Lil' Foo
Gold Member
- Joined
- Aug 24, 2006
- Messages
- 6,371
A couple of HOG brothers were kind enough to put me in touch with another Busse addict from the past
Tom Wheeler. Tom has asked me to share his treasured SHBM with you all
and its definitely a piece worth sharing! :thumbup:
OK why is this SHBM so special you ask??? This particular SHBM was THE FIRST one that Jerry made specifically for field testing. It was made especially for Tom (see the TW initial stamp on the pommel) with the intent of being taken out and put through some real survival situations to see how well his new INFI steel faired under such conditions. The field test took place in the Sierra Mountains on Ron Hoods eight day Wilderness Advanced Survival Program (note the WASP stamp on the opposite side of the pommel). Actually, this piece pre-dates the two that I scored from Ron by a month or two this one can be dated around February / March of 1997.
In my conversations with both Tom and Ron, they mentioned that the first BM Ron had ever seen was Toms when he came out for the 8 day program. And I believe, this experience drove Ron's desire to get one (or three), and eventually to the ASG article on the Battle Mistress in March of 1998.
Needless to say the Battle Mistress handled anything and everything they threw at it like a champ! She was still shaving sharp at the end of the survival program only ended up with one real ding which was from the first swing. She cut straight through the intended target and hit a rock coming out the other side. Being the first field test SHBM, Jerry wanted to see the blade and edge exactly as it was after the survival program. Upon Toms return, they sat down and talked about how she faired and what all she was put through while they were chatting, Jerry took a ceramic stone and sharpened the ding out in about five minutes.
Some other tid-bits about this beauty Tom thought the handles were a little too thin, and had Jerry put on some thicker slabs when he got back form the trip. In my conversation with Tom, he recalls this one being given a Rockwell hardness of 65
and she was hand ground by Jerry himself!
Now, before we get to the pics all you HOGs just ease up this lil beauty is NOT FOR SALE ! And if Tom does ever decide to part with it well lets just say I have a spot reserved for her in my collection right next to my other two pre-release SHBMs!
And
stay tuned for some other cool surprise pics I will post in a bit
lots of cool stuff!
Hope you all enjoy!
A special thanks to the HOGs that put me in touch with Tom Hes a really great guy! Another friend and INFI brother that Im happy to have met thru the Busse community! And a bigger THANKS to Tom Thanks for all the stories and for sharing such a special piece with all of us YOU ROCK!
OK why is this SHBM so special you ask??? This particular SHBM was THE FIRST one that Jerry made specifically for field testing. It was made especially for Tom (see the TW initial stamp on the pommel) with the intent of being taken out and put through some real survival situations to see how well his new INFI steel faired under such conditions. The field test took place in the Sierra Mountains on Ron Hoods eight day Wilderness Advanced Survival Program (note the WASP stamp on the opposite side of the pommel). Actually, this piece pre-dates the two that I scored from Ron by a month or two this one can be dated around February / March of 1997.
In my conversations with both Tom and Ron, they mentioned that the first BM Ron had ever seen was Toms when he came out for the 8 day program. And I believe, this experience drove Ron's desire to get one (or three), and eventually to the ASG article on the Battle Mistress in March of 1998. Needless to say the Battle Mistress handled anything and everything they threw at it like a champ! She was still shaving sharp at the end of the survival program only ended up with one real ding which was from the first swing. She cut straight through the intended target and hit a rock coming out the other side. Being the first field test SHBM, Jerry wanted to see the blade and edge exactly as it was after the survival program. Upon Toms return, they sat down and talked about how she faired and what all she was put through while they were chatting, Jerry took a ceramic stone and sharpened the ding out in about five minutes.
Some other tid-bits about this beauty Tom thought the handles were a little too thin, and had Jerry put on some thicker slabs when he got back form the trip. In my conversation with Tom, he recalls this one being given a Rockwell hardness of 65
and she was hand ground by Jerry himself! Now, before we get to the pics all you HOGs just ease up this lil beauty is NOT FOR SALE ! And if Tom does ever decide to part with it well lets just say I have a spot reserved for her in my collection right next to my other two pre-release SHBMs!
And
stay tuned for some other cool surprise pics I will post in a bit
lots of cool stuff!Hope you all enjoy!
A special thanks to the HOGs that put me in touch with Tom Hes a really great guy! Another friend and INFI brother that Im happy to have met thru the Busse community! And a bigger THANKS to Tom Thanks for all the stories and for sharing such a special piece with all of us YOU ROCK!
