Arete Pictorial Review - Photo intense

Raining

Raining

Joined
Oct 13, 2006
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My review of the Fiddleback Arete:

As soon as I received this knife, I knew it would be a great user for me. The 4 inch blade is the perfect size; not too long so it’s easy to control for detail work, but long enough to handle pretty everything except chopping.

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The handle ergonomics makes the knife feel like an extension of my hand no matter how I hold it and I have used it for hours at a time without any discomfort or hot spots. I love the very small guard as it puts my hand close to the blade. Plus, it is gorgeous! :D

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The spine is very sharp and perfectly squared which is standard for Andy’s knives. Great for striking firesteels, but I also like how it scrapes very fine tinder or removes bark from sticks. (My 3 year old is always fascinated with whatever I’m doing, so he wanted to participate and held the knife for me to photograph.)

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I decided to go for a hike in the woods with the Arete and see if I can find some suitable piece of wood for me to carve for the spoon-making contest in WS&S. I am fortunate that behind my house is a protected area perfect for hiking and exploring.

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Fatwood is abundant here.

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Stinging nettles are everywhere as well. You can eat them (they don’t sting after boiling) and are a rich source of nutrients. I’m going plant some myself at home to eat in the spring.

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You can see the stinging hairs on the stems and leaves. These are also excellent sources for making cordage and I will make some later.

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I absolutely love the mystical quality of these woods. The trees here look like fingers reaching into the ground.

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(To be continued...)
 
I found a huge widow maker here.

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Found some wood that I will attempt to carve into a spoon. I think it’s maple? Since I can’t chop with my Arete, out comes the Silky Saw – these things are like lasers!

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Went home and started to carve my first spoon ever. The only tools used were the Arete, Silky Saw and sandpaper. I really need one of those hook knives. The Arete carves and whittles very well. The point is very strong and I used it to dig out the bowl of the spoon. I love the convex grind on this knife.

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Here is the finished spoon for the contest. Not the prettiest, but functional anyway. The spear point of the Arete easily drilled a hole in the spoon’s handle.

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Now to make some cordage from stinging nettles. You can see the stalks are segmented where the leaves come out. I stripped off the leaves with the knife and rub the hairs off the stalk with my gloves.

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Next, I need to open up the stalk to remove the stiff inner layer. Usually, I can run my fingernail down the stalk to open it, but on the larger plants, the stalks can get thick and it is much easier to use a knife on the joints. The shape of the blade is not perfect for this task as it is too pointy – a blade with more belly would have been better.

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Once it is opened up, bend the stalks to break the stiff inner layer and peel it away from the outer layer.

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After removing the inner layer, you are left with a very strong, fibrous material for cordage.

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After drying it overnight, it is ready to twist into cordage. Just add a little water to make it a little more flexible for twisting.

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(To be continued...)
 
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I didn’t take pictures of the twisting, but it’s basically two bunches of strands, each twisted independently and then together. Here is the result, a lanyard for my spoon.

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And finally, I made a bow drill set with the Arete. This involves batonning, carving, drilling and notching – all were quite enjoyable with the Arete. By the way, Andy’s knives all come wrapped in paper and jute twine – the twine is perfect for tinder! :thumbup:

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I have nothing against scandi grinds and I like my scandi-grind knives, but I prefer convex for all-around use. With Andy’s convex profile on the Arete, I definitely don’t feel lacking in woodcraft. I still have not sharpened the Arete as it is extremely sharp after just brief stopping on loaded leather. I also have not used it for food prep yet – though I’m sure it would be fine.

As a knife knut, I am pretty nitpicky about the knives I choose to keep and use and I honestly cannot find anything to nitpick on my Arete. Great design by TF and perfect execution by Fiddleback Forge!

Hope you enjoyed my little review. Thanks for reading.
Randy
 
Great review i've never owned a fiddleback knife yet. But i've been looking around here lately and i'm impressed with the knives i see.
I've seen several for sale on the knifemakers forum. I just can't decide which one i like more. Thanks for the awesome review and pics. :thumbup:
 
I'm thinking maybe this one but i'm not sure how thick to have one made. Any suggertions would be great. I've always had thick knives so anything thinner than 3/16 would be new to me. Anyway here's the one i fancy...i think because there are several others i also like.

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Looks great. I have been interested it the micarta pins.
 
d762nato said:
I've always had thick knives so anything thinner than 3/16 would be new to me.
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My Arete looks like 5/32" thickness - plenty thick for everything you'd use a knife this size for. Anything thicker is probably overkill because it's doubtful you would break this knife under normal usage. I have no hesitation batonning it. If anything, the wood handles would fail way before before the blade ever would.

I like Busses, too, but for the smaller knives, I would prefer thinner with no choil. The Arete is the same thickness as the upcoming Busse Boss Street LE, which I'll probably end up getting (with no choil). :cool:
 
Raining said:
My Arete looks like 5/32" thickness - plenty thick for everything you'd use a knife this size for. Anything thicker is probably overkill because it's doubtful you would break this knife under normal usage. I have no hesitation batonning it. If anything, the wood handles would fail way before before the blade ever would.

I like Busses, too, but for the smaller knives, I would prefer thinner with no choil. The Arete is the same thickness as the upcoming Busse Boss Street LE, which I'll probably end up getting (with no choil). :cool:
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Thanks, i'd like to try one of fiddlebacks knives out they do look quite handy. ;)
 
Wow. I am so honored to see a design I had a little to do with come to life, serve out its function, and look so good.

Andy made this thing hot!

Good work. I have two Arete Sheaths in the works right now - and if I remember right Raining - one of them is yours.

TF
 
Talfuchre said:
Wow. I am so honored to see a design I had a little to do with come to life, serve out its function, and look so good.

Andy made this thing hot!

Good work. I have two Arete Sheaths in the works right now - and if I remember right Raining - one of them is yours.

TF
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I have to say, it's a great design. It's too bad there's no way to feel all the different handle shapes on Andy's knives. This handle fits my hand the best, along with the nessmuk.

Yep that's my sheath you're making and I could really use one. Carrying it around in a cardboard sheath is kind of sad. :o
 
Fantastic photos! That Arete looks great, and I love Andy's convex grinds. Beautiful woods you have to play in there, I really enjoyed all of the photos. You should get one of Andy's machetes, my Fiddleback Bushfinger and 12" machete have been my hiking companions lately. Both are reeeeaally sweet! That spoon looks great!
 
This is a great thead. I love the pics. I need to learn to make chordage.
 
Great review,love the spoon,but really love the knife.
I didn't know you could use nettles for cordage,I got nailed by some when I was a kid not long after we moved up here & have avoided them ever since.
Thanks for the pics.
 
mistwalker said:
Fantastic photos! That Arete looks great, and I love Andy's convex grinds. Beautiful woods you have to play in there, I really enjoyed all of the photos. You should get one of Andy's machetes, my Fiddleback Bushfinger and 12" machete have been my hiking companions lately. Both are reeeeaally sweet! That spoon looks great!
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Thanks so much - I always enjoy your photos as well.

Yeah, the 12" machete is tempting - it's a good size, I have a 12" Tram that I love for it's size.
 
Looking in here again, and that spoon is really a beautiful one!!! Treat it with mineral oil.
 
Beautiful knife!

That was a great show of skills Raining!!!:thumbup::thumbup:
 
I was just looking at the spoon you made in the contest thread and it reminded me about this post here and I wanted to read/look through it again. Ya know, with all of the pictures of bushcraft with Fiddleback knives there are around this site there are the makings for a pretty good Fiddleback Bushcraft Photo Gallery here or on Andy's site.

Heck, we could all send him things we've made; hearth-boards, spindles, bows, pot hangers, trap triggers, spoons...whatever... to clutter up his table...err I mean to use as table accents at shows, things made by end users to demonstrate just how "Bushcrafty" his knives really are :)
 
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