Farid

[John Boy]

Couldn’t believe the (low) price that Farid was asking for these D6 knives at the Sharp Show yesterday. I had one of his D6 bushcraft blades (handled by Rob Evans) around 10 years ago and it cut better than anything else I have ever had.

I can’t attach a picture that I took yesterday but check him out on instagram. D6 bushcraft knife, £135 (no sheath).

 

[C_Claycomb]

No question about it, the man knows how to grind difficult to grind steels and has the equipment to do so efficiently.

Those bushcraft knives (I am assuming its the batch of flat ground blades he shows over on Bladeforums too) look functional. More so than the Scandi version in the same steel that I know he has done in the past.

I met Farid several times over the years at various shows, years ago now. He was always ready and enthusiastic with sharing advice on knife making. I never warmed to his knives though. Several factors: Thick stock. Steep bevels. Coarse finish. Thin, flat handles with corners. Passion for high wear steels. All of which are just about 180deg opposite what I find makes for a good bushcraft knife, if "bushcraft" means you will be carving and shaving wood.

 

[John Boy]

He said this latest batch was Rockwell 58-59 (I think) to make it easier for sharpening but with a relatively high tungsten content for toughness. The blade finish is like a belt finish - so a working finish (keeps costs down for a knife that is meant for to be used). I held an example and found the scales to be of a good depth, perfectly fine for normal use.

 

[C_Claycomb]

The blade is belt finish, but there are belt finishes and finishing belts. Farid's looks like 60 grit, maybe 120, but looks coarser to me. That isn't a working finish, that is just unfinished. Certainly, it does keep £ cost down, but at a cost. Harder to keep clean, more likely to crack, more likely to corrode. Might hide scratches better.

The steel choice and hardness is interesting. Most of us are somewhat familiar with D2. Known for being semi-stainless with around 12% chrome and 1.5% carbon, with a lot of large chrome carbides making for a toothy edge that lasts a long time, a bit harder to sharpen, and not fond of low angles.
D6 has 2.1% carbon with the same chrome content. Knowing Farid, he won't have chosen it because it has better edge stability. He will have chosen it because the carbon gets used to make even more carbides. Fantastic if you are field dressing big game. Rather wasted if you are carving wood. Lower hardness helps with sharpening...also with chipping of low stability, high carbide load steels at lower angles. Seems like a compromise for the steel, rather than optimised.
Like I said, give me AEBL at 62HRC with a 600+ grit belt finish over D6 at 58HRC and a 120 grit finish. I am cutting wood, not skinning boars. If I WAS skinning boars, I would be interested in the Farid blades for sure.