An Introduction to Baryonyx Knife Co.

Discussion in 'Baryonyx Knife Co.' started by FortyTwoBlades, Sep 28, 2016.

  1. FortyTwoBlades

    FortyTwoBlades Moderator Staff Member

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    For those of you who came over from the old forum, you're already likely well familiar with who we are and what we do. For those just joining, this thread serves as a little explanation of the misfit and near-rebellious operation I run.

    Here at Baryonyx Knife Co. we do a lot of things that make pegging us down neatly a bit difficult. First and foremost, we're an online retailer of knives and tools focused on goods with a strong price/performance ratio. If we don't carry something, we may still like it and just haven't added it to our selection yet, but if we do carry something you can bet it's a strong value that performs at or above its asking price. I like to say that we carry "sensible selections for practical people," and I won't carry anything that I wouldn't personally endorse and recommend. Function and effective, pragmatic design are far more important to us than industry trends, fads, and eye candy factor--it's all humble hard-working tools in this shop.

    Absolutely every item that comes through the shop is hand-inspected for quality control, meaning that the odds of you getting a lemon are drastically reduced. Defects that affect function are returned to the manufacturer, and anything that has only cosmetic flaws are sold at discount as "Grade B" items.

    On many of our tools we offer optional Special Grade servicing, which consists of the extra elbow grease that we feel most tools can benefit from in order to perform their best. This work usually consists of thinning and refining factory edges, but can also include simple handle shaping work, squaring spines, etc. We also occasionally do modifications of production tools, as time and inclination dictate.

    I'm a designer, and my signature Baryonyx Machete has been featured in Knives Illustrated, Backwoodsman Magazine, HiConsumption, and others. We have lots of other designs in the pipeline, and we recently launched our first in what will be a large range of custom-formulated sharpening stones under our <BYX•CO> branding, to great acclaim.

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    I am also a specialist in American pattern scythes and related tools (the only one globally that I'm aware of, in fact) and do custom builds and restorations of them.

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    Last, but not least, I love to hunt for obscure, but useful, tools and help bring them into the spotlight. A notable example is our work with the Italian companies Rinaldi, Falci, and Angelo B. to bring billhooks and Italian-style axes and other tools to the US market.

    Education is a major part of what I do, and I maintain a blog with photos, articles, and guides that I wish I had more time to work on. I'm always happy to "talk shop" about design, tool selection, sharpening, etc. and find it one of the most rewarding parts of the business.

    So now that you know what we're all about, kick back and have some fun--we're all here because we're not all there, so make yourself at home in my little corner of the forums. :)
     
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  2. JAD

    JAD Member

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    Benjamin -- great intro for your shop. I started reading, then I find myself clicking on links, and before you know it I've watched your videos for the last 30 minutes. I've been on your site many times but I always find something new or learn something I did not know.

    For those of you who are not familiar with Baryonyx Knife Co you really should check out their website. Their product line up has very little overlap with more traditional knife shops. They offer things that you will not easily source elsewhere.
     
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  3. JMJ

    JMJ Member

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    A better place!!!!
    Glad you posted the introduction, was on the old forum for two years, but honestly had no real clue what you did. You've definitely got my attention now, especially with the adze. I've always wanted to attempt making a classic dugout cypress pirogue, but finding an adze is pretty impossible down here anymore. I've also been very curious about your machete design, looks like it'd be a dream to use in some of the nasty vegetation I deal with here in south Louisiana.
     
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  4. Stone

    Stone Member

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    This is good. Nice work.

    Wish I could weave EG into this forum so smoothly, but I suspect not.
     
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  5. JAD

    JAD Member

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    I was helping my daughter with some yard maintenance knocking down these bushes.

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    I was using my Baryonyx machete and made a mistake. The Missouri soil is incredibly rocky and when I was reducing the debris into trash can size I struck a rock. This is what I ended up with.

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    I put it on my DMT red diamond stone (600 grit) and began the repair. I won't worry too much about sharpening it out all at once. But this is where I stopped. No other stone grits used and no stropping. This is a very toothy edge that I was trying to maintain. FortyTwoBlades puts these special edges on his blades for a very small and reasonable upcharge. I tried to maintain the edge he sent me.

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  6. FortyTwoBlades

    FortyTwoBlades Moderator Staff Member

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    Any time you ripple an edge you can usually tap it back out gently with a hammer to at least take care of the worst of it. That's the good thing about machetes--it doesn't take long to get them back in action after a mishap!
     
  7. JAD

    JAD Member

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    I never considered tapping it back into place. There was enough jagged material to push back except I just ground it off by sharpening. Arrggh. I'll know better next time.
     
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  8. Grog

    Grog Member

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    Just saw your beastly Baryonyx machete is up at Knifecenter, you're going big time!
     
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  9. FortyTwoBlades

    FortyTwoBlades Moderator Staff Member

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    It's at Blade HQ, too. :)
     
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  10. SMD226

    SMD226 Member

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    Maybe an odd question, but do you plan on carrying any of the bidor parangs?
     
  11. FortyTwoBlades

    FortyTwoBlades Moderator Staff Member

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    They're on the "to add" list, but there's a lot on that list so I'm not sure exactly when it'll happen. We have access currently to their more premium My Parang ones, but I wish I could source their more economical models so easily.
     
  12. SMD226

    SMD226 Member

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    Awesome thank you for the response. I havent seen the my parang ones ill have to look into that.
     
  13. evilunclegrimace

    evilunclegrimace Member

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    I was looking for a puck style stone for my axes/hatchets. After finding only Lansky and GFB pucks I remembered your site. The Lansky did not have the grits that I was looking for and GFB was too damn expensive. Your Artic Fox puck is just what I was looking for. I will post up my opinion when it gets here.
     
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  14. JMick

    JMick Member

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    My Condor Hudson Bay knife is stil going strong! I'm going to dig my scythe out of storage and try using it, good to know the threads are reversed.

    I'd buy a t-shirt in a minute, if you put your logo on it.
     
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  15. FortyTwoBlades

    FortyTwoBlades Moderator Staff Member

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    You'll probably need to grind and hone the blade, adjust the tang angle, and re-tune the fit of the nibs before it'll be ready for work. :)
     
  16. JMick

    JMick Member

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    Sorry on getting back to this, My scythe probably hung on the outside of a shed! Wood was pretty checked, bolts on the nibs were rusted and spun in the handles, the blade was still pretty good.

    I did manage to clear a strip of weeds 20' wide by 100yds long, I had a blast! My wife says, if there's a hard way to do something I'll find it.
    The nibs would change the angle on the scythe which made it hard to control the tip. not nearly as pretty a job as I saw on youtube.

    The scythe is the American pattern.
    I will be buying a new one in the future.
     
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  17. FortyTwoBlades

    FortyTwoBlades Moderator Staff Member

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    They're one of those tools that works wonderfully when set up right, but if one thing is off it can really throw a metaphorical wrench in the works. Usually old units have a lot of things off. :D They can usually be fixed up and brought back to good mowing condition, but to get there you usually have to already be an experienced scythe user so you know the end result you're shooting for so you can chart a course. A lot of folks try to start with a vintage unit found cheap, but it does set them up for frustration because they're trying to learn a subtle art with a damaged instrument. :)
     
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  18. JMick

    JMick Member

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    I'll probably make this one a wall hanger, Watching a few vids of people using one and the efficient use of laying the hay in a nice neat row really kinda pumps me up like wanting to learn a new kata or shooting a self bow.
     
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