Hello all, I received this beauty last week. I must say, these Andy Roy customs are knife art. I've handled and used a couple production models, and they are just as useful, but this custom is worth every penny for the aesthetics alone. The handle is super comfortable and the overall feel of the blade is pure quality. It battoned through a concrete block and could still shave my arm ( just kidding Whitty). In all honesty, I did not get very rough with it. I would definitely hate to get really rough with it unless it was a real survival situation. I cut some bark, whittled some wood, made a feather stick, and the most heroic task, trimmed the bush limbs back from the Direct TV dish so I could watch football. Every task it did effortlessly. Never showed any signs of dulling. I cleaned it off with a light coat of mineral oil, and it's back to good as new. I love the size of the blade as well. It's a big blade, but does not feel big when using it. It's hard to imagine a task that this knife would not handle well. In short, I want this knife. My short list is now one of these and a Tradewater to go with my Hunt collection. Thank you Whitty for the opportunity to handle this blade. I hate to let this one go! Please overlook the stickers my son put on my hand. And yes, they pulled the hair out. Proof I used it. Cleaned right off with mineral oil.
Andy does make incredible knives. This new format makes the forum easily accessible again. The Tradewater will be up for sale whenever I get around to posting a thread.
James, let me know if you want it to play with. Dave is the last guy on the list before it comes home and I'd have no issue letting you keep it for awhile...for your CLEAVER! Just kidding, but if you want the Duke for awhile, just say so. It's a great knife and this one is a great example with lots of the features you would want in a Fiddleback.
Marty, thanks for bringing this post over to the new forum and getting some pictures up. Nice review and I'm glad the Duke worked for you.
Good stuff Marty. Glad to see some reviews popping up on this passaround. That is an awesome example of the Duke. I don't remember from the old forums but is the steel A2? It looks like it from the spalting. I honestly can't tell any real use difference between it and O1 other than the deeper spalting on the A2. If anyone can place it next to an ESEE 6 that would be awesome. For some reason, I've never handled the Duke before but it has always been well received from the people who have owned one.
Thank you. I don't have a 6 at the moment, but here is my 5 (which apparently needs cleaning ) and my Tex Creek XL, which I think is pretty comparable the 6 in blade size, it just has a smaller handle. Hope this helps.
This Duke is A2, with nice spalting, trinity pinout, tapered tang and Shadetree burlap. I have a comparison pick of my E6, Duke and production Duke somewhere and will post it if I can find it.
The Duke left for Dave's house today. I hated to see it go. It was a true beauty and I hope for one some day. Now that I have a Tradewater coming, I need a Duke and a Camp knife and my knife collection will be complete..........till the next must have comes along!