What is a Rigging Knife

I  have had many pocket knives in my life but the two I like best are my Swiss Army Knife and my Rigging Knife.  The Swiss Army Knife because of all the gadgets, but the one I use the most is my Rigging Knife.

                                                               A Basic Rigging Knife 

It is simple, functional, not bulky in my pocket and cheap enough that if I lose it overboard I do not have a heart attack.  The Knife can open packages, cut rope or fishing line, cut bate, strip insulation from wire...all the things you use a knife for.  It also has a Marlin Spike and it is used for getting tight knots undone, poking holes in thing, chipping up ice, and all sorts of things a sharp pointy object is needed for.  The last tool on it is a Shackle Key. Shackles on a boat with screw in pins can be a bitch to unscrew.  A shackle key lets you unscrew it with out having to get pliers.  It also has other uses ( I can open a beer bottle  8-) with it.). My Swiss army knife will not open a shackle ( but it will open a beer ).