In early June 2015, I started to see them in inventory at plenty of places. I ordered all three from a favorite vendor.
I took them to camp last summer. They worked great.
New to Buck is the froe. It can be used as a short machete, but shines as a splitting tool when batoned. It is the star of the trio. It even eclipses the return of the 106 hatchet. A great feat in itself.
Here are some pictures and thoughts of the new set.
Here is the star, in my opinion. It is a great woods tool.
The 106 (hatchet) and the froe have D rings to attach to things. It makes them floppy if you carry them on the belt. I carried the knife everyday. The leather belt loop is secured with a large rivet at each end. These rivets allowed the leather loop to move. This makes the knife floppy too. At first, I didn't like it. I got used to it and easily pushed the knife out of the way if it got in the way when I sat. I'll carry it. I found it to be handy and a good size for my needs.
The handles looked a bit dry when the arrived, all three of them. I applied one coat of boiled linseed oil and "baked" them in a 175 degree oven for 30 minutes. I put them back on and later rubbed them down. They look much better now. None of them needed sharpening. They were all well sharpened. I did run each of them on a ceramic rod, to put that hair popping razor edge on.
I split all the wood in the pictures by batoning the froe and 106. I only did a few pieces with the 106. The froe did an amazing job. I'm so glad they are users and not just lookers.
