Yeah, mine was a Hiking Buddy Friday :)

Mistwalker

Gold Member
Joined
Dec 22, 2007
Messages
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This was a Fiddleback Friday I had been looking forward to since Blade :) It's a good feeling when your knife making friends have gotten to know you so well that all you have to tell them is the size and shape, and they nail your needs and your personality spot on! Hiking Buddy, 5/32, SFT tang, full height grind, and what looks like antique canvas with lime green pin stripes. These guys just never cease to amaze me.

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Looks like I will have plenty of spikey tinder material this cold season.

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Beautiful knife Brian -- congrats!!! I believe it was exactly what you had been asking for, for a very long time!
 
Beautiful knife Brian -- congrats!!! I believe it was exactly what you had been asking for, for a very long time!

Thanks! Yes, but as ever, it was well worth the wait! After spending some time talking to my (now) editor Karen Hood at Blade, she asked me to do an article for SQ on a subject I had spoken with her about. It is approached from a day-hike perspective. Afterward I went straight to Ken, as Andy was busy at the time, and told him what I needed. They couldn't have nailed it any better.
 
Mist:

Just what the doctor ordered......that's a beauty Mist. Enjoy the heck out of it and keep us posted. Isn't it amazing how the universe will somehow find a way to give us what we need ?

Peter
 
Mist:

Just what the doctor ordered......that's a beauty Mist. Enjoy the heck out of it and keep us posted. Isn't it amazing how the universe will somehow find a way to give us what we need ?

Peter

Yes, and oh I shall :) It is Peter, and I've known that for a long time. Yet the older I get, the more acutely aware of it I become.

Brian
 
New boss, new knife, and a new story to share. :thumbup: Can't wait to hear more!
 
That looks great Brian. The antique micarta and lime pinstripe look really sharp together. 5/32" SFT is stout for a Hiking Buddy, but with that high grind it should be a good slicer.

Andy and Ken are good people. I am glad that they hooked you up with just what you wanted.

Congratulations. Looking forward to more of your exceptional photos of this one.

Phil
 
I know that the long search for this very special knife is over. After you are done working with it, you can start teaching your youngest daughter with it. Congratulations mist.
 
Awesome Buddy, buddy! 😉 All that good karma you've passed around is coming back to you.


Michael
 
Nice bro!!!! I love the micarta on that one.


So how is the preparations going for this winter?? I have about a quarter cord of white oak left over from last season. It is definitely time to start growing the wood pile. I heard someone say the farmers almanac is predicting the first snow in October this year..... :(
 
Nice bro!!!! I love the micarta on that one.


So how is the preparations going for this winter?? I have about a quarter cord of white oak left over from last season. It is definitely time to start growing the wood pile. I heard someone say the farmers almanac is predicting the first snow in October this year..... :(

Oh crap. I need to bring in about 3-4 more trees. Then I better get to splitting.
 
Nice HB Brian I really like the combination of the lime pinstripe over the black it really makes the scales on a knife look great.

Mick
 
Nice blade man. There's something about a lime green pinstripe.... It makes the blade really pop!

How do you like 5/32" for that size of blade? I'm getting real picky in my old age. 1/8" is as thick as I care to go now.
 
Love that combination antique micarta and lime!
I think it's a sign to hand this down to the newly little one! :)
 
That looks great Brian. The antique micarta and lime pinstripe look really sharp together. 5/32" SFT is stout for a Hiking Buddy, but with that high grind it should be a good slicer.

Andy and Ken are good people. I am glad that they hooked you up with just what you wanted.

Congratulations. Looking forward to more of your exceptional photos of this one.

Phil

Thanks Phil, I think so too man. I have always liked the look of this handle material in the FF posts, and at Blade, but I had never gotten to see it in natural light. With this grind it will be fine for me.

Yes they are. I had no doubts they would hit the mark, but man this is even better than I hoped. I'm really looking forward to getting it out in the woods :)


I know that the long search for this very special knife is over. After you are done working with it, you can start teaching your youngest daughter with it. Congratulations mist.

Yeah, I was going back and fort in my mind...TT, SFT, TT, SFT. In the end, the SFT is perfect in feel for me. Oh yeah. Andy and I have already discussed her Hiking Buddy. I'm not sure when he will find it, but I told him I want her's to be SFT 1/8 in some sort of pink or purple girly color so no boyfriend will want to run off with it in the future. When one actually makes the cut, I'll get him his own :)


Awesome Buddy, buddy! �� All that good karma you've passed around is coming back to you.


Michael


Thanks Michael, I'd like to think I keep my karma in good shape.


Nice bro!!!! I love the micarta on that one.


So how is the preparations going for this winter?? I have about a quarter cord of white oak left over from last season. It is definitely time to start growing the wood pile. I heard someone say the farmers almanac is predicting the first snow in October this year..... :(

Yeah, I think so too, and me too :D

Actually, no preps at all as of yet, been too busy trying to catch up since spring finally arrived. I have plans yet to implement... Eh what not right? The first snow last year was on Thanksgiving day, and I didn't see my yard again till mid March. The snow fall wasn't near as much of an issue as the prevalence of the -30 something wind chills.


Nice HB Brian I really like the combination of the lime pinstripe over the black it really makes the scales on a knife look great.

Mick


Thank Mick. I really like this combo too. They know my fondness for earth tones and have an uncanny knack for putting together awesome handle configs I'd never think of. I love the way the colors pop on this one.


Nice blade man. There's something about a lime green pinstripe.... It makes the blade really pop!

How do you like 5/32" for that size of blade? I'm getting real picky in my old age. 1/8" is as thick as I care to go now.


Yeah, the lime green is definitely one of my favs.

I'm the odd man out there, and I know it. But I think that stems from I don't just use my knives as knives, Ones I like I have on me a lot. The ones I have on me are the ones that get used for instructional purposes, and I can be a bit rough on them. I tend to like 5/32 up to about a 4.5 to five inch blade, and after that I like to jump up to 3/16. I couldn't be happier with this one, I think with this grind it will handle anything I ever want to do. We'll get to see as I go about the business of dulling the blade with a patina before the article :D
 
Hey mist, I wanted to comment on yours and JD's thoughts on blade thickness. As you know, I also have been a fan of Carter Cutlery. As a result, I have several of his kitchen knives. My thoughts are that in the kitchen, I have gotten really used to the very thin blades the Murray makes. On the rare occasion when I am helping out in somebody else's kitchen, and there is not a sharp knife to be had, I will pull out one of my Fiddlebacks and use it for food prep. Honestly, I think that even 1/8" blades are too thick for my liking when it comes to food preparation. When using my Fiddlebacks in the woods, I feel that the 1/8" blade is sometimes too fragile for my liking. I have never broken an 1/8" blade, but I just do not have the confidence in it when hard use is called for. I own many examples of 4" knives that are 1/8", but if I am in a situation where I only have one knife, and my life will be depending on this knife as my only tool, I agree 100% with your thickness guidlines.
 
I have no issues with 1/8 in the kitchen as long as it isn't a scandi. Higher grinds on 1/8 are fine for me, but then I am good with a high grind on 5/32 in the kitchen. My Woodsman is 5/32 full height and I can slice onions and potatoes and tomatoes into 1/16 slices, which is thin enough for me, but that may be just my earlier experiences. When I was a prep cook the knives I was given were just over 1/8" thick and I did all with them.
 
That looks a lot like my OD Green Runt!

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Nice HB. Maybe someday . . . looks like a great all around blade.
 
Hey mist, I wanted to comment on yours and JD's thoughts on blade thickness. As you know, I also have been a fan of Carter Cutlery. As a result, I have several of his kitchen knives. My thoughts are that in the kitchen, I have gotten really used to the very thin blades the Murray makes. On the rare occasion when I am helping out in somebody else's kitchen, and there is not a sharp knife to be had, I will pull out one of my Fiddlebacks and use it for food prep. Honestly, I think that even 1/8" blades are too thick for my liking when it comes to food preparation. When using my Fiddlebacks in the woods, I feel that the 1/8" blade is sometimes too fragile for my liking. I have never broken an 1/8" blade, but I just do not have the confidence in it when hard use is called for. I own many examples of 4" knives that are 1/8", but if I am in a situation where I only have one knife, and my life will be depending on this knife as my only tool, I agree 100% with your thickness guidlines.

I guess it really boils down to what you choose to use your blades for. 1/8" is all I need at home and in the field, but I don't baton, pry or put a whole lot of stress on my blades. "They makes cheap ugly tools for that." If I did do those things, I'd probably prefer 5/32" if not thicker.
 
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