The Fine Points of Dukes and Hunters

oneminus2

oneminus2

Joined
May 31, 2013
Messages
206
Hey Guys!

So I recently acquired a Burlap Duke to add to my FF collection. The Duke looks amazing, the beefy handle fits nice and is very comfortable to hold. The SFT adds a bit more weight on the Handle which I like. My favorite FF knives are the Bushfinger and Hunter so when I read that the Duke was essentially a longer "Hunter" I knew I had to give it a try.

When it arrived I immediately compared it to the Hunter and was surprised to find that the Duke has what I consider an overly aggressive fine tip. The last 1/8" to the tip is almost needle point thin barely 2/64" thick and the very tip is 1/64" thick. Also the tapering point starts much earlier than the Hunter which gives the Duke a very long fine point.

I have to be honest and say that I'm not entirely a fan of super fine tips on 10+" knives. It would be very easy to apply a lot of leverage on that fine tip with such a long knife. I would have preferred a tip similar to the Hunter which start to taper closer to the tip and at a less drastic angle. I took some comparison pics to show you what I mean. My goal is not to start a long argument about steel strength and so forth, I would simply like to hear what current and past Duke owners have to say on the matter.

Thanks for your comments!









 
Dukes make me smile. Dukes are just fun to hold. Dukes are fun to use. I've used mine as an all purpose woods knife with no problems (the only knife brought). Not even a concern of a problem. I can tackle wood and camp chores with the 85-90% of the blade, then do detailed kitchen chores with the tip and mid tip. I like to do detailed food prep for presentation even in the woods, a larger knife gives me blade for chores and a tip to keep super sharp. Yes, if you were rough on the tip or like to pry, a Camp Knife might be better suited. The Duke I use has a tapered tang and is fairly light, forward weighted (as I prefer); I would describe her as a graceful beast. I have used many Fiddlebacks for many different purposes and have never had any issues. I'm going camping in the mountains next week, I think I will be carrying a Duke and a folder.

I hope my rambling helps some! :)

-Will
 
willic said:
Dukes make me smile. Dukes are just fun to hold. Dukes are fun to use. I've used mine as an all purpose woods knife with no problems (the only knife brought). Not even a concern of a problem. I can tackle wood and camp chores with the 85-90% of the blade, then do detailed kitchen chores with the tip and mid tip. I like to do detailed food prep for presentation even in the woods, a larger knife gives me blade for chores and a tip to keep super sharp. Yes, if you were rough on the tip or like to pry, a Camp Knife might be better suited. The Duke I use has a tapered tang and is fairly light, forward weighted (as I prefer); I would describe her as a graceful beast. I have used many Fiddlebacks for many different purposes and have never had any issues. I'm going camping in the mountains next week, I think I will be carrying a Duke and a folder.

I hope my rambling helps some! :)

-Will
Click to expand...

Thanks for your input Will!
 
Gorgeous knives! The tip should be fine for most things except chopping and prying and the thinner taper should add a lot of utility for use with food prep.

Bit of a trade off, but for most use I'd say the thinner taper wins out..
 
NoFair said:
Gorgeous knives! The tip should be fine for most things except chopping and prying and the thinner taper should add a lot of utility for use with food prep.

Bit of a trade off, but for most use I'd say the thinner taper wins out..
Click to expand...

I agree. Knowledge in the woods can make up for the thicker steel and heavier point, allowing you to carry less weight, and a lighter more functional tool.To me the heavier knife is only really an advantage in a more combat related survival situation where time is extremely precious for multiple reasons, and the situation much more dire. In the woods, and on my own time, out away from tactical research and development, my tapered Recluse has handled every need I have run across save serious chopping, and it's small enough and light enough that it is never a burden.

That said, having given a full tang 5/32 Hunter several serious workouts in the bush, I do plan on giving a tapered Duke a go at some point. It just looks like a fun knife to wield.
 
I'd be willing to guess that the grinds vary from one to the next. I bet some hunters have thinner points too and some dukes more robust. I really like your duke though
 
The tip on my tapered Duke is slightly finer than my tapered Hunter, but doesn't seem like it's as needle-like as yours. I'd also suspect there's some variation since each grind is different. I love that burlap by the way!

My tapered Duke was my first fiddleback and I fell in love with that model. The finer point really doesn't bother me at all, I wouldn't hesitate to bring this as my only knife into the woods and would baton with it just the same as my Hunter.

However, if I thought I might be prying anything or wanted extra tip strength, I'd be bringing my 3/16" SFT Duke. The trade off there is that it's a bit heavier and less nimble in the hand, but the added heft will aid in light chopping. I'd actually like to pick up a 3/16" Hunter as well for the thicker handle and so that I know that I can be extra hard on it.

Tapered Duke out in the woods:

 
Theat's a beautiful pair right there. Those two are on my short list. I kind of like the tapered tip on it but I don't do much prying with mine.
 
dcycleman said:
I'd be willing to guess that the grinds vary from one to the next. I bet some hunters have thinner points too and some dukes more robust. I really like your duke though
Click to expand...

I have two Hunters and the tips are consistent. I've also had several Bushfingers come my way and those tips were also consistent. It's only two out of hundreds so not enough to make a solid conclusion.
 
NoFair said:
Gorgeous knives! The tip should be fine for most things except chopping and prying and the thinner taper should add a lot of utility for use with food prep.

Bit of a trade off, but for most use I'd say the thinner taper wins out..
Click to expand...

Thanks NoFair. I don't think I'll be letting those go any time soon. Thanks for the input, I'm glad to hear you've had a positive experience.
 
mistwalker said:
I agree. Knowledge in the woods can make up for the thicker steel and heavier point, allowing you to carry less weight, and a lighter more functional tool.To me the heavier knife is only really an advantage in a more combat related survival situation where time is extremely precious for multiple reasons, and the situation much more dire. In the woods, and on my own time, out away from tactical research and development, my tapered Recluse has handled every need I have run across save serious chopping, and it's small enough and light enough that it is never a burden.

That said, having given a full tang 5/32 Hunter several serious workouts in the bush, I do plan on giving a tapered Duke a go at some point. It just looks like a fun knife to wield.
Click to expand...

I have a Camp Knife that I use for those heavier chopping tasks, at 3/16" thick that's about as much as I need. I prefer the 5/32" for all around but this is the first time I have a big knife with both a fine tip and thicker edge and heel. I may just send this one your way and have you give it a full review both in the kitchen and woods. Thanks for your feedback!
 
gtr60 said:
The tip on my tapered Duke is slightly finer than my tapered Hunter, but doesn't seem like it's as needle-like as yours. I'd also suspect there's some variation since each grind is different. I love that burlap by the way!

My tapered Duke was my first fiddleback and I fell in love with that model. The finer point really doesn't bother me at all, I wouldn't hesitate to bring this as my only knife into the woods and would baton with it just the same as my Hunter.

However, if I thought I might be prying anything or wanted extra tip strength, I'd be bringing my 3/16" SFT Duke. The trade off there is that it's a bit heavier and less nimble in the hand, but the added heft will aid in light chopping. I'd actually like to pick up a 3/16" Hunter as well for the thicker handle and so that I know that I can be extra hard on it.

Tapered Duke out in the woods:

Click to expand...

Thanks GTR! With the exception of the Duke and a Bushcrafter I own all my other knives are tapered tangs. I wanted to give the SFT a try to see how it compare and I do agree is heavier but not enough to want to leave it behind. Thanks for sharing your experience, this is very helpful.
 
This is an easy issue to fix. If that tip on your Duke bothers you, send it in and I can thicken it up. 2 minute fix with no chance of ruining the knife.

dcycleman said:
I'd be willing to guess that the grinds vary from one to the next. I bet some hunters have thinner points too and some dukes more robust. I really like your duke though
Click to expand...

Dcycleman nailed it. These knives are handmande. I don't apply a micrometer to the knife after each pass. The grinds vary in thickness just as the handle does.

The big concerning issue for me is that folks are discussing prying with their Fiddlebacks. This should not be done with any knife. Prying tools are heat treated differently than knives and their geometry is completely different. The reason for this is physics, a thin hard sliver of steel does not have lateral strength. Do you want me to soften the knife until it is at spring steel hardness and won't hold an edge? Prying voids the warranty and it is hard to have much sympathy for a man with a broken knife that was used to pry. My grandad slapped me on the back of the neck when as a kid I was prying with my Kabar. "Don't pry with your knife. They make cheap ugly tools for that."
 
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