You collect knives and you don't have a Douk-Douk?!? Story, facts, fun, adventure!

I love Douk Douks I've had a couple of them and am quite partial to the one with the Squirrel handle and more leaf shaped blade. All in all the Douk Douks are a bit rough but I like them and their very positive spring. They are among the few slip joint knives I'd consider for heavier work.
 
You all are killing me. I looked at one of these last week and didn't add it to the cart. Now I guess I can put it back on the wish list haha
 
Wow, this thing is cool...

I'll post my impressions (so far) here (I've had it for a while now).

Got it and was excited by the nice handwriting on the package, opened it up and there was my Douk-Douk, wrapped in a J-cloth (one of those little disposable cloths you keep under the sink). It was covered in some kind of oil which I wiped off.

The point was dull, the backspring was really strong, and fit and finish were non-existent. :D I liked that. For example, there were large imperfections I could see on the backspring, and the top of the blade looked like it had been stuck on a bench grinder to create the Turkish clip. The point was also really dull, and it wasn't very sharp at all.

Anyways despite being "not very sharp", the blade geometry let me cut things just fine. I sharpened it up until it easily shaved hair and cut newsprint, which is sharp enough for me. Then I went about fixing the point... basically, I brought the grind up a little bit and created a little sharpened swedge right on the very top end of the blade. Now it actually can poke things, which is useful.

My only complaint about the design is that it is very difficult to open if your hands are wet. It's light, strong and cuts well. I used it for food preparation and it is developing a nice patina. I decided this will be a knife I won't hesitate to use for anything, since I feel it gives it more character.
 
The fit is there--the finish isn't. They're consistently well-ground, centered, and tensioned. But the spine is left as-stamped and the point is rounded a bit so if you need a fine one a chainsaw file is your best friend. :)
 
FortyTwoBlades said:
The fit is there--the finish isn't. They're consistently well-ground, centered, and tensioned. But the spine is left as-stamped and the point is rounded a bit so if you need a fine one a chainsaw file is your best friend. :)
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Haha, yes, it is quite a sturdy little fellow, and the centering is near-perfect!
 
I need to try experimenting on one to see if I can use my 1x42" belt sander to put a fine tip on them that clip point is just very tight. If it's doable I'll add the Special Grade option to them.
 
Mine came with a terribly rounded tip as well. I just ground it sharp on one of my Spyderco Coarse Diamond rods(for the Sharpmaker), using that little groove that they have on one side. Took about 5 minutes and the result is perfect:)
 
Anyone got the thickness comparisons of the large and the small one? I'd like to buy the small one for edc as the blade fits the right length criteria but I'd like to know how thick it is aswell. :)
 
The small is 2.5mm blade thickness, the large 3.0mm, so it's probably about 5/6 of the thickness.
 
Just to answer three questions that came up in the thread. First : a Douk-Douk is made by Cognet. Exclusively. Second : the silly etching ? I agree, it spoils the blade, but don't worry it will disappear very quickly, eaten up by the patina. Third : the "rounded" point ? Thanks to the turkish clip, this point is very penetrating. By making it pointier it will only become more fragile. Remember, it's a (relatively) thin flat ground blade. Fourth (not asked), my opinion : this is probably the best AND cheapest knife ever made (the Opinel could beat it only because it has a lock). I'm amazed everytime by the very tight fit and the uber-strong spring of every unit I bought. That's a knife ! I could rant on and on about the excellent steel (1075), the light weight, the flat design that you forget in the pocket, but you know all that. The smallest model fits in my coin purse... and it sports a full grown razor sharp 2" 3/4 blade ! Hard to beat.
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I'd be interested if they had a pocket clip, a thumb stud or thumb plate, and most importantly, a strong lock.
 
Then, it would be a Cold Steel... a Pocket Bushman perhaps. But that's another story.
 
Samon said:
Wow. Perfect way to ruin this knife. ;)
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I don't quite understand how improving the function and convenience of a knife is "ruining" it - but then, I primarily see knives as tools to be used, and it's my understanding that not everyone on BF views them the way I do.
 
The Douk Douk isn't your garden variety slip joint, I have no concerns it's going to fold on me when I am using it. It's got a seriously strong spring, so strong in fact I've had experienced knife users say things like, "that's too hard to open and close". IMO it truly doesn't need a lock. If I could change one thing it would be to put some texture on the handle, knurling etc. This is an extremely sturdy, inexpensive knife in a great steel that is super affordable, love it.
 
Kwon Kwang said:
I don't quite understand how improving the function and convenience of a knife is "ruining" it - but then, I primarily see knives as tools to be used, and it's my understanding that not everyone on BF views them the way I do.
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I don' t even know if a thumbstud/plate would work. The spring is so incredibly strong on mine, even after a year of owning and playing with it, that I think it could actually be quite dangerous to use something like that. Imagine your thumb slipping off of it, and having that spring fold on your fingers.
 
crom said:
The Douk Douk isn't your garden variety slip joint, I have no concerns it's going to fold on me when I am using it. It's got a seriously strong spring, so strong in fact I've had experienced knife users say things like, "that's too hard to open and close". IMO it truly doesn't need a lock. If I could change one thing it would be to put some texture on the handle, knurling etc. This is an extremely sturdy, inexpensive knife in a great steel that is super affordable, love it.
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i think the majority who complain about this knife for the non-locking system doesn't actually tried it.
 
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