- Joined
- Jun 18, 2011
- Messages
- 98
So, I picked up this hiking buddy from Dan the day after Blade Show when I found out it was still available. I enlisted my 12 yo to help me take the pics, so sorry if they aren't great. I put a hair popping edge on the knife after I got it and used the dickens out of it all weekend. I used it around the yard Saturday to trim some offending branches from a crape myrtle. I also used it to scrape some chicken poo from my clean out drawer in my chicken coop (sorry Dan). Sunday, my son and I needed to come up with two new walking sticks since our pooch chewed on our old ones when left out in the back yard....by my son 
. I also taught my son how to make a figure 4 trap and we made several. I used the Hiking Buddy the whole time.
Anyway for the review: The knife remained comfortable during all the tasks, even though I got a little hand fatigued while carving on the walking sticks. No offending spots on the handle which is very comfortable. I was very surprised at how well it carved wood for such a beefy knife. I was using a mora knife as a bench mark. I understand that the mora is not a good custom, but it was razor sharp when I started and they are a known quantity when it comes to woodcraft. The Hiking Buddy blew it away in both cutting ability (surprise) and edge retention (no surprise). I was very pleased with the convex grind/secondary bevel setup that Dan used on this knife. More pleased than I thought I would be.
The best thing about the knife was the edge retention. It was still shaving sharp after two days of constant hard use, although not as sharp as it was when I started. It took me about one minute to bring it right back on a small EZ lap ceramic stone. The only negative comment if you can call it one is that I wish it was in stainless so I could use it like that and just throw it into my drawer when I'm done as opposed to wiping it down. I certainly can't complain though because I really was blown away by how well the edge stood up to the heavy wood carving. Anyway, as promised, here's some pics.
BTW this is my first review post here so be gentle.
. I also taught my son how to make a figure 4 trap and we made several. I used the Hiking Buddy the whole time.Anyway for the review: The knife remained comfortable during all the tasks, even though I got a little hand fatigued while carving on the walking sticks. No offending spots on the handle which is very comfortable. I was very surprised at how well it carved wood for such a beefy knife. I was using a mora knife as a bench mark. I understand that the mora is not a good custom, but it was razor sharp when I started and they are a known quantity when it comes to woodcraft. The Hiking Buddy blew it away in both cutting ability (surprise) and edge retention (no surprise). I was very pleased with the convex grind/secondary bevel setup that Dan used on this knife. More pleased than I thought I would be.
The best thing about the knife was the edge retention. It was still shaving sharp after two days of constant hard use, although not as sharp as it was when I started. It took me about one minute to bring it right back on a small EZ lap ceramic stone. The only negative comment if you can call it one is that I wish it was in stainless so I could use it like that and just throw it into my drawer when I'm done as opposed to wiping it down. I certainly can't complain though because I really was blown away by how well the edge stood up to the heavy wood carving. Anyway, as promised, here's some pics.
BTW this is my first review post here so be gentle.
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