This is a little project I’ve been meaning to do for a while. I had this idea a few years back, but I didn’t get around to doing it until I was preparing for this season. I always try to keep a folding rigging knife on me, but sometimes you need to cut through rope fast, and reaching into a pocket and unfolding a blade would take a bit of time, especially when wearing foul weather gear or gloves. These Victorinox paring knives are what all the Maine lobstermen carry, in case a line gets around their leg when setting pots and pulls them overboard (not super common, but a known hazard). The skinny serrated blade on these things will go through rope in a single swipe. They’re only 8 bucks, so when I first learned about them, I bought a couple to keep onboard. The problem is, they don’t have a sheath. I kept one loose in the galley cutlery drawer until a crew member reached in without looking and cut herself. I finally asked a lobsterman how they carry these exceedingly sharp little guys, and he told me about a Maine company called RopeRazor, which makes sheathes and handles for them so they can be strapped to a boot or carried on a belt.
I was originally going to mount it somewhere on the binnacle, but I couldn’t think of a good or elegant way to do so. I then realized that under the lid of my cockpit locker would be the perfect spot. It’s discreet, out of the way, and accessible from both the cockpit and inside the locker. I was inside my cockpit locker the last time I needed an emergency knife, which might be where I got the idea.
Anyway, here’s the finished product. It’s mounted on a piece of 1” Starboard so that the handle sits high enough off the lid to be easily grabbed. The screws are 1-1/2” long and secure to the bottom skin of the lid. I made sure to squirt some silicone in the holes, which should keep the balsa core dry if the locker is ever left open in the rain.
Thoughts?
