HWF....what a guy!....Bushfinger, Kephart and Recluse content....(PIC HEAVY)

[TPVT]

HWF was kind enough to loan me his Bushfinger, Kephart and Recluse for me to try out. he was probably tired of me posting, "Which knife should i get?" questions. I mean, who does that??....so cool....Thanks Hugh!

this spot is just less than a mile from my house. so, it's not exactly remote, but it's perfect for an evening walk to make a quick escape and feel like your miles away.

here is the view from the bridge downriver. about half the rock you are seeing was covered up 2-3 weeks ago, during the winter runoff. (EDIT: wow. crappy pic. sorry.)

and, this is why. this is the view from the other side of the bridge. this is a fully operational hydro dam that is owned by the local electric company.

i brought the Recluse, Kephart and Bushfinger with me. And, i brought a few of mine for comparison purposes. Here is the crew.

Heading downriver.

Came across this lean-to.

yup.

found a piece of driftwood and decided to baton through it to get a section to make a spoon. why not?

you can see this wood is not exactly straight-grained. had a good knot in it too. i did not go through the center of it with the 3 Hugh gave me. i did not want to beat on them too much, as they were not mine.

i also used the Kephart to baton a side off. i cannot seem to find the pic of that one. i did not use the recluse for this test, as i am pretty well convinced my choice is between the BF and the kephart.

here is one of the kephart ... i whacked it with the baton to give me a clean end.

pretty raw.

action shots.

it's not done, but i was losing light.

you will notice that the pics ended up being of the kephart. that was not an accident.

i have to say that i found out pretty quick that for this woodcarving task, i preferred the Kephart. it was truly a joy to use. i think i prefer the full tang for this job, though i don't know because i don't have one in tapered. the BF was tapered (as was the recluse).

i may be in the minority, but i really liked the extra weight and the balance on the full tanged kephart (compared to the BF). and, the blade geometry was just about perfect, if you ask me.

(i know no one did, but what can i say, it's a forum! )

thanks again Hugh.

 

[HWF]

Wow! Great pics Todd! That looks like a pretty sweet place to have close to home. Glad you are working them out and it was my pleasure to lend them to you. Beat on them as hard as you want (just don't break em')! I'm happy that I could help you out and (potentially) save you some money by buying one that wasn't "the one". Though we all know that doesn't happen with Fiddlebacks. :thumbup:

Enjoy them my friend! Now you can narrow your search!

Thanks again for the pics and taking us long. That is a cool spot. I could easily get lost there.

 

[TPVT]

Man, i was really whackin' the crap out of that bushfinger (that's the one i started with). Seriously. and, then i thought, "Oh wait a minute...." LOL. whoopsey daisy!

the wood got to be almost as thick as the blade length, so i thought better of really wailing on the tip. because, as you said, i didn't want to break it. i didn't think i would....it is good steel, after all. but, at the same time, i figured you would notice if it was missing a half inch off the tip.

and what you said. i sat there for a while carving. and, as you can see by the pics...by the end of it, that Kephart was always in my hand. that is something i never would have known just looking at pics.

good stuff buddy. :thumbup:

 

[Fiddleback]

Thats pretty cool my friend. Post these pics in the bushcraft contest thread and be the first and only entrant. LOL.

While you may be in the minority on tapered tangs, you're not alone. I have them turned down by a few folks. They like the weight too.

 

[TPVT]

Thats pretty cool my friend. Post these pics in the bushcraft contest thread and be the first and only entrant. LOL.

While you may be in the minority on tapered tangs, you're not alone. I have them turned down by a few folks. They like the weight too.

Funny you say that....i actually started posting in that thread. but, that was not really my intent of posting, so i moved it to its own thread. maybe i'll post some of the spoon pics just to bump that thread up.

hopefully, i will have some time to do something else with these knives prior to shipping them back to Hugh. and, i can use that as a for-real entry.

 

[HWF]

Man, i was really whackin' the crap out of that bushfinger (that's the one i started with). Seriously. and, then i thought, "Oh wait a minute...." LOL. whoopsey daisy!

the wood got to be almost as thick as the blade length, so i thought better of really wailing on the tip. because, as you said, i didn't want to break it. i didn't think i would....it is good steel, after all. but, at the same time, i figured you would notice if it was missing a half inch off the tip.

and what you said. i sat there for a while carving. and, as you can see by the pics...by the end of it, that Kephart was always in my hand. that is something i never would have known just looking at pics.

good stuff buddy. :thumbup:

I'm so glad you are getting what you needed out of them. :thumbup:

Funny you say that about the tang too. By looks, the taper is the cat's meow. For me, when working long periods carving wood, I prefer the full tang. I still need to get my new tapered keppie out and use it hard, so that preference might change.

Nice looking spoon you got there! Me likes the curved handle. :thumbup:

So far, for bushcraft, the Kephart has my heart. But there is just something about the Bushfinger that sings to me. I think this is part of Andy's master plan.....you will have no one favorite and buy them all!! *evil Andy laugh echos*

 

[TPVT]

I'm so glad you are getting what you needed out of them. :thumbup:

Funny you say that about the tang too. By looks, the taper is the cat's meow. For me, when working long periods carving wood, I prefer the full tang. I still need to get my new tapered keppie out and use it hard, so that preference might change.

Nice looking spoon you got there! Me likes the curved handle. :thumbup:

So far, for bushcraft, the Kephart has my heart. But there is just something about the Bushfinger that sings to me. I think this is part of Andy's master plan.....you will have no one favorite and buy them all!! *evil Andy laugh echos*

lol. too funny. :thumbup:

 

[Mistwalker]

Wow, that's really cool. Lot of sweet steel there. HWF is really cool for loaning them to you. Reminds me I need to return a knife or two myself.

I've been trying to figure out something to post in the bushcraft thread that wouldn't be too similar to pics of Fiddlebacks I have been taking for another project.

 

[avoidspam]

The bunnies are getting active around here. I can see one of them taking a starring role in by bushcraft entry very soon......

 

[TPVT]

The bunnies are getting active around here. I can see one of them taking a starring role in by bushcraft entry very soon......

nice! can't wait to see it!

 

[thurin]

That's pretty sweet. Really cool of HWF to send them and of TPVT to let us see the comparo.

I agree - it's all part of the master evil plan to get us to own at least one of each.