Not to worry all -- I'm not abandoning my beloved fiddlebacks
! Ironically, when it comes to gear I'm actually quite a minimalist who lives by "buy right once, and never buy again".. the narrow exception to this mantra has been Andy's knives. I've tried countless times to do a "purge", but inevitably I wind up right back around the 10-14 mark. Do I need 14 knives, no -- I only have two hands
, but I'm glad to see that many of you are in the same boat that I'm in when posed the question!
I coulda swore I saw pics in here.
Good Question. I'll have to ponder and get back to you.
I think I've had the same question from my wife: "Why do you need so many, couldn't you just keep a few?"
I had pics up for the sake of having pics -- I got swamped this afternoon after posting, and was planning on putting up the proposed combos -- guess I'll have to do this tomorrow!
This sounds like a question a chic would ask ......
Actually, I have been fortunate that the Ms. is understanding of the hobby (and I of her handbag addiction
)
Hey Will, wanna buy a beautiful IW.Woodsman?
I'm with Nathan, I think that your better half is starting to influence you too much.
My choice would be a large, a medium 4.5" and a 3". I.would go with the Bishop for chopping and heavy duty batoning, the Hunter or perhaps Leuku for big game (I have not hunted big game since 1988, but you never know) and the Lonestar EDC. I have not yet warmed to the Hiking Buddy, but it is probably because I have not found one that I like enough to EDC. Under circumstances I could see swapping the Lone Star for the Sneaky Pete, especially the CPM 154 one that I EDC, by far my favorite SP of the several I own.
Good call on your selection walt -- I need to try out a bishop one of these days, although I did have a 3/16" TT comp cutter for a while; heck of a knife! BTW, I already miss that woodsman, it is and will always be an epic knife for me.
I'm about to blow some minds for yall that know me.
Bushraptor - I like the little extra blade you get over the HB or patch.
Scandi KEB - this is the premier for true bushcraft for me
Il Duquesne - can do it all that the lack of a BC would cover, and some
Good one as well Dave, my current Duke in 3/16" would probably maintain top position in the "if you could only keep ONE" thread
I'm guessing ....
Runt.... That is until we make my esquire and I have a chance to try one out
Bushfinger
12" machete....or axe since I had to sell me camp knife
Also a good combo Vance -- I recently had a custom axe made for me, and it has changed my perspective on a lot of things; then again, I've seen Iz Turley videos where he is felling a small tree with a 4" blade. None the less, I've still never tried a runt; its definitely something I need to get around to!
After pondering this question on the long drive home from work I've come to the following conclusion:
For me, everything centers around the Camp Nessie, so the other two are determined by any gaps that I perceive.
Hiking Buddy as I want something small and nimble but can still handle a backup/utility role. Its drop point blade, combined with a 3/32" Scandi make mine a great little woods knife and an EDC.
Woodsman as its long pointy blade is in sharp contrast to the Camp Nessie and works well at tasks from kitchen knife to drilling holes.
I'm sure I'll have 5 other variations by morning, but this is a good start for me.
I like this setup Nathan! The camp nessie is my #2 go to in the "if you could only keep ONE"
scenario -- paired with a pointy accomplice (woodsman, kephart, bearpaw), its a pretty money setup... now you've got me thinking!
Horrible thing to contemplate but, based on need/usefulness rather than my favorites out of my current crop it'd be:
1/8 stainless HB
5/32 stainless Kephart
3/16 Camp Knife
Tough call in the 4" section but I love kepharts and at 5/32 stainless it's robust enough to deal with everything and the salt air.
If my Comp Cutter was 3/16 rather than 5/32 I'd take that and if my machete turned up I'd have to recalculate.
Need a drink now to forget about the trauma ��
Hahaha thanks for weighing in Jules -- another common sense setup, and I'm also a big fan of the 5/32" kephart, so right on :thumbup:
Hiking Buddy - TT
Bushfinger - TT
Camp Knife - 5/32"
The thickness is not that inportant to me, it's the combination of grind height and thickness, a thicker blade with a high grind, is an amazing combination. If I had only 3, they would all be O1, these would all be heavy users, so canvas micarta would be the preference (not sandblasted).
Man, I don't like this thread.... It's painful thinking of just 3 Fiddlebacks! PAINFUL!
Thanks Will -- I was sure I would see a bushfinger in there and you didn't disappoint! After all this trauma, it sounds like I owe you a Chimay (although I like LaChouffe as well!)
I think Will needs to buy us all a beer for making us contemplate this worst case scenario.
Duly noted -- I'm firing up the home brew setup in two weeks; looking like we'll do a scotch ale and maybe a trippel.
Any one on page 1 who is interested in relief from this traumatic exercise in critical thinking, please PM me your mailing address, and I'll try to get a >16oz flip-top out to you when the batch is complete! :thumbup:
I'm surprised camp knives aren't on more of your lists. For me I would say 1-Camp knife, medium sized wood processing blade for backpacking/adventuring when weight prohibits something even more substantial. 2- my sneaky pete , its my edc, great utility blade could serve as a self defense weapon too.
3- of what I own now, my old school bushfinger super comfy big handle.
If we are talking stuff we don't currently own, number 3 would be a big sneaky or a duke. I like the little blades too, but if I'm limited to 3, my sak will take that role
Good one Dave -- both you and Walt mentioned the SP; its a great & versatile profile that is commonly overlooked (IMO) when it comes to overall usefulness!
). With that said, I have been recently exploring the hypothetical dilemma of "...If Andy Roy stopped making knives tomorrow, which three would I keep?" Thus ensues a cavalcade of thoughts as to would the three be aesthetically impeccable or amazingly functional.... perhaps a combination of both?! 
