Knives on a sailboat are a necessity. I probably have more knives on our sailboat than any other single item. I carry cooking knives, filet knives, pocket knives, dive knives as well as purpose built sailing and rigging knives.

Each knife has a specific purpose, and the sailing knives I carry serve multiple purposes. First and foremost is safety. You never want to have someone get tangled in a line without being able to slice through that line in a split second with a razor sharp knife. A sailing knife is an indispensable tool aboard any sailboat.

Additionally a sailing knife is useful for general rigging, splicing ropes, undoing knots, and tightening or untightening shackles.

There are several features I want on a sailing knife:

Corrosion resistance – I want a knife made from 316 stainless, titanium or cobalt. Everything on a sailboat is in a constant state of deterioration. Knives are no different. You want something made from a material that is highly corrosion resistant.

Normal steel, or high carbon steel is what many folding or hunting knives are made of. This type of steel is perfect for most sporting knives not specifically used on the water. It is relatively corrosion resistant, easy to sharpen and keeps an edge. When you introduce a knife into an aquatic environment a high carbon steel blade is not ideal. It holds up ok with limited use in a freshwater environment, but in a saltwater environment it will rust within days.

Sailboat rigging and fixtures are made with 316 stainless steel, there are other types of stainless, but they are not as corrosion resistant as 316. Most dive knives are made of either titanium or 316 stainless for a reason, they are highly corrosion resistant. You want a sailing knife made out of the same materials.

Locking blade – Every knife I have on board has either a locking blade, or is a straight blade. Manipulating a knife in a seaway is dangerous enough, I don’t want to have to worry about it accidentally closing on me miles from emergency services at an inopportune time. A locking blade is mandatory.

Razor sharp blade – Dull knives are dangerous and useless. It is one thing to sit down at a table to splice or whip a line, it’s entirely different when it’s an emergency situation and you need to cut a line immediately. For this purpose I try to keep my knives razor sharp, especially ones near the helm and cockpit that might need to be enlisted into service as an emergency implement.

Sheepfoot blade – The sheepfoot shaped blade originated with mariners due to their working conditions in pitching seas. It is easy to drop a knife and a pointed blade goes into the foot a lot easier than a sheepfoot shaped blade.

Device for manipulating shackles – Aboard a sailboat, or most boats for that matter, you are eventually going to have to tighten or un-tighten a shackle. You can dig a pair of pliers out of your took kit no problem. However, if you are up the mast, or need to do it quickly it’s nice to have this option on your sailing knife.

Marlinspike – A marlinspike is the big spikey looking thing found on a lot of sailing and rigging knives. You can also purchase a standalone marlinspike, but I like to have one on a sailing knife. Originally a marlinspike was used to manipulate three strand line by sailors. Three strand line used to be the main type of line found on sailing vessels. Nowadays, most sailboats use double braid line for most of their running rigging.

In modern times the marlinspike still has its uses. It is used to help you undo pesky knots that don’t want to come undone as well as splicing lines. If you are up the mast in a bosun’s chair and you cannot seem to get a knot undone a marlinspike is a must. For this reason I try to buy sailing knives with one included on the knife.

There are a lot of sailing knives out in the marketplace. Many of them are junk. I list some knives to avoid down below. The list below encompasses the best value for quality knives I could find in the marketplace. These are the best of the best.

The Top Picks

Leatherman Wave

Leatherman hit a homerun when they developed the Wave roughly two decades ago. They come razor sharp out of the box with multiple blade options that all lock. You can manipulate shackles with the pliers. You can open cans, saw wood, open beer, and punch leather among a host of other things.

The knock on any Leatherman is that they do a bunch of things ok, but nothing great. I would have to agree with this assessment, yet I still find them indispensable and often carry one on my belt or in a pocket. It just has so many tools and uses it’s hard to beat.  It is a staple of any emergency kit.

What it doesn’t have is a marlinspike. For the utility I can let this slide. If you were only going to have one sailing knife, the Leatherman Wave makes a great case for itself.

Pros:

Tons of features

Indispensable up a mast

Cons:

It will eventually rust a little

No sheepsfoot blade

Boye Knives Folder

Boye knives makes three different knives, that’s it. Two are sailing knives. So I think you could call them a purpose built sailing knife company.

As far as quality, this is the finest sailing knife on the planet. Boye uses a cobalt alloy to manufacture their knives, it is guaranteed not to rust. There is a lot of thought that goes into how these blades are built. This could possibly be the last sailing knife you ever need, as long as you don’t drop it overboard.

The Boye folder has a razor sharp blade that is easy to sharpen and keep sharp, it has a marlinspike, and imbedded in the marlinspike is a slit purpose built for opening and closing shackles. This knife has it all.

Pros:

This knife will not rust

Easy to sharpen

Lots of features

Cons:

It is expensive

Spyderco Atlantic Salt

The Atlantic Salt has a lot going for it. Spyderco has been around for a long time, and builds quality knives that will last your lifetime.

The Atlantic Salt has a highly corrosion resistant H-1 blade. It features a sheepsfoot blade, and it even has a shackle key built into it’s handle. It doesn’t offer a marlinspike however. For years I have been waiting for Spyderco to offer an Atlantic Salt with this option, but they have never done so.

Overall, this is a great knife, and a lot of sailors carry one. It’s great if you can overlook the lack of the marlinspike.

Pros:

Spyderco H-1 blade

Very light

Cons:

No marlinspike

Myerchin Gen 2 Crew Pro

Is this the best value for money sailing knife on the market. I think it just may be.

The body of the knife is made from titanium, which will not rust. The blade is made from corrosion resistant stainless.

Myerchin was founded by a sailor and has been making sailing knives since 1984. They sell knives to the US Coast Guard and US Navy.  I have heard this is the knife coast guard cadets carry, but I cannot confirm this. What I can confirm is that this is a great knife.

The Gen 2 Crew Pro has a partially serrated blade that comes razor sharp. It also has a partial assist for the blade that helps it open in adverse conditions.

For the money, I think this is the best value knife on the list.

Pros:

Very light

Marlinspike

Great value

Cons:

The only niggle I have with this knife, as with many knives with a clip, is that the clip leaves the knife hanging out of your pocket a little.

BEWARE OF THE CHEAP SAILORS KNIFE!

There are several sailing knives out there such as the Camillus Sailing Knife, Maxam Sailors Tool or Davis Instruments Deluxe Rigging Knife, they retail for $12 to $30 usually and at first glance seem like they would be ok. These are not quality products and I think you would regret buying one of these. They do not contain quality stainless steel and do not lock. These are dangerous and should be avoided.

So which one is the best?

The Boye is the ultimate sailors knife, there is no doubt about that. The cobalt alloy material is space age stuff. However, you would be pretty ticked off if it fell overboard. You could purchase at least two or three of the other knives on this list for the price you are going to shell out for the Boye. Many people are going to have a problem with that.

If mine ever falls overboard I probably won’t replace it. I like it a lot, but for the price I cannot justify buying two in my life. I think it is the best knife on this list, but it may not be right for you.

For the money, I don’t think you can beat the Myerchin. I bought mine for less than $50. It is also a knife that will probably last you the rest of your life. As far as value for money, you cannot beat the Myerchin. And if it falls overboard you’re not going to beat yourself up about it.

As illustrated above, when you need a knife sometimes you need it immediately. For that reason I try to keep one on my body while sailing, but sometimes I’m only wearing boardshorts with no pockets. What do I do then? Well, that’s why I have several razor sharp dive knives around my boat. I keep one at the helm, one in the cockpit, and one in the anchor locker.

I have been on or around boats for 30 years, and I try to keep a very safe boat. But, emergencies happen when you least expect them, specifically for that reason I keep knives all over the boat. You never know when you are going to need to cut a line in an emergency.

Also not to be discounted for corrosion resistance are dive knives. I’m not going to go into any specific knives, but I like to keep a dive knife or two near the back of the boat. They are nearly indestructible and deal incredibly well with corrosion, which is a constant battle.

Final Note: Once you land on the perfect sailing knife for you, learn how to maintain it and keep it sharp. All of these knives come pretty darn sharp right out of the box. With regular use all of them are going to dull, some faster than others. It is paramount to learn how to sharpen a knife.

For a non serrated blade I prefer some type of sharpening system that holds a perfect angle. I personally own a Wicked Edge sharpening system, but there are many good systems out there.

A lot of people steer away from a serrated knife because they are perceived to be difficult to sharpen. The best way to sharpen a serrated knife in my opinion is with a ceramic rod. Ceramic rods are not very expensive and nearly last forever. I have had one for more than a decade and it is still perfect.

Regularly rinse your knife in fresh water and oil it with a shin oil to put a protective film over it.