Hiking buddy thickness and bushcraft

M

mstone

Joined
Feb 26, 2014
Messages
14
Hi all,

I'm new to FBF, and I have a few questions. I don't even have one, and I'm already falling in love with the Hiking Buddy. I love small blades, and this has what I consider to be the perfect profile for bushcraft. Because I carry an axe, I do not need a large blade. I like the detail work I can get with a small blade. I do not baton with my knives. My knife chores are mostly notching, carving, and food prep. My notching and carving are not recreational. I need something that will get tough jobs done. So, which blade thickness do you suggest? I'm leaning toward 3/32, but I want to be able to still notch and do tough work. Would this be thick enough? Should I step up to 1/8? Will I survive the shark feeding frenzy (dirty bastards! :D)?

I should also mention that I prefer a full convex or sabre grind. I like scandi, but I have a harder time getting it super sharp.

I'm really excited to get my hands on one of Andy's knives, and I appreciate any info you can pass along!

thanks
 
I'd go thicker if you plan on using it as a true bush knife (my opinion). The Hiking Buddy is my fav Fiddler too. Very versatile and the perfect size for me. That being said, I have 1 HB and 3 Buchcrafts .. but the HB goes with me more so than not.

As for Scandi grinds .. I dont think Andy has been making any lately. I even remember he posting something to that effect.

Good luck with the sharks on Friday. ;)
 
+1 on 1/8" hiking buddy; super versatile small knife, and very comfortable handle.
 
Welcome to the forum.

I think it really boils down to what you're comfortable with, as well as what you have used in the past. I've heard serious outdoor knife enthusiast like Adam from E2E say 3/32" is all he needs in a knife and that if used "properly" it can handle the majority of your outdoor jobs. I want to say that 3/32" would be good for you, but I really don't know how you handle your blades and what your skill level is. Having owned Andy's 1/8" stock, I know that thickness works perfect for me in doing my outdoor camp chores. I don't baton wood with my knives unless it's for testing purposes.

Try both and see which thickness you like best. At the very least, there is the Flea market to sell the blade you don't prefer.
 
Last edited:
With 1/8" I'd go with one ground higher while I'd want a slightly lower ground 3/32". Both should do fine unless you plan to beat on it with a piece of wood..
 
I too love the Hiking Buddy model. I've gone through a few of them looking for the perfect configuration for me. For me it as boiled down to wanting a tapered 5/32 with a 3/4 grind. For your use it sounds like an SFT 3/32 would handle your needs fine, but I'd probably bump up to a 1/8 anyway because you just never know in the bush and the difference in performance would be minimal if even noticeable. If weight is your primary consideration for wanting thinner, you could go with tapered 1/8 with a high grind. I think that would make an excellent smaller bushcrafting knife with little weight, and still some meat in the spine for lateral force when carving and notching. Just my 2 cents.
 
Thanks for ya'll's thoughts. Since I prefer a higher grind, it looks like I'll probably go 1/8. If I could find a 1/8 tapered tang high grind... Good call mistwalker. I'm not ruling out 3/32 yet, but now leaning 1/8.

For those with both, do you find that the 3/32 is significantly sharper than the 1/8?
 
I have a high-grind 1/8" and I could (but would really prefer not to) shave with it. I'm sure you could get 3/32 to an even finer edge, but IMHO high 1/8 will give you a little more durability.
 
mstone said:
Thanks for ya'll's thoughts. Since I prefer a higher grind, it looks like I'll probably go 1/8. If I could find a 1/8 tapered tang high grind... Good call mistwalker. I'm not ruling out 3/32 yet, but now leaning 1/8.

For those with both, do you find that the 3/32 is significantly sharper than the 1/8?
Click to expand...

I don't want to muck up your thinking too much, but keep in mind that the higher the grind, the less of Andy's spalting you get to see. But then again this has nothing to do with performance, only aesthetics. I have a 3/32 SFT Bushrapter that is still very light, and boy she is a cutter. If it ever thaws out here, I will soon to take her out for a romp in the woods. Obviously I have not been able to take it through the paces yet. But as Mist alluded to, if this is the only knife that you will be carrying, the added heft of the 1/8" spine might warrant serious consideration. I know, get one of each:). I have an 1/8" EDCII, which is a different animal to the HB, but as others have said, I am not sure that there would be that much difference in cutting performance based on the two knives that I am comparing in those two thicknesses.
 
I just tend to be a little rougher on knives than a lot of people, maybe it stems from most of my early studies in bushcraft and survival being taught to me by military vets and using old Ka-Bars and survival knives, and maybe it stems from just my size and weight. So, I tend to lean more toward 5/32 with a higher grind for a good mix of strength and slicing ability. I think Andy, knowing my jobs and my habits, may breath a sigh of relief when he sees my threads open with wooded scenes and then sees I'm carrying a 5/32 blade, though I am working on more finesse and less brute force these days :) I tend to worry about me inadvertently putting too much lateral force on a blade and flexing it more than I realize...my father always told me I could kill an anvil with a rubber mallet, and Rick Marchand says my hands look like a bunch of bananas... :o So I shy away from longer thinner blades with pinned and epoxied scales for fear of accidentally taking them beyond reasonable expectation of use. I do like to experiment a lot.

That said I have talked to Andy about putting a tapered 1/8 bushcrafting style knife through a long term test in the bush this coming warm season, and we are sorting out the model best suited to my bushcrafting style. This is a project that I am really looking forward to, as my daughter is at the right age to start teaching certain skills to now, and due to her size I will have to focus on finesse rather than brute force in teaching her skills.
 
mistwalker said:
I just tend to be a little rougher on knives than a lot of people, maybe it stems from most of my early studies in bushcraft and survival being taught to me by military vets and using old Ka-Bars and survival knives, and maybe it stems from just my size and weight. So, I tend to lean more toward 5/32 with a higher grind for a good mix of strength and slicing ability. I think Andy, knowing my jobs and my habits, may breath a sigh of relief when he sees my threads open with wooded scenes and then sees I'm carrying a 5/32 blade, though I am working on more finesse and less brute force these days :) I tend to worry about me inadvertently putting too much lateral force on a blade and flexing it more than I realize...my father always told me I could kill an anvil with a rubber mallet, and Rick Marchand says my hands look like a bunch of bananas... :o So I shy away from longer thinner blades with pinned and epoxied scales for fear of accidentally taking them beyond reasonable expectation of use. I do like to experiment a lot.

That said I have talked to Andy about putting a tapered 1/8 bushcrafting style knife through a long term test in the bush this coming warm season, and we are sorting out the model best suited to my bushcrafting style. This is a project that I am really looking forward to, as my daughter is at the right age to start teaching certain skills to now, and due to her size I will have to focus on finesse rather than brute force in teaching her skills.
Click to expand...

Sorry for the off topic response, but I just really wanted to say thanks to Mist. Your responses are always so thoughtful and considered. You speak from a wealth of experience, but never come across as abrasive. Every time you post in a thread I know I'll learn something. If we ever end up at the same point in the space-time continuum, I hope I can buy you your beverage of choice as an impossibly insignificant repayment for your involvement on BF.

And now back to your regularly scheduled programming....

Michael
 
RRaconteur said:
Sorry for the off topic response, but I just really wanted to say thanks to Mist. Your responses are always so thoughtful and considered. You speak from a wealth of experience, but never come across as abrasive. Every time you post in a thread I know I'll learn something. If we ever end up at the same point in the space-time continuum, I hope I can buy you your beverage of choice as an impossibly insignificant repayment for your involvement on BF.

And now back to your regularly scheduled programming....

Michael
Click to expand...

^THIS! You are so correct Michael!
 
Thanks guys, I hardly know what to say. After so many years of feeling like an escapee from the island of misfit toys trying to find his way home, it has been great in recent years to find a place to feel at home and feel comfortable. Maybe we can all meet up one year at Blade or somewhere and sit and talk in person over a coffee or a beer. In many ways I feel like some of us already have, even though I know we haven't, but it would be really nice to do that.
 
RRaconteur said:
Sorry for the off topic response, but I just really wanted to say thanks to Mist. Your responses are always so thoughtful and considered. You speak from a wealth of experience, but never come across as abrasive. Every time you post in a thread I know I'll learn something. If we ever end up at the same point in the space-time continuum, I hope I can buy you your beverage of choice as an impossibly insignificant repayment for your involvement on BF.

And now back to your regularly scheduled programming....

Michael
Click to expand...
+1 on that for sure
 
1/8" SFT is nice and I'd be comfortable with it as my only knife in the woods but 3/32" tapered with a full height grind is oh so sweet. Ultra-light and cuts like no other. Easily my most used Fiddleback.



 
I have a 1/8" HB as well. It's think enough for detailed work and thick enough that you're not worried about using it. Perfect thickness for a knife this size in my opinion.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top