BAD first impressions

H

hollowdweller

Joined
Sep 22, 2003
Messages
13,182
Got this Boney Active Duty this week.

This is a sharp looking blade. Here it is beside my Shing Baby Bushcrafter, a similar size knife.
bad1.jpg


Here is a comparison of handles. The BAD handle is good size but not contoured

bad5.jpg


There is this round thing and a sort of choil notch thing(not sure the reason for it- too small for your finger. Maybe it makes it easier for Busse to grind the edge without scuffing up the ricasso?

bad3.jpg


Here's a picture in hand. Feels good in the hand.
bad2.jpg


So I thought I would contrast the knife to the Shing. It was really hot so I just tried whittling some sticks. I found that even though the Busse was sharper and shaved(I had just sharpened it) that with the secondary bevel it just didn't cut as deep even though it was thin (1/8")

If you can see in the pic I managed to whittle the stick in half with the BAD but I had to use a much flatter angle and make about half again as many cuts as the Shing with the scandi grind. The shing penetrated so deep I could almost cut the stick flat across even cutting thru a small knot.
bad4.jpg


I thought maybe I was asking too much to match a scandi so I thought I'd try a Bark River Northstar with the same stick. It didn't quite cut as deep as the scandi but pretty close.

Left stick Shing -Middle Bark River- Far Left BAD
bad6.jpg


Conclusion:

This is a nice looking blade. I cost me 3x as much as the Northstar I bought second hand. Cost 4 times as much as the Shing. Looks snazzier than either but doesn't cut as good. Still a nice knife and I'm not going to sell it but as far as cutting efficiency the convex and scandi beat it.
 
Hard to beat a scandi and convex grind, does Busse make any blades with either of these?
I saw a while back in the Busse forum some guy convexed his AK, (which looks like a samurai sword for the few who aren't familiar) a lot of work with that infi I bet.
 
The choil is Busses trademark. Kinda like Spyderco and the hole. All of their knives have one.
 
it's just a big ricasso :D
the holes make some sense for lashing, but I wonder what the sizes are. That front one is about where I'd though of putting the arrow straightener on mine if I did that.

Personally I don't like the rear one, on a small knife it seems to lead to hot spots. The BAD does have a really nice curve at the butt, though. That I like.
 
Thanks for the review, but I wonder if you are just really complaining about the grind. Lots of folks have still reported good whittling luck with V-grinds. Take the RC-3's for example...I have to agree with the former poster that perhaps getting sending your active duty to a master sharpener like Siguy, having him convex it for yeah, you might be more happy.

If the knife cost you 3x more then your others, it would be a major shame to have it become a safe queen just because you don't like the grind.

Just a suggestion
 
kgd said:
Thanks for the review, but I wonder if you are just really complaining about the grind. Lots of folks have still reported good whittling luck with V-grinds. Take the RC-3's for example...I have to agree with the former poster that perhaps getting sending your active duty to a master sharpener like Siguy, having him convex it for yeah, you might be more happy.

If the knife cost you 3x more then your others, it would be a major shame to have it become a safe queen just because you don't like the grind.

Just a suggestion
Click to expand...

Well it still cut so it wouldn't be a safe queen. I'd just go for one of the others if I was going to do a lot of cutting.

I have a Game Warden I convexed out really nice but to be honest I think the steel in them is better suited to the V grind. The edge doesn't seem to hold up as good when it's polished out. Or at least it doesn't seem like it to me.

Of course these are my first impressions so I'll add more to this the longer I use it maybe as I sharpen it more it will cut more efficiently.:thumbup:
 
The cost has a lot to do with the steel being probably the best on the planet and the immense amount of work that goes into making it. You also get an amazing warranty. Those 2 things add a lot of cost to their knives.
 
INFI Kid said:
The cost has a lot to do with the steel being probably the best on the planet and the immense amount of work that goes into making it. You also get an amazing warranty. Those 2 things add a lot of cost to their knives.
Click to expand...


Infi,

With regard to the steel. How do you you sharpen yours? I find with both of these INFI knives I can bring them up to a hair popping edge but then with just a little use I lose the shaving edge. It will still cut well of course, and seems super durable (ie chipping resistant) but with my O1, D2 and A2 knives they are softer and the edges are more prone to chipping if you get real rough with them but they seem to stay shaving longer than the INFI steel.

Is there any sort of trick to sharpening them to maintain the razor edge longer? I tried convexing the Game Warden but that didn't help. I tried both the water stone and the diamond plate with the BAD followed by the loaded strop but still it seems like they lose the razor edge quicker than the softer steel?:confused:
 
I am a huge fan of my muddy game warden I scored from norcalblacktail. I like these BADs too. I just havent got one yet.:thumbup:

I think the GW is one of my favorite EDC fixed blades, and the choil dont bug me too much. They fit my hand wonderfully.:cool: I am not much for the fat GWs though.:thumbdn:

I believe the SAR5 is a Factory busse convex.:thumbup:

Great review HD.:o I have been missing seein the Busses on the WSS. I almost thought they had fell of with the outdoors crowd.:(
 
I just strop mine up after use, and it maintains shaving. Curious to see what others do though. I have never had it dull out completely on me.....
 
j williams said:
I am a huge fan of my muddy game warden I scored from norcalblacktail. I like these BADs too. I just havent got one yet.:thumbup:

I think the GW is one of my favorite EDC fixed blades, and the choil dont bug me too much. They fit my hand wonderfully.:cool: I am not much for the fat GWs though.:thumbdn:

I believe the SAR5 is a Factory busse convex.:thumbup:

Great review HD.:o I have been missing seein the Busses on the WSS. I almost thought they had fell of with the outdoors crowd.:(
Click to expand...

I only dug the point of the choil accidentally into the wood once. So not a problem too much unless you are going for max cutting leverage.

The Game warden has a much smaller choil than the BAD. I agree with you on the hand fit. :thumbup:
 
With the blade length on the BAD, I wish it had useable edge instead of a choil, or a very small choil with a little more edge. It would reall maximize the utility. The pumpkin g10 on yours is awesome!!
 
j williams said:
With the blade length on the BAD, I wish it had useable edge instead of a choil, or a very small choil with a little more edge. It would reall maximize the utility. The pumpkin g10 on yours is awesome!!
Click to expand...

I love the Pumpkin too. It's hard to lose:D I have a Northstar in Orange G10 Spooky has it right now but it's another great knife cause it's hard to lose:thumbup:
 
hollowdweller said:
Infi,

With regard to the steel. How do you you sharpen yours? I find with both of these INFI knives I can bring them up to a hair popping edge but then with just a little use I lose the shaving edge. It will still cut well of course, and seems super durable (ie chipping resistant) but with my O1, D2 and A2 knives they are softer and the edges are more prone to chipping if you get real rough with them but they seem to stay shaving longer than the INFI steel.

Is there any sort of trick to sharpening them to maintain the razor edge longer? I tried convexing the Game Warden but that didn't help. I tried both the water stone and the diamond plate with the BAD followed by the loaded strop but still it seems like they lose the razor edge quicker than the softer steel?:confused:
Click to expand...

With normal use I just strop with compound to get it back to shaving. If I really srew up an edge I'll put it on a stone to fix it then strop till shaving. The smaller busses I just use a sharpmaker then strop. Nothing special really. I have no idea why you are having trouble keeping a good edge.
 
I have had a SAR5 and it has a convex bevel but a standard V secondary edge.
I found it far to heavy for bushcraft as it was designed as an entry tool. Some of the comp finished knives have a standard flat bevel and a convex edge.


I do really like INFI though ,I have a convexed zero edge SS4 with a very thin edge that has been my bushcraft knife for over a year and has performed very very well.
I am actually going to do a comparison between it and my new Skookum Bush Tool in A2 next week. INFI can be run quite thin without chipping and holds a great edge.
 
Unsub said:
I have had a SAR5 and it has a convex bevel but a standard V secondary edge.
I found it far to heavy for bushcraft as it was designed as an entry tool. Some of the comp finished knives have a standard flat bevel and a convex edge.


I do really like INFI though ,I have a convexed zero edge SS4 with a very thin edge that has been my bushcraft knife for over a year and has performed very very well.
I am actually going to do a comparison between it and my new Skookum Bush Tool in A2 next week. INFI can be run quite thin without chipping and holds a great edge.
Click to expand...

My Skookum is 01. I sort of wish I'd have gone for the A2. Koster's Bushcraft in 3V is capable of a real thin edge w/o chipping. At this point I'm liking the 3v better than INFI but I've had the 3V longer and it's a finer edge so maybe it's an unfair comparison.
 
I use the Ol' mouse pad and sandpaper method of stropping on all my INFI. If my INFI isn't convexed, I do it. Wet/Dry paper at 320 grit for choppers and usually up to 800 grit and a micro bevel with a 1400 micron diamond plate for others.
 
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