Afternoon folks and TGIF, I was wondering if anyone had both a Bushcrafter and an Arete. I was hoping to have some opinions on how they compare. I love Andy's work and I've been eying an Arete, but I also own a Bushcrafter... and to be honest they seems similar in shape and whatnot. Anyone care to educate the unenlightened? I appreciate the insight.
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Arete compairson request to a Bushcrafter
- Thread starter Cutwater
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Cutwater.
I designed the Arete and have used and handled the hell out of both. I own both the Scandi and Convex versions.
However - I need to ask before I can give my two pennies - what are you looking for in a knife? What do you want to do with it?
That would help me, and perhaps others, answer.
Good luck,
TF
I designed the Arete and have used and handled the hell out of both. I own both the Scandi and Convex versions.
However - I need to ask before I can give my two pennies - what are you looking for in a knife? What do you want to do with it?
That would help me, and perhaps others, answer.
Good luck,
TF
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I have had both and prefer the arête.
Talfuchre, in all honesty, it'd be for fooling around in the woods. Nothing too specific (maybe I'm just looking for something different for the sake of change!)... well I'm more of a bird hunter so I figured it'd be too big for any game that I'd be cleaning, but maybe using it for food prep and fire making if I'm not doing car camping, you know? I mean, that's what I use my Bushcrafter for!
minnesotashooter, any reason why? I'm a huge fan of my Bushcrafter, as it's my main belt/pack knife. But if you feel the Arete fills a certain roll better, I'd love to hear about it.
minnesotashooter, any reason why? I'm a huge fan of my Bushcrafter, as it's my main belt/pack knife. But if you feel the Arete fills a certain roll better, I'd love to hear about it.
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I have had both and prefer the bushcrafter. The arete's longer blade (and especially if it's a tapered tang) felt, to me at least, to put some of the weight forward. and it's thinner blade profile made it feel more like a bigger slicer. but I have a ladyfinger also, which to me is the ultimate slicer model from Andy so I began neglecting the arete and used the bushcrafter with my ladyfinger stored in the food bag. The bushcrafter's stouter blade (and I have a full tang model) with a better handle shape (again my opinion) just makes it that workhorse knife. I've got 11 fiddlebacks now....plus a dozen or so models from similar guys and my bushcrafter always seems to find it's way to my hip when I'm heading out. Isn't Andy's description of his bushcrafter: "This is the knife I always wanted when I was out in the woods as a boyscout". He was absolutely right.
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I have had both, the bushcrafter in convex and the Arete in convex. I prefer the Arete blade for Bushcraft type tasks since it's height is smaller, I prefer however a much beefier, barrel shape handle. I use my knife mainly for pushcutting wood and I don't really understand why a contour of a knife gets narrower exactly where it should be the thickest, and that would be where my webbing between my thumb and my index finger is. That is the part that starts to hurt after a while. So where does the idea of contour on a woods knife actually come from? I know, I know, the purists like the forward taper of the scales to be able to choke up easier etc. Well, for me it works just fine to choke up even with a beefy handle. So, Arete with a beefy handle is my verdict of the perfect woods knife, Talfuchre did an excellent job on the design as Andy did on the execution.
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I think for fooling about and game cleaning - the Arete would be a bit easier to use - as it is a bit thinner (Spine to Edge). The Arete is much like the classic Kephart design - more of a compromise knife than a specialty knife.
Awestib - I put the contour toward the Ricossa because I choke up on my handles quite a bit for finer work. Also - the index finger and thumb Inner Diameter (when made into the OK symbol) is smaller than the Middle Finger and thumb - all else being equal.
But in the hammer grip and reverse hammer grip - it will not be as comfy as, say, a standard Bark River Aurora shape.
TF
Awestib - I put the contour toward the Ricossa because I choke up on my handles quite a bit for finer work. Also - the index finger and thumb Inner Diameter (when made into the OK symbol) is smaller than the Middle Finger and thumb - all else being equal.
But in the hammer grip and reverse hammer grip - it will not be as comfy as, say, a standard Bark River Aurora shape.
TF
Cutwater,
Several months ago Mark (MAW) posted three rounds of comparison photos. In this third post, entitled "Fiddleback Comparison Photos Round Three," if I'm not mistaken, he had an Arete and Bushcrafter. They were not side-by-side, but rather in a group photo. I recall the Arete was one of his favorites, and he included a few "in-hand" and close-up shots. It's worth a look.
Also, I believe Tal wrote a great posting about how he arrived at the design. It included some design sketches and his thoughts/experiences as he worked towards the finished product we see today.
Both posts are worth a few minutes search for and reading if your interested the model.
Eric G.
Several months ago Mark (MAW) posted three rounds of comparison photos. In this third post, entitled "Fiddleback Comparison Photos Round Three," if I'm not mistaken, he had an Arete and Bushcrafter. They were not side-by-side, but rather in a group photo. I recall the Arete was one of his favorites, and he included a few "in-hand" and close-up shots. It's worth a look.
Also, I believe Tal wrote a great posting about how he arrived at the design. It included some design sketches and his thoughts/experiences as he worked towards the finished product we see today.
Both posts are worth a few minutes search for and reading if your interested the model.
Eric G.
- Joined
- Mar 17, 2005
- Messages
- 1,227
i simply preferred the ergos of the arete over the bushcrafter. I have small hands and it just ft me better.