ASHBM killed my pinky finger...

jd4320t

jd4320t

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Jul 30, 2012
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I received it a week or so ago but with the weather and my crazy work schedule I couldn't get out to play. I'd been handling it at home so I already knew it felt a little loose around the pinky area of my grip. I was hopeful it wouldn't be an issue because I was falling fast for this knife. I love the look of the blade and had hoped I'd learn to love the handles as much.

Saturday I was finally able to get out and do some chopping. I was sad to feel the immediate pain to my pinky. I was chopping through a down sycamore limb that was probably about six inches thick. My finger was hurting pretty good after the first go around. I took a break and let my buddy DaKruiser beat on it. He felt the same discomfort as I did. On my second pass I tried to change my grip to make it more comfortable but I couldn't make it happen. By the time I was through the branch I had a nice blister that was already torn open.

This is my first straight handle so I don't have anything to compare it to except my Fusion and Res C handles. I know I can chop for a while with those knives and not get my fingers tore up.

Has anyone else experienced this?

Is there anything I can do to improve my ASHBM experience?





 
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The return of the infamous "Busse Pinky"

Its been a while :) Feeling nostalgic now.
 
leatherman said:
The return of the infamous "Busse Pinky"

Its been a while :) Feeling nostalgic now.
Click to expand...

Yeah I know I remember reading something about it but I also think I read it was supposed to be fixed with the new knife.
 
Sounds like you need to train under an Iron Palm Master
They will toughen your hands to the point where they can rip bark off of trees yet maintain the flexibility to practice other cultural arts such as calligraphy.
Here’s an easy exercise you can do with a partner. It will separate those who take Busse wailing seriously from those who don't. Have your partner hold your feet and walk you on your fists, that is, your knuckles - just like the wheelbarrow exercise. A smooth concrete floor, like in a garage, is a good place to start. As you get tougher progress to a coarser concrete, such as a driveway or sidewalk, all the way up to broken glass. This exercise is a little tortuous at first but it will, along with the other exercises, toughen your hands. Do it two to three times a week.


Secrets of Iron Palm Training:D

Don't forget the Herbs
 
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jd4320t said:
Yeah I know I remember reading something about it but I also think I read it was supposed to be fixed with the new knife.
Click to expand...

I heard the same thing somewhere on here. I do have an old SHSH and the new ASHBM in the shop for fitting, I'll get them together and see whats different. My curiosity is now piqued! :)
 
I was surprised by this, as I'd not encountered the pinkie bite problem on the ASHBM. It was always an issue for me on the original straights, however. Thought I'd take some comparison measurements but the thickness and handle contouring are so different between the two that measurements don't really compare. So I grasped the ASHBM in a chopping grip and swung it a couple of times to "seat" my grip against the rear talon. My pinkie was completely supported by the slabs on either side of the tang. When I do the same thing with an original, my pinkie is a good 1/4" out onto bare metal. Huge improvement on the new handle, and they fixed it for my hand size/thickness, but I suppose it might still be an issue for some with larger/thicker hands and fingers.
 
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The size and girth of hands are considerably different from person to person. Some have flattened out fingers, other don't. There are people that have a super-human grip and then again others that can't squeeze tightly. Mileage may vary.

I don't notice the 'bite' when I use my ASHBM. Of course, I usually have a pair of gloves on. Last year I even tried latex gloves while using my 1311 on some hardwood branches. The latex allowed for a super grip but did next to nothing to mitigate shock from the chopping. I do favor the res handles and suggest (as has been mentioned here previously) that you retain the ASHBM for show and use the res handles for the true workhorse of the bunch. Also, the latex gloves will provide some level of protection against offending branches that might otherwise wreak havoc with the tender skin!
 
Interesting... I'm curious, do you have G10 handles?
On my ASHBM CG, the G10 was very sharp where the handle fasteners are. Is your pinky getting torn up there?
Since I'm a tech geek and type for a living, I took 1500 grit sand paper and smoothed out the G10 where the fasteners are, because I expected it would tear up my hands.
 
:thumbup: Did the same thing with 600 grit on the sharp rims of the handle fastener holes--made a big difference.
 
Interesting topic. My son just got a black paper-handled ASHBM about a week ago. I'm interested in one also, but I've chopped with some straight-handled Busses before and found it painful. So we took some knives out this past weekend and I got to try it out.

I think the newly-designed handle cured any problem for me. We both chopped a good bit with it and had zero problems.

It's a great knife. It's very well balanced, but compared with my CGFBM and Basic 10, the "sweet spot" is a couple of inches out further on the blade and I think this allows the knife to do more of the work on each swing.

And I agree that the rivet hole edges need some work. :D
 
evltcat said:
Interesting... I'm curious, do you have G10 handles?
On my ASHBM CG, the G10 was very sharp where the handle fasteners are. Is your pinky getting torn up there?
Since I'm a tech geek and type for a living, I took 1500 grit sand paper and smoothed out the G10 where the fasteners are, because I expected it would tear up my hands.
Click to expand...

I have black canvas handles. The handle fastener area didn't bother my hand at all. It was from the rear talon area.
 
Bushwacker Mistress is worse for your pinky:


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