Hey all! Sorry that this review has taken me so long to write: I received my Fiddleback Forge Bushfinger on May 22nd so Ive had the knife for just over three weeks now. Unfortunately I got laid off the same day that I received the Bushfinger so I really have not had much opportunity to put it through the paces as of yet. Ive been waiting to post up a review, hoping that Id get out to camp soon and be able to put this thing to work and get some nice in use shots for you all
but given that the job hunt is not going well I honestly dont how long it will be before I get to spend some quality time in the woods. So rather than putting this off any further I thought I could write up a review of what I know so far and maybe come back to update this thread with some more pictures and information once I get to satisfy my curiosity regarding what this knife can really do in the woods.
So, I realize that there have been a pretty decent number of Bushfinger reviews already and Im sure everyone is very familiar with this knife by now. It definitely seems to be one of the more popular models that Fiddleback offers. Im well aware that most of you are probably skimming this thread for the pictures (theyre at the bottom BTW)
With that in mind, you may be asking why am I going to write another Bushfinger review? Because the knife is worth it, thats why. I will break each part of the review down into two sections: pros and cons. In this post I will be covering the Bushfinger and the sheath that I received with it (Im not 100% sure what this is but I think its a Heber sheath; hopefully someone can confirm that for me). To make it a little easier for the skimmers (Im a ridiculously long-winded SOB and I know it) Ill break the review down further into separate sections for the knife and the sheath. Lets get to it!
FIDDLEBACK FORGE BUSHFINGER PROS
I cannot say enough good things about the way this knife feels in my hand. I know that people gush on and on about the handles on Fiddleback knives so this is far from news for any of you but people go on and on about it because it is true. This is my first Fiddleback knife AND my first handmade knife so I wont lieI dont have a whole lot of high quality blades to pit this one againstbut the comfort of these handles cannot really be over-emphasized. Ive never felt anything like it on any tool Ive ever owned or used before. Its completely uncanny and I dont know how Andy does it its a little scary to be honest. I feel like he measured my hand while I was sleeping or something and tailor built this thing to fit ME. Id be willing to bet that most people who have handled a Fiddleback knife feel this way. It is just so far beyond comfortable. It feels just as comfortable in every reasonable grip I can put it in and like I said it feels like it was made precisely to fit into my palm. Although I havent really sat down to work with this thing for any extended periods of time I can readily believe what others say when they claim there are no virtually no hotspots to be found on Fiddleback handles.
The fit and finish are superb. Pictures really do not do it justice (especially my pictures). I have run my fingers along every edge very carefully and the only sharp one I found is right where Id expect it to be
The handle symmetry is perfect IMO and the whole thing just feels really, really solid and extremely well constructed. The aesthetics of this knife are top notch all around. I know this is a really subjective matter, and ALL of the knives Andy makes are really handsome IMO, but I have to mention again that pictures simply do not do this knife justice. This thing is so stylish that even my spouse, who normally couldnt give a rats fuzzy little behind about my knives, has taken it out of the sheath a couple of times just to turn it over in her hands and look at it. Her first question to me was does he make kitchen knives?
While were on aesthetics let me say something about the signature Fiddleback bulls eye lanyard hole. I am in the camp of people that prefer their knives without lanyard holes: I never use lanyards (even though I probably shouldI spend a lot of time on the water and in marshy areas so if I ever dropped something itd probably be gone forever) and so normally having a hole in the knife handle just feels ugly and unnecessary to me. Not this time. The lanyard hole on Fiddleback knives is built as well as the rest of the knife (regarding fit and finish) and it just looks so bloody sexy! I love that you can tell its a Fiddleback just by scoping out the little bulls eye poking out of the top of the sheath
Andy is a smart man when it comes to branding. Very nice stuff :thumbup: Speaking of branding
I didnt realize this at the time that I bought the knife but my Bushfinger has one of Andys new consolidated makers marks! Im actually very happy about this: not because I didnt like the way it was beforeI think both styles look greatbut more so because I know this wont be my last Fiddleback and so hopefully the ones I get in the future will have the same mark 
Now on to the best part the steel! Its very hard to tell how well steel is going to hold up just by looking at it and feeling it and, as I said, I really havent put this thing through all of the chores I would like to have done before reviewing it. What I have done so far consists of some light carving, a little bit of kitchen work/food prep and some basic tests (paper cutting test, making feathersticks etc.) So with that in mind Ill talk about the steel to the best of my abilities but of course the true test of the blade will be time and heavy usage.
The steel feels better than great to me. I have been inspecting the edge with a hand held microscope after every task and honestly the original edge hasnt been compromised in the slightest. It seems like its going to stand up pretty well. The blade itself is nice and stout. It is a good thickness for what I intend to use it for (woodwork, skinning and butchering mostly). The finish on the steel was superb when I received it but Ive already put a few scratches on itthats not surprising however since Im not gentle with my tools and despite how sleek and stylish this one looks I wont be treating it any differently. It really feels like it will take the abuse and just keep on going. Besides, we all know that scratches, marks and stains just add character!
Speaking of steel, how about that 3D Spalting? This is another facet of Fiddleback knives that just doesnt seem to translate well in pictures. I wasnt really sure what to expect but I have to admit that I am pleasantly surprised. Not only does the spalting look really, really cool but it FEELS amazing: it is so smooth! I really think that it might serve to reduce drag in some ways, as there is much less surface area available to make contact with the cutting medium then there would be if the surface that is currently spalted were instead completely flat. Admittedly thats an assumption but it seems rational enough to me.
Finally there is the blade profile. The Bushfinger design is really ideal for my needs right now. I like the blade length and the blade shape is at once elegant and practical. The drop point is very mild and the whole knife has a comfortable shape to it. If you look at the blade and the handle together the whole thing forms a very gentle arc from the butt to the point its very subtle but perfectly balanced IMO. The blade tapers in quite a bit for the last ¼ of its length as well, which serves to form a very nice point that will be good for piercing and light drilling/boring tasks. This shape fits my usage perfectly: this knife is going to be my camp knife, and at camp I spend most of my leisure time working wood or prepping game and then cooking it. There is a good amount of belly for doing woodwork and you can push your grip all the way up to the edge of the blade for great leverage. Furthermore I think that the gentle drop point is going to make skinning very smooth and straightforward. It feels like it shouldnt snag at all but I have yet to test it in this capacity so this isnt really verified. I mostly take smaller game around here (theres Deer, Bear and Moose to be had as well but theyre not all that abundant in the exact area I'm living in so youve got to drive a little bit) so this blade is going to see the inside of a lot of rabbits, pheasants and grouse That being said I think that this would take apart large game just as proficiently and I really hope that I get the chance to test that theory sooner rather than later.
The last point I can make here is about the weight of the knife. The weight is perfect for me. Its right on that line where it feels nice and solid, its got a good heft and doesnt feel cheap at all...yet it is NOT heavy. It feels great in the hand; I can easily envision myself working for long periods of time without fatigue and the weight distribution is spot on IMO.
FIDDLEBACK FORGE BUSHFINGER CONS
There are really not many cons to discuss but Im going to list a few things here just for the sake of being thorough. However I feel I should emphasize that, given an opportunity to change something about this knife, I would opt to change nothing. The cons I will list here are nitpicky, and truthfully the worst part about this knife is that it has given me the bug that makes me want to buy MORE Fiddleback knives that I really cant afford right now haha.
The biggest con, and really its a non-issue, is the sharpness of the blade as I received it. Although I wont go so far as to say it is dull it certainly does not have the sharpness that I was hoping for. Im actually not all that surprised though since I do remember reading somewhere here on this sub-forum that Andy said that he likes his blades toothy. Thats really the best way to describe it: if I do a paper test this blade will only cut paper in a sawing motion. Again this is really a non-issue to me: the blade profile and the steel are awesome, the edge has handled the tasks Ive put it to well enough and IMO you simply shouldnt be spending this kind of money on knives unless you know how to sharpen them yourself. I will put the high polish, razor sharp edge I want on this thing soon enough but first Im trying to decide whether I want to keep the secondary bevel or go full convex on this bad boy.
There was one aesthetic issue with my knife, and again since this is a user Im not going to whine about it. Since you will likely be able to see it in the pictures Im going to post however I should probably at least mention it: there is what looks like a horizontal tool mark running through the spalting on one side of my blade. It is a serious non-issue and honestly you cant really see it unless youre inspecting the blade carefully. It will not affect the performance of the blade in any way however so, once again, I only mention this to be thorough.
The last con I can think of is that this knife is just not a great slicer. I have put it to work in the kitchen but the blade is simply too thick. Dont get me wrong: this will do the trick at camp and it will work admirably enough for rough chopping meat and veggies etc., just dont expect it to give you sashimi-grade thinness. To be fair I did not expect or even really need that from this knife (I knew it was too thick to work well in the kitchen when compared to a knife that is designed for that purpose) and honestly I may even change my tune on the Bushfingers slicing ability once I put a razor edge on it. The only thing this means to me really is Im going to have to buy another one of Andys knives in a thinner blade stock haha
So, I realize that there have been a pretty decent number of Bushfinger reviews already and Im sure everyone is very familiar with this knife by now. It definitely seems to be one of the more popular models that Fiddleback offers. Im well aware that most of you are probably skimming this thread for the pictures (theyre at the bottom BTW)
With that in mind, you may be asking why am I going to write another Bushfinger review? Because the knife is worth it, thats why. I will break each part of the review down into two sections: pros and cons. In this post I will be covering the Bushfinger and the sheath that I received with it (Im not 100% sure what this is but I think its a Heber sheath; hopefully someone can confirm that for me). To make it a little easier for the skimmers (Im a ridiculously long-winded SOB and I know it) Ill break the review down further into separate sections for the knife and the sheath. Lets get to it!FIDDLEBACK FORGE BUSHFINGER PROS
I cannot say enough good things about the way this knife feels in my hand. I know that people gush on and on about the handles on Fiddleback knives so this is far from news for any of you but people go on and on about it because it is true. This is my first Fiddleback knife AND my first handmade knife so I wont lieI dont have a whole lot of high quality blades to pit this one againstbut the comfort of these handles cannot really be over-emphasized. Ive never felt anything like it on any tool Ive ever owned or used before. Its completely uncanny and I dont know how Andy does it its a little scary to be honest. I feel like he measured my hand while I was sleeping or something and tailor built this thing to fit ME. Id be willing to bet that most people who have handled a Fiddleback knife feel this way. It is just so far beyond comfortable. It feels just as comfortable in every reasonable grip I can put it in and like I said it feels like it was made precisely to fit into my palm. Although I havent really sat down to work with this thing for any extended periods of time I can readily believe what others say when they claim there are no virtually no hotspots to be found on Fiddleback handles.
The fit and finish are superb. Pictures really do not do it justice (especially my pictures). I have run my fingers along every edge very carefully and the only sharp one I found is right where Id expect it to be
The handle symmetry is perfect IMO and the whole thing just feels really, really solid and extremely well constructed. The aesthetics of this knife are top notch all around. I know this is a really subjective matter, and ALL of the knives Andy makes are really handsome IMO, but I have to mention again that pictures simply do not do this knife justice. This thing is so stylish that even my spouse, who normally couldnt give a rats fuzzy little behind about my knives, has taken it out of the sheath a couple of times just to turn it over in her hands and look at it. Her first question to me was does he make kitchen knives?While were on aesthetics let me say something about the signature Fiddleback bulls eye lanyard hole. I am in the camp of people that prefer their knives without lanyard holes: I never use lanyards (even though I probably shouldI spend a lot of time on the water and in marshy areas so if I ever dropped something itd probably be gone forever) and so normally having a hole in the knife handle just feels ugly and unnecessary to me. Not this time. The lanyard hole on Fiddleback knives is built as well as the rest of the knife (regarding fit and finish) and it just looks so bloody sexy! I love that you can tell its a Fiddleback just by scoping out the little bulls eye poking out of the top of the sheath
Andy is a smart man when it comes to branding. Very nice stuff :thumbup: Speaking of branding
I didnt realize this at the time that I bought the knife but my Bushfinger has one of Andys new consolidated makers marks! Im actually very happy about this: not because I didnt like the way it was beforeI think both styles look greatbut more so because I know this wont be my last Fiddleback and so hopefully the ones I get in the future will have the same mark Now on to the best part the steel! Its very hard to tell how well steel is going to hold up just by looking at it and feeling it and, as I said, I really havent put this thing through all of the chores I would like to have done before reviewing it. What I have done so far consists of some light carving, a little bit of kitchen work/food prep and some basic tests (paper cutting test, making feathersticks etc.) So with that in mind Ill talk about the steel to the best of my abilities but of course the true test of the blade will be time and heavy usage.
The steel feels better than great to me. I have been inspecting the edge with a hand held microscope after every task and honestly the original edge hasnt been compromised in the slightest. It seems like its going to stand up pretty well. The blade itself is nice and stout. It is a good thickness for what I intend to use it for (woodwork, skinning and butchering mostly). The finish on the steel was superb when I received it but Ive already put a few scratches on itthats not surprising however since Im not gentle with my tools and despite how sleek and stylish this one looks I wont be treating it any differently. It really feels like it will take the abuse and just keep on going. Besides, we all know that scratches, marks and stains just add character!
Speaking of steel, how about that 3D Spalting? This is another facet of Fiddleback knives that just doesnt seem to translate well in pictures. I wasnt really sure what to expect but I have to admit that I am pleasantly surprised. Not only does the spalting look really, really cool but it FEELS amazing: it is so smooth! I really think that it might serve to reduce drag in some ways, as there is much less surface area available to make contact with the cutting medium then there would be if the surface that is currently spalted were instead completely flat. Admittedly thats an assumption but it seems rational enough to me.
Finally there is the blade profile. The Bushfinger design is really ideal for my needs right now. I like the blade length and the blade shape is at once elegant and practical. The drop point is very mild and the whole knife has a comfortable shape to it. If you look at the blade and the handle together the whole thing forms a very gentle arc from the butt to the point its very subtle but perfectly balanced IMO. The blade tapers in quite a bit for the last ¼ of its length as well, which serves to form a very nice point that will be good for piercing and light drilling/boring tasks. This shape fits my usage perfectly: this knife is going to be my camp knife, and at camp I spend most of my leisure time working wood or prepping game and then cooking it. There is a good amount of belly for doing woodwork and you can push your grip all the way up to the edge of the blade for great leverage. Furthermore I think that the gentle drop point is going to make skinning very smooth and straightforward. It feels like it shouldnt snag at all but I have yet to test it in this capacity so this isnt really verified. I mostly take smaller game around here (theres Deer, Bear and Moose to be had as well but theyre not all that abundant in the exact area I'm living in so youve got to drive a little bit) so this blade is going to see the inside of a lot of rabbits, pheasants and grouse
That being said I think that this would take apart large game just as proficiently and I really hope that I get the chance to test that theory sooner rather than later.The last point I can make here is about the weight of the knife. The weight is perfect for me. Its right on that line where it feels nice and solid, its got a good heft and doesnt feel cheap at all...yet it is NOT heavy. It feels great in the hand; I can easily envision myself working for long periods of time without fatigue and the weight distribution is spot on IMO.
FIDDLEBACK FORGE BUSHFINGER CONS
There are really not many cons to discuss but Im going to list a few things here just for the sake of being thorough. However I feel I should emphasize that, given an opportunity to change something about this knife, I would opt to change nothing. The cons I will list here are nitpicky, and truthfully the worst part about this knife is that it has given me the bug that makes me want to buy MORE Fiddleback knives that I really cant afford right now haha.
The biggest con, and really its a non-issue, is the sharpness of the blade as I received it. Although I wont go so far as to say it is dull it certainly does not have the sharpness that I was hoping for. Im actually not all that surprised though since I do remember reading somewhere here on this sub-forum that Andy said that he likes his blades toothy. Thats really the best way to describe it: if I do a paper test this blade will only cut paper in a sawing motion. Again this is really a non-issue to me: the blade profile and the steel are awesome, the edge has handled the tasks Ive put it to well enough and IMO you simply shouldnt be spending this kind of money on knives unless you know how to sharpen them yourself. I will put the high polish, razor sharp edge I want on this thing soon enough but first Im trying to decide whether I want to keep the secondary bevel or go full convex on this bad boy.
There was one aesthetic issue with my knife, and again since this is a user Im not going to whine about it. Since you will likely be able to see it in the pictures Im going to post however I should probably at least mention it: there is what looks like a horizontal tool mark running through the spalting on one side of my blade. It is a serious non-issue and honestly you cant really see it unless youre inspecting the blade carefully. It will not affect the performance of the blade in any way however so, once again, I only mention this to be thorough.
The last con I can think of is that this knife is just not a great slicer. I have put it to work in the kitchen but the blade is simply too thick. Dont get me wrong: this will do the trick at camp and it will work admirably enough for rough chopping meat and veggies etc., just dont expect it to give you sashimi-grade thinness. To be fair I did not expect or even really need that from this knife (I knew it was too thick to work well in the kitchen when compared to a knife that is designed for that purpose) and honestly I may even change my tune on the Bushfingers slicing ability once I put a razor edge on it. The only thing this means to me really is Im going to have to buy another one of Andys knives in a thinner blade stock haha
Got a WWII combat knife last fall and made a custom medium brown Dangler sheath for it. The front has these cool scratches in it, looks like an Animal attacked the sheath. To each there own. If someone wants a sheath devoid of marks, I can do that, it's not a problem. 
).
