So There I Was, or: Share your Fiddleback Forge Knives

[swaybacksteve]

I am transitioning to retirement, which means semi retirement working 8 days a month. It was hard to get use, to but the past year has had me doing more day hikes and camping. Although a nice traditional folder is always nice to carry, a fixed blade is what I feel most comfortable with on the trail and I often carry both. I started out trying a number of fixed blades from gec and canal street...but then I found the Fiddlebackforge subforum.
Had to educate myself about them and still have a hard time recognising many of the different models. My interest seems to be on the under 4 in. blades...keeping to the legal carry of 3.5 inches when up and about , although any size practically when camping, where I practice my try sticks and primitive bushcrafting skills.
I narrowed things down to a Bushcrafter jr...so waited for the right one. It certainly has been useful so far although it is still fairly new to to me. I like the use for the impromptu firemaking, for some caffeine and a snack before headed back home. It can gut a trout easy enough. The handle is truly comfortable to use.

I generally like to front pocket carry so here are some of my EDC's so far.
Really like the prototype clip blade on the Markesharp ( I have heavily modified it), but not having a lanyard hole limits it use for around town use really.
I do have a craving for the Georgia knifemakers and hope to get a blade from the numerous ones working with or have apprenticed with Andy.
The WA Surls Matador serves as the all around camp knife ( I have a dangler sheath for it), but mainly used in the kitchen as my santoka.
I love my Itty Bitty by Jarrett Fleming (not shown), but once I got the Weebil which has the style of blade I prefer (love me some belly), the weebil gets the pick for the hikes. Took it to the North Rim of Grand Canyon this early Oct. Great three finger grip.

The Bushcrafter Jr tho is the one for all around use now. the swell on the handle makes for a great four finger grip. Recently shaved the bark off of a future hiking stick. The maple looks good and it has a nice hefty feel.
But as many BF members, willing to try out different blades



recent hike into the desert

 

[Bill510c]

I, like alot of the guys in the Fiddleback sub-forum as well as the guys that work for Fiddleback and their family of knife makers love pairing our Fiddlebacks with traditional folders. Here's just a few of mine..most of these are Fiddlebacks but some are by Allen Surls of W.A. Surls knives, the VP at Fiddleback Forge

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[neal70]

Vance-Thanks for the reply! I had noticed that y'all were trending towards A2, which is a good steel, but heck my favorite is D2. Long time Dozier fan. I would simply like to try out Chris Lintons knives in cpm-154. Ergos and looks are there + low maintenance/high edge retention steel. What's not to like? But I do really like the custom fiddlbacks, and some of the production/mid-tech ones look real comfy too. I'm just not going to pay$300-400+ for an A2 steel knife, unless maybe it was one of Dozier's custom models-and then I ain't paying $750-900 for a knife. I'd like too, but I just can't. That may change, who knows? Some of the Fiddle's with the peasant wrap are more reasonable, I will note.
Thanks, Neal

 

[Fiddleback]

Don't hesitate to try Chris' knives (Osprey Knife and Tool). He is a hell of a maker.

 

[neal70]

Thanks Andy-what better recommendation could a guy get, than having his boss talk him up?
Thanks, Neal

 

[VANCE]

Don't hesitate to try Chris' knives (Osprey Knife and Tool). He is a hell of a maker.

ditto this

just for clarity, I wasn't trying to steer you from Chris. I was just addressing your concerns about O1 and our use of A2 now,

I've got 2 from Osprey and they are great.




todays pocket dump

 

[pertinux]

Re: Sylverfalcen:

~P.
It's about the same OAL as the Patch.

For some reason I don't own a Patch, here is it compared to similar sized knives though...
Top - Bottom
Bushcrafter Jr.
Hiking Buddy
Sylvrfalcen
EDKarda
W.A. Surls Mini Dropped Hunter
W.A. Surls Patch

I am still challenged by trying to wrap my head around specific patterns and sizes, despite so the efforts of so many to make it clear. Every visual reference to a 'known' quantity helps. Thanks much!

I really had convinced myself that the lest thing in life I need was an over priced knife with pretty handles. I'm po', have a wife in school (nursing), and since I'm on disability I take care of our just turned 2 year old. ....But...then this thread shows up, by Pertinux. Who's writing, photography, and storytelling ability I truly enjoy and respect. I was contemplating a blue lambsfoot simply to be able to post in her "Blue" thread. ....Now this. Thanks. A lot. Can I call you to explain to my wife why I "need" this piece of steel? 'Cause now you have me. I want one. Badly. Someone else said "bunch of enablers" around here. G@!?#%*%t ! Pardon my symbolspeak. Although I might have to look at some of the Ospreys. I like the steels he's using. I have a number of old planes with O1 steel. They cut well, take a sharp edge. But they also require a lot of maintenance and love. And oil. Anyways I suppose it's just another hunt now. Thanks!!!
Thanks, Neal

Thank you for the kind words , yes I'll talk to your wife, and of course a blue lambsfoot does a soul good.

You touched on price above and in your follow-up post. While a fuller discussion on price and value are beyond the scope of this thread (if not this forum), it's something I think about often, not just in relation to cutlery but on many fronts. I can, of course, speak only for myself-- so here I go:

If you'd told me even a year ago that I'd be considering knives in this price range, let alone restructuring aspects of my knife collection (and maybe life) to make them mine, I would have laughed dismissively and wandered off.

But then, if you'd told me five years ago that I'd (re)discover traditional knives and that, despite SAK Classics supplying everything I'd needed day-to-day up to that point, I'd soon be carving out discretionary funds for Case knives and then Great Eastern Cutlery's offerings, I would have blinked at you in total incomprehension...

...And then laughed nervously, backed away all careful-like, and made an exit.

And yet, here I am! It's been a wild ride.

As I said in my opening post, Blue caught my attention, I started looking more closely at the Fiddleback Forge patterns, I learned more about the processes and the people, swallowed hard at the prices, and dove in.

... When it comes to steel, I stay simple, and trust the people who make my knives. I want my my blades to cut, hold an edge, sharpen fairly easily, and preferably not be stainless, and to that end the traditional steels (GEC's 1095, FF's O1 and now A2, etc.) are right up my little alley. Naively or otherwise, it would never occur to me to want a 'better' steel, or expect to pay less for the ones that serve me so well-- especially when found on handbuilt/custom knives. To each his own; I am captured by the value of what I'm receiving through all this.

When I view footage of the knives being made, hear out the heart of the maker and those he has drawn together, and know that the handle of my knife was shaped directly by Andy Roy himself...

... I gets all kinds of jiggy, and am so glad I discovered all of this when I did.

~ P.

 

[neal70]

Wonderfully put, P. I've loved knives almost my whole life, and I do appreciate everything a craftsman puts into a piece, whether it's a knife, leatherwork, or a turned wooden bowl(a hobby of mine ). I just like the steels I like because I've used so many different kinds, in various applications and for varied purposes. In the end there is no best steel, just ones that work better or worse for what your application is; that being said, some lower maintenance, high end steels get my appreciation because they are lower maintenance. I have wooden bodied planes made in Eastern Europe in the late 19th century that I have to baby along constantly, going so far as to keep them in sheep skin, wool side in, just for the soothing lanolin it contains. They cut beautifully though, crisp little, and big!, curls of wood with a feeling of satisfaction that some of my newer planes never accomplish. I hear you, my friend
Thanks, Neal

 

[pertinux]

In the end there is no best steel, just ones that work better or worse for what your application is; that being said, some lower maintenance, high end steels get my appreciation because they are lower maintenance. I have wooden bodied planes made in Eastern Europe in the late 19th century that I have to baby along constantly, going so far as to keep them in sheep skin, wool side in, just for the soothing lanolin it contains. They cut beautifully though, crisp little, and big!, curls of wood with a feeling of satisfaction that some of my newer planes never accomplish. I hear you, my friend

Without poking (too much) fun, your description of babying your planes reminds me of a ditty from one of our children's tapes (from the days of yore):

It seems to me (it seems to me)
The more you have (the more you have)

(unison): The more you have to have to take care of the things you have!​

Thanks for your explanation; your requirements are clearly different than mine!

Meawhile, thanks to a late summer tree sitch...

... I do have a lot of raw material from which to draw (and on which to cut)-- note some of the aftermath behind my Patch knife, here:

L to R: Case Peanut, Jarrett Fleming Itty Bitty Brontosaurus, Benchmade Sequel 707, JD Ware Slipjoint, Fiddleback BC Jr., Osprey Knife and Tool Hunter, Forty Point Jack

The Peanut, especially, provides very helpful perspective. I really appreciate your naming the knives. thanks!

I, like a lot of the guys in the Fiddleback sub-forum as well as the guys that work for Fiddleback and their family of knife makers love pairing our Fiddlebacks with traditional folders. Here's just a few of mine..most of these are Fiddlebacks but some are by Allen Surls of W.A. Surls knives, the VP at Fiddleback Forge.

Well, now, that's pretty cool.

... In a video review of some of these fixed blade knives, the reviewer presented his opening remarks while constantly opening and closing a GEC folder. While eager to hear his impressions of the knives in question, I loved all the clicking and clacking, and had to pause the video to go grab one of my own GECs whilst watching.

There is so much to love about traditional knives, folding and fixed, and I'm enjoying having so many good things come together. And as with Panthera Tigris's post above, having a 'known-to-me' folder in the mix really helps me understand the relative sizes of knives that are new to me.

Speaking of which:

Okay, I have the first picture as a Lonestar with a #74, the second as a #79 Workhorse with a... Bushcrafter Jr, and that last sure looks like an Esquire in stag(!) with a #15 TC barlow. How'm I doing?

Inspired by the above two posts, I took a picture of my (re-clad by Esnyx) Case Peanut and a GEC #79 Workhorse Whittler:

... I started out trying a number of fixed blades from gec and canal street...but then I found the Fiddlebackforge subforum.
Had to educate myself about them and still have a hard time recognising many of the different models. My interest seems to be on the under 4 in. blades...keeping to the legal carry of 3.5 inches when up and about , although any size practically when camping, where I practice my try sticks and primitive bushcrafting skills.
I narrowed things down to a Bushcrafter jr...so waited for the right one. It certainly has been useful so far although it is still fairly new to to me. I like the use for the impromptu firemaking, for some caffeine and a snack before headed back home. It can gut a trout easy enough. The handle is truly comfortable to use.

...The Bushcrafter Jr tho is the one for all around use now. the swell on the handle makes for a great four finger grip. Recently shaved the bark off of a future hiking stick. The maple looks good and it has a nice hefty feel.
But as many BF members, willing to try out different blades

I've already admired your Bushcraft Jr (without knowing what it was!) in the Blue thread. Thanks for sharing your thought/selection process, and your knives.

todays pocket dump

Okay, now I'm stumped again. Name the fixed blade, please?

[That tiny hatchet is sweet!]

~ P.

 

[VANCE]

Without poking (too much) fun, your description of babying your planes reminds me of a ditty from one of our children's tapes (from the days of yore):

It seems to me (it seems to me)
The more you have (the more you have)

(unison): The more you have to have to take care of the things you have!​

Thanks for your explanation; your requirements are clearly different than mine!

Meawhile, thanks to a late summer tree sitch...

... I do have a lot of raw material from which to draw (and on which to cut)-- note some of the aftermath behind my Patch knife, here:

The Peanut, especially, provides very helpful perspective. I really appreciate your naming the knives. thanks!



Well, now, that's pretty cool.

... In a video review of some of these fixed blade knives, the reviewer presented his opening remarks while constantly opening and closing a GEC folder. While eager to hear his impressions of the knives in question, I loved all the clicking and clacking, and had to pause the video to go grab one of my own GECs whilst watching.

There is so much to love about traditional knives, folding and fixed, and I'm enjoying having so many good things come together. And as with Panthera Tigris's post above, having a 'known-to-me' folder in the mix really helps me understand the relative sizes of knives that are new to me.

Speaking of which:



Okay, I have the first picture as a Lonestar with a #74, the second as a #79 Workhorse with a... Bushcrafter Jr, and that last sure looks like an Esquire in stag(!) with a #15 TC barlow. How'm I doing?

Inspired by the above two posts, I took a picture of my (re-clad by Esnyx) Case Peanut and a GEC #79 Workhorse Whittler:

I've already admired your Bushcraft Jr (without knowing what it was!) in the Blue thread. Thanks for sharing your thought/selection process, and your knives.




Okay, now I'm stumped again. Name the fixed blade, please?

[That tiny hatchet is sweet!]

~ P.

EDKarda

 

[pertinux]

Okay, now I'm stumped again. Name the fixed blade, please?

[That tiny hatchet is sweet!]

~ P.

EDKarda

Thanks! And also, d'oh, because you've already identified it in this this very thread(!):

Top - Bottom
Bushcrafter Jr.
Hiking Buddy
Sylvrfalcen
EDKarda
W.A. Surls Mini Dropped Hunter
W.A. Surls Patch

WOW! Thank you for these words, and for this thread. Please let us know if we can do anything for you. This enthusiasm is what keeps the six jobs here going. I personally, and we as a company cannot thank you enough.

Aw.

Thanks!

I'm grateful if I can in any way encourage you guys.

'Cause it's all true.

I love the quality of your knives' workmanship and the comfort of their handles, but gravitate towards the fun in 'em almost most of all-- the robust whimsy of your pattern designs and color combinations....

Knives and Photo: jaz322​

Knives and Photo: Comprehensivist​

Sylverfalcen: Photo by Fiddleback Outpost, knife now in a private collection​

Just please keep doing what you're doing.

---/---


My default favorite handle material is ebony/wood, but I am so captivated by the depth and dimensionality in the Shadetree burlap, and how great it looks on the Fiddleback Forge knives, I'll have a hard time opting for anything else.

I may also bring in something other than 'blue,' but there is of course nothing else quite like it, for me.

I mean, just look!

~ P.

 

[pertinux]

Hunh. I thought there might be more Fiddleback knives in these parts, but am understanding better why it took a stray photograph elsewhere to capture my attention.

Meanwhile, as an aficionado of GEC's #25 Weird Little Stubby Things (WLSTs®), I've been drawn to Fiddleback Forge's Stubby Muk (actual name!), with its similar distinctives-- a 'wholesome' build, foreshortened proportions, and a sense of humor-- if only my own.

So, uhm, my Fiddleback bender continues apace, and this Stubby Muk...

... will be here tomorrow.

... I am enjoying not only the knives, but the fantastic leather sheaths created for them. New knives do not ship from Fiddleback Forge with sheaths. Some dealers include general-fit sheaths from JRE industries and the like with the knives they sell (if you're familiar with the sheaths that come with LT Wright's knives, and Blind Horse's before that, you'll be familiar with their quality), some dealers stock custom sheaths for specific FF knives and sizes, and a host of custom sheathmakers can be ordered from directly.

So far I have taken an eclectic approach, with handmade APS (Ambidextrous Pocket Sheaths) from Diomedes Industries/Fiddleback Outpost, and cross-draw sheaths made for me/my knives by Rick Lowe-- BF supporters, all.
... It's incredibly rewarding, and humbling, to have direct access to quality people doing exceptional work that enriches my day-to-day goings along in such a meaningful way.

The Diomedes pocket sheaths, which look freakin' cool and function even better (the larger sheath is a robust tan in better lighting and not 'pinkish' as seen here, and will be aging beautifully with use):

The Rick Lowe (RLO) cross-draw sheaths:

I love how the upper cutout/detail echoes the lines of the Esquire's handle:

(Rick also creates beautifully intricate and/or more obviously personalized sheaths, but I asked him for simple, streamlined cross-draw sheaths that rode "tight," and he went above and beyond in communication and execution. I love what he's done for me, here.)

I do the Mr. Rogers thing most days-- except, instead of exchanging a jacket for a cardigan, I swap out a pocket sheath for a belt sheath when I get home.

The middle parts look like this:

Week ends can look kinda like this:

In light of this current Current, I recently brought out all of my fixed blade knives (although I of course missed a few) to assess what I already have, what I already have that I love, and where I want to go from here.

I sense more 'collection calibration' in the days ahead.

~ P.

 

[pistonsandgears]

Nice additions P, looks like they fit in nicely.
Andy does some excellent work, I have been a fan of his work for quite a while.
Here is one of mine - this one is the Bushfinger model

 

[pertinux]

Nice additions P, looks like they fit in nicely.
Andy does some excellent work, I have been a fan of his work for quite a while.
Here is one of mine - this one is the Bushfinger model

I have a hard time distinguishing most of the bush- knives from one another, but the Bushfinger is one that continues to stand out to me. I really like its lines. :thumbup:

My WLST®, Fiddleback Forge ed., arrived today, and the gob-smacking continues:

Great size, proportions that not only make me laugh but also "work" in hand, the spalting on the blade.... Wow.

"... That escalated quickly."

A close-up spine view of the micarta:

And back out again for more Glamour:

~ P.

 

[pertinux]

Today's walk:

~ P.

 

[VANCE]

I have a hard time distinguishing most of the bush- knives from one another, but the Bushfinger is one that continues to stand out to me. I really like its lines. :thumbup:
~ P.

~P.

Andy describes the Bushfinger as our "signature model". Everyone needs at least one

 

[varga49]

~P.

Andy describes the Bushfinger as our "signature model". Everyone needs at least one

Correct me if I'm wrong but I think I read this somewhere here
"One is none and two is one "
I think I need one more bush knife


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[AusLoX]

Rick Lowe did a fantastic job on this sheath for me. The BSS is definitely my favorite fixed blade.

 

[pistonsandgears]

That new WLST fits right in with the others P
Andy puts some nice wood handles on some of his knives too.
Here is another favorite of mine this one is the KE Bushie with a black ash burl handle

 

[varga49]

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