OG Fiddlebacks

Well I'm in the last stages of my knife sell off. I had 18 fiddlebacks at one point and now I'm down to 3. I didn't realize it but all of them are older:

OG bushfinger - 3/16th steel, scales like a baseball bat

Arete - Probably my newest one...but still pre-dates the skeletonized tang phase of Andy's manufactoring process. I love the handle-side balance, pre-SFT

Scandi Kephart - Love the spalting, full tang. Amazing wood scales (my only knife in wood now). I have such bad luck with wood but I can't get rid of this one.


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Look at the SIZE of that bushfinger
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You can always tell a leather maker by the Dye Stains on his hand! Looks like you may have been doing red or Oxblood recently! ;)

TF
 
Talfuchre said:
You can always tell a leather maker by the Dye Stains on his hand! Looks like you may have been doing red or Oxblood recently! ;)

TF
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If that was directed to one of my pics - that red ink on my hand is from a Sharpie. I wear latex gloves when working with dyes.
 
It was. I do as well - never stops me from getting some on my hand. But sharpies can be the culprit more times than not as well. :)

TF
 
It is hard to put into words how much I enjoy going through the old posts and looking at all the fiddlebacks Andy has made. I look at some of the older ones and think, man, where is that knife now? I wish I could get my hands on some of them and a few I have. Today I received a very special older fiddleback in the mail. I found the original post and it looks to be a knife from blade show 2010. The fiddleback arete in scandi is probably my all time favorite fiddleback. Next would be the kephart in convex in case you were wondering.

Here is the original listing on the arete-

"Beautiful Arete wearing stabalized spalted Maple that is really outstanding. $230 shipped with sheath. Sold"

I paid $360 on another forum. It came with a sheath but I don't think it was the original sheath. It feels amazing in the hand and I think it was pretty much unused. I feel bad for the fiddlebacks that survived for so long unused until they get to me. This one I will use.


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That is a beautiful example of Andy's craftsmanship Tod......congrats on a finding a classic & bringing it home !
 
That is all kinds of awesome Tod. So beautiful and so pristine. Finding a classic scandi like that in your favorite model is a dream come true for you. The grain figure on the maple is amazing and I love the subtle radii on the pommel versus the sharper edge look more common on the current production.

I look forward to seeing your in use photos.

Phil

hasco said:
It is hard to put into words how much I enjoy going through the old posts and looking at all the fiddlebacks Andy has made. I look at some of the older ones and think, man, where is that knife now? I wish I could get my hands on some of them and a few I have. Today I received a very special older fiddleback in the mail. I found the original post and it looks to be a knife from blade show 2010. The fiddleback arete in scandi is probably my all time favorite fiddleback. Next would be the kephart in convex in case you were wondering.

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prom52 said:
That is a beautiful example of Andy's craftsmanship Tod......congrats on a finding a classic & bringing it home !
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Thanks Peter! I have been lucky enough to get a few pretty neat examples of Andy's older work. The finger guard on this one is absolutely perfect. It is one of those knives that fits my hand like it was made for me.

Comprehensivist said:
That is all kinds of awesome Tod. So beautiful and so pristine. Finding a classic scandi like that in your favorite model is a dream come true for you. The grain figure on the maple is amazing and I love the subtle radii on the pommel versus the sharper edge look more common on the current production.

I look forward to seeing your in use photos.

Phil
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Thanks Phil! I really appreciate the comments. A lot of the fun of scoring a beautiful fiddleback is sharing with you and all the other great people I have met on the forum.

There are many of Andy's knives I can't resist buying but I am getting better as time goes on because I have now owned a few. When I saw this one I knew I had no chance of resisting it. I had been marveling over some of the spalted woods coming out of Osprey Knife and tool lately and thinking some day... Then I saw this and was like oh man, I'm done. I have made some other knife purchases lately and thought no more for awhile. Just when you think you can't be tempted... A stainless padre in beautiful shadetree burlap will appear! Or in my case a scandi arete in spalted maple!

I got a chance to play with it a little today after leading a field trip for 28 fifth graders in the woods. These pics aren't that great. It is hard for me to get good pics in the redwoods sometimes with my phone, but the knife was a pleasure to use.

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I love these older style knives, especially the natural colors he used. Thank you for sharing, they are really my speed... maybe one day I'll find an older spalted, scandi grind in a smaller profile knife! Until then I'll keep flipping through the old pages looking at them.
 
gusbuster, I like your Bourbon St Skinner too!! Please let me know if you ever think about selling or trading that one.
 
I snapped these pics last year. They're the oldies from Andy's personal collection that he keeps under lock/key.

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