On the fence Duke vs Woodsman

Dman3d said:
Sounds good to me. Sweet looking blade and sounds like it can handle anything you throw at it.
Guess my last question is how difficult is it to touch up or maintain the high-sabre convex grind? Never owned a knife with that grind. Sadly I'm only decent with scandi and flat grinds for sharpening, hope to keep field touch up simple.
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Fiddleback's convexes have a secondary micro bevel. It's pretty easy to just sharpen that with whatever tools you normally use. Only "trick" is to be sure you're getting the right angle to hit the bevel. A sharpie comes in handy for that. Some practice at home to get the feel for the angle and you'll be ready to go in the field.

At home, I use sandpaper and strops. In the field I have a double sided field strop with a couple of compounds.

Do a search here in the Fiddleback forum for sharpening and you'll find some good threads.
 
I do not own a Duke yet, though may later after another model or two I really want to get first. However, I did handle a few at the shop a while back, and I have been using a Woodsman in various applications for a few years now. To me the main difference is the amount of forward mass. I love the Woodsman's profile for a lot of things as I like pointy, and I love it at the cutting board. If I were looking at it from a hunting / trapping perspective I think the Duke would serve better in hunting applications such skinning, and small limb removal, and a heavier Duke paired with a thinner, lighter Hiking Buddy or KE Bushie would make a formidable team in hunting uses.
 
Dman3d said:
How about from a bushcrafty perspective?
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Well, it's all subject to opinion and personal prefs of course, but as long as I was using another tool for chopping purposes, I would prefer the pointier Woodsman I believe. Though that is speculative based on lots of use of the Woodsman, and only a little handling of the Duke. If the knife was going to be a primary, or even secondary chopping tool, with that application figured in, then I would choose the Duke as I believe it would out chop the Woodsman by a good bit with the added forward mass.
 
I'm actually curious why the secondary bevel is added at all on a convex grind. Kind of defeats the advantages of a convex edge doesn't it?
 
necrolicious said:
I'm actually curious why the secondary bevel is added at all on a convex grind. Kind of defeats the advantages of a convex edge doesn't it?
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See this thread http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/1044897-Zero-bevel-or-micro-bevel-and-why where this discussion has happened before and Andy chimed in with his explanation.

The short explanation:

Fiddleback said:
...

I put the edge bevel on the knife so that it is stronger (I have to warranty this knife) and easy to maintain and sharpen. Dylan uses stones, Ron uses ceramic rods, I use sandpaper over leather. I never scratch up my blade, and neither to the others. The steel is 01. It is the easiest steel there is to sharpen. Guys, if you want to pushcut paper and shave with your knives, simply polish the edge. You don't have to zero grind your knives to get this sharpness. You just have to polish the edge up.

...
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Great info and perspective as usual guys thanks.
That gives me less worry about the edge profile too, thanks Thurin. Sounds like good sharpening practices with any method will suffice.

I really like both. My concern with the woodsman is its so stabby, love the shape, I would be afraid to do even light batoning with it for fear of breaking the tip with the baton.
I would not be prying or banging through a 2' hunk of dried knotty stuff or anything an axe or prybar should be used for. I would not do any batoning unless i absolutely had to in an emergency scenario or for stuff wrist size or less.
 
I can't speak for the Woodsman, but I have a Duke with a *very* thin tapered tang on 3/16 and a pretty skinny handle too. The balance point is just ever so slightly ahead of the handle. I was pleasantly surprised at just how "choppy" this makes it feel.

For me personally and for my purposes (mostly outdoor use) I think that much of the finesse that a finer point would provide is lost on a knife this size and would be better suited carried in a smaller, secondary knife. YMMV though depending on how you plan to use it, so it's a good thing Andy makes both! :)
 
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Indeed! Probably end up buying one of everything in the end.
For finesse for sure something a little smaller. I like around 4"-4.5" ish as a rule.
 
Thinking more now, funny enough, I may end up getting KE Bushie, Bushfinger or Hunter first. Then come back for one of the bigger guys. They all fit in the 4"-ish range which will make more sense for my primary. Plus it gives me more time to stew on the larger ones.

Thanks everyone
 
I'm sick of the Woodsman for now. Just threw a one into the wall. That damned grind is so hard to nail. I'm swearing off the Woodsman for at least a year and have asked the guys to pull the pattern. If you want one, the two in today's batch may be your last chance.
 
Oh crap. I cant imagine what doing that grind is like.
Well then, hmm.. this complicates matters.
 
So...a couple of additional attributes of the Woodsman:

-Great at removing fingers and toes.

-Functions incredibly well as a flying projectile.
 
:eek: Wow. Like today's FF wasn't high stakes already!



Fiddleback said:
I'm sick of the Woodsman for now. Just threw a one into the wall. That damned grind is so hard to nail. I'm swearing off the Woodsman for at least a year and have asked the guys to pull the pattern. If you want one, the two in today's batch may be your last chance.
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Yikes, I guess I'll hang on to both of mine too. I'm assuming we won't be seeing any Toothpiks either. The tank should be bloody today.
 
Fiddleback said:
I'm sick of the Woodsman for now. Just threw a one into the wall. That damned grind is so hard to nail. I'm swearing off the Woodsman for at least a year and have asked the guys to pull the pattern. If you want one, the two in today's batch may be your last chance.
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Meh .. you obviously throw shit at the wall all the time. :p

wall.jpg
 
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