Arete or KE Bushie

Rufus Magnus

Rufus Magnus

Joined
Nov 8, 2019
Messages
299
I've been looking at these two models for several weeks. I'd appreciate getting some opinions to help me make up my mind. Thanks!
 
I like both for carving and whittling and stuff. But even though I prefer the pointier tipped blade of the KEB blade profile wise, I actually prefer the Arete overall. For the security of purchase in tip and push work because of the integral guard. And the flaring of the forward end of the handle which also helps with sheath retention in my experiences. Where the KEB essentially tapers like a spike from pommel to point.
 
Thanks for your comment..., makes a lot of good sense to me since I consider myself as non collector and rather a lite user selective buyer.
 
Rufus Magnus said:
Thanks for your comment..., makes a lot of good sense to me since I consider myself as non collector and rather a lite user selective buyer.
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Same here. I don't really collect anything... but things I like do tend to accumulate sometimes... when I can afford it... :)

I spent about a week working with a KE Bushie in a frozen waste (-14F for the day time high) in central Michigan on multiple photo-literary projects back in the crazy winter of 2013/14. I really wanted to love the KEB, because of the blade profile, over the Bushcrafter's more rounded less pointy tip. And back in my Tennessee rainforest the spike-like profile had been less problematic for me and I had chosen to error on the side of the pointy blade. I like pointy...what can I say... But when wearing heavy gloves when working the knife hard it kept working it's way rearward in my hand, which pushed my forefinger closer and closer to the edge. I was never injured because I never let my hand slide that far. I paid special attention once I noticed it happening, and plus I was wearing heavy gloves which did cut a little cut once. But that did make my decision for me, and I traded the KEB for a Bushcrafter in tapered 3\16 to finish the projects with.

Then I later settled on Andy's Kephart for that kind of work in general after other experiments. Even though I prefer the pommels of the BC, KEB, and Arete over the Kephart, the rest of the Kephart ticks every other box for me in a working knife. And I used a Kephart in a series of projects on primitive living and bushcrafting. Knives, like life, are basically a series of tradeoffs to get to what works best for most of our needs... Your mileage may vary completely based on style of use and environmental conditions, but these were my experiences in some pretty serious situations.
 
Rufus Magnus said:
Thanks for your comment..., makes a lot of good sense to me since I consider myself as non collector and rather a lite user selective buyer.
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If you are interested
I have a KE Bushie for sale here somewhere in the flea market. It needs to be used and not become part of a collection..which it is now. I’ll definitely mark it down if your interested
 
Rufus Magnus said:
I've been looking at these two models for several weeks. I'd appreciate getting some opinions to help me make up my mind. Thanks!
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Quite honestly, this is an internal debate I've had with myself for years, and I still don't have a definitive answer. So, let me just share some comparison pics. In each set, KE Bushie is on the left and Arete on the right. In the specimens I own, the KEB's handle does flare out just before the blade; it's more pronounced on the Arete, but most of my Fiddlebacks have this.

50507719717_602b32c6dc_o.jpg
 
I'm definitely not hating on the KEB, I am sure I can think of a dozen or more well known knife models, just off the top of my head, that I'd choose the KEB over for Bushcrafting. I've spent hundreds of hours with one in my hands and not complaining the vast majority of the time. And having tested a lot of knives ober the years that's something I can't say about many knife models. There are just other Fiddlebacks I personally prefer after using most of them if Im given the option. In the early days the Arete wasn't an option yet, and I preferred the Bushcrafter when wearing heavy gloves later on.

My apologies for the big Photo Bucket water marked pics. I lost the log in info for these accounts long ago and never switched these threads over to my Fotki account.

This is a review of a scandi KEB I did almost 10 years ago. And yes it does flare a little at the hilt end, I just like a bit more for sheath retention and the Arete has a bit more.

https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/new-scandi-from-fiddleback-forge.834134/

This is a thread I put together on the toughness and versatility of the 1/8 O1 using the KEB I had in Michigan. It had less forward flare, and still really wasn't an issue with bare hands. It was a later project in brutal temps when I had to wear the heavy gloves when I ran into issues.

https://www.bladeforums.com/threads...-with-convex-grind-photos-discussion.1166816/


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Great review of KEB ... Thanks again Mist :thumbsup:,Feels to me that for my limited daily use around the house,kitchen,yard and occasional venture to the NJ outdoor
both KEB & Arete will be great fun and maybe the Kephart is the better way to go for all around 4” blade!!;)
 
Fiddleback said:
Both are great bushcrafting knives. I think the pointy KE Bushie is my favorite of the two, but really, there isn't much difference.
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You made one KEB I really loved, the one-off guarded one that Will snatched up years ago.
 
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