Fehrman Final Judgment

B

bearcut

Joined
Sep 3, 2006
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The Fehrman Final Judgment arrived.
I ordered this on March 12th, it was a pretty fast return.
Specs: 3V steel, 15” OAL. Blade size; 9.5” x 1.68” x .25

I bought a Thru-Hiker as well.

I recently bought Ron Hoods newest wilderness blade, the Hoodlum. At 14oz, I was really happy with the light weight of that 10 in blade. So I was a bit surprised, and delighted, that the Fehrman FJ only weighed in at 19oz. This one won’t fatigue my arm either. (Or pull my pants down)

In the 70’s and 80’s, I used fairly large blades, usually around 7-8 inches (or machetes). I came to my senses in the 90’s and, until recently, have been using 4-5.5 inch blades.

Well, it’s 2000something now, and I have fallen back in love with big blades. These are not like my old heavy boat anchors. These new ones are very lively in hand and agile, for such long blades.

I tried to show the chamfering on the blade in the first photo.
Every exposed edge of the knife is chamfered including the butt and choil.

Although it is hard to see, even in person, the forward part of the blade is machined into a convex shape. You can feel it thicken towards the point.

The workmanship on these knives is amazing.

The snow is melting now, so I may be able to take this, and the Hoodlum blade out for some serious testing soon. I’ll review the performance then.
 
Very nice knife mate. I have the First Strike and Shadow Scout, both great knives.
 
good pics bearcut, that hoodlum looks racey but the judgement will probably out chop it.worked on my judgment 2 hrs. ago to bring it super--super sharp on diamond stroup.
 
DennisStrickland said:
good pics bearcut, that hoodlum looks racey but the judgement will probably out chop it.worked on my judgment 2 hrs. ago to bring it super--super sharp on diamond stroup.
Click to expand...

2 hrs!?! Holy crap! I'll bet your FJ is a lazer now! What does the edge look like under magnification now? Carefull, it may blind you!

Yes, the FJ will probably out chop the Hoodlum, theres more to wilderness knives than chopping though. Normally when I want to split wood and chop down trees, I use an ax. The knives should be very good for most bushcraft/survival use, as well as the occasional need for chopping in those circumstances. I tend to snap cut, far more than chop, in the wilderness. These knives are much better suited to that.

That being said, a friend of mine consistantly out chops much thicker, heavier blades, which he also owns, with his FJ. I found I could do the same, with much less fatigue, which is partly why I decided to buy the FJ.

The Hoodlum does look racey doesn't it? Sometimes form does follow function. Mr Hood doesn't design knives for looks though, they are all business. The Hoodlum does handle like a Ferrari, very quick and agile.
Wish I would have bought a Fehrman Hood Hunter when they were still available. Eric Feherman told me that they were just too difficult to manufacture. I guess they threw a lot of 3V away during the run.
 
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What might the notch in the Hoodlum serve? It looks like it means business. Great choices there.
 
It is primarily designed as a wire breaker and bone scorer.
The secondary usage is a billy-pot lifter, i.e. you can grab a wire pot handle out of a cooking fire.
 
I just purchased a Peacemaker and am somewhat disappointed as the handles don't match the upper line along the tang, are off about 1.5 mm and very visible. Other than that its nice and extremely sharp.
 
although i have owned many hundreds of knives & thought i really knew sharp it was a video by ankerson or knifenut1013 with a clear closeup of the edge & i could see reflections much as a mirror which made me inquire of the guys as to the attainment of such polished bevels. i was introduced to the diamond paste & after fooling with that product & a new ferhman stroup i got some amazing results.i started on a queen d2 which even after strouping on cardboard with chromium oxide still would'nt get an edge like 1095 or zdp 189.something about queen d2 [grain size or abrasion resist] just would'nt get that super edge. after using the diamond paste i wrote knifenut & agreed there was a big difference.for regular outdoors usage i'm not sure how much advantage this edge gives since i do'nt hunt colorado & utah 2 weeks at a time anymore or go fishing 3 times a week.but the mirror edge under good light is really a crowd pleaser.future usage will show if such an edge is really advantageous.the salmon & large rainbows in alaska will certainly lose their heads easy from the ferhman.of coruse bearcut you may bake them with heads on european style.yrs. back i served up rainbows baked with heads on & my redneck west tex. inlaws would'nt eat the fish.
 
Ha!
I grew up in Colorado. We always cooked our trout with the heads on. Never boned them either, just gutted them. I never thought much about it. I do draw the line on whale meat though, head or not. It’s weird stuff.

Up here of course, our fish are, um, bigger. The silvers, (Coho) are usually too big to fit in my oven anyway. A big king (Chinook) would be out of the question. BBQ is how I usually cook fish. I usually fillet the fish right on shore and cut those pieces up at home. In fact, I usually don’t even gut them. It’s really the opposite of what you do in the states.

Let us know if your super smooth edge works better/lasts longer.
I assume you kept the stock geometry?

Jerry Hossom mentions one big advantage to a highly polished edge; they resist corrosion.

Another reason to avoid “toothy” edges.

I’ve never used the diamond paste so I’m looking forward to it. I may strop a couple of my folders with the stuff and see what happens.
 
bearcut ditto to retaining original bevel. i want to do some more chopping sessions before i mess with f.j. bevel. nearly all new folders need a more acute bevel to really cut well .factories and rightly so are afraid of newbies that do'nt know how to use a knife will chip out edge & blame manuf. my good buddy lived in the of alaska [gulf] kenai national moose wilderness area for many years. catching fish was easier than going to corner store.the summer is short but the long days make veggies grow like crazy. i have power equipment & jigs to rebevel blades but will wait a while to see if this is good for f.j. the charpy index indicates that 3v should be able to go pretty acute. maybe i can get my nephew to experiment on his 1st.
 
You are right about manufacturers beveling their blades to angles that protect them from damage, and thus, replacement. You see it all the time, especially with the thick heavy choppers.

That is one thing I like about Fehrman. They bevel their big blades with thinner angles from the start, 3V handles shallower angles very well.

When you start thinning the edges of some of the other carbon steels, they can, and often do, chip out.

When it comes to bigger fixed blades, I try to keep the bevel as close to the manufacturers spec as possible. Manufacturers do a lot of testing on their blades and optimize the design for the given steel. Fehrman has found a way to make their knives thinner and lighter, with great geometry, while still being close to bombproof. That’s one reason I like them so much.
 
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