The triple-bladed British Army Knife would make more sense in a sailor’s pocket, but anyone who works with rope will find it handy. Knives with marlin spikes are found more often on boats. If you’ve ever struggled with a stubborn knot in camp, you’ve found the reason for the spike blade, even if you didn’t have the tool and the answer to your problem.
An all-stainless steel build makes this knife a great choice for anyone working on or around seawater. If you’re a yachtsman or fisherman looking for a practical pocket knife for those days on the boat, the British Army knife would be about right. A stout sheepsfoot blade 2.5 inches long cuts line, rope, or bait held against any flush surface. The can opener might be redundant if the galley’s filled with pull-top cans, but the 3-inch marlinspike won’t go out of style.
Even a simple bowline knot designed to release easily often won’t, now that most lines are synthetic and stretch until knots tighten down rock-solid. Pulling one of those apart by hand may loosen up fingernails faster than the knot. With the marlinspike, there’s still a chance of working it loose by inserting the spike beneath the turns and prying the knot apart without damaging the cordage. Of course, if that doesn’t work, you’ve always got the sheepsfoot blade and the Gordian Knot solution.
Made simple and strong, the knife includes a lanyard ring and a short flathead screwdriver blade. It isn’t pretty, but it does everything it was built to do.
