- Joined
- Mar 18, 2007
- Messages
- 2,247
Take your Bushfinger to work day!
I received the Mid Tech Bushfinger this week for my opportunity to give it a review. Ironically when the pass-around promotion started I had a gut feeling that I would receive the knife during the week of my daughter's wedding ... well here it is!
I was already feeling some anxiety from the previous reviews on this knife. All of which were outstanding. I envy the creative skills of the previous reviewers.
The Bushfinger, as Nathan so eloquently stated in his initial review is "quintessential bushcrafting blade from Fiddleback Forge". Unfortunately I won't have the opportunity to experience the design benefits of this production version. I knew that I would not have the time to get out in the woods this week, however, I anticipated this situation before the knife arrived. It worked to my advantage as it forced me to think out of the box.
I work as a purchasing agent for the maintenance department of a large 24 building school district. I work directly with multiple tradesmen. We house shops for electrical, hvac, plumbing, small engine repair and multiple other fields. I decided to take the Bushfinger out of it's element and bring it into the office. A few of my coworkers are avid hunters and they appreciate a good knife. Although I haven't been able to convince them to take the Fiddleback plunge.
I was, however, able to let them spend some time with the Bushfinger and they were unanimously impressed. I then surveyed the shops and asked for suggestions for some simple knife uses in a typical work day. The benefit is these tasks could also be applied to basic home repairs as well. As soon as I saw the knife I felt the Mid-Tech Bushfinger could be a wonderful crossover knife for outdoor tasks and as well as a back up home repair knife. The thin edge lends itself to uses reserved for a utility knife. The actual blade thickness is more designed for outdoor bushcrafting chores. The look and feel of the production version provided a very utilitarian outlook for me as soon as I held it. This knife is a high standard, hard working tool.
The previous reviewers have made this review fairly simple for me. I don't need to rehash the specs again. They are all provided in the earlier reviews. The knife feels solid in hand. The sculpting of the handle helps to secure the in hand feel. The edge is thin but I had no problems with it. I did notice a very tiny edge chip when I received it but I was able to remove it quickly. The knife performed just as I thought. It is not a utility knife but the geometry did allow it to perform well while using it for tasks designed for one. We know the knife's strong suit is in the woods. That said I feel the production Bushfinger makes an high value, cost effective bushcraft knife that is just as comfortable being pulled into duty on a job site after a weekend outdoors.
I used the Bushfinger for a variety of general tasks. I didn't spend a lot of time on any one task but I did perform each task exclusively with the Bushfinger. Unfortunately I was alone for most of the chores so I wasn't able to get any "action" shots.
I'm going to shorten the review by just listing basic captions with the pictures. I don't feel a full description is necessary as each task is fairly straight forward.
Our carpentry shop:
Cutting segments of rope was effortless
Trimming VCT tile was a snap. (pun intended)
We all know how destructive cardboard can be on an edge. Once again, no issues.
Our district carpenter often makes gym wall padding. Here is the backing being cut.
Our electrical shop:
Replacing a plug end.
Small engine repair shop:
Cutting heater hose.
Simply opening a 5 gallon bucket
Cutting polyethylene water line
The last and most aggressive test is the obvious "drive a knife into a concrete block test". The Bushfinger made this so easy it was as if it didn't even happen. (No edges were damaged during the filming of this obvious misrepresentation )
After the day was done I took the Bushfinger home for a thorough cleaning. I find that "Magic Erasers" work fantastically on cleaning and restoring micarta and G10.
After cleaning I tested the edge on a tomato. Winner!!
I am really impressed with the Mid Tech Bushfinger. I really feel this is going to be a solid player in the production knife arena. Well done Fiddleback Forge!!
Thanks for taking the time to read this review. This was my first ever full scale review and I hope it was entertaining.
Dave
I received the Mid Tech Bushfinger this week for my opportunity to give it a review. Ironically when the pass-around promotion started I had a gut feeling that I would receive the knife during the week of my daughter's wedding ... well here it is!
I was already feeling some anxiety from the previous reviews on this knife. All of which were outstanding. I envy the creative skills of the previous reviewers. The Bushfinger, as Nathan so eloquently stated in his initial review is "quintessential bushcrafting blade from Fiddleback Forge". Unfortunately I won't have the opportunity to experience the design benefits of this production version. I knew that I would not have the time to get out in the woods this week, however, I anticipated this situation before the knife arrived. It worked to my advantage as it forced me to think out of the box.
I work as a purchasing agent for the maintenance department of a large 24 building school district. I work directly with multiple tradesmen. We house shops for electrical, hvac, plumbing, small engine repair and multiple other fields. I decided to take the Bushfinger out of it's element and bring it into the office. A few of my coworkers are avid hunters and they appreciate a good knife. Although I haven't been able to convince them to take the Fiddleback plunge.
I was, however, able to let them spend some time with the Bushfinger and they were unanimously impressed. I then surveyed the shops and asked for suggestions for some simple knife uses in a typical work day. The benefit is these tasks could also be applied to basic home repairs as well. As soon as I saw the knife I felt the Mid-Tech Bushfinger could be a wonderful crossover knife for outdoor tasks and as well as a back up home repair knife. The thin edge lends itself to uses reserved for a utility knife. The actual blade thickness is more designed for outdoor bushcrafting chores. The look and feel of the production version provided a very utilitarian outlook for me as soon as I held it. This knife is a high standard, hard working tool. The previous reviewers have made this review fairly simple for me. I don't need to rehash the specs again. They are all provided in the earlier reviews. The knife feels solid in hand. The sculpting of the handle helps to secure the in hand feel. The edge is thin but I had no problems with it. I did notice a very tiny edge chip when I received it but I was able to remove it quickly. The knife performed just as I thought. It is not a utility knife but the geometry did allow it to perform well while using it for tasks designed for one. We know the knife's strong suit is in the woods. That said I feel the production Bushfinger makes an high value, cost effective bushcraft knife that is just as comfortable being pulled into duty on a job site after a weekend outdoors.
I used the Bushfinger for a variety of general tasks. I didn't spend a lot of time on any one task but I did perform each task exclusively with the Bushfinger. Unfortunately I was alone for most of the chores so I wasn't able to get any "action" shots.
I'm going to shorten the review by just listing basic captions with the pictures. I don't feel a full description is necessary as each task is fairly straight forward.
Our carpentry shop:
Cutting segments of rope was effortless
Trimming VCT tile was a snap. (pun intended
)
We all know how destructive cardboard can be on an edge. Once again, no issues.
Our district carpenter often makes gym wall padding. Here is the backing being cut.
Our electrical shop:
Replacing a plug end.
Small engine repair shop:
Cutting heater hose.
Simply opening a 5 gallon bucket
Cutting polyethylene water line
The last and most aggressive test is the obvious "drive a knife into a concrete block test". The Bushfinger made this so easy it was as if it didn't even happen. (No edges were damaged during the filming of this obvious misrepresentation
)
After the day was done I took the Bushfinger home for a thorough cleaning. I find that "Magic Erasers" work fantastically on cleaning and restoring micarta and G10.
After cleaning I tested the edge on a tomato. Winner!!
I am really impressed with the Mid Tech Bushfinger. I really feel this is going to be a solid player in the production knife arena. Well done Fiddleback Forge!!
Thanks for taking the time to read this review. This was my first ever full scale review and I hope it was entertaining.
Dave
