So some of you may know I am fairly new to sailing and I am trying to
learn and aquire the neccessary stuff. I am looking at a couple of
sailing knives. I want something that is good and reliable.
Something that will last a long time. I happen to have a certain
knife 'enthusiasm' if you will, and I prefer to get something a little
better than something that will just do. I was looking at these two:

http://www.myerchin.com/B001.html (in either black or wood) I found it
cheaper on another site.

and

http://www.colonialknives.co.uk/inde...d.php/cat/2750

I like the Grohmans spike and sheath better but I wanted to see what
other people think about these. Any experiences with either? Any
good or bad points? If I could look at them i would feel better. You
find out a lot more by holding a knife than you could in a picture on
the net but I don't know of any retail locations that carry them. I
live in So California if you know of any place to look. Thanks,
Bill

On Jun 6, 2:26 pm, Bill wrote:
So some of you may know I am fairly new to sailing and I am trying to
learn and aquire the neccessary stuff. I am looking at a couple of
sailing knives. I want something that is good and reliable.
Something that will last a long time. I happen to have a certain
knife 'enthusiasm' if you will, and I prefer to get something a little
better than something that will just do. I was looking at these two:

http://www.myerchin.com/B001.html(in either black or wood) I found it
cheaper on another site.

and

http://www.colonialknives.co.uk/inde...top.jpg/rmenu/...

I like the Grohmans spike and sheath better but I wanted to see what
other people think about these. Any experiences with either? Any
good or bad points? If I could look at them i would feel better. You
find out a lot more by holding a knife than you could in a picture on
the net but I don't know of any retail locations that carry them. I
live in So California if you know of any place to look. Thanks,
Bill

Nice, but the nylon sheath will be worn to nothing in no time. That
spike sure is pretty but needs a sheath to be carried safely. That
knife looks good for skinning bear but around lines a straight blade
is better. I'd go with a combo like the case marlin spike.

http://cgi.ebay.com/CASE-TESTED-XX-1...QQcmdZViewItem


If you need a bigger spike then one like this:

http://cgi.ebay.com/8-Marlin-Spike-F...QQcmdZViewItem

Joe

On Jun 6, 12:33 pm, Joe wrote:
On Jun 6, 2:26 pm, Bill wrote:





So some of you may know I am fairly new to sailing and I am trying to
learn and aquire the neccessary stuff. I am looking at a couple of
sailing knives. I want something that is good and reliable.
Something that will last a long time. I happen to have a certain
knife 'enthusiasm' if you will, and I prefer to get something a little
better than something that will just do. I was looking at these two:

http://www.myerchin.com/B001.html(ineither black or wood) I found it
cheaper on another site.

and

http://www.colonialknives.co.uk/inde...top.jpg/rmenu/...

I like the Grohmans spike and sheath better but I wanted to see what
other people think about these. Any experiences with either? Any
good or bad points? If I could look at them i would feel better. You
find out a lot more by holding a knife than you could in a picture on
the net but I don't know of any retail locations that carry them. I
live in So California if you know of any place to look. Thanks,
Bill

Nice, but the nylon sheath will be worn to nothing in no time. That
spike sure is pretty but needs a sheath to be carried safely. That
knife looks good for skinning bear but around lines a straight blade
is better. I'd go with a combo like the case marlin spike.

http://cgi.ebay.com/CASE-TESTED-XX-1...-SPIKE-MINTY_W...

I would really rather have a fixed blade. Wet cold hands in a n
emergency i really don't want to have to let go of a hold and fumble
with a blade. The spike on both knives can be carried in teh sheath
with the knife.

If you need a bigger spike then one like this:

http://cgi.ebay.com/8-Marlin-Spike-F...ogging-Supply-...

I am going to get a few fids later, the boat I am building now will
have mostly three strand line so they will come in handy. I mostly
want something i can use to loosen knots with on deck.

Thanks,
Bill

On Jun 8, 4:20 am, Bill wrote:
On Jun 6, 12:33 pm, Joe wrote:





On Jun 6, 2:26 pm, Bill wrote:

So some of you may know I am fairly new to sailing and I am trying to
learn and aquire the neccessary stuff. I am looking at a couple of
sailing knives. I want something that is good and reliable.
Something that will last a long time. I happen to have a certain
knife 'enthusiasm' if you will, and I prefer to get something a little
better than something that will just do. I was looking at these two:

http://www.myerchin.com/B001.html(ineitherblack or wood) I found it
cheaper on another site.

and

http://www.colonialknives.co.uk/inde...top.jpg/rmenu/...

I like the Grohmans spike and sheath better but I wanted to see what
other people think about these. Any experiences with either? Any
good or bad points? If I could look at them i would feel better. You
find out a lot more by holding a knife than you could in a picture on
the net but I don't know of any retail locations that carry them. I
live in So California if you know of any place to look. Thanks,
Bill

Nice, but the nylon sheath will be worn to nothing in no time. That
spike sure is pretty but needs a sheath to be carried safely. That
knife looks good for skinning bear but around lines a straight blade
is better. I'd go with a combo like the case marlin spike.

http://cgi.ebay.com/CASE-TESTED-XX-1...-SPIKE-MINTY_W...

I would really rather have a fixed blade. Wet cold hands in a n
emergency i really don't want to have to let go of a hold and fumble
with a blade. The spike on both knives can be carried in teh sheath
with the knife.

Yes, and to carry a sheath you will always have to wear a belt that
can be it's own danger, not to mention the sheath getting hung up on
things. If you are worried about getting in a bite then get a
butterfly knife and get a phillipine hooker to show you how to use
it.

If you need a bigger spike then one like this:

http://cgi.ebay.com/8-Marlin-Spike-F...ogging-Supply-...

I am going to get a few fids later, the boat I am building now will
have mostly three strand line so they will come in handy. I mostly
want something i can use to loosen knots with on deck.

For un-doing idiot knots a marlin spike works better. If you are
going to be splicing 3 strand then a fid would be usefull. I never
used a fid on anything smaller than 3" line, a spike like I posted a
link to is perfect for splicing small stuff.

Joe

Thanks,
Bill- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

On Jun 8, 9:51 am, Joe wrote:

For un-doing idiot knots a marlin spike works better. If you are
going to be splicing 3 strand then a fid would be usefull. I never
used a fid on anything smaller than 3" line, a spike like I posted a
link to is perfect for splicing small stuff.

Joe

I use a screw driver most of the time. Sometimes
I take an old chewed up screw driver and grind it
smooth, but even a good screwdriver works well.

Bart

On Jun 8, 5:20 am, Bill wrote:

I am going to get a few fids later, the boat I am building now will
have mostly three strand line so they will come in handy. I mostly
want something i can use to loosen knots with on deck.

Bill

Fids are fun to play with. I hate to see line terminated
with a bowline, when an eye-splice is called for.

I noticed that all the 2.4M boats I saw, with their
small diameter lines were tied, not spliced.

I have not tried splicing any really small stuff,
but I would certainly try. I'd prefer even a box
splice to a bowline any day.

Bart

"Bill" wrote in message
oups.com...
So some of you may know I am fairly new to sailing and I am trying to
learn and aquire the neccessary stuff. I am looking at a couple of
sailing knives. I want something that is good and reliable.
Something that will last a long time. I happen to have a certain
knife 'enthusiasm' if you will, and I prefer to get something a little
better than something that will just do. I was looking at these two:

http://www.myerchin.com/B001.html (in either black or wood) I found it
cheaper on another site.

and

http://www.colonialknives.co.uk/inde...d.php/cat/2750

I like the Grohmans spike and sheath better but I wanted to see what
other people think about these. Any experiences with either? Any
good or bad points? If I could look at them i would feel better. You
find out a lot more by holding a knife than you could in a picture on
the net but I don't know of any retail locations that carry them. I
live in So California if you know of any place to look. Thanks,
Bill



Bill, I have several knives. I typically carry three when I'm sailing. One
is very sharp with a serrated blade and is decent sized. It will cut through
high-tech line without a problem. One is basically the same, but smaller. I
carry in case I lose the other one... will take some sawing, but it'll cut
high-tech line. Both open easily with one hand. The third goes on a lanyard
around my neck, under my foul weather jacket. It's also serrated and has a
marlin spike on it, as well a small, red LED, which is better than nothing
in a pinch (doesn't really live up to being able to read a chart as
advertised, however). All can be had at West Marine, although I'm sure you
can find better prices elsewhere.

http://sailnow.photosite.com/knives/DSCN0005_8.html

http://www.westmarine.com/webapp/wcs...allpartial/0/0

I also carry a leatherman tool.

--
"j" ganz @@
www.sailnow.com

* 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.

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

* Joe wrote, On 6/6/2007 7:50 PM:
....
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


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


I use a round DMT diamond "stone" and finish with a paper wheel.
Works just fine. Its probably not quite as good as the factory edge,
but pretty close. Of course, you can order the Boye with no
serrations, but I've used mine for two years now, and I still think
they are a bonus, even though I can't shave with it. BTW, the Boye
serrations are pretty mild compared to SpyderCo knives, which are
rather aggressive.