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

[btb01]

Those all look great, but the Coffee Bag Burlap (I'm assuming that's the brown one?) is outstanding! What an stunning handle material!

 

[BigBiscuit]

In real life, with the knives I already have, I continue to work out the "carry" in EDC:

~ P.

Nice pocket mod Sarah. That's a great idea. :thumbup:

 

[black mamba]

~ P.

Sarah, have you used the above two knives enough now to form an opinion on the different strengths and weaknesses of the drop point v. the straight blade? They are so similar, yet they must have some different qualities. Thanks!

 

[pertinux]

Those all look great, but the Coffee Bag Burlap (I'm assuming that's the brown one?) is outstanding! What an stunning handle material!

Yes, it really is, all the more so when you realize it's the actual brown burlap from actual coffee bag(s), uber-pressed in phenolic. Very way too cool.

Nice pocket mod Sarah. That's a great idea. :thumbup:

It works really well, although I can't take credit; it's a built-in feature on these work pants. Any of my attempts would have featured uneven seams affixed with staples and/or glue. I think it's for a tape measure or other clipped too, but is of course perfect for a pocket sheath. Ta da!

Sarah, have you used the above two knives enough now to form an opinion on the different strengths and weaknesses of the drop point v. the straight blade? They are so similar, yet they must have some different qualities. Thanks!

Jeff, the design details of each knife sets it apart from the other, with the position of the point being the most telling difference, but at the end of the day (and most importantly, in use) they are still similar enough to be almost maddening(!).

Both are fantastic knives, and both hit a similar spot, and deciding between the two, if indeed one wants to try, will likely come down to very subtle personal preferences. In fact, their "same-but-different" presentation, in hand and in use, is a challenge to me. How does one choose?!

The Hiking Buddy's more central tip makes more sense to my eye and brain than the Patch's, even if it does not seem to affect me o'ermuch in actual use-- the latter of which I found surprising, as I expected it to make more of a difference (and the Patch to be a bother), especially when drilling holes, etc.

But once underway, I was not conscious of making adaptations for the straighter Patch vs. the HB with its point-where-I-thought-it-should-be.

Speaking of Underway:in addition to comparing the knives via whatever light cutting tasks came to hand, I sat down with a block of basswood and set out all four FF knives nearby. I grabbed each of the knives in turn, repeatedly, cutting the wood (push cuts, draw strokes, pokey things, etc.) without deliberating over grip or angle, doing my best to simply pick up each knife and use it. The Stubby Muk was of course the outlier, if a continued revelation-- I love this little thing, its presence, form, and comfort in hand, all with a sense of humor. The other three proved as similar as one might expect-- with one exception.

The longer I stayed at it, the more comfortable the Patch knife's handle was to me vs. the Hiking Buddy's. While I cannot know how much confirmation bias might be at play, it was, is, very interesting to me that the contours of the Hiking Buddy's handle + blade approach concentrated my hand forward, leading to growing pressure in my forefinger as it rested and worked right behind the blade/guard...

... while the deeper, fuller swell in the Patch's handle somehow 'eats up' more of my grip along the way, and creates/invites movement back into it vs. forward...?

Mind you, the Hiking Buddy's handle in isolation is still one of the most comfortable handles I've, well, handled. I'm not talking pain or discomfort, just noticeable pressure noticed by someone specifically focused on Noticing. I was able to adjust my grip and hand position to easily relieve that concentration of pressure. But again, I wanted to see how the knives felt in the grabbing-and-going-- and somehow, the contours of the Patch knife, with its taller handle less acute angle(?), provide more pleasing ergonomics for me, at least in this briefest of testlets.

Intrigued, I continued going back and forth among the knives, and found the result(s) consistent throughout.

It would be interesting to see if a different Patch and Hiking Buddy pairing produced the opposite impression-- and I would not be surprised if it did....

My takeaway: for me, it really is a wash between these two similar patterns. Had I not opted for the Patch knife first, a Hiking Buddy would suit me well-- so well, that I could foreseeably add one in 3/32" steel, because I'm sure I'd enjoy it.

And yet, looking again at what I now already have...

... a Hiking Buddy would compete with the Patch knife for carry time/use in the 7.25" range, while its more central point and blade shape are pretty much covered by the slightly smaller Esquire:

(The funny thing? I have felt from the beginning that I "should" want a Hiking Buddy more than I do. I love its look, its proportions, its balance. It would seem the Right Knife for me. But, it also is just sorta 'there,' vs. COMPELLING.)

I hope this answers your question. If not, ask away.

No matter what, I am very (very!) grateful for the opportunity to handle a Hiking Buddy in person, and for the generosity and trust extended to me in its lending. :thumbup:

Now, I think I'm going to go cut some more Basswood. I'm really enjoying that part of my Comparisons.

~ P.

 

[VANCE]

what about some ancient bog oak and ebony

 

[pertinux]

what about some ancient bog oak and ebony

Ebony is King, as always. Is that a Panama Jack...?

As for the other, it's too bad someone done slapped used-up wood on that knice metal.

(Hiking Buddy?)



Today:

[video=youtube;n_hrJyoKmDk]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n_hrJyoKmDk[/video]



~ P.

 

[VANCE]

~P.
it is a Hiking Buddy

the folder is a Case/Bose T.B.722013 Trapper

I think I have a Panama Jack in Ebony to though... have one just don't remember the scales

 

[VANCE]

Had to go into the "man cave" in the background to get this knife roll... the PJ resides in the top row empty slot closest

on the left and PJ on the right

 

[cchu518]

Yes, it really is, all the more so when you realize it's the actual brown burlap from actual coffee bag(s), uber-pressed in phenolic. Very way too cool.



It works really well, although I can't take credit; it's a built-in feature on these work pants. Any of my attempts would have featured uneven seams affixed with staples and/or glue. I think it's for a tape measure or other clipped too, but is of course perfect for a pocket sheath. Ta da!



Jeff, the design details of each knife sets it apart from the other, with the position of the point being the most telling difference, but at the end of the day (and most importantly, in use) they are still similar enough to be almost maddening(!).

Both are fantastic knives, and both hit a similar spot, and deciding between the two, if indeed one wants to try, will likely come down to very subtle personal preferences. In fact, their "same-but-different" presentation, in hand and in use, is a challenge to me. How does one choose?!

The Hiking Buddy's more central tip makes more sense to my eye and brain than the Patch's, even if it does not seem to affect me o'ermuch in actual use-- the latter of which I found surprising, as I expected it to make more of a difference (and the Patch to be a bother), especially when drilling holes, etc.

But once underway, I was not conscious of making adaptations for the straighter Patch vs. the HB with its point-where-I-thought-it-should-be.

Speaking of Underway:in addition to comparing the knives via whatever light cutting tasks came to hand, I sat down with a block of basswood and set out all four FF knives nearby. I grabbed each of the knives in turn, repeatedly, cutting the wood (push cuts, draw strokes, pokey things, etc.) without deliberating over grip or angle, doing my best to simply pick up each knife and use it. The Stubby Muk was of course the outlier, if a continued revelation-- I love this little thing, its presence, form, and comfort in hand, all with a sense of humor. The other three proved as similar as one might expect-- with one exception.

The longer I stayed at it, the more comfortable the Patch knife's handle was to me vs. the Hiking Buddy's. While I cannot know how much confirmation bias might be at play, it was, is, very interesting to me that the contours of the Hiking Buddy's handle + blade approach concentrated my hand forward, leading to growing pressure in my forefinger as it rested and worked right behind the blade/guard...

... while the deeper, fuller swell in the Patch's handle somehow 'eats up' more of my grip along the way, and creates/invites movement back into it vs. forward...?

Mind you, the Hiking Buddy's handle in isolation is still one of the most comfortable handles I've, well, handled. I'm not talking pain or discomfort, just noticeable pressure noticed by someone specifically focused on Noticing. I was able to adjust my grip and hand position to easily relieve that concentration of pressure. But again, I wanted to see how the knives felt in the grabbing-and-going-- and somehow, the contours of the Patch knife, with its taller handle less acute angle(?), provide more pleasing ergonomics for me, at least in this briefest of testlets.

Intrigued, I continued going back and forth among the knives, and found the result(s) consistent throughout.

It would be interesting to see if a different Patch and Hiking Buddy pairing produced the opposite impression-- and I would not be surprised if it did....

My takeaway: for me, it really is a wash between these two similar patterns. Had I not opted for the Patch knife first, a Hiking Buddy would suit me well-- so well, that I could foreseeably add one in 3/32" steel, because I'm sure I'd enjoy it.

And yet, looking again at what I now already have...

... a Hiking Buddy would compete with the Patch knife for carry time/use in the 7.25" range, while its more central point and blade shape are pretty much covered by the slightly smaller Esquire:

(The funny thing? I have felt from the beginning that I "should" want a Hiking Buddy more than I do. I love its look, its proportions, its balance. It would seem the Right Knife for me. But, it also is just sorta 'there,' vs. COMPELLING.)

I hope this answers your question. If not, ask away.

No matter what, I am very (very!) grateful for the opportunity to handle a Hiking Buddy in person, and for the generosity and trust extended to me in its lending. [emoji106]

Now, I think I'm going to go cut some more Basswood. I'm really enjoying that part of my Comparisons.

~ P.

I have muskrat that I sent to Glennbad with a pair of blond linen micarta slabs to rehandle.

After that project is done I'm going to order some blanks from shadetree composites to do another o was thinking possibly the philellow, tequila sunrise rise or coffee bag.

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk

 

[black mamba]

Sarah, I completely agree with your assessment of the deeper finger notch on the Patch knife being more comfortable. I have large hands, but always favored a handle that was slender under the forefinger, along with a half-guard of some kind. This not only gives me a more secure feeling grip (similar to your experience), but also more control, maybe because that forefinger is closer to the center line of the blade and closer to the tip.

While not a Fiddleback Forge knife, just for illustration of my preceding points I show my favorite general use knife with it's very slender foregrip (a 9" hunter from samuraistuart here on BFC).

 

[FOG2]

I am a sucker for a Nessie an OMG he makes some nice ones! A mini is my xmas list. But i don,t see it happening...sighhhhh

 

[pertinux]

Sarah, I completely agree with your assessment of the deeper finger notch on the Patch knife being more comfortable.

Interestingly, I'm not sure the Patch knife's notch is objectively deeper, but the [very subtle!] combination of the deeper mid-palm swell (on which to counter-press) and slightly elongated notch render it possibly the most comfortable knife I've handled-- and as I've said, I might feel otherwise with a different set of handmade knives to compare, even of the same patterns...! There are so many different variables that inform "grip," including blade angle, handle thickness, etc.

... and I have large hands, but always favored a handle that was slender under the forefinger, along with a half-guard of some kind. This not only gives me a more secure feeling grip (similar to your experience), but also more control, maybe because that forefinger is closer to the center line of the blade and closer to the tip.

This all makes perfect sense to me. :thumbup:

At the same time, I've discovered that too slender a handle at forefinger provides diminished returns. For example, while I still like my THK Strix very much, it feels more 'pinchy' than I remember in comparison with the Fiddlebacks. I don't have a picture of the Strix with the Hiking Buddy, which would be the most direct equivalent, but here it is with my Patch and Esquire, plus a more extreme example-- my Russell Canadian Belt Knife:

The Russell is a terrific blade, but my brain and hand are simply not at peace when I use it. A shallower forefinger notch combined with a more active blade angle would probably make the difference I'm looking for-- and render it a completely different knife! As is, the ergonomic dynamics are too 'passive' for me.

While not a Fiddleback Forge knife, just for illustration of my preceding points I show my favorite general use knife with it's very slender foregrip (a 9" hunter from samuraistuart here on BFC).

Very nice, and a helpful illustration. Thanks.

I am a sucker for a Nessie an OMG he makes some nice ones! A mini is my xmas list. But i don,t see it happening...sighhhhh

While my affection for odd, stubby little knives is well-documented, I'm still surprised at how much I love this little Muk, leading me to wonder if I'd appreciate its blade writ larger...? I'm not sure I would.

That's okay; right now, with this knife, is grand. It's a weehunk, for true!

(and right then, the sun came out-- what a difference!)

I'm currently carrying it like this...

... while wondering how 'small' I can go with a belt sheath.

~ P.

 

[TLARbb]

Re: Sylverfalcen:


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!



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.

Awesome photo, Sarah. I'm glad you are a part of our community here. Thank you for the posts. I love the FF knife in this photo.

Ed J

 

[pertinux]

Awesome photo, Sarah. I'm glad you are a part of our community here. Thank you for the posts. I love the FF knife in this photo.

Ed J

Aw, thanks, Ed! It's always great to see your name, and hear your 'voice' through your words. I think of you every Christmas, especially, because of your Traditional Generosity , to all of us here and to me specifically the year I won.

~~~~~
mistwalker posted a helpful comparison picture for me that included a shared, known quantity- an Esquire...

Here is the Gaucho, Handyman, and Esquire.

... which I then printed to scale and used-- use!-- to gauge the relative sizes of other knives I'm interested in (especially the Gaucho at the top, in this instance):

This gives me Big Ideas of how to set up comparative shots for the traditional folding knives we often try to suss out from afar, in size and form.


Navy Blue Shadetree burlap micarta, up close and personal:

Shadetree Oreo burlap, or:

OREOS!

~ P.

 

[Kalsu]

I had previously posted these in the Fiddleback sub-forum but thought they might go good here as well.

Lonestar with evergreen burlap and Diomedes APS count sheath

EDC II with thuia

Bush boot with oreo burlap

 

[black mamba]

Kalsu, that Lonestar is KILLER!!

 

[Kalsu]

Kalsu, that Lonestar is KILLER!!

Thanks! It is a really nice knife. All the Fiddleback's I have are awesome.

 

[pertinux]

Kalsu, I love the oreo burlap, and your Bushboot.

I hadn't seen these two knives together (or at least in juxtaposition), so thank you for bringing them here. :thumbup:

I had previously posted these in the Fiddleback sub-forum but thought they might go good here as well.

Lonestar with evergreen burlap and Diomedes APS count sheath

EDC II with thuia

Are the EDC and Lone Star are fundamentally the same knife, starting from the same shape/template, with the Lone Star having more of the blade ground away...? Or is there more to it than that?



A bit of recent fun from the Fiddleback "totin' today" thread, or, Playing With The Friends Who Live In Your Computer:

This image, from Varga49...

...became this:

image by VANCE



Which quickly turned into this:

image by Warrior108



My contribution:

But wait! There's More! A 'tie,' with a reset:

Re-Boxing Day #...I'm not even sure anymore...

~ P.

 

[Kalsu]

Kalsu, I love the oreo burlap, and your Bushboot.

I hadn't seen these two knives together (or at least in juxtaposition), so thank you for bringing them here. :thumbup:
Are the EDC and Lone Star are fundamentally the same knife, starting from the same shape/template, with the Lone Star having more of the blade ground away...? Or is there more to it than that?


~ P.

No problem. I think that the EDC II and the Lonestar have the same handle but the grind on the blade is different. If I am remembering correctly there is the regular Lonestar and the one like I have that has the swedge ground on the blade. Great knives either way.

 

[LostViking]

Fiddlebacks ya say,



Can't say enough good about Andy, his gang and his knives,



Although, they do seem a little thirstier than my other knives. And they don't like cheap beer.



They eat a lot too!



But, they do build a mean fire!