Boye
Boye Knives specializes in high performance cobalt alloy knives especially suited to the salt water environment. David Boye has been handcrafting knives since 1971, when he began making knives in his backyard from recycled sawmill blades. In 1975, he authored his now-classic text, Step by Step Knifemaking: You Can Do It, with over 200,000 copies sold. He is recognized as one of the major influences in modern custom knife making.
His breakthrough discovery of cast dendritic metallurgy in the early '80's revolutionized traditional blademaking and set new cutting records. While developing a cast-forged process, David began to wonder what would happen if you did not forge at all. Up until that time, forging was the definitive way to prepare metal for use as a knife. It still is now. It was a real “out of the box” idea not to forge at all. His experiments at withholding forging were very exciting. By not disturbing the virgin casting, edge holding was significantly improved. When the blades were etched and looked at under a microscope they showed “dendritic” (branching) formations throughout the cast blades. The formations in the cast blades were interconnected carbide crystals, extremely wear resistant and capable of preserving an intact edge even during prolonged use.
In the late '90's, Boye began working exclusively with Dendritic Cobalt because of its even superior cutting abilities, complete imperviousness to seawater corrosion, and is non-magnetic. His cutting tests showed that casting blades in a cobalt alloy improved edge holding 3X longer than cast stainless, especially on fibrous materials such as rope and net. Because cobalt is entirely rustproof, even in the harsh ocean environment, it was the perfect material for a knife used in salt water. In 2000, Practical Sailor, the “Consumers Reports” of the nautical world, rated the Boye Dendritic Cobalt Sheepfoot folder the #1 boat knife in a test involving several top selling boat knives. Since then, they have established a strong reputation for well made, high-performance boat knives.
Boye's discovery of Dendritic metallurgy helped change the course of traditional knifemaking. Through the years, David's inventiveness, design sense, and refined craftsmanship have produced beautiful, practical works of art culminating in his current production.
