Mistwalker
Gold Member
- Joined
- Dec 22, 2007
- Messages
- 19,037
I got the mid-tech Duke in a couple of days ago, and finally got a chance to get out and check out some. I have to say this is my favorite of the mid-techs for the woods so far. It's about the same size as my Woodsman so I am comfortable with it, and it being CPM S35VN as well as having a better geometry and weight distribution for light chopping in my area offsets the less pointy blade profile.
I like that the sheath has a ferro rod loop, and it's pretty easy to add a dedicated striker, it just take two holes instead of one to keep it secure and not dangling around making noise and getting hung on things. The natural canvas ferro rod I picked up from Blaine at Suffolk Metal Works (Swonut) goes looks great with this set up, and the rods he uses throw awesome sparks.
I also really like this system of attaching a lanyard to the knife. My answer to feeding the paracord through the hole was to melt the end and stretch it some which made feeding and pulling the cord through much easier, though the forceps in my first aid kit would have worked as well I imagine...but not everyone carries those.
I like how this style of lanyard attachment keep the lanyard itself off off the handle, and makes using the knife in a rearward grip for chopping more comfortable. Using this grip with a few snap cuts was enough to drop small saplings. Which this can come in handy for quickly making shelter poles, splints, or improvised crutches and what have you. I really like the balance, handling, and weight distribution of this knife. The knife balances perfectly on the first finger, and the addition of the lanyard didn't change that by enough to even notice.
I love the contours of this handle, very similar in shape and feel to the Bushfinger, just lager enough to complement the larger blade. It feels really good in use and allows great control of the edge, and with that combine with the excellent balance it handles really well in finer tasks also. Very nimble for a knife this size.
I definitely love the corrosion resistance of the CPM S35VN for my area. With it being a temperate rain forest we usually have a high humidity and the environment is often very wet, even when it is quite cold out.
While the Bushfinger is a great knife for all around uses, and a very capable knife, I definitely like the additional blade length the Duke has, not only for light chopping but in light batonning as well. The 5.5 inch blade is my preferred blade length for woods wandering. Big enough to be very capable, but not so large as to be a burden or be unwieldy. The Duke handled fire prep like a champ.
It had been a while since I had a whole day in the woods, and looking at my work schedule and weather forecast it will be a bit before I get to do it again, so I wanted to make the best of it, the problem was I ran off and left the eggs and bread...but it's hard to get upset when you're smelling Benton's bacon cooking in an iron skillet over an open flame, so I made the best of it
The Duke may be bigger and thicker than some prefer for whittling and slicing, but I thought it handled both very well. I could easily slice the bacon as thin as I wanted, though I prefer it thicker slice and that's one reason I make the 3 hour round trip to Benton bacon to buy slap pork belly ever so often, so I can actually have bacon the way I like it. I did find myself wishing I had some mushrooms, but that may be a personal thing from reading Tolkien
And then the day came to a close, quietly and peacefully, with the scent of sizzling bacon wafting on the breeze. It was a good day
.
I like that the sheath has a ferro rod loop, and it's pretty easy to add a dedicated striker, it just take two holes instead of one to keep it secure and not dangling around making noise and getting hung on things. The natural canvas ferro rod I picked up from Blaine at Suffolk Metal Works (Swonut) goes looks great with this set up, and the rods he uses throw awesome sparks.
I also really like this system of attaching a lanyard to the knife. My answer to feeding the paracord through the hole was to melt the end and stretch it some which made feeding and pulling the cord through much easier, though the forceps in my first aid kit would have worked as well I imagine...but not everyone carries those.
I like how this style of lanyard attachment keep the lanyard itself off off the handle, and makes using the knife in a rearward grip for chopping more comfortable. Using this grip with a few snap cuts was enough to drop small saplings. Which this can come in handy for quickly making shelter poles, splints, or improvised crutches and what have you. I really like the balance, handling, and weight distribution of this knife. The knife balances perfectly on the first finger, and the addition of the lanyard didn't change that by enough to even notice.
I love the contours of this handle, very similar in shape and feel to the Bushfinger, just lager enough to complement the larger blade. It feels really good in use and allows great control of the edge, and with that combine with the excellent balance it handles really well in finer tasks also. Very nimble for a knife this size.
I definitely love the corrosion resistance of the CPM S35VN for my area. With it being a temperate rain forest we usually have a high humidity and the environment is often very wet, even when it is quite cold out.
While the Bushfinger is a great knife for all around uses, and a very capable knife, I definitely like the additional blade length the Duke has, not only for light chopping but in light batonning as well. The 5.5 inch blade is my preferred blade length for woods wandering. Big enough to be very capable, but not so large as to be a burden or be unwieldy. The Duke handled fire prep like a champ.
It had been a while since I had a whole day in the woods, and looking at my work schedule and weather forecast it will be a bit before I get to do it again, so I wanted to make the best of it, the problem was I ran off and left the eggs and bread...but it's hard to get upset when you're smelling Benton's bacon cooking in an iron skillet over an open flame, so I made the best of it
The Duke may be bigger and thicker than some prefer for whittling and slicing, but I thought it handled both very well. I could easily slice the bacon as thin as I wanted, though I prefer it thicker slice and that's one reason I make the 3 hour round trip to Benton bacon to buy slap pork belly ever so often, so I can actually have bacon the way I like it. I did find myself wishing I had some mushrooms, but that may be a personal thing from reading Tolkien
And then the day came to a close, quietly and peacefully, with the scent of sizzling bacon wafting on the breeze. It was a good day
.
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