Mistwalker
Gold Member
- Joined
- Dec 22, 2007
- Messages
- 19,037
The spirit of Nessmuk runs strong in this particular sub forum, because it runs strong in Andy. That is clear by looking at his earliest knives and looking at his current line up. Andy's Nessmuks were the first Fiddleback Forge knives I saw several years ago, and his current line up includes variations on the theme in four different sizes. I think it is also readily apparent in the fact that no matter what the overall profile of the knife is Andy strives for the handles of all of his knives to be extremely comfortable in long term use, and for all of the edge geometries function very well in whittling, cutting, and slicing. I think that even if I didn't already know how much of an influence George W. Sears was on Andy's life, that would be obvious in his work, and that is with good reason. Mr. Sears was a very skilled woodsman who was kind enough to share his knowledge with us all.
I remember finding a few very old copies of Forest & Stream and an old copy of Woodcraft that were tucked away in an old steamer trunk in a corner of the attic at my grandfathers farmhouse when I was just a kid. They were fragile and fading at that time, being nearly a hundred years old. But my grandfather (who was born at the turn of the century) knew how much I enjoyed reading my father's issues of Field & Stream, and how much I enjoyed wandering the woods, told me that I would have liked the stories in those old books and magazines. He told me about a man who wrote under the name Nessmuk, and recounted as best he could some of those stories that he had read in his youth. He even showed me a small stockman, hatchet, and belt knife he had carried as a kid. Yet that did not hold the meaning for me then that it does today.
In time I would find myself seeking shelter in libraries far from what was once home, digging through old books and new ones. My favorites were the Foxfire series and Woodcraft. There was a lot to learn in those books, and I would find myself lost in them for hours taking notes. I never became a traditionalist in the sense of emulating Mr. Sears, but I definitely learned a lot. It taught me that to rely on one tool alone was to limit myself and doom myself to frustration in the field so I learned to study the terrain I was in at the time and make adjustments. My belt knife, which at that time was often discretely tucked away in a pocket or in the small of my back, would become, and still is a permanent fixture in my world. The other tools were always adjusted to suit whatever terrain I was in or whatever environment I was in at any given time. In urban areas there was little need for a chopping tool. So the small folder was the most often used knife, with the larger fixed blade held quietly and discretely in reserve till it was needed. But often as I went about my day wandering the city, raking leaves and trimming hedges to make money to live on, I would still have my trios of tools.
In adulthood I still had my hatchet, belt knife, and pocket knife when I hit the woods for hunting and camping trips in the winter. This photo shows the current woods wandering trio for this time of year.
In the summer, when the need for larger fires and potential need for a substantial shelter are much less, and the need to make a trail or access edibles on or among thorny vines will be greater I am more apt t carry a trio like this one. Some Mr. Nessmuk may have carried had he been wandering the swamps in the deep south where I grew up rather than in the northern hardwood forests.
When I am working in an urbanized environment, the trio in the kit in my truck is more geared to that sort of environment. More of a 21st century urbanized Nessmuk trio, with more modernized tools, and thoughts toward urban disaster in a world much more synthetic and much more crowded, and often much darker than the one Mr. Sears saw.
Then when I am out and about wandering city streets at night where sheeple-friendliness, discretion, weight and specialized purpose are more important to me, I will carry a trio more like this.
We are about five years away from the 200th anniversary of the birth of George Washington Sears, and it seems he took Mr. Franklin's advice to heart for he is still very well remembered today. I know we have the "Trio Thursday" thread that Nathan started, but that has evolved into more of a wonderful display of trios of Fiddleback Forge Knives. I am curious if any of you have stories of when and how the teachings and philosophies of Mr. Sears may have impacted your life?
.
I remember finding a few very old copies of Forest & Stream and an old copy of Woodcraft that were tucked away in an old steamer trunk in a corner of the attic at my grandfathers farmhouse when I was just a kid. They were fragile and fading at that time, being nearly a hundred years old. But my grandfather (who was born at the turn of the century) knew how much I enjoyed reading my father's issues of Field & Stream, and how much I enjoyed wandering the woods, told me that I would have liked the stories in those old books and magazines. He told me about a man who wrote under the name Nessmuk, and recounted as best he could some of those stories that he had read in his youth. He even showed me a small stockman, hatchet, and belt knife he had carried as a kid. Yet that did not hold the meaning for me then that it does today.
In time I would find myself seeking shelter in libraries far from what was once home, digging through old books and new ones. My favorites were the Foxfire series and Woodcraft. There was a lot to learn in those books, and I would find myself lost in them for hours taking notes. I never became a traditionalist in the sense of emulating Mr. Sears, but I definitely learned a lot. It taught me that to rely on one tool alone was to limit myself and doom myself to frustration in the field so I learned to study the terrain I was in at the time and make adjustments. My belt knife, which at that time was often discretely tucked away in a pocket or in the small of my back, would become, and still is a permanent fixture in my world. The other tools were always adjusted to suit whatever terrain I was in or whatever environment I was in at any given time. In urban areas there was little need for a chopping tool. So the small folder was the most often used knife, with the larger fixed blade held quietly and discretely in reserve till it was needed. But often as I went about my day wandering the city, raking leaves and trimming hedges to make money to live on, I would still have my trios of tools.
In adulthood I still had my hatchet, belt knife, and pocket knife when I hit the woods for hunting and camping trips in the winter. This photo shows the current woods wandering trio for this time of year.
In the summer, when the need for larger fires and potential need for a substantial shelter are much less, and the need to make a trail or access edibles on or among thorny vines will be greater I am more apt t carry a trio like this one. Some Mr. Nessmuk may have carried had he been wandering the swamps in the deep south where I grew up rather than in the northern hardwood forests.
When I am working in an urbanized environment, the trio in the kit in my truck is more geared to that sort of environment. More of a 21st century urbanized Nessmuk trio, with more modernized tools, and thoughts toward urban disaster in a world much more synthetic and much more crowded, and often much darker than the one Mr. Sears saw.
Then when I am out and about wandering city streets at night where sheeple-friendliness, discretion, weight and specialized purpose are more important to me, I will carry a trio more like this.
We are about five years away from the 200th anniversary of the birth of George Washington Sears, and it seems he took Mr. Franklin's advice to heart for he is still very well remembered today. I know we have the "Trio Thursday" thread that Nathan started, but that has evolved into more of a wonderful display of trios of Fiddleback Forge Knives. I am curious if any of you have stories of when and how the teachings and philosophies of Mr. Sears may have impacted your life?
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