RLW at Boat Bits recently had this to say:
Now I’m as much of a “guy” to go all silly and drool over a seriously fine tool or piece of gear… Let’s take a look at the Boye Boat knives as an example. Incredible steel and workmanship and design that is really pretty awesome. The cobalt steel blades are as rust free as you can get… But the price of $360 (though on sale for $270 at the moment) is simply a lot of money for something that really does not work any better than the Gerber folder I have been using for three years now which is still rust free and sharp enough to shave with. The fact that I only paid $18 bucks for it makes me wonder just how needful the cobalt way more money stuff is in the whole “real world” scheme of things.
All that said the Boye knives are some kind of wonderful, but it brings up the whole need/want thing on boats and if you ask yourself Do I really need to spend $270 on a sheath knife (Boye does make a folder for $99 (on sale) or will that Gerber (or Buck or whatever) for $20-25 work just as well? [Read more...]
Navagear knows exactly how you feel! We’re faced with this all the time. I recently had a chance to try some $180 sunglasses designed specifically for sailors. I was pretty excited, since I usually buy <$20 sunglasses and wear them until I break or lose them.
I was shocked, SHOCKED to discover that these fancy expensive high-end French sunglasses included an array of absolutely atrocious optical anomalies and aberrations. They were unusable, in my opinion, inducing a headache after about 15 minutes. Thanks, but I’ll stick with my $20 bicycling glasses.
4 responses so far ↓
Steve Roberts // Jun 9, 2009 at 10:15 am
No kidding. I think one of the Great Discoveries we all have to go through as boaters is this: there are almost always alternative and often better products that don’t have that pricey “marine” label attached. Special marine plumbing fittings, ridiculous LED rail lights that rust in one season, expensive marine radios with untinned power wire and open-frame inline fuse-holders that capillary-slurp corrosive water, ghastly boat tool kits made in China… it never ends. There is still a belief that sailors will pay more, and unfortunately some folks think the marine big-box store is the only real resource.
With some product classes (signaling and safety, sailing hardware, nav equipment, etc) there is no choice, but that’s not the case for hardware, cutlery, galley supplies, entertainment electronics, computers, plumbing, goops various, tools, wire, connectors… well, the list is kind of endless.
Cheers,
Steve
Bob // Jun 10, 2009 at 6:58 am
I have had a Boye folding knife (pointed-tip model) for about five years. It was definitely worth the investment. It’s very easy to sharpen, holds an edge well, and is great at cutting hi-tech lines (as Boye says). It was an upgrade from my spiderco rescue knife and well worth the price. Highly recommended.
While I generally agree that a lot of “marine” stuff is not worth it, in the case of Boye knives, they are worth it.
Steve Roberts // Jun 10, 2009 at 7:14 am
Mmm, true…. there are SOME things that really do stand out. I have a couple of Natutitool hand tools (crescent wrench and vise-grip clone). Insane prices even 15 years ago when I bought them and double that now, but they are worth it. The only problem is that they sink just as fast as the cheap ones, so I use a tether.
Peter // Jun 10, 2009 at 2:00 pm
I have a set of ceramic knives in the galley on the boat. They are VERY sharp, hold an edge forever, never rust, and all three cost $19 at Linens and Things. The downside is they can chip; however for $19 I will get a new set when they chip. I use a folding boating knife with a marlin spike on the other end for most of my work (don’t know the name). I only break out the ceramic knives for high tech lines and such – and they still cut a tomato in the galley.
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