A couple of walking on egg shell questions !!!

awesome pics bro

gonna have to try a brak river out. looks like it performs well
 
To see a few of my Bark River Knives in action look here:Camp Knife Challange

Please note that all these knives are A2.

Mike Stewart uses A2 and 12C27 in most of his knives, but also uses many other High Carbon and Stainless Steels.

He is known to pick the best steel for the job, and is respected for the quality of his heat treatment and edge geometry.


When it comes to serious field tools, makers like Mike Stewart and Bob Dozier make knives that live to cut.
 
I own busse and barkies. Both are great IMO, and I would always be down to pound on my steel. However much the price tag they are all users to me.

If anyone doubts busse owners dont use their knives. Check out the gathering pics at bans shop. Holy cow!
It is a nice therapy sight. I couldnt sit still lookin at all those pics, and videos!!
 
Here's a few pics of me abusing a BRKT Wasp - it's a small knife designed as a sort of gentleman's personal defense knife, recurved blade.

Here's the little Wasp batoning:

WaspBaton1.jpg


Here I'm using it on a firesteel - that always messes up the blade!

WaspFiresteel2.jpg


Here's the blade in all it's used glory:

WaspPort.jpg


Here's batoning with a more appropriate blade: a BRKT Rogue:

RB04.jpg



And two just for fun:

Here I'm fighting off a griz with the Wasp:

WaspBear.jpg


And here I'm doing some serious batoning with the BRKT Canadian Special!

BigBaton.jpg
 
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knife hunter said:
awesome pics bro

gonna have to try a brak river out. looks like it performs well
Click to expand...


Bark River does make great hard use knives and they are smaller, which is good for the backpacking that I do.

Problem for me is that few of their design appeal to my eye.

.
 
Tony G said:
Bark River does make great hard use knives and they are smaller, which is good for the backpacking that I do.
Click to expand...

I do love my Busses :thumbup: but the size and weight of the Barkies is the primary reason I've lately just been taking my Aurora with me to the woods.
 
I have certain knives that I have used harder than I would hope to have to. Others do some batoning but on "sticks" up to 2" and, usually just for some kindling but it's nice to know that I have a few that will stand up if I am in a dire situation and I am far from the convenience of my wood pile. The ones I have used hardest have been by BRKT, Bryan Breeden and Scott Gossman. One thing that I have to say is that the BRKTs just look too pretty to stand up to some of the pounding I have subjected them to. When I look at my Gossmans, they LOOK like they will take a beating. My Breedens are "new" and I ave pushed them a little and a little more until I couldn't believe a "new guy" could make a knife that would hold up like that.

As for my Bark Rivers, well, I am not a "Barkophile" or a BRKT "follower," per se, but I will not deny that they stand up. I have put nearly every one of the couple dozen I have owned through their paces as I was inspired yet not convinced by Reid's original review of the Northstar on OMF - the very propaganda that got me started in this whole "knife habit" thing (thanks, Reid;)). So, I "tested" every one I got - hard. The funny thing is that they aren't just brutes either. Some have found a permanent spot in my assortment of "keepers" for they are as refined as they are rugged. I had some that I just didn't like and some that were ground "better" (more to my own preferences) than others but they sucked me into this whole knife thing and I have to respect their overall value as rugged tools.
 
I usually take pictures of my knives when they're new....when I'm still "giddy" with excitement (like a ten year old [me] with a handfull of firecrackers, an empty tin can, and some matches). After I've used them, by that time the novelty of photographing has expired. They're used but I'm not taking pictures to prove it.

I don;t own a Falknivven but I like the Bark Rivers. THey're tough, Pit, you'll get one of each before long. No amount of action pics (as nice I they are to see) will convince you to buy one, they'll just provide the thrill of seeing some nature shots and some gleaming steel. ((( :D )))
 
Personally, I would guess that people who buy Bark River knives are more often buying knives to use as knives. I think that the Busse indestructibility thing mainly appeals to people who want to either a) own the most indestructible knife ever made, and do nothing with it, or b) own the most indestructible knife ever made, and prove it.

So you see pictures of Busse knives beat to hell and back because the owners want to give the knives some abuse and see them take it.

You don't see beat up Bark Rivers because the owners want a knife to do knife stuff with. It's not what I would call a "hard use knife" because as far as I can tell "hard use knives" are knives designed to survive Noss testing.


I think this dichotomy is also why you don't see a lot of Busse people at WSS gatherings...here we are frequently into knives just as tools to further our wilderness experiences, not neccesarily as collectors. Busse people are by definition collectors of a particular knife. They wouldn't necessarily have any interest in wilderness survival.


As far as seeing damage from heavy use, the mora in my INFI Mora post has been used heavily for YEARS. The only way to tell is the patina, which I didn't put there with chemicals, but just appeared naturally over time.


You can use a knife for a long time, and it will still look pretty nice until you get really close. If you consider the size of the knives in pictures on the internet, you aren't really close enough to see any marks on them most of the time.

Unless it had some paint on the blade, in which case the paint will be scratched off.
 
So what if you offend someone "let them get happy just like they got mad" (good advise I once got. ) There are a lot of good knives in the world it is the user that makes the real difference. Get one that fits your style and that is the best knife you could have. I have used bucks a lot the make a great knife. I have two TOPS they look as tough as nails I can't picture doing anthing that would break either one. I put in an order for an ASH 1 CG nearly a month ago. It was to be my first Busse. Still don't have it niether have I heard from them. I do have 6 Busses right now. There is something about them you can't buy just one. If Busse would finally get my order out I would have 7 total. Hey Busse where is my ASH?
 
Hogwash said:
Every Busse enthusiast I have met has been a class act, even the rednecks. They are just nice people.
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Well, I guess this would be the perfect segue to my Busse story. Awhile back, in another thread

I lamented how much of a pain in the a** trying to get a Busse was. The following were quotes from me for those that don't want to check the other thread.
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"Man, I really like the looks of those AD's. Just not worth all the BS to get one."
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"I can't tell you how many times I've checked the company store (including just before I typed this). Also, I have some ideas what I want, not just any that come up for sale.

The other thing, and it's probably just that I'm somewhat quirky, if I buy one, I would want it to be from the store, not from somebody that buys up a bunch of blades hoping to make some money."

Just to conclude my mini rant, norcalblacktail took it upon himself to locate some Active Duty's that are available at the Exchange in an effort to help the cause. I appreciate his efforts, however, after I gave up looking for an AD, I ordered something else, and the knife budget needs to recuperate."
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"Someday I would like to own an AD, and perhaps I will, but I really do find the search to be tiring. I don't fault Jerry Busse for his marketing strategy - it seems to work very well for him, but I just don't like the games."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Now you see I mentioned the offer of help from norcalblacktail but it didn't end there. After I posted the above, he emailed me with other offers of help to secure a Busse of my choice including notifying me when any new Busses came up at the store and offering to proxy for me. Now keep in mind, up to that point I had no contact with him, in fact, I don't even think we posted in the same thread anywhere. I can't tell you how impressed I was with the offer.

Wait, there's more. After Nate's (norcal blacktail) generous offer of help, I received another email from another BF brother, also somebody who I had never had contact with, which stated, "I've got a few Busses if there is any you want to try out before you buy". This came from mckrob who is a fellow Ontarioan (sp??) This blew me away. Remember, he doesn't know me from Adam, yet there he is offering to send me some expensive cutlery.

Now normally, I would have refused, but every once in awhile you have to walk on the wild side :D so I accepted. I was really just interested in the Active Duty, because of the size, but along with that he also sent me a Game Warden. This is a picture of them with my newly acquired Bravo1, which coincidentally, arrived the same day.

FORPB3.jpg


Now the plan was to take the 2 Busses out to play in the woods and to write up a review as a result. Here's where it fell apart. About a week and a half ago, I screwed up my less than perfect back and had to take some time off work and also I didn't get to play in the trees. I did, however, get to try out the cutting ability of the 2 Busses with some wood I had laying around my apartment.

Rob mentioned that they were dull and that I should feel free to sharpen as necessary. I took a butcher steel to both of them and in short order they would shave hair from my arm. ( I saw in a novel, once, these bald arm spots referred to as 'knife fighter's mange' :D) They cut more or less as I would expect for knives of this thickness - adequate, but nothing exceptional. To me, the attraction of Busses and their kin is in their reputation of being 'bomb proof' - something I find quite appealing.

Usually, knife reviews include pictures of batonning firewood, prying out pieces of 2X4 etc. and I have no doubt these knives will do that with no sweat at all. They're certainly not the best wood carving knives I've used and I don't think they claim to be. I suspect loyal Busse owners accept their less than stellar wood carving ability as a trade off for their toughness, something I would probably do, as well.

The big fly in the ointment? :

resizedAD.jpg


This drives me crazy. Why on earth would the blade not be continued back to the scales on a knife of this size? Also, what is the purpose of the talon hole? Yes, I know it is a Busse trademark, but what good is it? If it wasn't for this, I would wait in line to get my shot at an Active Duty, and yes, I knew what it looked like before I had the chance to use it, but it was in the using that I discovered how much I disliked it.

Anyway, tomorrow or Wednesday, they will be going to the post office and on their way back home. I have seen everything I needed to, even though we all didn't get a chance to go hiking.

The point of this post isn't really about the knives, but the helpfulness and generosity of people who I've never met, but went out of their way to help me. So if this is, in any way indicative of Busse owners, then I would have to agree 100% with Hogwash's quote at the beginning of this post.

Nate and mckrob, I thank you.

Doc (a dirty Canadian, apparently :o)
 
misanthropist said:
Personally, I would guess that people who buy Bark River knives are more often buying knives to use as knives. I think that the Busse indestructibility thing mainly appeals to people who want to either a) own the most indestructible knife ever made, and do nothing with it, or b) own the most indestructible knife ever made, and prove it.
Click to expand...

I believe you are over simplifying, some people just appreciate a durable knife and like to buy ~the best.

I am a collector and I buy Busses because I buy things that I like. One of my favorite new Busse's is my Boney AD because it's super thin (for a Busse) and makes a great EDC. I use it but I'm not going to chop any 2x4's with it (unless I have to). I might be able to find a knife that slices, opens letters and does every other "knife use" better than my BAD but I like Busses and I know if I ever need it to do something incredible it can handle it.

I also like to put my choppers through their paces. I try not to abuse them and chop only wood or other soft materials but it did please me when I found that my EU-17 Magnum sliced right through a hidden nail without leaving a mark while I was chopping a 2x4.

It's a lot of fun to use my sword. It slices water bottles well and also chops pretty damn well. I know I shouldn't really chop with a sword but it handles it fine and can go through a 2x4 without leaving a scratch in the satin finish, no matter how close you look.

My point is I own Busses to use as a knife, I own Busses to collect and not use and I own Busses that I will use in any way that pleases me. Some times the knives switch roles.

There are some people who seem to buy Busses only to turn them around for a small profit but most Busse collectors that I know seem to collect in the same way I do.
 
When do you ever use that part of the blade, eh?

Just kidding, as I usually am. But really, how often do you use that last 3/8"?

For me the answer is almost never, I can't recall ever needing it either. I like it the way it is and the Boney version is about 0.030" thinner with a full flat grind to make it an even better slicer than the AD that you tried.
 
Hogwash said:
When do you ever use that part of the blade, eh? Bit of a dirty Canuck, yourself? :D

Just kidding, as I usually am. But really, how often do you use that last 3/8"?

For me the answer is almost never, I can't recall ever needing it either. I like it the way it is and the Boney version is about 0.030" thinner with a full flat grind to make it an even better slicer than the AD that you tried.
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The point (no pun intended) isn't how often I use it, but it's there if I want to. Not extending the blade to the scales makes no sense to me. And when I was 'steeling' the blades, the notch kept catching on the steel. Need it, probably not, but then I like a lot of things I don't really need.

The Boney version sounds interesting, and would probably be a much better slicer, I would still have to get over the shortcoming (pun intended :D)

So for now, I will have to be content with the magnificent blade known as the Bravo1.

BTW, I should have mentioned helpful answers and responses from other Busse owners, such as Guyon and others who my 62 year old memory isn't allowing me to remember. :(

Doc
 
In my experience INFI is an awesome steel in some many important respects but where for me it loses its appeal is when the edge is thinned. I usually keep the primary bevel on my knives around 12 - 14 degrees per side and this seems fine with INFI, but when I've thinned the blade behind the primary bevel to enhance cutting ability the ductility of the steel seems to quickly degrade edge stability to the point where I've had the edge roll just pulling it awkwardly out of a kydex sheath. I'm assuming this is a big factor in why the INFI used in Boney ADs is hardened significantly more than on other Busse knives. But at this higher hardness I can't imagine that the nuclear toughness of INFI is still intact, along with the pleasant property of being very easily sharpened to a hair-splitting level. So at this point other factors, other than steel composition, take precedence in choosing a knife. Weight, choil, talon hole all, for me at least, weigh negatively in the decision process. Though when my knife budget recuperates, I'm quite sure a Boney AD is in my future. :D
 
Hogwash said:
When do you ever use that part of the blade, eh?

Just kidding, as I usually am. But really, how often do you use that last 3/8"?

For me the answer is almost never, I can't recall ever needing it either. I like it the way it is and the Boney version is about 0.030" thinner with a full flat grind to make it an even better slicer than the AD that you tried.
Click to expand...

I like either a choil or no choil, that little notch is useless. I use that part of the blade all the time for maximum power, control and leverage while cutting notches or whittling. if there is a choil, no problem, I just choke up, but you can't choke up on that notch.
 
I don't think the notch is useless. It is probably useless if you want it as a forward lanyard hole on a knife that size, but if I remember correctly the reason the factory makes that hole is for the pizza cutter. I think there's a big hand bow like on the old knuckle knives that bolts on front and back to make them more combat.
 
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