Knife recommendation?

N

nlewman

Joined
Dec 26, 2015
Messages
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Hey all. So today I left my spyderco catalog out at my parents house. Oops. Well when I walked up, my dad was intensely reading the page with the spyderco tusk on it. I have no idea what he would use a marlin spike for, but oh well. He is in love with that knife, but when I told him how much it cost he just shut the catalog. He's the kind of guy that will pay the least amount of money he can for a decent tool and use that for the rest of his life, even if it's not the best tool for the job. He likes serrated knives for cutting open hay bales around the farm, and he really wants a knife with a marlin spike, much like the tusk. Is there anything similar but with a lower price? I want to get him a new tool he will use and enjoy, but I can't see spending that much. I'm a college student, be real. Thank you!
 
nlewman said:
Hey all. So today I left my spyderco catalog out at my parents house. Oops. Well when I walked up, my dad was intensely reading the page with the spyderco tusk on it. I have no idea what he would use a marlin spike for, but oh well. He is in love with that knife, but when I told him how much it cost he just shut the catalog. He's the kind of guy that will pay the least amount of money he can for a decent tool and use that for the rest of his life, even if it's not the best tool for the job. He likes serrated knives for cutting open hay bales around the farm, and he really wants a knife with a marlin spike, much like the tusk. Is there anything similar but with a lower price? I want to get him a new tool he will use and enjoy, but I can't see spending that much. I'm a college student, be real. Thank you!
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I just checked and saw why your dad liked it and also why he closed the catalogue :-D
Would the street price, roughly 50% be more acceptable?

The cheapest Marlin Spike knife which I saw would be the Maxam Sailor Multitool but at that price I don't know how good it can be.

Reviews seem good. Maybe I'm getting one myself now :-o
 
Jens Schuetz said:
I just checked and saw why your dad liked it and also why he closed the catalogue :-D
Would the street price, roughly 50% be more acceptable?
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Even that is high for him. He doesn't want a nice knife is the problem here. He's happy with his 15 dollar Gerber or his tractor supply knife. I just can't see spending 200 dollars on something that is going to be treated like it's 15 dollars.
 
nlewman said:
Even that is high for him. He doesn't want a nice knife is the problem here. He's happy with his 15 dollar Gerber or his tractor supply knife. I just can't see spending 200 dollars on something that is going to be treated like it's 15 dollars.
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Thought so. Added a suggestion to my previous post.
Still I'm sure more knowledgeable guys here will come up with better suggestions.
 
If the blade doesn't have to be serrated, a Rough Rider Sailor's Knife can be had for around $15. If it has to be one hand opening with serrations, SOG and Myerchin offer some other options that cost a bit more.
 
Myerchin looks like they make nice knives with marlin spikes.
You can find this model for $45 bucks or so.

 
For about $225 - 240 you can get a David Boye cobalt Lockback folder with a marlin Spike, which will never rust... Which about 55-60% the cost of a Tusk from the Spyderco catalog.
 
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strategy9 said:
For about $240 you can get a David Boye cobalt Lockback folder with a marlin Spike, which will never rust... Which about 60% the cost of a Tusk from the Spyderco catalog.
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You can get the tusk for well below $200 on the street
 
I'm not saying you can't.

Fwiw, for a cheap option, he can pick up a camilus with a marlin Spike for about $25.
 
I third the Myerchin suggestion. They make boat knives pretty much exclusively and they're pretty decent, but won't break the bank.
 
If he isn't doing rope work with the Marlin spike, he would like get a lot of mileage out of a alox SAK with the awl. I use that thing as a blade when I don't want to jack up the main blade. I'd actually argue it's more used than the blade some days.
 
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