Fiddleback Bushfinger 28 Months Later

Great pics as usual Mist. Although I really shouldn't have looked at night. I'm hungry now. Off to the kitchen. :)
 
grunt soldier said:
great update sir. and I agree it looks awesome now. love how the handles darkened up like that!
Click to expand...

Thanks GS. I definitely like the way the handle scales have aged. I love the look of wood, but worry about long term use of organic handle materials in the high humidity environment I live in since it rains so much and I spend so much time in wet woods. This way I got the look I like but have much less concern about it.


Gossman Knives said:
Great pics of a well used knife. Andy has come a long way and makes a fine knife. I remember when he first got into knifemaking.
Scott
Click to expand...

Thanks. I don't know when he first started making knives, but I had only been a member here for about a year when he started his subforum. He has come a long way since when I first noticed his work. It has been fun watching him grow in his craft and skill, and it has been a pleasure getting to know him. I am really looking forward to picking up one of his tapered tang Kepharts after the holidays have passed and tax season is behind me.


pap11y said:
Great post. Thanks..

Sweet knives. I'll be adding 1 to the collection one day..
Click to expand...

Thanks man, glad you enjoyed it. Andy does make some really sweet knives.


rpn said:
The one that started it all! :thumbup:

Besides being a great knife design- your reviews and awesome pics have helped sell a ton I'm sure. :thumbup:

I'm curious how the 1/8'' convex verion is.
Click to expand...


Definitely the one that got my attention :) . Oh, I just use the knives and take pics, I reckon the knives sell themselves to the people whose eyes they catch.

I've seen a couple. They feel really good, and slice like a laser I imagine...but Andy and I have agreed that for my uses I should probably stick to 5/32 unless it's a scandi. My wife has fallen in love with the scandi Hiking Buddy. I was watching her sharpening, cleaning, and wiping it down with mineral oil last night, and marveling at how far she has come since I met her.


Quirt said:
Wow this is amazing Mist. I think I found my birthday present assuming we survive beyond the 21st! I need to contact Andy.
Click to expand...

Thanks, glad you liked it. I would say it would make an awesome birthday gift! I'm pretty sure we will survive, but is has been a fun excuse for opening presents early :D
 
I remember when you first started post pics of this knife. I kept harassing you to sell it to me, you politely declined.:D

I'm glad to see you thoroughly used it, she looks better now!

Thanks for sharing!!
 
Doc13 said:
I remember when you first started post pics of this knife. I kept harassing you to sell it to me, you politely declined.:D

I'm glad to see you thoroughly used it, she looks better now!

Thanks for sharing!!
Click to expand...

Yep, I remember that. Couldn't to sell it then because I had just gotten it and it was my first Fiddleback...can't sell it now because I still love it and it was my first Fiddleback :D

Definitely well used, and well loved!

If you're still looking for one, I did notice another member who recently bought a fancier Bushfinger has his original Bushfinger up for sale in the exchange. One with a really nice full height grind :)
 
I remember when you got this knife and posted it up. I fell in love with Andy's work right then and there. While I still haven't gotten one, it is on my list of must haves. If I could find one in the exchange for a price I can do, I'd jump. Good to see how we'll she has held up and you have used her. Just a magnificent knife.
 
crbauhs said:
I remember when you got this knife and posted it up. I fell in love with Andy's work right then and there. While I still haven't gotten one, it is on my list of must haves. If I could find one in the exchange for a price I can do, I'd jump. Good to see how we'll she has held up and you have used her. Just a magnificent knife.
Click to expand...

It was when I got this one that I really fell for Andy's work also. I have since been fortunate to have gotten a few others, but this one is still very special to me. If you ever get the chance you should try out one of his knives, this one has certainly much more than earned its keep :)
 
upnorth said:
I noticed that also. Good looks AND high function, a winning combo. :thumbup:
Click to expand...

I agree. It's not as good looking as some of the woods out there, but it does still look good and I don't worry near as much about the high humidity here.
 
mistwalker said:
I think so too. I love the way natural canvas micarta darkens and takes on a wooden look.
Click to expand...
just what i was thinking infact for a second I thought it had been rescaled :D

not a knife we see very often over here but I'd be glad to own one
 
I got one little knife from Andy for my girlfriend. It is a great little knife.

Then he stopped taking orders...only 5 days after I received that knife He wouldn't take an order for a woodsmans. He makes nice knives....but his business practices suck!
 
wildmike said:
I got one little knife from Andy for my girlfriend. It is a great little knife.

Then he stopped taking orders...only 5 days after I received that knife He wouldn't take an order for a woodsmans. He makes nice knives....but his business practices suck!
Click to expand...

Having known both sides of the fence on the issue of wether to take orders or not I really think your opinion is one sided. OK so a maker decides to take orders and then his list gets huge and you'll have to wait a very long time to get what you want. Then while you wait something comes up in your life and you can't get it anyway so you cancel. Then later things turn around for you and now it's right back to square one and the wait begins all over. Sounds like a lot of fun - NOT. Andy's business model works quuite well in my opinion. He knows what sells, and his eye for detail and what looks good is beyond reproach. If you watch the forum you will be able to get what you want in a reasonable time and be very happy with it. OK maybe you wanted your knife to have lets say bocote with red liners and you had to sacrifice and get bocote with white liners. Is that really that bad of a situation to be in. I think not. If you're looking for a woodsman keep your eyes on the friday forums. They come up quite often and I haven't seen one that looked anything other than great! If you like something from him more on the rare side, drop some hints on the forum and maybe, just maybe one will show up eventually. Besides being very good at what he does, Andy is a really cool guy to boot and I'm sure is watching and seeing what folks on the forum are discussing. Keep the faith man, don't pass judgement until you see it from all angles. - Peace
 
Actually he had no back order list at the time. He just arbitrarily decided to take no more orders from anyone who had not ordered at least 5 knives from him. I had just completed a seamless problem free transaction with him and he had been informed when I made the first order that I would be ordering a woodsman from him.

He decided he wanted everyone to play feeding frenzy for available knives... I choose to deal with folks who are a bit more straightforward.
 
wildmike said:
Actually he had no back order list at the time. He just arbitrarily decided to take no more orders from anyone who had not ordered at least 5 knives from him. I had just completed a seamless problem free transaction with him and he had been informed when I made the first order that I would be ordering a woodsman from him.

He decided he wanted everyone to play feeding frenzy for available knives... I choose to deal with folks who are a bit more straightforward.
Click to expand...

It was a bit more complex than just some arbitrary decision, and trying to make him seem like a narcissist who gets off on the feeding frenzy is a bit excessive. No, he didn't have a back log at that time, he had just spent several months catching up with his back log if I remember right.. At the time there was a down turn in the economy and lots of people suddenly found themselves facing hard times and in dire straights. Several people had ordered custom knives that were outside Andy's normal line, and then couldn't afford to make good on the order. That put him in somewhat of a bind having the money tied up in the materials, and the time tied up in making them. He then found himself having to try to match those customs up with a buyer, which with a purely custom design is not always the quickest thing to do.

As far as being more straight forward goes, I don't think the man could have been much more straight forward about it when he said...

Fiddleback said:
I will no longer be taking orders from anyone who has not bought 5 or more knives directly from me.

I can't keep up with the dozens of changes constantly happening to the orders. The details that folks request, change, re-request, and re-change, and the control over the process they have over me is too demanding on my time and stressful for me to keep up with.

This may change in the future, but for now, no more orders.
Click to expand...


Fiddleback said:
I'm just stopping the custom orders. Its twice the work, and too frequently, the order is simply cancelled. Folks can't eat knives, so thats OK. But I can't eat orders. There is no money in them, so they've been stopped.
Click to expand...


in this thread from over two years ago.

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/763839-Orders-Ceased


He had a decision to make about a new business model that worked as well as possible for him and his customers. It was either find a working model or stop making knives, and there were a lot of us who did not want to see him stop making knives. So, later he started a discussion in his forum so that everyone who was interested could voice their thoughts on it. The decision was made to release each week's batch of knives on Friday so the Blade Forum regulars could have first shot. The “feeding frenzy” as you call it happens because over the years Andy has developed a fairly strong international following and h can only produce so many hand made knives in one week. Knives from each batch that don't sell on the forum that week are then sold to his distributors. And every week there are a few that do not sell on the forum. So that leaves a second option for prospective buyers who can not take the time to be in his forum on Fridays ( usually around lunch time eastern time), to go through one of the dealers who sells Fiddleback Forge knives. They are listed in his “Line Up” thread which is sticky-ed in his sub-forum, and they are listed on his personal website. Currently Dale at The-Knife-Connection, a member here, has some really nice examples of Andy's work available, including a couple of his newer tapered tang knives that are really sweet. A third option for the last three or four years has been his booth at the International Blade Show in Atlanta. People that can't make it to a show often have a friend be their proxy to send photos of knives at dealer's tables and make the buy for them. So, if you want one of Andy's knives there are actually a number of options to choose from.
 
Last edited:
Your sharpening I find interesting. I always fully convex my blades from Andy. It is cool to see it done another way - and see such great results.


Concerning the last post - I think Andy has struck on a method that works for him. Also, it must be remembered that he has his wares for sale on a few other dealers sites as well. He fills those orders and then EVERY FRIDAY has a batch to be purchased. If you are looking for something - a little diligence pays off. When I think about this and, say, a 10 month waiting list - it seems to come out in the wash.

TF
 
wildmike said:
I got one little knife from Andy for my girlfriend. It is a great little knife.

Then he stopped taking orders...only 5 days after I received that knife He wouldn't take an order for a woodsmans. He makes nice knives....but his business practices suck!
Click to expand...

wildmike said:
Actually he had no back order list at the time. He just arbitrarily decided to take no more orders from anyone who had not ordered at least 5 knives from him. I had just completed a seamless problem free transaction with him and he had been informed when I made the first order that I would be ordering a woodsman from him.

He decided he wanted everyone to play feeding frenzy for available knives... I choose to deal with folks who are a bit more straightforward.
Click to expand...

Wildmike, I'm sorry you had a bad experience. The situation is my fault entirely. I'm sorry it went down that way. The timing was bad for your situation, and I should have made an exception for you. I apologize for this.

The decision was not arbitrary to stop taking orders. I was drowning in orders, and they are not profitable. They were killing my business. I was a year out on the order list when the decision was made. When I finally finished it off, I was very excited about it, and I didn't spend enough time on your request to figure out exactly what should have been done based on your situation. I should have made you the Woodsman. I thought that making one exception would lead to an avalanche of order exceptions. I can see now that was a mistake.

Sometimes I hear folks raving about my customer service because they have had a good experience, and I do try hard to listen, and cater to my customers. But I also have failings, being time short, and patience shorter is one. Yours isn't the only time I've let customers down, I can assure you. I have bad days like everyone else. I'm very focused on making knives, and I do fail at the CS portion occasionally. I always trying to improve at this aspect of it.

Again, I'm sorry for how I handled your knife order. You are right. I should have recognized your exception, and made you the knife.
 
Last edited:
Talfuchre said:
Your sharpening I find interesting. I always fully convex my blades from Andy. It is cool to see it done another way - and see such great results.

TF
Click to expand...

It's an old habit, I have to have a method of sharpening that works in the field easily.
 
Fiddleback said:
Wildmike, I'm sorry you had a bad experience. The situation is my fault entirely. I'm sorry it went down that way. The timing was bad for your situation, and I should have made an exception for you. I apologize for this.

The decision was not arbitrary to stop taking orders. I was drowning in orders, and they are not profitable. They were killing my business. I was a year out on the order list when the decision was made. When I finally finished it off, I was very excited about it, and I didn't spend enough time on your request to figure out exactly what should have been done based on your situation. I should have made you the Woodsman. I thought that making one exception would lead to an avalanche of order exceptions. I can see now that was a mistake.

Sometimes I hear folks raving about my customer service because they have had a good experience, and I do try hard to listen, and cater to my customers. But I also have failings, being time short, and patience shorter is one. Yours isn't the only time I've let customers down, I can assure you. I have bad days like everyone else. I'm very focused on making knives, and I do fail at the CS portion occasionally. I always trying to improve at this aspect of it.

Again, I'm sorry for how I handled your knife order. You are right. I should have recognized your exception, and made you the knife.
Click to expand...

I'm a recent customer of Fiddleback. Prior to buying a knife from Andy I had ZERO experience buying knife anywhere other than Walmart. Infact I found blade forums in the process of emailing back and forth with Andy. I just happened to email him when he had the specific type of knife I was looking for up in his weekly releases. Andy was overly patient with me, suggested two quality sheath makers and delivered a quality knife to me in time to get it under the Xmas tree for my nephew. He even went an extra step and sent the knife to the sheath maker directly so that I wouldn't have to pay for extra shipping.

I've been in industrial manuafacturing all of my adult life. Part of a manufacturing business is learning from mistakes and always trying to improve. I think it takes good and bad feedback to help people improve their service to the customer.

I look forward to "Fiddleback Friday's" every week. Its the first thing I do when I wake up. I log onto the forum to see if Andy's posted yet. I can't say enogh good thing about my experience with Andy.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top