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Comment by Tobias Gibson on April 2, 2014 at 10:51

As far as I can tell, Steve, Myerchin is one of handful of companies that make knives exclusively for maritime use.  There are several knife companies that make nautical knives and a few marine supply companies that have inexpensive knives out sourced with their trademark slapped on it but there are just a few knife companies that just make knives for maritime use.

Boye Boat Knives is considered the best of the best.  They make both folders and fixed blades. They use a proprietary stainless steel known as Dendritic Cobalt that is said to be impervious to corrosion. I would call the Boye Knives  the Zero-Tolerance knives of sailing knives.  The handles material is either composition or cord wrapped. Very high-end and probably out of reach for most week-end sailors.  They begin at around $125.

Myerchin, on the other hand is the TOPs or SOG knife of the Nautical World.  They make both folders and fixed blades. Their lowest price knife goes for around $30 and is made in China using 440C.  There other knives are made in Seki, Japan and are serialized. John Myerchin, the founder of the company is the chief designer of the knives and hold several patents for his nautical knives.  The knives made in Seki begin around $50 and top off at around $150. Most are no-nonsense knives.  He offers handles in G10, Cocobolo,  Bubinga hardwood, and natural bone.  The natural bone knives being the most expensive.

Both David Boye and John Myerchin  were/are avid sailors and decided to make rigging knives because the ones made by traditional knife companies failed to meet the needs of actual sailors.  Their knife designs are based on their on experiences and from input for other sailors.

I see a couple more Myerchins in my future but unless I can find a good used Boye knife for a reasonable price, I don't think I'll be buying one.  Must too expensive for my tastes, especially when you consider how good a Myerchin is at half the price!