“I BELIEVE IN OPTIONS, AND WHEN A MAKER OFFERS UP A COMBO SET OF TOOLS MY EARS PERK UP.”
A true outdoorsman carries the correct tools for the job at hand. In terms of cutting tools, this may include a pocketknife, belt knife, and saw. Or, the outdoorsman could carry a chopping tool, a multitool, and a game-processing knife. I believe in options, and when a maker offers up a combo set of tools my ears perk up. I like to see what the combo contains and why the maker pairs one tool with another. Recently, Joey Berry, a graduate of the Fiddleback Forge apprentice program, released a knife and hatchet set I just had to take to the woods and put through an evaluation.
ABOUT THE MAKER
Understanding a maker’s background helps explain the “why” behind their designs. Joey Berry is a man with a unique background and set of skills that set him up for an excellent run as a knifemaker. Berry spent part of his life as a butcher, and if you’ve ever seen a butcher use a blade, you know they know how to handle a knife. They also know what works in terms of a knife design for slicing and separating tasks and how one should feel and function.
Berry also spent time in his previous life as a gunsmith, which taught him how to work with wood and steel. It seemed natural he would combine his past work experience along with his lifelong interest as an outdoorsman to follow a deeper path into knifemaking. Eventually, Berry sought out a mentor and found one in Andy Roy of Fiddleback Forge.
“After I made a few knives and started selling them pretty quickly, I decided to step my game up,” said Berry. “I went through the apprentice program with Andy Roy at Fiddleback Forge. I wanted to learn the techniques to speed up and improve my knifemaking and work more efficiently. After graduation from the Fiddleback Forge apprentice program, I stayed on as the shop foreman to manage shop operations.”
Berry went on to create JB Knifeworks and make a name for himself in the industry.
THE “LAYMAN” KNIFE
The word “layman” can be taken a couple different ways. It can mean “non-expert” or “unspecialized,” which sounds somewhat derogatory. Or, when applied to a knife, it can be viewed as “general purpose” and complementary in nature. Some knives easily give away their purpose by their contours, shape, and construction. Other knives are easily placed in a metaphorical box for tasks like filleting fish, chopping wood, or cutting rope. Knives such as the Layman are more difficult to define.
“I wanted this knife to be for the everyday knife user, the layman, not the butcher or the fisherman or the chef,” said Berry. “It still has a full height, very thin convex grind, and it’s in 8670. So, it’ll take anything you throw at it and keep asking for more.”
I fell in love with the non-descript design of this blade and the initial feel it has in hand. When I first picked up this knife, I didn’t conclude it was “unspecialized” but rather that it would work really well for so many different tasks in the great outdoors given the drop point blade and handle size. Given the practical-sized blade, handle, and overall length, this knife could be carried as an everyday carry piece and accompany the user unobtrusively. This knife lives in a world where terms such as “presentation grade” and “fancy” exist, but it can be found where “tough” and “rugged” also are used.
THE GAMBIT HATCHET
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TIP TALK
UNDERSTANDING THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN BLADE TIP SHAPES AND WHY IT MATTERS
HOLDING FIRM
GETTING A GRIP ON KNIFE HANDLE BENEFITS, MATERIALS, AND FUNCTIONALITY
EDGE UP
TIPS, TRICKS, AND TECHNIQUES TO SHARP WHEN ADVENTURING FAR FROM HOME
THE COMBAT KITCHEN
SLICE, DICE, CHOP, AND CUT: FOOD PREP WITH BLADES FROM POPULAR TACTICAL KNIFE COMPANIES
MORAKNIV Classics
THESE TIMELESS BUSHCRAFT KNIVES HAVE BEEN UPDATED AND ARE BETTER THAN EVER
ONE FOR THE ROAD
CHOOSING AN “EVERYWHERE KNIFE” CAN BE DIFFICULT DUE TO COMPLICATED KNIFE LAWS
TRAVELING LIGHT
SOMETIMES, INEXPENSIVE UTILITY BLADES YOU PICK UP AT YOUR DESTINATION CAN GET THE JOB DONE
MATCHED PAIR
JB KNIFE WORKS LAYMAN KNIFE AND GAMBIT HATCHET COMBO: ONE PICKS UP WHERE THE OTHER LEAVES OFF
WHEN BIGGER IS BETTER
THE CAS IBERIA CHOP HOUSE IS A MACHETE THAT PROVIDES BIG BLADE CUTTING POWER
KITCHEN KNIVES DON'T HAVE TO BE DULL
I have a confession to make. See if this sounds familiar. I take meticulous care of the knives I use for everyday carry, hunting, and general woods wandering. I wipe them down with an oily cloth after use and I never let them get too dull. Seldom do I have to restore a damaged edge. Most of the time I simply touch up the edges of my pocketknives with a few careful strokes across the rough bottom of a ceramic coffee cup. That’s usually all that’s needed. I don’t use my knives as screwdrivers or pry bars. As a matter of fact, I still have the very first knife I ever owned, an old Boy Scout knife that was handed down from my older brother. The blades have a deep patina that comes with using carbon steel over the years, but the knife is very usable still.
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