- Joined
- May 29, 2022
- Messages
- 3
Hi everyone,
Sorry this is such a long post. I am brand new to this forum, and inexperienced re: buying knives. I need some help and advice, please, from knife aficionados, most especially from sailors / deckhands, coast guard employees, folks serving in the Navy/Marines, people who work on large tankers / ocean-going ships, icebreakers, etc. - basically those folks who perform manual labour on ships / are very familiar with a marine / salt water working environment.
My close friend recently got a contract job, with the Canadian Coast Guard. He's currently working, as a deckhand, on an icebreaker in Lake Superior. He will likely have other contracts on the Great Lakes, this summer. Some of these may be trips up and down the St. Lawrence and partially sailing along the Atlantic coast of the USA (e.g. Montreal to Boston – that kind of thing). However, he wants to eventually work on large oceangoing ships (tankers, oil riggers, etc.) on cross-Atlantic / cross-Pacific crossings, and his dream is to sail in all the oceans of the world, and also to eventually buy / captain his own sailboat, and circumnavigate the world, one day in the future. He is an experienced sailor - he grew up sailing and diving in both the Mediterranean and Atlantic, and has worked on a cruise ship, running tenders / teaching SCUBA diving. He is an experienced SCUBA diver (1500+ dives), and I'm assuming he already has a lot of his own scuba diving equipment, likely including a fixed blade diving knive. He probably won't be working on fishing boats.
Anyway, I want to get him one really good, high-quality rigging knife, as a present. (Just one knife, though, since I am not made of money). However, I'd like to get something really top notch, and something that will last a lifetime. But, I'm having a hard time deciding which one to buy. I've done a lot of research, so far, learning about blade types, different types of steel, reading reviews from sailing magazines/websites, watching youtube videos, reading various knife forum posts (e.g. Spydrco forum), etc. Through all of this, I've managed to narrow it down to about a dozen choices.
I know there are other good, utilitarian, working knives out there, too, like the Spyderco Salt 2 Dragonfly, Spyderco Salt Native 5 (Plain Edge), Spyderco Delico, Spyderco Endela, Spyderco Harpy, various Wharncliff-type blades, etc., etc. I also know there are cheaper knives available, but, I have already considered a LOT of other knives (Myerchin, Camillus, Wichard, Gill, etc.), but, from what I can tell those blades are not nearly as high quality, sharp, etc. (I think it's kind of a matter of, to a certain extent, you get what you pay for). Ideally, I want to get him a "dream knife," so to speak - the kind that would make you drool, and make your eyes light up. So, at this juncture, I think I'm just going to go with one of the ones listed below.
FYI, he is meticulous about cleaning his possessions and taking extremely good care of them, but, I still want something that is highly corrosion-resistant. He has medium-to-medium/large-sized hands (he fits a Medium size in Ronstan sailing gloves). That might be important to know in terms of the size / handle and ergonomics. He does like "Made in the USA" items, so I'm leaning heavily towards a Boye knife, although getting one into Canada would be real pain (they don't ship here, so I would have to ship it to the border, and then drive down and pick it up). The A. G. Russell Seamaster would be a lot easier to get - same holds true with any of the Spydercos, which is why there are so many on my list.
Can you please give me advice on which one would be the best, in terms of corrosion resistance, usefulness of the blade, sharpness for emergency situations (example having to cut a line really quickly, etc.), nonslip grip / ergonomics, etc. I don't know if he prefers a finger choil, or not. I want it to be a surprise, so I cannot actually ask him. I am leaning towards a folding knife, but am also vaguely considering the Boye fixed knife. (But, I think the odds are that he may already have a good fixed knife, since he is a diver, as mentioned).
I am leaning heavily towards a sheepsfoot blade, just because of the extra safety factor, while working on rough, pitching seas (e.g. in the Atlantic), and the emergency/rescue aspect of them, but if something like a leaf point blade would be more useful, then, maybe that would be the way to go? I'm also leaning towards one of those with a marlinspike, but haven decided 100% about that.
I already bought him a Leatherman Wave+ multitool, previously, which he absolutely loves, and carries on him, all the time - it has a plain edge, a serrated edge and a saw, and they are good, in a pinch, but they're all very small blades, like what you'd find on a pocket knife. I want to get him something more utilitarian, that he can use as a tool, for working.
Note: If I get a Spyderco, especially a Serrated Edge, I'll probably also get him the Tri-Angle Sharpmaker, too. I read through a rather lengthy thread about SEs, in the Spyderco forum, so I'm not at all opposed to serrated edges – it sounds like they're pretty useful on a ship. https://www.spyderco.com/catalog/details/204MF/77
Also Note: I would've listed the Spyderco Tusk, below, but they no longer seem to be available for sale, and I'm not sure they're that much better than the other options, regardless.
If you have made it this far, and can offer me some advice / reasoning, I would very much appreciate it! Thanks in advance!
My List:
Boye https://www.boyeknives.com/collections/all
Boye - Folding Boating and Rescue Sheepsfoot with Titanium Marlinspike
Dendritic Cobalt - Serrated Edge - 3" blade, is 7" in length overall, and weighs just 2.5 oz. Includes Titanium Marlinspike/Shackle Key/Multitool (spike will pry up to 200 lb).
Boye - Pointed Tip Folder with Titanium Marlinspike
Dendritic Cobalt - partially serrated edge - 3" blade, is 7" in length overall, and weighs just 2.5 oz.
Boye Cobalt Basic 3 - fixed knife. Blunt edge or pointed edge options are available.
Dendritic Cobalt - overall length of 8" with a blade length of 4" and handle length of 4" and weighs 6 oz. It comes with a vertical or horizontal wear black Kydex-lined sheath with a Velcro flap closure. This knife does not come with a marlinspike.
A.G. Russell
A.G. Russell SeaMaster 2.0 https://agrussell.com/knife/A-G-Russell-SeaMaster-2-0--AGSA-218TI
This new version of the A.G. Russell™ SeaMaster™ is also being made in Italy by the same manufacturer. It is the same size as the original with a 3-1⁄4" flat ground blade of M390 stainless at 60-61 Rc., instead of ATS-34, with serrations on the front half of the blade. The 2-3⁄4" marlin spike is 303 stainless at 55-57 Rc. Both are DLC coated. This is a very tough coating, with a hardness of 80+ Rc. and provides great rust resistance. As a part of the 4-1⁄8" Titanium handle are two Frame-Locks, one locks the blade, the other the spike, in the open position for convenience and safety. With a black blade and spike, colorful Titanium handles and carbon fiber onlays (G10 on the original), this is a visually striking knife. Measures 4-1⁄8" closed. Weighs about 3.1 oz. Made in Maniago, Italy.
Spyderco
(I am only looking at LC200N steel - I have decided against H1).
Spyderco Atlantic Salt (Green handle - LC200N) - Serrated Edge (SpyderEdge)
Spyderco Atlantic Salt (Green handle - LC200N) - Plain Edge
https://www.spyderco.com/?s=Atlantic+salt
Spyderco Caribbean (LC200N) - Sheepsfoot Serrated Edge (SpyderEdge)
Spyderco Caribbean (LC200N) - Sheepsfoot Plain Edge
Spyderco Caribbean (LC200N) - Leaf Blade Serrated Edge (SpyderEdge)
Spyderco Caribbean (LC200N) - Leaf Blade Plain Edge
https://www.spyderco.com/?s=Caribbean
Spyderco Pacific Salt (Green handle - LC200N) - Serrated Edge (SpyderEdge)
Spyderco Pacific Salt (Green handle - LC200N) - Plain Edge
https://www.spyderco.com/?s=Pacific+salt
Sorry this is such a long post. I am brand new to this forum, and inexperienced re: buying knives. I need some help and advice, please, from knife aficionados, most especially from sailors / deckhands, coast guard employees, folks serving in the Navy/Marines, people who work on large tankers / ocean-going ships, icebreakers, etc. - basically those folks who perform manual labour on ships / are very familiar with a marine / salt water working environment.
My close friend recently got a contract job, with the Canadian Coast Guard. He's currently working, as a deckhand, on an icebreaker in Lake Superior. He will likely have other contracts on the Great Lakes, this summer. Some of these may be trips up and down the St. Lawrence and partially sailing along the Atlantic coast of the USA (e.g. Montreal to Boston – that kind of thing). However, he wants to eventually work on large oceangoing ships (tankers, oil riggers, etc.) on cross-Atlantic / cross-Pacific crossings, and his dream is to sail in all the oceans of the world, and also to eventually buy / captain his own sailboat, and circumnavigate the world, one day in the future. He is an experienced sailor - he grew up sailing and diving in both the Mediterranean and Atlantic, and has worked on a cruise ship, running tenders / teaching SCUBA diving. He is an experienced SCUBA diver (1500+ dives), and I'm assuming he already has a lot of his own scuba diving equipment, likely including a fixed blade diving knive. He probably won't be working on fishing boats.
Anyway, I want to get him one really good, high-quality rigging knife, as a present. (Just one knife, though, since I am not made of money). However, I'd like to get something really top notch, and something that will last a lifetime. But, I'm having a hard time deciding which one to buy. I've done a lot of research, so far, learning about blade types, different types of steel, reading reviews from sailing magazines/websites, watching youtube videos, reading various knife forum posts (e.g. Spydrco forum), etc. Through all of this, I've managed to narrow it down to about a dozen choices.
I know there are other good, utilitarian, working knives out there, too, like the Spyderco Salt 2 Dragonfly, Spyderco Salt Native 5 (Plain Edge), Spyderco Delico, Spyderco Endela, Spyderco Harpy, various Wharncliff-type blades, etc., etc. I also know there are cheaper knives available, but, I have already considered a LOT of other knives (Myerchin, Camillus, Wichard, Gill, etc.), but, from what I can tell those blades are not nearly as high quality, sharp, etc. (I think it's kind of a matter of, to a certain extent, you get what you pay for). Ideally, I want to get him a "dream knife," so to speak - the kind that would make you drool, and make your eyes light up. So, at this juncture, I think I'm just going to go with one of the ones listed below.
FYI, he is meticulous about cleaning his possessions and taking extremely good care of them, but, I still want something that is highly corrosion-resistant. He has medium-to-medium/large-sized hands (he fits a Medium size in Ronstan sailing gloves). That might be important to know in terms of the size / handle and ergonomics. He does like "Made in the USA" items, so I'm leaning heavily towards a Boye knife, although getting one into Canada would be real pain (they don't ship here, so I would have to ship it to the border, and then drive down and pick it up). The A. G. Russell Seamaster would be a lot easier to get - same holds true with any of the Spydercos, which is why there are so many on my list.
Can you please give me advice on which one would be the best, in terms of corrosion resistance, usefulness of the blade, sharpness for emergency situations (example having to cut a line really quickly, etc.), nonslip grip / ergonomics, etc. I don't know if he prefers a finger choil, or not. I want it to be a surprise, so I cannot actually ask him. I am leaning towards a folding knife, but am also vaguely considering the Boye fixed knife. (But, I think the odds are that he may already have a good fixed knife, since he is a diver, as mentioned).
I am leaning heavily towards a sheepsfoot blade, just because of the extra safety factor, while working on rough, pitching seas (e.g. in the Atlantic), and the emergency/rescue aspect of them, but if something like a leaf point blade would be more useful, then, maybe that would be the way to go? I'm also leaning towards one of those with a marlinspike, but haven decided 100% about that.
I already bought him a Leatherman Wave+ multitool, previously, which he absolutely loves, and carries on him, all the time - it has a plain edge, a serrated edge and a saw, and they are good, in a pinch, but they're all very small blades, like what you'd find on a pocket knife. I want to get him something more utilitarian, that he can use as a tool, for working.
Note: If I get a Spyderco, especially a Serrated Edge, I'll probably also get him the Tri-Angle Sharpmaker, too. I read through a rather lengthy thread about SEs, in the Spyderco forum, so I'm not at all opposed to serrated edges – it sounds like they're pretty useful on a ship. https://www.spyderco.com/catalog/details/204MF/77
Also Note: I would've listed the Spyderco Tusk, below, but they no longer seem to be available for sale, and I'm not sure they're that much better than the other options, regardless.
If you have made it this far, and can offer me some advice / reasoning, I would very much appreciate it! Thanks in advance!
My List:
Boye https://www.boyeknives.com/collections/all
Boye - Folding Boating and Rescue Sheepsfoot with Titanium Marlinspike
Dendritic Cobalt - Serrated Edge - 3" blade, is 7" in length overall, and weighs just 2.5 oz. Includes Titanium Marlinspike/Shackle Key/Multitool (spike will pry up to 200 lb).
Boye - Pointed Tip Folder with Titanium Marlinspike
Dendritic Cobalt - partially serrated edge - 3" blade, is 7" in length overall, and weighs just 2.5 oz.
Boye Cobalt Basic 3 - fixed knife. Blunt edge or pointed edge options are available.
Dendritic Cobalt - overall length of 8" with a blade length of 4" and handle length of 4" and weighs 6 oz. It comes with a vertical or horizontal wear black Kydex-lined sheath with a Velcro flap closure. This knife does not come with a marlinspike.
A.G. Russell
A.G. Russell SeaMaster 2.0 https://agrussell.com/knife/A-G-Russell-SeaMaster-2-0--AGSA-218TI
This new version of the A.G. Russell™ SeaMaster™ is also being made in Italy by the same manufacturer. It is the same size as the original with a 3-1⁄4" flat ground blade of M390 stainless at 60-61 Rc., instead of ATS-34, with serrations on the front half of the blade. The 2-3⁄4" marlin spike is 303 stainless at 55-57 Rc. Both are DLC coated. This is a very tough coating, with a hardness of 80+ Rc. and provides great rust resistance. As a part of the 4-1⁄8" Titanium handle are two Frame-Locks, one locks the blade, the other the spike, in the open position for convenience and safety. With a black blade and spike, colorful Titanium handles and carbon fiber onlays (G10 on the original), this is a visually striking knife. Measures 4-1⁄8" closed. Weighs about 3.1 oz. Made in Maniago, Italy.
Spyderco
(I am only looking at LC200N steel - I have decided against H1).
Spyderco Atlantic Salt (Green handle - LC200N) - Serrated Edge (SpyderEdge)
Spyderco Atlantic Salt (Green handle - LC200N) - Plain Edge
https://www.spyderco.com/?s=Atlantic+salt
Spyderco Caribbean (LC200N) - Sheepsfoot Serrated Edge (SpyderEdge)
Spyderco Caribbean (LC200N) - Sheepsfoot Plain Edge
Spyderco Caribbean (LC200N) - Leaf Blade Serrated Edge (SpyderEdge)
Spyderco Caribbean (LC200N) - Leaf Blade Plain Edge
https://www.spyderco.com/?s=Caribbean
Spyderco Pacific Salt (Green handle - LC200N) - Serrated Edge (SpyderEdge)
Spyderco Pacific Salt (Green handle - LC200N) - Plain Edge
https://www.spyderco.com/?s=Pacific+salt
Last edited:
