Mistwalker
Gold Member
- Joined
- Dec 22, 2007
- Messages
- 19,035
I have been watching Chris' work develop since his first days at Fiddleback Forge. Last year we had a talk about testing one of his knives. So we talked about a knife I wanted for some upcoming projects this summer that would vary in environment from urban to woodland, and with any luck at all from temperate to subtropic. Since then we have talked several times about the knife, my intended uses and expectations, where and how I saw the knife being used, and the various ways I would be carrying it. The knife needed to be functional in various roles from making a peanut butter and jelly sandwich to processing an alligator if needs be. From cleaning my fingernails before re-entering the urban world to use in CQC in that urban world, and myriad pf other tasks that might come along in between. Over the last several months we discussed the pros and cons of various blade profiles and edge geometries as any such knife would be an exercise in putting the compromises in the right combination, in order to achieve optimum results in field use.
The knife arrived a few days ago. In fact it even arrived a day earlier than expected based on the tracking info, and seeing that information during a pre-bedtime email check, with the months-long anticipation at its peak, I actually drove to the PO at midnight to pick it up. Everything about the actual execution of the knife, steel type, steel thickness, grind height, blade geometry, handle configuration, and color scheme were all left to Chris' discretion. I told him what I needed, not what I wanted. As I sat there on the table at the parcel-packing-kiosk at the PO turning the knife in different ways in my hand, holding it in various grips, and picturing it in various uses and environments, some things became very clear. Our Mr. Linton is not only a talented knife maker who is very passionate about the tools he makes. His being well traveled, his having spent time in both very tranquil and very hostile environments, and his time spent with his nose buried in books on the history of knife making, knife designing, and their historical uses and results of said uses, give him a great deal of insight as to how to arrange the various aspects of a knife design to suit the uses it is intended for. Even when some of the descriptions are complex, abstract, and difficult to put into words.
These are just a few photos I took at the end of the day yesterday when the lighting was low, and then later on last night. There will be more on this one in the coming weeks and months.
The knife as it arrived. I really dig the lines and contours, the handle configuration is great for my needs, aesthetically pleasing and classy in both colors and the tang taper, yet discrete if that becomes a concern. The grind height gives me the right combination of cutting ability I need it to have combined with enough meat left in the spine to give me the lateral strength I want it to have. The blade profile and distal taper provide for good penetration while having enough strength to not be fragile The handle contours provide both hand comfort and a secure purchase, in all of the various grips and holds I commonly use. I think you nailed it very well Chris.
The specs are:
Overall .................8-5/8 inches
Blade length .........4-1/8 inches tip to handle scales
Bade steel ............CPM 154
Steel thickness ......0.176 inches
Handle materials....Bead blasted black micarta with hunter orange pinstripes
For my needs on this one, the sheath will be somewhat complex. It will need to be not too bulky, and also be very versatile and offer various carry options. So I am making that myself. I have the design worked out in my head now, but the guys at RMJ had the kydex station pretty well occupied yesterday. Luckily my friend Jonathan, who is operations manager there, took pity on me and threw a quick sheath together for me so I could at least carry the knife out and about without it ending up stuck in my femoral artery or something
I have a few small maple limbs that have been riding around in the back of my truck, curing in the sun on the black bed liner for the last couple of months, leftovers from another project. So as I was propped on the side of my truck yesterday after work I decided to get a little more acquainted with the Apache. I find it to be a very user-friendly knife, very intuitive with great controlability. It feels very natural and organic in use.
I carried it with me as I walked through the art district area down town as I thought about a current urban survival project I m working on. Then I studied it more as I went through the photos on the camera from the day in the field, to delete some of the redundant ones that weren't quite what I was after. Then came that awkward moment when my urban-summertime-edc-pocket-dump-pic made me acutely aware of just how much I have been slacking on equipment maintenance the last several weeks, and made me decide that today should probably be taken as a maintenance day. I think there may just be enough dirt and pollen built up on my cameras that I could start a whole new temperate rain forest somewhere if I wanted to
The knife arrived a few days ago. In fact it even arrived a day earlier than expected based on the tracking info, and seeing that information during a pre-bedtime email check, with the months-long anticipation at its peak, I actually drove to the PO at midnight to pick it up. Everything about the actual execution of the knife, steel type, steel thickness, grind height, blade geometry, handle configuration, and color scheme were all left to Chris' discretion. I told him what I needed, not what I wanted. As I sat there on the table at the parcel-packing-kiosk at the PO turning the knife in different ways in my hand, holding it in various grips, and picturing it in various uses and environments, some things became very clear. Our Mr. Linton is not only a talented knife maker who is very passionate about the tools he makes. His being well traveled, his having spent time in both very tranquil and very hostile environments, and his time spent with his nose buried in books on the history of knife making, knife designing, and their historical uses and results of said uses, give him a great deal of insight as to how to arrange the various aspects of a knife design to suit the uses it is intended for. Even when some of the descriptions are complex, abstract, and difficult to put into words.
These are just a few photos I took at the end of the day yesterday when the lighting was low, and then later on last night. There will be more on this one in the coming weeks and months.
The knife as it arrived. I really dig the lines and contours, the handle configuration is great for my needs, aesthetically pleasing and classy in both colors and the tang taper, yet discrete if that becomes a concern. The grind height gives me the right combination of cutting ability I need it to have combined with enough meat left in the spine to give me the lateral strength I want it to have. The blade profile and distal taper provide for good penetration while having enough strength to not be fragile The handle contours provide both hand comfort and a secure purchase, in all of the various grips and holds I commonly use. I think you nailed it very well Chris.
The specs are:
Overall .................8-5/8 inches
Blade length .........4-1/8 inches tip to handle scales
Bade steel ............CPM 154
Steel thickness ......0.176 inches
Handle materials....Bead blasted black micarta with hunter orange pinstripes





For my needs on this one, the sheath will be somewhat complex. It will need to be not too bulky, and also be very versatile and offer various carry options. So I am making that myself. I have the design worked out in my head now, but the guys at RMJ had the kydex station pretty well occupied yesterday. Luckily my friend Jonathan, who is operations manager there, took pity on me and threw a quick sheath together for me so I could at least carry the knife out and about without it ending up stuck in my femoral artery or something


I have a few small maple limbs that have been riding around in the back of my truck, curing in the sun on the black bed liner for the last couple of months, leftovers from another project. So as I was propped on the side of my truck yesterday after work I decided to get a little more acquainted with the Apache. I find it to be a very user-friendly knife, very intuitive with great controlability. It feels very natural and organic in use.










I carried it with me as I walked through the art district area down town as I thought about a current urban survival project I m working on. Then I studied it more as I went through the photos on the camera from the day in the field, to delete some of the redundant ones that weren't quite what I was after. Then came that awkward moment when my urban-summertime-edc-pocket-dump-pic made me acutely aware of just how much I have been slacking on equipment maintenance the last several weeks, and made me decide that today should probably be taken as a maintenance day. I think there may just be enough dirt and pollen built up on my cameras that I could start a whole new temperate rain forest somewhere if I wanted to


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