Fiddleback Forge Woodsman and Bushcrafter (large pic heavy)

JC in SC

JC in SC

Joined
Feb 28, 2009
Messages
1,050
I'm embarassed to say that I scored a Bushcrafter from Andy over a month ago and had yet to use it:o I also scored a Woodsman from him at Blade, glamour shots of which can be seen here. Although not heavy woods use, I decided to get out today and do at least a little something with them. I must apologize in advance, but I like large pics. Here are they are...

I started with some ordinary fuzz sticks. I think my technique and wood selection could both use some improvement. If you've got suggestions, I'd love to hear them. First, the Woodsman.

3604472227_d7d298cc06_b.jpg


Then the Bushcrafter.

3604476673_5b786b5a5d_b.jpg


Then I decided to baton some Oak I have laying around. I'm relatively new here, but even still this is the first time I've felt the least little bit guilty batoning. I wasn't at all worried about damaging the blade, but it felt like I was doing something bad nevertheless.

3605300644_4a44716385_b.jpg


If I'd known what would happen next, I'm not sure that I'd have done it. Actually, that is a lie - I definitely would still have done it, but saying that makes it sound more dramatic. The opposite side of the piece of Oak was quite hard and had at least one knot in it.

3604493851_ff3ef81667_b.jpg


The blade flexed, but ultimately the wood yielded and the blade came back true.

3605313206_733a11fd40_b.jpg


3605317536_1863d6d040_b.jpg


Once I'd worked the piece down a bit with the Woodsman, it was the Bushcrafter's turn.

3605321308_d93721be44_b.jpg


Once again, the Fiddleback came out on top.

3605325234_1acf9f0380_b.jpg


In both cases, still shaving sharp after the fact.

3605329640_ae67f45aec_b.jpg


Ultimately, I think the Woodsman made even my horrible attempt at a fuzz stick slightly easier than with the Bushcrafter for reasons unknown (I believe both are 5/32" O1). Handle wise, the Woodsman seems between the Bushcrafter and Andy's Hunter. I really like the handle of the Hunter, but after today, I'm digging the Woodsman even more! Bottom line, both of these knives are spectacular. I can't wait to use them more.
 
very nice.
That blade flexed a bit and came back, great pics.
I'm waiting on my first and seconde Fiddleback to get here.
It's raining every day here so the most use they will see is in the kitchen!
 
I currently own 2 of Andy's knives and they are excellent products. Easy to maintain and good looking. Yours are awesome! Thanks for the pics.
 
Thats cool. Please explain more what you mean when you say the blade flexed.
 
To me it looked like the Woodsman has flexed a little when he startes batoning the wood and then comes back true. Then again, it could be camera angle or my lazy eye who knows. Very fine knives and I can't wait to get mine. I'm still saving for a ladyfinger.
 
Fiddleback said:
Thats cool. Please explain more what you mean when you say the blade flexed.
Click to expand...

I mean that the knife experienced considerable side loads when batoning through the knot/wood. Not enough to surpass the yield strength of the material (~218,000 psi depending on temper), but enough to cause elastic deformation. You can see in this pic that the blade flexed, but since the yield strength wasn't surpassed, it sprung back. I think this is a sign of a good heat treat. Hard enough to ensure good edge retention (see post-shaving pic above), but not too hard as to make the blade brittle.

3604493851_ff3ef81667_b.jpg


AmmoHouse said:
To me it looked like the Woodsman has flexed a little when he startes batoning the wood and then comes back true. Then again, it could be camera angle or my lazy eye who knows. Very fine knives and I can't wait to get mine. I'm still saving for a ladyfinger.
Click to expand...

Exactly. Sometimes it is hard to get shots of stuff like this and the camera angle can either exaggerate or mask what is going on. In hindsight, I should have rotated the pic so that the main portion of the blade was parallel with the edge of the pic. That would show the bend at roughly the mid point of the blade more clearly. Regardless, I think this is a good indication of why O1 is so well suited for knife blades.
 
Great pic showing the flex. Knives that can't do this will often simple break, as they are too brittle to handle such hard use. The fact that it came back to true shows good heat treat.

The stresses that knife blades endure when being battoned or other types of hard use often go unnoticed, but it's just part of a good knife's job to handle them.

Beautiful knives!

Andy
 
Cool. You can really see it in the pic. These knives should spring a considerable bit!

Andy
 
I've watched Andy and his work evolve over the years. You'd be hard-put to find a better man, or knife-maker.


The quality shown in your pictures is no surprise to me. Character in product follows from character in the maker.



Kis
enjoy every sandwich
 
Nice looking knives. I don't have a Fiddleback now but maybe in the future. :thumbup:

One thing I did notice is the handle scales extend close to the sharpened edge. I like that. I don't know why some makers leave a big space, or the scales stop well before the "finger stop" ends. Maybe to choke up? :confused:
 
HornyToad said:
Nice looking knives. I don't have a Fiddleback now but maybe in the future. :thumbup:

One thing I did notice is the handle scales extend close to the sharpened edge. I like that. I don't know why some makers leave a big space, or the scales stop well before the "finger stop" ends. Maybe to choke up? :confused:
Click to expand...

Check out the about Fiddleback Forge page. Andy says that he hates choils and prefers a blade right up to the edge of the handle. I think choils can look kind of cool if done right, but regardless you're giving up some edge length for a given size blade. Personally, I choose blade over looking cool.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top