Multitool.org Forum
Tool Talk => Edged Tools => Topic started by: Spartan19 on April 03, 2019, 11:01:00 PM
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Ahoy! This thread is going to be about some of the saltiest knives on the planet!! Throughout this thread, i'll be talking about the different knives I've used in my experiences at sea, as well as some new arrivals I will be testing in the near future. Feel free to post comments, suggestions, criticisms, the weather deck is open. So time to play a durge, break out the rum and drop anchor, here we go! :drink:
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Number 1: Spyderco Atlantic and Pacific salt
Two of my all time favorites, both of these beauties have been everywhere from the Panama canal to Halifax Nova Scotia. Both are made at the Spyderco plant in Seki city Japan, and feature a completely rust proof h1 steel, partnered with an ultralight and super tough FRN handle. Both knives have excellent edge retention, and can be easily sharpened. The Pacific salts dine edge blade cuts through line like hot butter, and is great for camping, as well as at sea. The slightly smaller Atlantic salt features a shackle key, and an aggressive fully serrated blade. The Atlantic is great for thicker types of rope, and the serrations dig in on the line while cutting, with thinner line, this can lead to fraying, where the fine edge blade slices a little cleaner through smaller ropes, but may not have enough to quickly sever a heavier line. Both of these blades are an excellent choice for sailors, campers, first res-ponders, and all manor of outdoors men.
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Number two: Spyderco Autonomy
The autonomy is the US made, automatic deploy cousin to the Japanese Atlantic salt. Originally designed for Coast Guard rescue swimmers, this automatic, fully serrated blade is manufactured in Golden Colorado. The autonomy also has H1 steel, and g10 handle scales. The light serrations on this blade make it a champion at cutting quickly and smoothly through all types of line. While much heavier than the salt series, it has a good feel in the hand and is easily deployed with either hand.
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Thanks Mags! :hatsoff:
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Number 3: Myerchin captain, captain pro, and crew folders
Myerchin requires few introductions in the marine community, it is known for making beautiful yet modern sailing knives. The smaller crew, larger captain, and serrated captain pro all feature a folding marlinspike. I have had a couple of the larger fine edge captains, and one fine edge crew, and have had some disappointments with these two variations. One of the issues is that on some of them, the marlinspike would catch on the flipper action of the blade, making it very difficult to deploy. Also, the fine edge versions do not have good edge retention, and are sometimes prone to rust. I actually had to shorten the marlinspike on the smaller crew to make it functional. The bearings on the blades also become loose and wobbly very easily, thus giving an uneasy feeling about the knife. So far, the serrated Captain pro has been the highest quality of the three, but is still in the testing process. The folders are a bit of a gamble, some are great, many not so much. On the ship, we were issued the fine edge captain models, and I was constantly having friends bring theirs to me asking to sharpen them, because the edge retention was terrible. All I can say with these is, roll the dice and take a chance, it could be great or absolute trash.
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Number 4: Myerchin offshore fixed blade pro
This is considered one of the legends among the sailing knives. The Myerchin offshore pro is a 3/4 serrated, fixed blade knife with a separate marlinspike. I have not carried one of these for very long, so am not the best authority on them, but everyone I know who carries or carried one, thought it was the best knife out there
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Number 5: Wichard offshore and Opinel #8 outdoor
These are our two French sailing knives, both have great handles, decent cutting edges, adn the Wichard has a combo marlinspike/key/bottle opener (most crucial tool in the pack lol ;) ). The opinel has a key built into the blade and a high decibel whistle in the handle. Both are superlight and a joy to carry in a sheath. The only setback is neither one is very good for quick deploy access to the blade, which can be a problem in an emergency, but are great for recreational watercrafting, such as canoeing or kayacking, even great in the tackle box or fly vest. Both have great cutting edges, the Wichard's being slightly easier to cut with than the Opinel's.
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Number 6: Victorinox Skipper
By far one of the smoothest cutting serrated blades on the market, the 111mm skipper is an all in one toolchest. Packing everything into one beautiful knife. The only setback, just like the Wichard and Opinel, is the blade is not one hand accessible. Thankfully, Victorinox made this problem nonexistent with the introduction of the new skipper pro.
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Number 7: Grohman belt knife.
When the cutter was in Halifax, I went to a small shop in town, and met a man who was a boatswain in the Canadian navy, and carried one of these on his belt. I was very impressed with the overall quality of the blade and toughness of the marlinspike. The knife is deceivingly sharp, despite looking like a steak knife, and has a very clean cutting edge. The overall feel is very comfortable in the hand, and balances nicely in the sheath. The only setback is the shape of the handle can make this knife a little harder to hold onto due to the smooth wooden scales.
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Number 8: Buck 110
Do not be fooled by the more backwoods appearance of the 110. Even though it is a hunting knife, it is a great tough blade for work around a ship, and is extremely corrosion resistant. As long as you keep up with the edge, this beast can hold it's own with the best of them. I have had mine from the south Pacific to the north Atlantic, and it has proven it's worth time and time again, my main go to for a belt knife for almost all occasions. This wraps up my review on some of the best knives out there. Feel free to add any that you feel I've missed and share some sea stories of some of your favorite blades :multi:
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I leave this review with a video of some rough seas we hit this January off the coast of Virginia. Fair winds and following seas mates! :cheers:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/DnUSJgGw7qwwZCCVA
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Great thread mate :tu: thanks for taking the time for all those detailed insights :salute:
My marine activities were on inland waters, and far less challenging or critical that yours. We had a couple of 100+ tonne barges at the yard, but my narrowboat was around the 15 tonne mark, so the lines weren't significantly heavy. The knives I tended to use were not necessarily marine oriented, and being in freshwater areas, corrosion was less of an issue.
For a pocket knife, the Byrd Wings Slipit worked a treat. A plain edge blade for the general non-marine stuff, and a good hungry serrated blade for fibrous materials.
For heavier ropes I'd go old school, and baton through with a Marbles Sunfish. I didn't use these lines on my boat, but old ropes were often salvaged for projects around the yard, from lashing a rudimentary trestle or lifting rig, hauling props on and off, or simply caulking up a hole on someone's shed :D
If we were tootling out somewhere, I'd often have a Cold Steel Finn Bear on my hip. Close fitting, so minimal snag risks on hatches, lines, or lock ladders, less likely to be separated from me when climbing lock ladders than a pocket clipped knife, and cheap enough that if it did go in the drink, I wasn't going to cry over it. Smooth edged, but if you push cut tensioned synth lines as if sharpening a pencil, you'd get through it plenty fast enough.
My British Army Knife came in handy a few times for the marlin spike. More for untying other peoples knots than any splicing. In fact I never once spliced a line. A fig 8 loop was good enough for my needs.
The multifuel stoves on board had their kindling needs taken care of with an Iisakki Jarvenpaa puukko. My first ever fixed blade, which I bought a good few years before the boat. Basic tool, but did a cracking job, and never left me wanting.
For the real dirty work, emergency line hacking, defouling the prop, and other "slash and dash" jobs, I kept an old bread knife in the engine room. Cheap, dirty, and very effective. :D
Honourable mention should go to my late 8" rosewood Andujar bowie, which was claimed in the 2007 floods. :cry: That knife did a ton of work for me. In fact I built some very awkward window frames for the portholes on the bow of a 62ft barge. Well, I say portholes, they were actually the glass out of front loading washing machine doors. Everything was intersecting arcs and radii, and you couldn't get a measure on anything. Everything was done by eye, and adjust accordingly. I put those window frames together with nothing more than a cordless drill + accessories, and that bowie. Those windowframes are still on that boat to this day :D Sad loss, but I replaced it with a stag Muela Jabali 17A, which is even more awesome than the Andujar was.
Probably all totally the wrong knives for your environment, buddy :D but in an inland hobby setting, they did a grand job :salute:
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Nice write up. Thanks.
I can see any of those spyderco's as boat knives.
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Great thread mate :tu: thanks for taking the time for all those detailed insights :salute:
My marine activities were on inland waters, and far less challenging or critical that yours. We had a couple of 100+ tonne barges at the yard, but my narrowboat was around the 15 tonne mark, so the lines weren't significantly heavy. The knives I tended to use were not necessarily marine oriented, and being in freshwater areas, corrosion was less of an issue.
For a pocket knife, the Byrd Wings Slipit worked a treat. A plain edge blade for the general non-marine stuff, and a good hungry serrated blade for fibrous materials.
For heavier ropes I'd go old school, and baton through with a Marbles Sunfish. I didn't use these lines on my boat, but old ropes were often salvaged for projects around the yard, from lashing a rudimentary trestle or lifting rig, hauling props on and off, or simply caulking up a hole on someone's shed :D
If we were tootling out somewhere, I'd often have a Cold Steel Finn Bear on my hip. Close fitting, so minimal snag risks on hatches, lines, or lock ladders, less likely to be separated from me when climbing lock ladders than a pocket clipped knife, and cheap enough that if it did go in the drink, I wasn't going to cry over it. Smooth edged, but if you push cut tensioned synth lines as if sharpening a pencil, you'd get through it plenty fast enough.
My British Army Knife came in handy a few times for the marlin spike. More for untying other peoples knots than any splicing. In fact I never once spliced a line. A fig 8 loop was good enough for my needs.
The multifuel stoves on board had their kindling needs taken care of with an Iisakki Jarvenpaa puukko. My first ever fixed blade, which I bought a good few years before the boat. Basic tool, but did a cracking job, and never left me wanting.
For the real dirty work, emergency line hacking, defouling the prop, and other "slash and dash" jobs, I kept an old bread knife in the engine room. Cheap, dirty, and very effective. :D
Honourable mention should go to my late 8" rosewood Andujar bowie, which was claimed in the 2007 floods. :cry: That knife did a ton of work for me. In fact I built some very awkward window frames for the portholes on the bow of a 62ft barge. Well, I say portholes, they were actually the glass out of front loading washing machine doors. Everything was intersecting arcs and radii, and you couldn't get a measure on anything. Everything was done by eye, and adjust accordingly. I put those window frames together with nothing more than a cordless drill + accessories, and that bowie. Those windowframes are still on that boat to this day :D Sad loss, but I replaced it with a stag Muela Jabali 17A, which is even more awesome than the Andujar was.
Probably all totally the wrong knives for your environment, buddy :D but in an inland hobby setting, they did a grand job :salute:
Thanks bro! Very nice blades in your arsenal!
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Nice write up. Thanks.
I can see any of those spyderco's as boat knives.
Thanks Dean!
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Cool thread, Spartan!
Thanks for the insights..........
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:iagree: :tu:
Thanks Noah ! :cheers:
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Great job!
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Thanks guys! :hatsoff:
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Great write up Spartan
If you sail into Halifax again shoot me a message, I'll buy you a steak and give you the 25 cent tour :cheers:
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Great work on the thread :tu: Lots of cool knives that are made for sea faring use :like: Haven't had my Salt out in a while, maybe need to change that :think: :cheers:
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That was a great read spartan - Thanks! :like:
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That was a great read spartan - Thanks! :like:
:iagree: cool video clip as well :tu:
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Now this is a great thread, Spartan, thanks a lot.
Inviato dal mio iPhone utilizzando Tapatalk
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Great write up Spartan
If you sail into Halifax again shoot me a message, I'll buy you a steak and give you the 25 cent tour :cheers:
Much obliged Greg! :tu:
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Thanks guys! If any other salts or sailing knives come along, I'll have to add them to the thread :cheers:
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Great thread Spartan :like:
Can I add my Bund knife? Very solidly built with thick brass liners, a whopping 4mm thick blade, Marlin Spike and huge bail. The Spike is locking, the blade isn't. I reshaped the blade to a sheepsfoot which is much more pleasing to my eye. The original shape was a kind of spearpoint but not quite.
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Great thread Spartan :like:
Can I add my Bund knife? Very solidly built with thick brass liners, a whopping 4mm thick blade, Marlin Spike and huge bail. The Spike is locking, the blade isn't. I reshaped the blade to a sheepsfoot which is much more pleasing to my eye. The original shape was a kind of spearpoint but not quite.
Absolutely mags, and a great addition it is! I used to have a bund, but gave it to a friend who was going underway on an old school sailing ship, and needed it a lot more than I did. Wish I still had mine, maybe someday..... :whistle:
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Nice topic folks.
With those sailing knifes I wonder how the flat spikes (eg Wichards, Victorinox) perform compared to the more round ones.
Especially the Wichards one with the really flat and wide one.
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Nice topic folks.
With those sailing knifes I wonder how the flat spikes (eg Wichards, Victorinox) perform compared to the more round ones.
Especially the Wichards one with the really flat and wide one.
I've tried Victorinox (flat) and also Fox (round) and a stand alone Myerchin Marlin Spike (round). I have found the round ones better, with the Myerchin MS being the best but, I guess, that may be down to it being purely MS so no compromise.
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I believe the wichard one is more of a shackle key and less of a marlin spike - the modern sailor or racer does not really expect to be splicing or repairing lines.
Anyway, since we're here, here's a dodgy pic of my "sailing" knives.
The spike is polished steel, not stainless (as you can see from the rust coming up) but cost me nothing but time to make and does the job for knots, or splicing narrower (up to about 10mm) just fine. I have a larger one for thicker ropes, and a set of fids for braided types.
The Spyderco is pretty much always on hand, and more or less my go-to for hacking cordage up.
The Currey is a bit of a rarer carry, and in all honestly probably does more slicing apples than anything else, but it is nautical in theme, so I threw it on the mat :P
I've got a BAK that lives in my bag, but that bag is in my locker, and my locker is at work, so....eh....
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Nice topic folks.
With those sailing knifes I wonder how the flat spikes (eg Wichards, Victorinox) perform compared to the more round ones.
Especially the Wichards one with the really flat and wide one.
Thanks shuya! Believe it or not, the flat spikes actually work pretty well, almost as good as the round ones. The more wide wichard has better leverage due to the shape of the spike
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I believe the wichard one is more of a shackle key and less of a marlin spike - the modern sailor or racer does not really expect to be splicing or repairing lines.
Anyway, since we're here, here's a dodgy pic of my "sailing" knives.
The spike is polished steel, not stainless (as you can see from the rust coming up) but cost me nothing but time to make and does the job for knots, or splicing narrower (up to about 10mm) just fine. I have a larger one for thicker ropes, and a set of fids for braided types.
The Spyderco is pretty much always on hand, and more or less my go-to for hacking cordage up.
The Currey is a bit of a rarer carry, and in all honestly probably does more slicing apples than anything else, but it is nautical in theme, so I threw it on the mat :P
I've got a BAK that lives in my bag, but that bag is in my locker, and my locker is at work, so....eh....
Great pic sm! It's true, nowadays there's very little call for splicing anymore, at least on the military ships, maybe more so on private sailboats and schooners
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I enjoy splicing. But, no, not much call for it routinely.
Unless we're talking about splicing the mainbrace. :D