KFU Knives, A Great Experience (Photo Heavy)

[Mistwalker]

Back before Christmas I participated in a sort of “secret santa” knife swap and received a knife made by Chris Bowden of KFU Knives. I had seen some of his earliest work and liked what I was seeing. The knife I got was a model he calls the Humpback. It's a nice little bushcrafter styled knife with stabilized maple handle scales. It has very nice grinds and really nice ergonomics, a nice full handle, and it handles really well. It also came with a really nice edge.

The good experience with KFU Knives didn't stop there. A week after Christmas I was reading through a thread in his forum and saw a post where Mr. Bowden said he needed to add some more tactical/utility/duty type stuff. So I wrote him and asked if he would be willing to make a design I had drawn up. That I didn't really see this one as a tactical design, but it had a feature in the blade geometry that some see as more tactical...a textured thumb ramp. I emailed him a quick drawing and the dimensions and he cut out a blank very quickly. He nailed the blade profile right off, and shared a series of in progress photos and we talked about the design. In a couple of weeks a package arrived at the PO Box with the knife inside.

Mr. Bowden did an excellent job of bringing the knife off paper and making it a reality. He nailed the blade and handle geometry spot on, did a great job on the grinds, and did a fantastic job the taper of the blade. The bi-symmetry of the knife is just awesome, and the handle contours are sublimely comfortable. He also really did a wonderful job on the fit and finish, and this knife too came with a very nice edge. I am behind in my work right now so I haven't really put it through many paces yet, but I just wanted to share some of the pics I've snapped the last couple of days of the knife and of it in hand. I'm definitely very well pleased with the results so far.

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[Stump Buster]

Fantastic review, Great Pics, Awesome Knife and Good Guys (mistwalker and Chris Bowden)!!!

Thanks for the review!!!

 

[KFU]

Fantastic review, Great Pics, Awesome Knife and Good Guys (mistwalker and Chris Bowden)!!!

Thanks for the review!!!

Thanks Mike!

 

[TPVT]

yeah...good stuff mist...and chris, of course. really like the KFU handles. :thumbup:

 

[Rockywolf]

Very, very nice. Just when I thought I didn't need or want another knife...I used one of my KFU knives for kitchen duty tonight: chicken w Dijon sauce, sweet potatoes, and a beer. Delicious.

The knife looks GREAT, maybe I'll have to get one...

 

[Mistwalker]

Thanks guys. I guess for all of this to make sense, I should post pics to show what Chris had to work from. It was a scale drawing of the knife I wanted along side a couple of commonly known knives of a similar size for a reference and the specs and contours that I wanted. Chris took the drawing and my description and just ran with it. He really did an awesome job. Oh, and the grind on the original drawing was for a knife made of 5/32 steel. Changes were made and 3/16 steel was used, so the grind went higher to a full flat grind.

 

[Rockywolf]

Cool to see the inspirations for it. What's the sheath like?

 

[Mistwalker]

Cool to see the inspirations for it. What's the sheath like?

The Humpback came with a very nice and sturdy leather belt sheath. I need to add a pic of it, but it's on my other computer. The way I want to carry this one makes the sheath a bit complicated to explain so I told Chris I'd rather just make my own sheath for it because I may need to experiment a couple of times to get it right. I wanted this knife to fill the same role I use my old RC-3MIL for, and carry it the same way. Which is inside belt, right side, reverse draw...so getting the belt loop right may mean some experimentation.

 

[zcd]

Very nice Mist, great pictures as always. Love KFU's work

 

[Northridge88]

Fantastic pics and review!

 

[daizee]

WOW, that custom is a BEAUTY.
Love that design, Mist, and fabulous work, Chris.
mmm...

-Daizee

 

[Mistwalker]

Very nice Mist, great pictures as always. Love KFU's work

Thanks man, glad you liked them. I do too, I have a couple more I want to get from him. I like his pointer model and am thinking about picking one up for my nephew who fishes a lot.

Fantastic pics and review!

Thanks man, glad you liked the post!

WOW, that custom is a BEAUTY.
Love that design, Mist, and fabulous work, Chris.
mmm...

-Daizee

Thanks Daizee, Chris really did do a bang up job at bringing it to life with a few tweaks here and there to make some improvements.

 

[maw]

What a wonderful review Mistwalker. Very nice photos with plenty of detail! They certainly show off Chris Bowden's talent. Thank you.

Mark

 

[KFU]

Thanks guys and thanks for the kind words Mist. This one was out of my comfort zone and I had alot of fun making it. I cant wait for the next Brian Griffin design

 

[Mistwalker]

What a wonderful review Mistwalker. Very nice photos with plenty of detail! They certainly show off Chris Bowden's talent. Thank you.

Mark

Thanks Mark, I'm glad you enjoyed the photos! Chris definitely has a lot of talent to show off!

Thanks guys and thanks for the kind words Mist. This one was out of my comfort zone and I had alot of fun making it. I cant wait for the next Brian Griffin design

The fact that it was outside your comfort zone and you still did so well really impresses me Chris. Good I'm glad to hear that, because the next one is a bit more complex, and is going to take you a bit further outside your comfort zone, but after handling and using this one for the last few days I have no doubts that you'll be able to pull it off just fine. I'm really looking forward to it myself.

 

[yujiro hanma]

is that new desgin for sale, i'm interested buying that knife

 

[Mistwalker]

I am pretty sure that Chris saved the pattern and is going to make more, you can ask him about that.

As for me after the last few times I've had it out, long story, I am starting to think maybe I made a mistake going with wood, even as beautiful as it is, and that I actually need one with a synthetic handle that I won't ruin with a kydex sheath, and will have more carry options with. We may can work something out where you pay Chris, I send you the knife, and Chris makes me another one. Let me talk to Chris and see if he has the time. It would be just the knife only though, as I wanted to make my own sheath. I haven't done that yet, I have just been carrying it in another leather sheath that sort of almost works for it for now as I worked out the design of the sheath. More and more my needs lean toward kydex, and I would hate to ruin this beautiful handle with a kydex sheath.

 

[Mistwalker]

I am pretty sure that Chris saved the pattern and is going to make more, you can ask him about that.

As for me after the last few times I've had it out, long story, I am starting to think maybe I made a mistake going with wood, even as beautiful as it is, and that I actually need one with a synthetic handle that I won't ruin with a kydex sheath, and will have more carry options with. We may can work something out where you pay Chris, I send you the knife, and Chris makes me another one. Let me talk to Chris and see if he has the time. It would be just the knife only though, as I wanted to make my own sheath. I haven't done that yet, I have just been carrying it in another leather sheath that sort of almost works for it for now as I worked out the design of the sheath. More and more my needs lean toward kydex, and I would hate to ruin this beautiful handle with a kydex sheath.

Ok, never mind. Not selling to a banned member Wow that was quick.

 

[totallynotalex]

Wow that is beautiful. Is this a one and done type deal? If not I would be very interested in getting on a list for one of these. Absolutely stunning :thumbup:

 

[Mistwalker]

Wow that is beautiful. Is this a one and done type deal? If not I would be very interested in getting on a list for one of these. Absolutely stunning :thumbup:

He says he is going to be making more of them, but did you see post #17 two posts above yours?