Northwoods Wharnies, educate me!

Firestrike

Firestrike

Joined
Dec 23, 2012
Messages
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I am not a big fan of traditionals :eek:, but the Northwoods Wharnies really catch my eye. I know pretty much nothing about them.

I am considering trying to buy or trade my way into a Stag handle or Green Canvas one.

What's the scoop on specs/steel type and overall general opinion of the sweet looking traditionals? Also where is the best or most reputable place to acquire one?
 
Most if not all of them come in 1095. They are usually outsourced to shops like gec and queen. If it's queen made you will get a 154cm option. Most of them are very good edc and users. At times the grinds can be off but other than that are fine knives.
 
If you're looking for a full size Wharncliffe blade, look at the Broadway Jack, Forest Jack, Fremont Jack, Hawthorne and Michigan Jack. All use basically the same blade. Can't speak about handle material as all of these patterns are "sold out" on the KSF website, which is the owner and distributor of the Northwoods brand. Best to check out knife auctions and the exchange page on this website.
 

Here's an old pic of my Willamette. It's not one you hear much about but it's a great pattern. It's still available in stag but wasn't made in micarta.
 
Firestrike said:
I am not a big fan of traditionals :eek:, but the Northwoods Wharnies really catch my eye. I know pretty much nothing about them.

I am considering trying to buy or trade my way into a Stag handle or Green Canvas one.

What's the scoop on specs/steel type and overall general opinion of the sweet looking traditionals? Also where is the best or most reputable place to acquire one?
Click to expand...

Traditionals are not only sweet looking, but also make excellent and classy edc knives. Unlike modern folders, where the competition is for newer and super steels, traditionals are all about the individual character of the knife, since no two are be equal. I come from the modern folder world, and now immensely enjoy traditionals. Most will be 1095 steel, barring a few in 154CM, D2, and 440C. 1095 acquires patina with use, which ties in nearly with the individual character of the knife. Most traditionals can be sharpened nicely on a bench (or pocket) stone, and require no "special purpose" sharpening jigs.

Northwoods are popular and make some lovely patterns. They can be manufactured either by GEC or Queen, and many sell out real fast. You can try looking up a similar pattern in GEC if the Northwoods is not available. The Northfield brand is top tier, while Tidioute is a notch lower. Either way, you won't go wrong. Good luck and welcome to the terrific world of traditionals!
 
bdev said:
If you're looking for a full size Wharncliffe blade, look at the Broadway Jack, Forest Jack, Fremont Jack, Hawthorne and Michigan Jack. All use basically the same blade. Can't speak about handle material as all of these patterns are "sold out" on the KSF website, which is the owner and distributor of the Northwoods brand. Best to check out knife auctions and the exchange page on this website.
Click to expand...

I am noticing they are "SOLD OUT" pretty much everywhere...such a sweet looking blade. Thanks for the info. I will keep an eye on the exchange.
 
I'm not an officianado. My only wharnie Northwoods is a Willamette Whittler like the one pictured above. It's true it's not real talked about, but typically people go nuts for single blades. The Willamette is a half Whittler with only two blades. Main blade wharnie and secondary pen. It's on a single spring so it's nice and thin. This knife has a cam lock so it's blades swing smoothly and snap open to their final position. Other wharnie models have Scandi grinds with scale left on the flats and Northwoods stamped on the blade such as the Fremont, forest, the Broadway, and the Michigan jacks. These all have half stops meaning the tang is flat so that the knife pauses at 90 degrees to the spring, sort of a safety feature. I believe all of those models were made by GEC and made with 1095. The Norfolk Whittler and the Willamette have full flat grinds. The Norfolk is a more sleander blade width. GEC has a current run of 47 vipers which are wharnies. They have half stops and are a swayback Jack. Maybe give them a try.
 
86e450f574512f26b81c5fdd809881b3.jpg


Here's a cousin of the wharnie in sheep's foot and cpm154.
 
The Northwoods sell out very quickly. You are often relegated to the secondary market for older models.
 
I have heard this blade shape referred to as "Bohncliff". Due to not being a true Wharncliff.
Derrick, would you share any stories of the genesis of this shape.

aZNRxrd.jpg
 
hamsco said:
I have heard this blade shape referred to as "Bohncliff". Due to not being a true Wharncliff.
Derrick, would you share any stories of the genesis of this shape.

aZNRxrd.jpg
Click to expand...

Far from an attempt to pre-empt Derrick's response here, your question made me recall a video or two he posted a while back. He mentions a little bit about the blade's genesis. But there must be more to the story of the blade shape, so I'm still hoping Derrick will weigh in. Also, where did the idea come from to leave the heat-treat layer on the blade? I think the knife (and the blade in particular) is very visually stunning when the knife is new. But I have found that after using mine, the heat-treat layer does not pop very much once patina sets in on the ground portions of the knife.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o_DIrpC2Qi8
 
Here is my northwoods Hawthorne warnecliffe. It was built on gec's 48 frame.


New

after almost two years of use the visual contrast between the grind and the flats are not very noticeable. However the difference in texture remains.
 
uploadfromtaptalk1454975450971.jpg

Here's a really inexpensive alternative wharnie knife by case currently on sale, get em while they're still available. I really enjoy this one. Going to put some shadetree burlap covers on this when I get around to it. The shadetree guys sell out of their colors almost as fast as they make em.
 
Firestrike, the photo below shows some of the blade variations. Top to bottom: Forest Jack, Hawthorne Jack, Fremont Jack, Fremont Jack, Broadway Jack

NorthwoodsCliffes_zps2rlhdbdk.jpg
 
That is a great photo MMM. I would love to get my hands on the Hawthorne Jack - love the handle shape.
 
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