Wednesday, June 03, 2009

Nautical tradition and knife of note...


A lot of people think that knives made for sea going use should have a blunt or "Sheep's Foot" blade. Frankly in most cases I find a knife blade without a point is not nearly as useful (rather pointless in fact) as one with a pointy end. As for it being the proper type of blade for nautical use, well here's a small point of nautical trivia for you...

The reason that knives on boats have blunt ends is because during the days of press ganging and other such fun naval antics, when a new crewmen would join a ship (whether by choice or kicking and screaming) they would grind off the tip of his personal knife (in those days EVERYONE carried a knife!) so inter-crew fun and frolic would not get out of hand, or worse yet, that they might use those knives on Officers and suchlike.

Interesting when you find the source of traditions...

So anyway, no need to have a blunt non-pointy knife!

On the other hand this knife by Boker caught my eye ... It is designed for Police and rescue work and if you must be slavish to nautical tradition (Don't forget, keel hauling is always a lot of fun) this may be a smart way to do it. Truth be told, it is halfway between a pry bar and knife with a specialized notch for cutting lines and such, a good sharp blade and German steel that will hold an edge! You might want to give it a thought if you have a pointy phobia!