Bushcraft at blade

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goatariba

Joined
Apr 18, 2008
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I didn't attend, and didn't want to hijack the "spyderco bushcrafter" thread. how well were WS&S type blades (yes i know how wide ranging that is) represented?
just curious, i know it's a big deal tactical convention in a broader sense. Any of the regulars here go? any pictures? was this subforum well represented both by buyers and dealers?
PICTURES PICTURES PICTURES
 
W&SS type blades were very well represented at the show. The standout tables for me were Dan Koster's, Blind Horse Knives and Breeden Knives. There were others, but those were the most interesting to me. Rat Cutlery had a booth, as did Condor Knives. I don't know if it's because I'm more interested in "bushcrafty" knives now, but I definitely noticed more of those at the show than before. There were plenty of "no-nonsense", working, outdoor knives on offer, most of which were at very good prices.

The new Condor knives are pretty nice, and they're very inexpensive. For no-frills users, they're going to be hard to beat.
 
Makers and companies must peruse this and other outdoor forums to see what people are most talking about. Looking around at other sites, "bushcraft" type knives seem to be coming on strong again.
As a side note, if you read the editors column in the front of Tactical Knives, he makes reference to people on knife forums on the web in just about every issue. (Usually in negative way I might add, he seems to think that for the most part we all are idiots and wannabes. But I digress ;)) But it just goes to show that the knife industry does pay attention to what we are saying.
 
Did you see the Fiddlebacks? The knives were beautiful, and Andy was a real pleasure to talk to. I'll be looking into one of those for sure.
 
I forgot to mention Fiddleback forge! They had some beautiful "bushcrafty" blades on the table. Their stuff was a little bit higher end- gorgeous. Still less expensive than the Spyderco knife. :rolleyes:
 
johnspark said:
Did you see the Fiddlebacks? The knives were beautiful, and Andy was a real pleasure to talk to. I'll be looking into one of those for sure.
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I agree on all counts...love that full convex grind!!:thumbup:
 
moonwilson said:
W&SS type blades were very well represented at the show. The standout tables for me were Dan Koster's, Blind Horse Knives and Breeden Knives. There were others, but those were the most interesting to me. Rat Cutlery had a booth, as did Condor Knives. I don't know if it's because I'm more interested in "bushcrafty" knives now, but I definitely noticed more of those at the show than before. There were plenty of "no-nonsense", working, outdoor knives on offer, most of which were at very good prices.

The new Condor knives are pretty nice, and they're very inexpensive. For no-frills users, they're going to be hard to beat.
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Did condor give any indication of when the new line would be for sale?
TIA
Ted
 
tknife said:
As a side note, if you read the editors column in the front of Tactical Knives, he makes reference to people on knife forums on the web in just about every issue. (Usually in negative way I might add, he seems to think that for the most part we all are idiots and wannabes. But I digress ;))
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For the most part the snobish comments are deserved. I'm pretty sure they are directed to more general forums like in General Discussion where the flocks of new to the blade world come to roost. Many are really just learning about the passion of blades and come in with public-induced stereotypes. Just think back to how much your own tastes have changed compared to when you joined. I know that mine sure have and I still joined as a mature professional but had rather simplistic ideas about why one engages in knife collections and what one uses knives for. Now look at some of the wilder forums apart from BF and in some you find real 'Soldier of Fortune' type attitudes where everything is presented like a parody of prac-tac.

Then again the internet venue will always attract this kind of critique especially when coming from mainstream media. Is a professional writer who gets paid to do what they do going to really admit that there is an information pool out there contributed by amateurs that is just as credible and just as informative as what they are providing? Are they going to admit that free information exchange comes with less biases than areas where advertisement reflects a paid revenue stream?

There is something to be said for reading a well crafted, well written and well research articles. So much so, that many people are willing to pay for such. Still, I tend to enjoy the chaotic interactivity of the community well call our forums. I've learned far more hanging around here in two years than I have in a decade of outdoor activities and casual reading of magazines.

To each his own. Maybe Joe can comment from his perspective. I've certainly never read any of his articles that demean credible internet sources like our own W&SS.
 
I think I just assumed that with BF being the largest knife forum on the web, that we may be lumped in there too. I also have to assume that knife magazines have taken losses when people can quickly go online and find the pics, knife or maker that they used to only rely on the hardcopy magazines for. So they may have a chip on their collective shoulder when it comes to the online community. I still buy TK just about every month, mainly because of the great guys we have here who write the great :thumbup:

I didn't mean to get this thread off topic, but it directly related to some of the things said in the most recent issue that I was just reading last night.
 
TedPalmer said:
Did condor give any indication of when the new line would be for sale?
TIA
Ted
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They were on sale at the show, so I'm assuming they're for sale now. I would imagine they'll start popping up on distributors' sites any time now. :thumbup:

The knives are pretty nice- roughly finished, but they seem to be plenty tough. They're just begging to be customized- the handles are a bit blocky, and could be improved with some hand-shaping. I wasn't overly impressed with the sheaths- but the prices were right. $35 for the bushcraft, $30 for the Nessmuks, IIRC.
 
tknife said:
I think I just assumed that with BF being the largest knife forum on the web, that we may be lumped in there too. I also have to assume that knife magazines have taken losses when people can quickly go online and find the pics, knife or maker that they used to only rely on the hardcopy magazines for. So they may have a chip on their collective shoulder when it comes to the online community. I still buy TK just about every month, mainly because of the great guys we have here who write the great :thumbup:

I didn't mean to get this thread off topic, but it directly related to some of the things said in the most recent issue that I was just reading last night.
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I love TK magazine and the editor obviously reads BF cause he poo poos a lot of the posts on the forum fairly directly I think.;)

However to criticize TK back- while the editor certainly has no qualms about being frank about poking fun or shaking his head about knife buying behavior or opinions from the online community I think the magazine would be better served in giving honest opinions about the blades they review.

In all the knife magazines all the knives are reviewed favorably. Weak points are either downplayed or not mentioned at all.

Personally while we see a lot of flowery reviews here by people that really don't use their blades I find that I can get a way better picture about whether I want a blade or not, especially how it holds up over long term use, the scale of it what it might be good for, all that kind of stuff here than in TK magazine.

I believe I am right because the fact that they have started running articles by some of the people who have been posting here for years seems to back it up.

It takes all kinds of course but surely the web is the best thing ever to come along for knife sellers and knife buyers, and one is more likely to get an objective review where the reviewer and his medium of communication has no financial interest in advertising dollars from the companies being reviewed.
 
I handled the Spyderco Bushcraft, but I bought the Blind Horse Bushcrafter. The Bushcrafter was $100 with a sheath.:thumbup:
 
I think it's interesting.

Years ago the customs were always high dollar, even the fairly simple ones. Nowdays the customs have come down to the point where they are often a better deal than the production models.:thumbup:
 
Sorry to stay off topic, I just found this pretty amusing. I picked up the latest TK because it had the article on David Farmer (CONGRATS:thumbup:) and I read the Editors section. More on how people online don't have a clue what they're talking about, not ex-SF, never been-there-done-that, etc. and I just blew it off. Sure you may have to look and pay attention, but I think there's more good in forums than bad. Of course, in the same issue, is the article on the Sog Agency. 3+ pages, not a single word about actually using the knife for anything. Talk about the history, the sheath, the lively in-hand feel, not one word about how well it cuts (or chops, stabs, prys, slices, dices or anything!):D Guess I'll have to ask Mistwalker if I want to know if it does anything besides look pretty:p

Back on topic:

hollowdweller said:
I think it's interesting.

Years ago the customs were always high dollar, even the fairly simple ones. Nowdays the customs have come down to the point where they are often a better deal than the production models.:thumbup:
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I think you'll start seeing more and more of that same phenomenon. I think we've hit the point where we won't be just paying people who don't have a hand in the product we're buying. Corporations are cutting out the bench-warmers, and people will have to get to working hands-on to bring money in. All in all it may work out for the best, especially for us knife nuts:D
 
hollowdweller said:
I think it's interesting.

Years ago the customs were always high dollar, even the fairly simple ones. Nowdays the customs have come down to the point where they are often a better deal than the production models.:thumbup:
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i am VERY proud to say that ALL of my user fixed blades are customs AND i would put them up against almost any production knife at 50-100% more cost.
Bruce Culberson, Bryan Breeden, walter davis, david farmer, mineral mountain and so on and so forth you know the names.
Need some Koyote next.
 
Blind horse knives, had some bushcraft blades for around $100.
carbon steel & striped maple handles . They are great guys !!!
They also had some great flint & steel sets !
 
Staying off topic - I think HD us right about the flowery reviews of blades in the magazines, but they have a very simple business problem, there are not enough paying advertisers to take the risk of irritating a potential client...

I like the shift of TK recently towards outdoors blades from the more tactical perspective...
 
mneedham said:
Staying off topic - I think HD us right about the flowery reviews of blades in the magazines, but they have a very simple business problem, there are not enough paying advertisers to take the risk of irritating a potential client...

I like the shift of TK recently towards outdoors blades from the more tactical perspective...
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Amen to that!
 
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