Mistwalker
Gold Member
- Joined
- Dec 22, 2007
- Messages
- 19,017
Fiddleback Forge has recently added a new dimension to their offerings by launching a line of mid-tech knives. The first three models in this new line are, from top to bottom, the: Bushfinger, Hiking Buddy, and Runt. These three are all made of tumbl-finished CPM S35VN stainless steel, and they come with the option of natural or black micarta handle scales.
These also come wrapped in brown paper, but a little differently than the hand made knives. These come wrapped in paper and sealed in plastic, inside a box along with a certificate of authenticity.
The Bushfinger comes with a nice Bushcrafter style leather belt sheath with a ferro rod loop. The sheaths are made by JRE.
The micarta handle scales three dimensionally contoured, and being machined they also have a crenelated surface for enhanced grip. Each is hand assembled at Fiddleback Forge, so they get some of the same fine tuning as the hand made handles. It makes for a good looking and good feeling handle, and the fit and finish is what I would expect from Fiddleback Forge.
It came with a nice edge that would easily make nice curls in seasoned hardwood. The first hike out with it, I used the Bushfinger to make a cooking fire. I started by sectioning some maple branches for fuel using a method I call ring and break. It's good technique for doing bigger work with a smaller knife, or when you want to make less noise than chopping, so you don't scare off every animal in a five mile radius. Then using one section for a baton I reduced it to smaller pieces, and whittled some of it into feather sticks for tinder. The knife is quite comfortable in my hand, handles well, and offers really nice control in finer work. The crenelations do offer a secure purchase, but aren't so aggressive they cause hot spots in the chores I have done. Checking the knife afterward, it had suffered no ill effects from the cutting and batonning, and the edge was still quite sharp.
It sliced through the roast lamb like it wasn't even there.
Another method for using a small-ish knife to do larger task if you don't have an axe, is truncating. This is also a better method of testing edge toughness than batonning. With batonning, once the initial split is done, the edge is no longer in contact with the wood. This is not the case with truncating. With this technique the edge is repeatedly impacting against the seasoned wood. I think they did a great job with the heat treat on these, even after truncating through hard seasoned maple, there was no visible signs of damage to the edge, nor to the knife as a whole. The only noticeable difference was some slight loss of keenness to the edge in the area most used during truncating.
The edge was holding up so well I grew impatient to see how easily it could be sharpened or repaired in the field. I'm not one for doing destructive type tests, I prefer to keep them within the realm of reasonable expectations of a design. It was the fire steel on the sheath that became my inspiration for degrading the edge more quickly through actual use of the knife as a tool. The edges of the spines are broken to reduce stress risers and enhance toughness on all of the Fiddleback models, so striking a fire steel would mean having another stiker or using the edge. Making a fire with a ferro rod under wet or damp conditions in this manner will definitely degrade a knife's edge some. I also know this is beyond the scope of reasonable expectation for some, but in a pinch in the bitter cold, you do what you have to do to get warm. In this instance it just gave me the chance to see how easy the knife is to maintain in the field.
A little work with some sand paper removed the worst of the damage pretty quickly. I think the reduction of Vanadium and added Niobium versus S30V is a good combination for a working knife.
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These also come wrapped in brown paper, but a little differently than the hand made knives. These come wrapped in paper and sealed in plastic, inside a box along with a certificate of authenticity.
The Bushfinger comes with a nice Bushcrafter style leather belt sheath with a ferro rod loop. The sheaths are made by JRE.
The micarta handle scales three dimensionally contoured, and being machined they also have a crenelated surface for enhanced grip. Each is hand assembled at Fiddleback Forge, so they get some of the same fine tuning as the hand made handles. It makes for a good looking and good feeling handle, and the fit and finish is what I would expect from Fiddleback Forge.
It came with a nice edge that would easily make nice curls in seasoned hardwood. The first hike out with it, I used the Bushfinger to make a cooking fire. I started by sectioning some maple branches for fuel using a method I call ring and break. It's good technique for doing bigger work with a smaller knife, or when you want to make less noise than chopping, so you don't scare off every animal in a five mile radius. Then using one section for a baton I reduced it to smaller pieces, and whittled some of it into feather sticks for tinder. The knife is quite comfortable in my hand, handles well, and offers really nice control in finer work. The crenelations do offer a secure purchase, but aren't so aggressive they cause hot spots in the chores I have done. Checking the knife afterward, it had suffered no ill effects from the cutting and batonning, and the edge was still quite sharp.
It sliced through the roast lamb like it wasn't even there.
Another method for using a small-ish knife to do larger task if you don't have an axe, is truncating. This is also a better method of testing edge toughness than batonning. With batonning, once the initial split is done, the edge is no longer in contact with the wood. This is not the case with truncating. With this technique the edge is repeatedly impacting against the seasoned wood. I think they did a great job with the heat treat on these, even after truncating through hard seasoned maple, there was no visible signs of damage to the edge, nor to the knife as a whole. The only noticeable difference was some slight loss of keenness to the edge in the area most used during truncating.
The edge was holding up so well I grew impatient to see how easily it could be sharpened or repaired in the field. I'm not one for doing destructive type tests, I prefer to keep them within the realm of reasonable expectations of a design. It was the fire steel on the sheath that became my inspiration for degrading the edge more quickly through actual use of the knife as a tool. The edges of the spines are broken to reduce stress risers and enhance toughness on all of the Fiddleback models, so striking a fire steel would mean having another stiker or using the edge. Making a fire with a ferro rod under wet or damp conditions in this manner will definitely degrade a knife's edge some. I also know this is beyond the scope of reasonable expectation for some, but in a pinch in the bitter cold, you do what you have to do to get warm. In this instance it just gave me the chance to see how easy the knife is to maintain in the field.
A little work with some sand paper removed the worst of the damage pretty quickly. I think the reduction of Vanadium and added Niobium versus S30V is a good combination for a working knife.
.
