On Jun 6, 5:05 pm, Jeff wrote:
* Bill wrote, On 6/6/2007 3:26 PM:

...

The Myerchin is very nice but its big and heavy. I have the large
folding one and I never use it. In fact, since it was "ivory" I had
it scrimshawed and its now more of a display item. The smaller, thin
Myerchin I gave to my wife gets more use.

The important thing for a boater is to have a sharp knife always
available. The large riggers knife makes sense if you're actually a
rigger, or perhaps racing or sailing offshore, but much of the time
its too cumbersome, and I certainly don't want to go through life with
a big hunk of metal hanging from my hip. I have a rigger's knife that
stays by the helm, and really gets used once a year.

So what I've had for the last 45 years is a "pocket carry" that's
always there (except on airplanes). Currently I use one of these:

www.boyeknives.com

but there are a large number of possibilities. Traditionally a good
sailor knife was made with carbon steel, but lately stainless is
almost ubiquitous. The Boye is an exception with almost no iron at all.

I keep the large rigging knife at the helm, along with a few basic
tools so that while sailing I don't have to go searching when the need
arises. There's a serrated "fillet" knife in the anchor locker, and a
dive knife in the emergency locker, along with a special "hook knife"
for lobster pots. All of these have the uses, but the one that gets
used the most is the pocket knife.

Serrated knives are a pain in the ass to keep razor sharp IMO. Good to
use and throw away when they get dull. About as easy to sharpen as a
cross cut saw.

Joe