Love for the Leuku(?)

xxwjtxx

xxwjtxx

Joined
Dec 13, 2013
Messages
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Hey all,
I just wanted to get the group's opinion on the leuku, and I'm interested to hear of any feedback (good/bad/otherwise) from folks regarding the profile! I've been enjoying mine for the past few weeks all over the place -- from kitchen duty, to some light wood work, and trailside carry. I'm quite happy with the design overall as it performs like a true workhorse in 5/32 SFT; I'm holding my breath for a 1/8 TT version, but I don't know if there's enough IPA in the world for Andy to make one (hint hint) ;). On a positive note, the leuku is tied neck and neck with my big sneaky for being the "one-and-done" big(ger) fiddleback solution.

Anyways, I'd be interested in hearing some of your opinions on the design and any experience you've had with it in real world use. As always, without pics, this thread is useless! So here's a few quickies of my leuku and his little brother the recluse.

IMG_20140708_175152_zpsb544aa14.jpg

IMG_20140708_175218_zpsfac7ab6d.jpg
 
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Will,

I love it and I don't even have one yet. It's in the Green in my spreadsheet (one of 3 on the next to get list when funds and available knives occur at the same time which is about as often as an eclipse lately).

I like the traditional look of it. Very classic and classy. I dream of one with a hugely fat handle and scandi grind with amazing spalting.

Hopefully some day I can add the real world usage info you're asking for.
 
Put me in the category of those who don't have one but want one bad. There's so much about it that just flat makes sense. I definitely want to get my hands on one some day.

I'm not sure we fanboys are of much help here though. Steve just got that one from Tha Baron off the market. Who else has one and might be using it? There haven't been too many made. Any of you statistics people got a total number of those in existence?


Michael
 
Love my Leuku!
It is a Recluse on steroids. With my big mitts it fits great. The blade shape is easy for me to keep scary sharp and lends itself to many uses.
Combine a Leuku and a Hiking Buddy and your good to go for a most things.
image.jpg
 
I'd love to try one. Synthetic, 5/32, TT...just haven't seen one floating around.
 
For the benefit of any new folks reading this thread, the Leuku is a new model that was just introduced in March 2014. It is essentially a Recluse with a longer 5” blade. Will’s Ruby burlap knife was the first one made and I was the original owner. I posted a review of that knife here:

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/1170951-Leuku-Review?highlight=Leuku


Here is a photo of my complete collection at that end of March when the Leuku was the new kid on the block. (Looking at that photo now, I realize that I still have only five of those eleven knives :eek: )




I don’t know exactly how many Leuku’s have been made so far. My guess is seven or eight. I haven’t seen any user pictures of the rest of them yet.

Here are a couple of photos of my 5/32” O1 tapered tang Emerald burlap Leuku. I have not used it yet because I have been blessed with the problem of acquiring several other new models lately that I need to evaluate first. My experience with the first one has already convinced me that this model is a versatile all-around knife with a classic look. This one is a keeper.








Here it is with some of the other bigger knives:

(Top to bottom: Camp, Duke, Big Sneaky, Camp Nessie, & Leuku)





Phil
 
I'm going to chime in on this one. The Leuku is really getting under my skin. When you hold it, you almost want to follow it outside. I love this model, and you can expect to see more of it.

AND, since we've lately had success with re-sizing models, and thats exactly what the Leuku is (a re-sized Recluse), we're going to do it again. This week you will see the new Hiking Buddy sized recluse-bodied knife.
 
Fiddleback said:
I'm going to chime in on this one. The Leuku is really getting under my skin. When you hold it, you almost want to follow it outside. I love this model, and you can expect to see more of it.

AND, since we've lately had success with re-sizing models, and thats exactly what the Leuku is (a re-sized Recluse), we're going to do it again. This week you will see the new Hiking Buddy sized recluse-bodied knife.
Click to expand...

Wow stop the presses!
That sounds superb.
 
Very interesting indeed. Really like the idea of resizing various models of FF knives. But will the new model be listed as a Hiking Buddy or a Recluse?
 
It will be a seperately named new model. I've not figured the name out yet though.
 
Fiddleback said:
I'm going to chime in on this one. The Leuku is really getting under my skin. When you hold it, you almost want to follow it outside. I love this model, and you can expect to see more of it.

AND, since we've lately had success with re-sizing models, and thats exactly what the Leuku is (a re-sized Recluse), we're going to do it again. This week you will see the new Hiking Buddy sized recluse-bodied knife.
Click to expand...

That sounds like a great idea Andy. I think that knife will be very popular. You can count on me to buy a "Hiking Puukko" or whatever you call it when I see one with Shadetree burlap and tapered tang 1/8" O1. Shark alert! :)

Phil
 
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I'd love to see more drop point variants from FF.

A pico puuko sounds like a winner!
 
I seriously considered pulling the trigger on the Leuku that the Baron had on the flea market. I love the Recluse, and it sees more weekend use in the woods than any other Fiddleback model that I own. I think that a 5" variant is just what the Dr. ordered.
 
I'm really digging the Leuku myself (just find it to be a very handsome knife), though lately I've been on a smaller knife kick, so anything over 4" blade is something I've been abstaining from. I really love the handle on my recluse, I find it to be very versatile in many different grips, partly because the circumference of the handle is more round than those of other FBs I have.

Just fantasizing here, but for the smaller version of the recluse, you could call it hikikomori, which is essentially someone who avoids social contact in Japanese, and modify the look of the spalting to look like a damascus steel :rolleyes:
 
Thanks for the continuing insight and feedback everyone -- it seems like many of you are of the same mind as myself with regard to the profile. To add a bit more color to my previous observations, I wanted to cover a few more things:

- The Leuku in 5/32" SFT is STOUT. I swear that it almost feels beefier than my other 5/32" SFT >5" knives... It is a very confidence inspiring knife

- Zeroing and polishing the convex (just my preference) affords a phenomenal razor edge, with a lot of steel behind it. Now, I'm not a scandi guy, but IMO, the leuku would be pretty BAD with a mid-height scandi or "scandi-vex" hybrid grind!

- It seems like a tapered tang might make the knife more neutrally balanced; I'm interested in either testing or procuring another leuku with a TT, to see if the variation would greatly change the personality of the profile, but I doubt it would (I think you're on to something with the emerald one Phil:thumbup:)...

- As previously mentioned, I would also probably give my eye teeth for a 1/8" TT leuku; both this profile and the recluse are just slicing machines! Where one might sacrifice a little durability (in the way of batoning or rough use), I'm pretty certain that a 1/8" leuku would function similar to a 5" lightsaber ;)

- As previously mentioned, the leuku is the only other contender in my collection (aside from the BS) that fulfills the "...if I had to sell all of my other FBs tomorrow.." test, in that it has a little bit of everything; point, belly, ample length, a comfy handle, and reasonable balance. For me, a 5" fixed blade makes a lot of sense; especially with vast diversity of solid folders on the market, the jump to a >5" fixed blade profile for all things bush/woods related can be justified (again IMO).

So, with this being said, I plan on updating this thread throughout the summer as a long-term evaluation. If anyone has any specific questions, feel free to post them here, and I'll try to respond per your request.

cheers
 
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Fiddleback said:
AND, since we've lately had success with re-sizing models, and thats exactly what the Leuku is (a re-sized Recluse), we're going to do it again. This week you will see the new Hiking Buddy sized recluse-bodied knife.
Click to expand...

Are you planning to do any runs as a matching set? because that sounds like a fantastic set of steak knives.
 
Wow, those Leuku's are really good looking. I've always liked the Recluse model, this one sure takes it up a notch. ~5" blades are my favorite size for woods bumming.
 
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