Leuku or Woodsman? Or Duke?

[Aias]

100% correct, I pair my Duke with a FF Kephart, owing up to the fact that:
#1 I'll never just take one knife with me anywhere I can help it.
#2 I haven't found the perfect do it all knife, so each one compliments the other.
#3 Why have one knife when you can have more than one knife?

Obviously these three apply to handguns, rifles, motorcycles, pets, cars, and a whole bunch of other fun hobbies.

Absolutely right... I’ll have a folder, small fixie, hatchet or large chopper, etc most of the time. Sometimes, however, I take longer, rigorous hikes, and carry a “potentially do it all” knife, and this inquery is about that... a 5-7” stoutish knife that I can press into multiple tasks should the need arise. I often hike Mt Baldy 10,064’ and typically carry one fixed blade and a folder—the rest of the weight I abide is food, water, and emergency gear. And even that I try to keep minimal.

Sounds like the Woodsman is the front runner; had it worked out, it would have been the Forager. I’ll tell ya, clip point and all, if Andy made a Forager sized Bullfrog Bowie, it buy it in a heartbeat. Maybe with a straight clip/ sledge for a little extra steel in the tip. But that would be a Bull-Gator Bowie! —with desert iron wood handles and lime green & black liners... to speak to the South Western part of my soul.

I’ll say this too, I’ve done my rounds in terms of fixed blades... and then some... nothing cuts and feels and looks like a Fiddleback. Nothing.

 

[Fiddleback]

OK. IMO to decide between these three knives, its all about the tip. They are the same size factor, and most functions one will do the others will also do. The duke wins in chopping firewood, the Leuku wins at skinning and the Woodsman wins the stabbing competition. The real question is where do you want the tip.

 

[RobbieB]

OK. IMO to decide between these three knives, its all about the tip. They are the same size factor, and most functions one will do the others will also do. The duke wins in chopping firewood, the Leuku wins at skinning and the Woodsman wins the stabbing competition. The real question is where do you want the tip.

And if you're a Big Deal... do you even want a tip?

 

[Aias]

OK. IMO to decide between these three knives, its all about the tip. They are the same size factor, and most functions one will do the others will also do. The duke wins in chopping firewood, the Leuku wins at skinning and the Woodsman wins the stabbing competition. The real question is where do you want the tip.

Thanks Andy... but now I’ve got to rethink this whole thing! I truly appreciate the perspective.

I’m traveling for the holidays and the Bullfrog is with me. I plan to make a thread, take pics, and review the knife. Much love for the Bullfrog—the blade is awesome, but the handle/ergos steal the show!

 

[ndmiller]

And if you're a Big Deal... do you even want a tip?

Cracking up waiting for the 5" FF Butter Knife.

 

[Southern Gent]

Aias if you carry a hatchet, a 1/8 tapered tang Woodsman would be the ticket. That would be a very difficult knife to find, but it would be a fantastic outdoor knife.

 

[Aias]

Thanks—when car camping, I definitely have a hatchet. At 1/8th, a Woodsman must slice/ cut like a laser, but at 5/32nds there’s enough meat in the spine/tip to insure the knife survived my occasional lapse of judgement

 

[LostViking]

OK. IMO to decide between these three knives, its all about the tip. They are the same size factor, and most functions one will do the others will also do. The duke wins in chopping firewood, the Leuku wins at skinning and the Woodsman wins the stabbing competition. The real question is where do you want the tip.

I have been meaning to chime in here. But I have either been busy or when not, otherwise distracted.

Right now I have the Woodsman and the Pro Duke. I actually sold my Leuku a while ago. Not becasue it wasn't a great knife. It was.

I think Andy nailed it. It's not as much about the knives as it what you'll be doing with them. The Woodsman is quite pointy. The Pro Duke is tough as nails. And the Leuku as I saw it, split the difference.

Whether a person will be happy with their choice rests largely on what they plan to do most.

If heavy prying and batoning out front is your plan. I say Duke all the way. As Andy has said. It was designed and built to be a direct replacement for his Ka-bar.

Having played with both side by side. I'd say he killed it. I have been using my Ka-bar for years. By the end of day three. The Duke felt more at home in my hand than my trusted Ka-bar. That alone says a lot.

The Duke is the one I would choose if I had to leave and an uncertain futre lay ahead. I'm pretty certain it would see me through almost anything I might encounter.

The Leuku was much the same way. And I would agree the Leuku would lend itself well to animal prep. I used it to baton with, did plenty of camp food, and just general woods bumming chores. No slouch either.

I don't have a ton of use on my new Woodsman. But I owned one of andy's early ones. I'd call this one the high performance model of the three. Sort of like a Mustang Mach One sitting next to a F-150 and F250. It is the pointiest one of the three.

Brian (Mistwalker) sings its praises as a great kitchen slicer. I agree it is a great slicer for sure. But it is also tough enough for woods and camp. But I think the geometry and the pointy tip lend themselves to the more experienced woods roamer. It will do a great job on tasks like a fire board. But it should be accomplished with more cuttung and slicing than beating and prying, if that makes sense.

If you find yourself working around the intestines of a whitetail, that point could cause you to get covered in things you'd rather not be covered in. But that really isn't the knife's fault.

As a side note. I also grabbed a Hunter last spring. That is part of the reason I let my Leuku go. I found the Woodsman/Hunter combo sort of encapsulated the Leuku. The Hunter is shorter and carries more belly.

Aias
In your original post you mentioned Robust. The Pro Duke is Robust. I felt the Leuku was as well. You also said pointy. The Woodsman is pointy. Where you land and whether you will be satisfied lies in which one you value more.

All three of these blades are stellar performers in their own right. But they are different.

Hope that helps some.
LV,

 

[LostViking]

The Woodsman will do fine in the woods too. I didn't want you to get the impression it was weak.

But I wouldn't try prying up manhole covers with the point.

 

[Aias]

I have been meaning to chime in here. But I have either been busy or when not, otherwise distracted.

Right now I have the Woodsman and the Pro Duke. I actually sold my Leuku a while ago. Not becasue it wasn't a great knife. It was.

I think Andy nailed it. It's not as much about the knives as it what you'll be doing with them. The Woodsman is quite pointy. The Pro Duke is tough as nails. And the Leuku as I saw it, split the difference.

Whether a person will be happy with their choice rests largely on what they plan to do most.

If heavy prying and batoning out front is your plan. I say Duke all the way. As Andy has said. It was designed and built to be a direct replacement for his Ka-bar.

Having played with both side by side. I'd say he killed it. I have been using my Ka-bar for years. By the end of day three. The Duke felt more at home in my hand than my trusted Ka-bar. That alone says a lot.

The Duke is the one I would choose if I had to leave and an uncertain futre lay ahead. I'm pretty certain it would see me through almost anything I might encounter.

The Leuku was much the same way. And I would agree the Leuku would lend itself well to animal prep. I used it to baton with, did plenty of camp food, and just general woods bumming chores. No slouch either.

I don't have a ton of use on my new Woodsman. But I owned one of andy's early ones. I'd call this one the high performance model of the three. Sort of like a Mustang Mach One sitting next to a F-150 and F250. It is the pointiest one of the three.

Brian (Mistwalker) sings its praises as a great kitchen slicer. I agree it is a great slicer for sure. But it is also tough enough for woods and camp. But I think the geometry and the pointy tip lend themselves to the more experienced woods roamer. It will do a great job on tasks like a fire board. But it should be accomplished with more cuttung and slicing than beating and prying, if that makes sense.

If you find yourself working around the intestines of a whitetail, that point could cause you to get covered in things you'd rather not be covered in. But that really isn't the knife's fault.

As a side note. I also grabbed a Hunter last spring. That is part of the reason I let my Leuku go. I found the Woodsman/Hunter combo sort of encapsulated the Leuku. The Hunter is shorter and carries more belly.

Aias
In your original post you mentioned Robust. The Pro Duke is Robust. I felt the Leuku was as well. You also said pointy. The Woodsman is pointy. Where you land and whether you will be satisfied lies in which one you value more.

All three of these blades are stellar performers in their own right. But they are different.

Hope that helps some.
LV,

LV--this helps a lot, but I'll really have to roll this over in my head quite a bit. I loved your thread on the Kabar Dog's Head--so much so I bought one. So, I'll weigh these words and try to find an end game! Thanks for taking the time--much appreciated! Anthony

 

[Aias]

The Woodsman will do fine in the woods too. I didn't want you to get the impression it was weak.

But I wouldn't try prying up manhole covers with the point.

Wow, that's a beauty! I think those pics alone might have moved me in a particular direction!

 

[Aias]

If you find yourself working around the intestines of a whitetail, that point could cause you to get covered in things you'd rather not be covered in. But that really isn't the knife's fault.

Fair enough--though I'd be using something smaller inside the cavity of an animal. The Woodsman/ Duke would be pulling other duty, primarily.

 

[xxwjtxx]

Resurfacing after not being around for a (very long) while...

Just my .02 on the topic, seeing that I have owned / used all three of these models over the years in the back country of the NE.

1. As most have alluded, the overall "utility player" of the lot is the Duke, with the Leuku coming in a close second. The additional blade width, belly, and handle length of the Duke gives it a slight edge over the Leuku, but this is very much in the eye of the beholder. The Leuku took a while to gain popularity on the forum, but I was an early adaptor of the style, on account for its similarity to the Recluse profile, and found it to be a competent bush crafting knife. Both the Duke and Leuku are "one knife solutions", and can tackle just about anything the back country can throw at it, with minimal risk of harming the knife.

2. With all of that said, the woodsman is my favorite fiddleback model...period. It is almost perfect in every way; granted I do not hunt or dress game, so the point is less of a concern for me -- it is perfect for hard use, camp kitchen duty, and everything in between. My only concern has always been the tip; despite NEVER having an issue with breaking a tip on using over a dozen different woodsmen that I have owned in the past, I would chalk this up to selective / careful use, when carrying the knife in the back country. There are certain things I wouldn't try with a Woodsman that I would do with a Duke / Leuku, on account of concern over snapping off the tip of the knife. It's something that every woodsman owner goes into understanding when carrying the knife on the trail -- if you are willing to take your time, and understand the limitations of the profile, it is the perfect knife.

Reading above, it sounds like to you occasionally process some game; it might be a solid recommendation to implement a two knife solution, wherein the Woodsman is the the primary duty tool, and then you carry a second smaller profile to address game processing, when the occasion arises. None the less, feel free to drop me a note with any additional questions you might have (or reach out to Mistwalker, as others have mentioned),as he has spent even more time with the Woodsman profile, and could probably tell you even more about how the knife works for long-term use.

Good luck & post pics when you make your decision

 

[Fiddleback]

IMO, you already have pointy covered. Get a Duke. Its the John Wayne of my lineup.

 

[Aias]

Thanks guys, very helpful, and while I like pointy on a knife, Andy is right, I do have that covered.

If it’s going to be a Duke, I’ll wait for a handmade one. I love patina on my knives, and Fiddleback A2 is my favorite knife steel—over everything I’ve used so far.

Thanks all for such informative posts. Anthony

 

[Aias]

Resurfacing after not being around for a (very long) while...

Just my .02 on the topic, seeing that I have owned / used all three of these models over the years in the back country of the NE.

1. As most have alluded, the overall "utility player" of the lot is the Duke, with the Leuku coming in a close second. The additional blade width, belly, and handle length of the Duke gives it a slight edge over the Leuku, but this is very much in the eye of the beholder. The Leuku took a while to gain popularity on the forum, but I was an early adaptor of the style, on account for its similarity to the Recluse profile, and found it to be a competent bush crafting knife. Both the Duke and Leuku are "one knife solutions", and can tackle just about anything the back country can throw at it, with minimal risk of harming the knife.

2. With all of that said, the woodsman is my favorite fiddleback model...period. It is almost perfect in every way; granted I do not hunt or dress game, so the point is less of a concern for me -- it is perfect for hard use, camp kitchen duty, and everything in between. My only concern has always been the tip; despite NEVER having an issue with breaking a tip on using over a dozen different woodsmen that I have owned in the past, I would chalk this up to selective / careful use, when carrying the knife in the back country. There are certain things I wouldn't try with a Woodsman that I would do with a Duke / Leuku, on account of concern over snapping off the tip of the knife. It's something that every woodsman owner goes into understanding when carrying the knife on the trail -- if you are willing to take your time, and understand the limitations of the profile, it is the perfect knife.

Reading above, it sounds like to you occasionally process some game; it might be a solid recommendation to implement a two knife solution, wherein the Woodsman is the the primary duty tool, and then you carry a second smaller profile to address game processing, when the occasion arises. None the less, feel free to drop me a note with any additional questions you might have (or reach out to Mistwalker, as others have mentioned),as he has spent even more time with the Woodsman profile, and could probably tell you even more about how the knife works for long-term use.

Good luck & post pics when you make your decision

Special thanks for all this info... the Duke seems to make the most sense, but the Woodsman is the most appealing to my eye. Tough choice... it might just com down to availability--let's see what tomorrow brings.

 

[Aias]

IMO, you already have pointy covered. Get a Duke. Its the John Wayne of my lineup.

Funny--I suspected John Wayne was the inspiration for the name. I guess my only question for you is whether or not you preferred the Duke's portrayal of Rooster Cogburn to Jeff Bridges'? I have to say, while I love the classics, Bridges did a damn awesome job.

Thanks for taking the time to offer your thoughts. I've come to truly love your knives--my line-up so far is a Runt, TT, Orange Osage, a Sneaky Pete, TT, African Blackwood, and the Bullfrog Bowie, TT, Emerald Green Micarta. They each are special to me, and my kids have claimed their favorites already. But I have four kids and 3 Fiddlebacks... so I'll need at least one more. But that "only one more" thing never really worked for me when it came to knives