The BladeForums.com 2024 Traditional Knife is ready to order! See this thread for details:
https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/bladeforums-2024-traditional-knife.2003187/
Price is $300 $250 ea (shipped within CONUS). If you live outside the US, I will contact you after your order for extra shipping charges.
Order here: https://www.bladeforums.com/help/2024-traditional/ - Order as many as you like, we have plenty.
On Page 1 the KE Bushie is listed at 3.75" and on Page 2 listed as 3.9", does the size vary or is that old vs new?
As far as duplicates go, you could do a lot worse. Nice duo! Thanks for the info!
Excellent write-up, photos, and analysis Kris. Having two variations of the same model provides a unique opportunity to determine which features are important to you. The last two photos really how different the handles are in size. I initially thought that there was a typo in your balance point measurements before I realized that the plunge line is much further forward on the SFT knife. That results in more of what I call "dead space" that is neither cutting edge or handle which are both useful. In general, I prefer knives with a minimum of dead space. At least your SFT knife has beautiful spalting to fill that space.
I do have a question about the no dupes rule... If one is in a set, like what was sold today, does that count as a dupe?
I'm admittedly in the minority regarding larger blades and tapered tangs. I just can't come to grips with them. (Pun intended) I will be keeping an eye open for that SFT Woodsman to go on the market. It is seducing me!
Thanks Michael! Good catch. I thought about mentioning the variance in the pommels. And guess it could have been another data point. I actually would prefer the wider pommel on this model, all other things being equal. My guess is that it's just another product of these being handmade. Given that they make the knife blanks by tracing the pattern and then grinding off the excess, I could see variances in things like OAL, pommel width, etc. just happening.Brilliant comparison, Kirkwood! I've long wanted someone to do something like this--a limited variable comparison. Fascinating data. One thing I notice in the pics is that the pommel of the SFT knife is wider than on the tapered model. I wonder if that is constant across iterations, or it simply happens to be the case with these?
Michael
I'm not gonna tell him. Playin with Bud's runts is like playin with his emotions.Someone should tell Bud about the dupe rule and his runt fix
Lol
Welcome! Yeah that's why I said adios to the no dupes rule. Feels much better not fretting about it.That's a fantastic comparison!!! I really enjoyed seeing the two side by side from different positions! Thank you!!!!!
and... about the dupes rule... hmmmm...... I might have nightmares tonight about a dupes rule!
-Will
Tod, I agree. 1/8" SFT feels great. My only problem is I LOVE the look of a tapered tang on most of the 3" models, especially with G10.Thanks for the great comparison Kris! Life must be hard having two shadetree woodsmans to choose from. I have found that I prefer sft in 1/8" knives as the handle gets to thin for me when it is tapered. On the bigger, thicker knives I love the taper. As much as I love some nice spalting, I would definitely keep the tapered one. Or... Put the heavier sft in your dominant hand and the tapered in the other.![]()