The Boye knife appears to fit the bill but will take quite a few bills to make fit. I'm a little concerned about having such a pricey knife meet its fate overboard. I'd make sure to have a lanyard on that one. The Myerchin looks the most promising but it's a little clunky.
My biggest problem is that there are very few places that stock decent rigging knives so I can't physically hold one to know how it feels in hand.

 

[Alan]

Whatever brand you choose make sure it can be opened with one hand. If you're using the other hand for holding or whatever, you be very glad for the single hand opening.
To prevent loss or dropping overboard just attach a bungy lanyard to your belt that stretches as far as you can reach your hand. This will leave you always able to open the knife and never have to worry about loosing it. It's part of my standard outfit along with a cap and sailing gloves.

 

[BobM]

Weight is important to me. My Carolina Knife and Tool multi-tool has sliding pliers that can be opened with one hand (apparently it is a budget rip off of a Gerber, who owns the company). It is a lot like this...actually this seems to be the exact one, only with a Winchester brand. Only $24.

http://www.amazon.com/Winchester-22...f=sr_1_13?ie=UTF8&s=hi&qid=1270647477&sr=1-13

I have another pair that is of the butterfly style, like this. It is a great deal and looks light weight, but I prefer the sliding plier to the butterfly.

It is funny, but I weighed the Carolina tools unit and it weigh in at 6.0 oz. I perceive that as light, even though I perceive my Myerchin and the other multi-tool as heavy and they are 7.5 and 8 oz respectively. That doesn't seem like much difference, but it is noticeable to me and I find that I don't notice wearing the 6 oz one, but the 8 oz one is more bulky and bothersome. Of course, that one comes with a mini socket set and a larger sheath bringing the total weight on my waist to 10oz. The 6 oz one can use such, but they didn't come with it and the sheath is a simple one.

Anyway...it is all personal choice. Consider what you use most often. Useful features in a multi-tool that mine lack are the ability to lock (ouch!) and one lacks a spring to flex the pliers open, which is a plus and a minus. One has widely spread handles and the other doesn't...again a trade off...the one with the wide handles allows you to apply more pressure and has the spring too, but the darned thing is always in the spread open position. It lacks a fold open lanyard loop, which is a nice feature on the 6oz one. It has a lanyard on it that has saved it from the briny deep many times.

In any case, knife or multi-tool, I recommend you get a blade that has half straight and half serrated edge.

A plus to the Myerchin is that I could darn near shave with it, although I will agree it is certainly more for show than go at nigh $100 for the one I have.

 

[HukilauMike]

I bought the West Marine cheapo: less than $10, all stainless and has a half-serrated, half-straight edge blade, spike and a shackle key. A great tool. I don't carry it around when sailing because I can't open it with one hand. I also have a knife I got at a flea market for $5: opens with one hand and locks. Butt ugly (fake ivory inset on the handle with a tacky etching of a deer), but does the trick. I rarely use the blade on the West Marine knife; its short and tough to keep sharp. However, I use the spike and key regularly. IMHO, "emergency" knife use is almost always going to mean cutting a line quickly; for that, I want a serrated blade I can open with one hand. That's why I put the flea market special in my pocket every time I take out the boat.

 

[sailingdog]

Make sure that any lanyard you have allows you to reach up over your head at full extension.

Whatever brand you choose make sure it can be opened with one hand. If you're using the other hand for holding or whatever, you be very glad for the single hand opening.
To prevent loss or dropping overboard just attach a bungy lanyard to your belt that stretches as far as you can reach your hand. This will leave you always able to open the knife and never have to worry about loosing it. It's part of my standard outfit along with a cap and sailing gloves.

 

[EBarnacle]

Knife safety

Whatever brand you choose make sure it can be opened with one hand. If you're using the other hand for holding or whatever, you be very glad for the single hand opening.
To prevent loss or dropping overboard just attach a bungy lanyard to your belt that stretches as far as you can reach your hand. This will leave you always able to open the knife and never have to worry about loosing it. It's part of my standard outfit along with a cap and sailing gloves.

Several people have mentioned that whatever knife they chose would need to open easily. On that inevitable "Dark and Stormy night" the situation is different. Ask yourself whether you want to have to open the knife at all. When you need a good knife now you do not want to have to mess with opening it. Your fingers are slippery from the rain, the spring/lock might not work, there might be a little piece of something stuck in the slot, etc.

I have found that the knife which is least likely to hurt me is a sheepsfoot non-folder [no lock to fail, not point to stab me]. I agree that the sharpest most durable blade is the way to go.

On the other hand, many years ago, I left a carbon steel bladed home built from Atlanta Cutlery on a friend's boat. When I recovered it a year later, it was rusty and pitted. After I cleaned it up and resharpened it, it has never rusted since and stays sharper than it used to. My thought is that the mistreatment resulted in the equivalent of a gun's bluing. I do not recommend this as a general practice as others may not get the same result.

As I also do a good bit of safety work, I often carry a Spiderco folder on my life jacket. I switched from their sharp tipped blades as I kept sticking myself [and their tips are needle sharp]. Their sheep foot blades are very good and durable. Knives are not meant to be used as prybars. If you need a spike, get a good one from a rigging shop and make it part of your kit.

As with computer printers, the problem with tools meant to do several things is that when one component fails, you are likely to end up getting a replacement for the whole thing. Dedicated tools, such as a good spike are likely to be treated with more respect and be built to last longer than multitools. I have lost count of how many times I have been pinched by the so-called high quality Leatherman and its clones.