I have both and like both. The A.G.Russell folder is a super little folder. It is expensive though and by most accounts vastly overpriced. Still there are things about it that put it ahead of the Boye, the marlin spike being one the serrations placement the other. But its a frame lock and not a lock back. It has some hyper extension blocks in the way of G10 overlays that are quite ingenious little mechanical stops for the lock travel. Its got the shackle tool in the blade hole but the one thing it lacks is the pocket clip which I felt it needed to be complete.
Much as I love the folder it would not have seen any use at all until I made and mounted my own pocket clip on it which took it to a ready and capable everyday knife. You can see that all here at my forum.
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=499057
I don't find the SeaMaster awkward in the hand or clumsy at all but I thought it would be until I actually owned it. I bought this one after eyeing it for fully three years before taking the plunge. I've loved it since the day I laid eyes on it when it first came out! Surprisingly its quite nice in the hand. It turned out to be a keeper for sure for me. I'm very picky about function and utility over looks and focus primarily on that over anything else in my own knives. Many knives look super but suck in the hand. This one exceeded expectations there.
The Boye folder is a nice little folder. I didn't feel the edge was thin enough on mine to be an effective slicer when new though. In fact I'd say that right out of the box the Russell knife will slice circles around the Boye. I had to put my Boye on the Edge Pro and take down that obtuse edge to be happy. Also, I like the light weight of the Boye but the Russell knife is not super heavy either. But about 1 ounce heavier (3.8 ounces)
The Boye probably has the Russell beat for total corrosion resistance, but the coating on the Russell is quite hard and durable.
Are there things I don't like about both? Sure. I don't care for the way the marlin spike pushes downward in the hand during hard slices. It can physically push the lock and move just a tad under great stress. Not much and it isn't bad really but I'd prefer a physical stop to prevent this personally.
The Boye lockbar lifts up and there is some blade play (vertical movement) of the blade during use. I've had the knife apart and was not too impressed with the lock up. To be quite frank it looked precarious.
In the end I'd say that the Russell is a more suited knife for the serious user on a boat. There is really nothing outstanding about the Boye for the money that makes it a better value than say, a Spyderco Salt 1 for a lot less money. By the way the corossion resistance is the same I'd say and for all I know the H1 is better. I will say this for sure. The Salt will cut circles around both of these knives right out of the box!
I'd suggest if you are the type that might lose the folder to shy away from these hefty price tag models and get you a couple Salt knives from Spyderco. If you have to have a Spike too you can look elsewhere at the Myerchin line too. Or maybe if you express your needs to Spyderco they'll come round and figure out a way to add a Spike of their own to one of the Salt knives to make for a perfectly priced boatmans knife with total corrosion resistance, edge keeping and performance and all the tools to boot!
STR
