All About Pocket Knives

I bought a Rough Rider Marlin Spike about 2 or 3 years ago just to see what a Marlin spike was all about. It has been one of my regular users. I have a 7 year old son and it is great for getting the knots out of his shoe laces and the mud out of his baseball cleats!

The big thing that bothers me about this knife is that the lock blade has never worked on it from day one. It only takes alittle pressure on the spike to collapse the lock blade.

Is this normal for a marlin spike lockblade?

(I really have a problem with knives made from China and Pakistan, just recently noticed there are a ton of Rough Rider Marlin spikes out there when I was looking at a vintage marlin spike.)

good question!!!!!!!
i only own one marlin spike also!!!!......but mine is not a locking version!!!!!
would be cool ta have one that does....interested in what other maker have!!!!!
mine: UNMARKED SS version..................unmarked,cool knife anyway!!!!
side note.......does have 1/2 stops!!!!

I have a Rough Rider Marlin (RR 557) and the marlin spike locks perfectly.
However, the sheep foot blade is a slip joint so it isn’t meant to lock.
So if the spike on your knife doesn’t lock correctly it might be broken.

There are also pattern of marlin knifes with non-locking marlin spikes.
According to Levine’s guide to knives, they are called yachtman’s knife,
while the locking ones are called rigger’s knife.
Though I don’t know if Rough Rider offers a yachtman’s pattern.

As for my Rough Rider Marlin, the one I got is of perfect quality and one of
my favorite knives.

Yes Tom mine is the riggers knife, when I open the marlin spike the locking mechanism snaps in place nicely. It must be a quality contrl issue, there is not enough steel on the heal of the blade to hold it locked.

Here is my small collection of Marlin Spikes. All of them but one have the locking mechanism for the spike and all the locks are quite strong when the spike is snapped open. The locking mechanism does not lock the blade open on any of these knives.

They are left to right, Camillus, Schrade Walden, Buck, Yax (non locking one), Case, and Kabar.


Phil

I think I made this confusing as I am calling the spike a blade sometimes. I am only talking about how the spike locks, the sheepsfoot blade is not a locking blade.

Nice ones Phil!

I went back through my rigger's knives to check and found that ALMOST all of them have a locking marlinspike.The exceptions are:
The Schrade 735 does lock but the lower priced Bosun's Mate(steel scales)does not.All of the military issue sailor's knives have non-locking marlinspikes.A curiosity is one very high end French made(J.Mongin)knife that has an unusual hollow marlinspike(a curved piece of metal)and polished horn scales does not lock either.

Rough Rider marlinspike knives have a reputation for weak locks on the spikes. There are good riggers with locks and good riggers without locks, but no good riggers with weak locks. Just the same with slip joints and lockbacks. If it's supposed to lock, it better lock. If it isn't supposed to lock, the user should know how to use it safely.

Thank you trail, you pretty much confirmed what I suspected, I do have to use care and treat the spike as if it did not have a lock! It's not like Case where I could send it in for repair or replace.

Knife nut - that is probably one of the coolest French knives I have seen!

I have no knives with marlin spikes in my EDC rotation at the time and I have not used such knives a lot, but I remember being issued an old knife with a spike when serving in the Navy many years ago.

In a way it seems illogical to have the marlin spike made lockable and not the knife blade... The knife blade is the one that will hurt you if it closes when in use.
On the other hand the knife blade is used with a downward push and I have not experienced non-lockable blades as a big problem. The marlin spike, on the other hand, is used with more of a forward push an may be more prone to close when in use..?
My old Navy knife had a non-lockable marlin spike, but I remember that it took some force to close it.

Froggy think of a sailor in high seas and he is untangling a rope and the marlin spike slips and he falls right on it impailing him.

Also reminds me of when you have to use a screw driver with something small in one hand and the screw driver in the other, if it is not steady you can put the screw driver right through your other hand.

I know people who have done this! In my job there are metal corrosion coupons placed in to large water systems. They have to be screwed into holders that go in a pipe.

The grooved spike on the french rigger is call a Splicing or Swedish fid. Allows the strand to slide along the groove when splicing into three strand line. Many sailors knives sheaths have a place for a separate marlinspike, which I find most pro riggers and others who indulge in fancy knot work prefer. The locking bail is often secured to a laynard. My experience with Rough Rider riggers is that the marlinespike breaks when working with them. The rigging knives I like are 40s-60s Case,Camillus or Schrade with bone or stag scales. The modern Buck and Merchins are nice. A.G. Russell's Seamaster Rigger is very,very nice with the titanium and all, although he does make a stainless steel version. My EDC is a Boye Boat Knife. Boye makes a very nice Sheepfoot Rigger although I don't give a spit for the spike.

cusprider wrote:The grooved spike on the french rigger is call a Splicing or Swedish fid. Allows the strand to slide along the groove when splicing into three strand line.

Thank you for the info cusprider;it is greatly appreciated.I learned something today.