Well...it took a lot longer than I expected....

[Mistwalker]

But I finally have the Bushcrafter Jr. I wanted, and I am extremely happy with it.

Bad phone pics for now, better pics to come later when mother nature is a little more cooperative.

It is perfect Kris, thank you!

That fire steel is made by our pal swonut, who does awesome work. I've bought several. They look great and they throw awesome sparks!

 

[Roemer1]

Very nice Mist! Looks to have been worth the wait.

 

[schmittie]

That one is sure purty! This is a model that is definitely on my radar.

Congrats on the beautiful acquisition.

 

[FeralGentleman]

Love it, that entire setup is awesome

 

[Uncle_P]

I think we all know where you'll be very soon. Nice setup Mist. Great looking knife brother.

 

[Mistwalker]

Very nice Mist! Looks to have been worth the wait.

Yeah, as much as I hate to admit it, it actually was worth the wait on multiple levels. I started asking Andy to make this particular model almost two years ago because I wanted it for class instruction with younger students. I found it hilarious that he didn't think it would sell well enough to be worth making the new model. In my experiences smaller knives are less distracting to the younger crowd and they pay more attention to the lesson being taught. And his Bushcrafter was originally designed from his perspective as an Eagle Scout.

So on one hand yes it was definitely worth the wait to have one made like this after he had a chance to make several of them and tweak it the way he wanted it. It was also worth the wait because the fact that they moved so fast that it took me this many months to get one is a form of vindication I was pretty sure I wouldn't be the only person to like this model.

That one is sure purty! This is a model that is definitely on my radar.

Congrats on the beautiful acquisition.

Thanks Scmittie, this one couldn't be more perfect for me.

Love it, that entire setup is awesome

Thanks, yes this is how I have the knives set up that I use in class instruction, it just keeps the most important things handy.

I think we all know where you'll be very soon. Nice setup Mist. Great looking knife brother.

Oh, it is summer in my rain forest, you can count on seeing some colorful posts coming up very soon

 

[prom52]

She's definitely a beauty Brian and well worth the wait. We'll be looking forward to you putting her to work and capturing the moments as only you can do in the wild. Congrats to both you and Kris for connecting the dots on a very nice pair.

 

[xxwjtxx]

Congrats Brian, I'm digging both the knife and the rig (who made it if you don't mind me asking ).

Enjoy it in good health my friend :thumbup:

 

[Dman3d]

Great pair, love that sheath rig.

 

[icybluesmile]

Huge fan of that whole set up!

 

[swonut]

Might look better with this firesteel, just saying...

African Blackwood for the spacer. I still need to drill a lanyard hole, but I was covered in epoxy after glueing these up and wanted to call it a night.

 

[Mistwalker]

She's definitely a beauty Brian and well worth the wait. We'll be looking forward to you putting her to work and capturing the moments as only you can do in the wild. Congrats to both you and Kris for connecting the dots on a very nice pair.

She is indeed Peter! Kris will never know just how gad I am he contacted me about snagging the cornflower blue one for him. This one is just what I wanted.

Congrats Brian, I'm digging both the knife and the rig (who made it if you don't mind me asking ).

Enjoy it in good health my friend :thumbup:

Great pair, love that sheath rig.

Huge fan of that whole set up!

Thanks guys. The answer to your question Will is a little long winded...sorry...

As I said in another post somewhere ^^ up above, I originally asked Andy to make a more youth friendly sized version of the Bushcrafter about a year and a half or so ago. I had a pretty involved project in mind and I wanted a pair of them for my partner and myself for class instruction. But Andy wasn't sure how well it would go over. I kept bugging him about it, and then when he decided to release a few new smaller models it was one of them, so I set about trying to land a couple. As it turned out, with my timeline closing in on me, and things being pretty hectic at FF with the upcoming move and the mid-tech line, there were just too many irons in the fire to make that happen. Time was bearing down on me, so I turned to a knife maker who does my favorite heat treat with CPM S35VN and had a few knives made that have similar dimensions but are a different style. They don't have the same sexappeal as Andy's knives, but they are very well made, very comfortable, and very durable. These are an upgraded version of his sheaths. They work well with the supplies he sends with them, and the Hiking Buddy and Bushcrafter Jr will both fit them, though the BC Jr fits a little better.

Ed was willing to make a couple for me for my Fiddlebacks if I sent the knives to him, but he didn't have time to make a lot of them. Plus I wanted to find someone to make them specific to Fiddleback models, and without the holes in the pouch for the ability to store smaller items (ever seen those tiny emergency compasses about the size of a BB?) Bud saw the set up in my facebook pics, and he liked it too. So he made up an improved modular sheath system inspired by this set up, and is configuring it to different Fiddleback models. It is a great looking sheath sytem I think, and I hope to land one soon. Bud does gorgeous work!

 

[Mistwalker]

Might look better with this firesteel, just saying...

African Blackwood for the spacer. I still need to drill a lanyard hole, but I was covered in epoxy after glueing these up and wanted to call it a night.

Oh yes!! That lookswesome Blaine!

 

[Mistwalker]

I edited this in to the first post, but just to make sure others see it too...if you aren't familiar with Suffolk Metal Works, our pal Blaine (swonut) does beautiful work and they throw awesome sparks!

 

[Mistwalker]

I know...it's a crappy pic, but severe storms, flash flooding, and falling trees are keeping me at home today. It's ok though, plenty of work to do in the kitchen...

These are three of my favorite knife designs ever, for different reasons. The Bushboot is one I love for edc in an urban environment. It has a great profile for both utilitarian uses, and other intents if needs be. The Hiking Buddy I like for the reasons its name implies. It has a great size, shape, and weight for day hikes in state parks and what have you, it handles all the cutting chores I every run across on hikes, and paired with an axe or larger chopping tool it makes a very capable team of tools. The reason I wanted Andy to make the smaller version of his Bushcrafter was for a knife I could work hard in the field and instruction but in a smaller package than a full sized Bushcraft knife. The taller handle offers better leverage and better control in power cuts and in long term use in detail cutting which translates into less wrist fatigue for me when using the knife for skills instruction. The taller blade offers more overall durability in uses such as batonning and the power cutting when doing rough shaping of wooden tools and utensils, and well as a deeper penetration when truncating. I have a better series of photos planned later, when nature is more cooperative, but from what little I have done so far, man Andy nailed this one perfectly as far as I am concerned.