badger comparisons?

Josh Muller

Josh Muller

Joined
Jun 22, 2003
Messages
3,049
just wondering if anyone had any thoughts on the difference between the various badger styles, likes and dislikes, performance issues.

i was just looking over the various badger styles, and wondering how each one performed... the old school looks like the best for what i would use it for, part sharpened prybar, part hacker, where as the newest model seems the most apt to agile cutting tasks... not exactly sure where the ergo fits in, accept that its gotta have a super secure grip.

i was also wondering how the steels compared between the badgers (and i'll include the howling rat in on this one, because its very similar to the old school badgers (with the newer blade profile)), a2, infi, and rs101.

any thoughts?

*im trying to reason out if my dream set is my ad varaint and a infi/a2 straight handled badger attack (screws, tubes, flat rivets, iether way :):) ), or an ad variant with a satin jack tactical...

i love the the satin jack tactical, the handle especially... but i hate choils... i hate them soooo much (on small knives). ive cut myself twice useing them because i had greased up hands. whats the point of useing them if i have to do it with gloves? its just very annoying having the material being cut snagging into the choil at every other pass... but, if the satin jack has enough draw space, that wont be as much of a problem...

also trying to figure out if i would just phase out the ad variant by having the sh badger attack, wich wouldnt happen with the sjt....

one of these days im going to have to get the ferrangi rules of aqcuisition.... i remember it being great when i first heard it on deep space nine...*
 
Badgers.... My favorite Busse, mostly. Have 5 or 7 or something.

Older SHBA's Top of the list, use's pretty much as you describe. My EDC is a fatty SHBA and is indeed my favorite knife PERIOD! Pointier than the other BA's and more of an EDC shape for me at least. Nicest feeling handle.

BA-E's ... more of a skinning shaped blade, and would probably do better in the woods than the SHBA, but for me are harder to conceal easily. Still, a great knife, and 1/4" INFI to boot.

BAIII's ... Just don't fit my hand right, and I don't have any. Gave my Dad my DAB, so it's still in the family. However, the I love the Howling Rats with the same basic blade shape (almost identical) as the BA III and have several. It is by far one of the most handy blade shapes and sizes going. Like a BA III with the older SHBA style handle. Had to get more than one cause 1 now lives in the kitchen and my wife has claimed it. No problem, I cook more than she does.

Whatcha want it for? The three Badgers are pretty much 3 distinct blades IMO. Can't wait to handle the Fusion grip BA.

Rob
 
the new tactical badger attack would aggrivate me to no end... every time id use it, id curse the choil... wich is why im waiting for the satin jack. more slice room=less choil annoyance... for me anyways...

it would be an every day beater. pry bar+package opener. most of the packages id open woudl be at work wich means my hands would be all greased up and slippery. but id like something to be able to use as a thrower if i wanted :D some kitchen use until i get the 1 nick i'll be able to afford (hopefully :( ). i love my ad variant to no end, but at 1/8 with a swedge top, it feels as week as a busse can ever feel as far as blade strength... the features are EXACTLY what i want, just a little smaller in the blade now that ive used it... if i could get skunks badger or satin jack in the same variation, id be a happy happy man :D

you basically said everything i was thinking

the ba-e looks to be a mighty stabber/chopper, something for long term use where the blade is going to be in hand for long periods, doing heavy work involving a lot of forward pressure. basically, to do what the ergo handles were designed to do. transmit force and shock into the arm/hand in as effecient a way as possibe (wich has been made even more effeciant with the new fusion handles).

the ba3... i cant help it, i really dont like the 3rd generation handles... the index groove is to small for my hands, and not having it dip back down near the butt makes the knife feel like its constantly slipping forward in my hand. when i grip it in what i feel is a secure grip, it rattles around in my hand on the front end. and when i grip in what is actually a secure grip, my hand bunches up on the gaurd when i stab anything with it... if the front finger gaurd was thicker, it would help significantly, or if there was a dip in the back like the older style handles (ala skunks ba3/satin jack variants). straighten it out, dip it in the back, curve it a little more in the middle, add finger grooves, pretty much any mod to the handles helps make the 3rd gen handles more stable in the hand, where as such mods on other handle types often is an imprediment, such as the ergo hadnels. i feel that you have to be a little more careful with the ergos modding the handles to make the really work in the hand....

and the straight handled badger attacks... well, what can i say, the look perfect to me :D. i like the blade shape, while it doesnt have as much initiating curve, it has a longer curve to make up for the lack of straight edge, and a pointier tip. the handles look like something that is very secure, in any grip. while it will probably have more of a variance on how it reacts to hand sizes then the 3rd gen handles (to big=just to small of a handle, to small= handles being unusably large), i think the handle shape just looks well... perfect...

but, since i already have a 450$ edc right hip knife, and im on the verge of not being able to afford a round of college courses, i cant spend another 350$+ on a knife of almost the same general size, because one will innevitably phase out the other. id iether carry the better slicer (ad variant) or the better all arounder/prybar (shba)... and i have a feeling it would be the shba that would come out on top... while i love the feature set (every single feature put on the ad variant is what i would have done if i custom varianted it), the sheare bueaty and simplicty of the shba, combined with the better prying and longer blade would draw me to use it more... i wonder how it would take to a recurve ???????????

so i'll wait until i can get the satin jack tactical to sink 250+ into my second left hip knife...

but until then :cool: im getting the howling rat to sate my prybar desires... if cliff stamp has a hard time breaking it under extreme use (without the intent of breaking it) then its probably heartier then these hands will ever require :D. and its 250$ less then the prefered shba... and free of out of pocket spending since i traded for it :D... so until the sjt comes out, i'll be using the hr for beating on.. i didnt like the coot (sold) because the blade grind was a little to low for my liking, making it feel a little to much like a prybar and less of a knife, and the choil bugged me in use... the howler looks to have a more accute blade with its higher grind, and the choil looks a little less cumbersome...

but god those shba are bueatiful.... i will probably eventually buy one just to have it. just to have a premeire example of what i knife should be at its very core of design.... features are great, and always of great benefit, but the core soul of a knife is what should shine through, and i feel that the shba does that in spades.... i cant reason to myself carrying a shba with anything else (besides larger blades, steel heart, or battle mistress), where as with the ad, i can recon carrying a satin jack for prying with. i like the idea of having two knives, for the just in case moments that you never know about. but i would just phase out anything else with the shba. it would be great if i was worried about excess weight, but my clothes (boots shirt and pants) weigh in at around 12 pounds, plust a 10 pound jacket, and a 15lbs bag of bug out goodies that follows me everwear... that extra 8-12oz doesnt bother me to much...


i was just lookin for others opinions to strengthen/help reinforce or to help give other sides to augment my views :)

if your into pale redheads or thick strong dark ladies, your gonna love 'em your entire life, but you can always learn to love the variations:D
 
You're just going to have to get you a SHBA. The first one I ever held was the most perfect fitting handle I've ever held. Still my EDC. It's a fatty, and there's enough weight in the handle where the blade seems to disappear. Same deal with the 1/4" SHBA. The only way you can tell the difference (in grip) is if you handle both at once. The smooth handled SHBA's are far any away my "If you could only have one" Busse.

I don't have an AD, but have several MS's, no comparison in my mind to the SHBA. I do carry one every now and then depending on my mood. I also have a CG SJ 1/4" that I keep trying to fall in love with, but it's a bit too big (long) to carry comfortably all day long. Still working on that. Too many people swear by the SJ to get rid of it, so I'll keep trying different carries. My big/small blade combo is usually my SHBA, or whatever Busse I'm wearing and a Sebenza. Even if it's a small/small combo, say a MS and the Sebbie. The Busse stays tucked away, and people only see the sebbie.

I know I'm rambling, but you have to at least handle one of these beauties. They are just perfect IMO. Not too big, not too small... just right!

Rob
 
maybe i can trade my #1 nick for one... (hopefully im getting the 1&2)...

just noticed the charge for the two of them and am scrambling to come up with the funds to cover it.


if i were to put it up for trade, and i had the option of wich to choose, wich edition of the badger would you suggest?

tubes, slotted, or flat? (id prefer infi... not sure wich was the a2 indicater, sloted or flat)
 
okay... now that ive decided to try to trade the nick for a SHBA, im starting to feel the wait time....

and since my only other option is to trade my advariant, its gonna be a sucky couple of weeks/months (who knows when the nicks will be sent out :( ).... (edit: well... or my 20" sher ang khola from HI :rolleyes: )

:grumpy:


anyone got any thoughts on how the howling rat compares to the SHBA? does it at all? handle shape, thickness, blade shape, how it performs in cutting, thickness, any thoughts are welcome :D:D
 
well... that was arough set of arguments to pose myself, but ive decided to trade out the advariant for a straight handled badger attack....

it was worth the money im going to lose on the trade to make her a user - cause a knife that cool shouldnt be left in a safe. her two sisters will surely fill that space anyways...

damn nice knife it was...

but hopefully the shba will be even better :D:D
 
The BA-E is the most controlable 3 inch class knife under stress I have ever held in my hand, Angry, scared, excited, shot.
Pushing or pulling, slicing or prying,hacking or dicing, this knife is more likely to stay in your hand and less likely to cut your self than any other I know of.
This is the great value of this knife.
 
I love my BA-E. It's now my most carried piece of INFI. It never comes out of hiding. The Spyderco is the one that comes out for use. I need to make a few sheaths before I can carry some of my other small blades. The Groove Master is destined for carry once I get some pants for it.
Oh yeah, this is about Badgers. :p
The BA-E is the only model Badger I have. I saw a couple of BA-E's for sale and wanted to pick them up but couldn't due to unforseen circumstances.
Must save for BLADE. :D
 
I thought this thread might need a pic of Badgers from start to the BA-E. Sorry no slotted handle models. There is a 1st run Badger, two Fatty A2 SH BAs, 1 INFI SH BA and a very nice DCBB BA-E. I left the Flying BA-E off as the general blade is already represented.
 
I have a SHBA INFI, 3 BA-III's, and I have had 2 BA-E's. The BA-E's are gone, sold them off. The E handle and the short blade just didn't work for me. I'd rather carry an NO-E in that handle/blade configuration and that is what I do. The BA-III's are much different knives than prior BA's. I like my SHBA the best, but the BA-III's are good knives for general purpose carry, especially the anorexic satin finish custom shop version, which is one of my favorite knives. It all depends on what you want to use a knife for I guess. The only knock against the SHBA is the weight, which is substantial for a knife that size. Yes, it is strong, no doubt about that.
 
Steelhed said:
It all depends on what you want to use a knife for I guess.
Click to expand...

when people ask me about it, i want to be able to pull it out, hold it up to the light and say in a loud booming voice
"I HAVE THE POWER!!!!"


:rolleyes: :p :D
the weight is a good point though... i think thats one of the reasons im going to like it. i adore my howling rat, and even though i know that i can go all out on it without damaging it, i want something a little more substanstial... and i want to try the micarta handles...
 
yes :D

i'll have it out first thing tommoro :D :D

its interesting to see that the orginal badger was a thing all unto itself in the line up of knives, then it became a shorter version of the natural outlaw (and the rest of the ergo blades), then it was kind of a knife of its own (but with 3rd gen handles like the rest), and is now a shorter version of the satin jack...


wich do you guys like better, the pointier shba blade profile (wich is like one long curve),
the more curve of the ergo and 3rd gen with some straight edge near the back,
or the newer satin jack style drop point, wich is basically a less broad 3rd gen style (better penetration, same curve with straight edge, but lower grind?)
 
Good question. You know I never liked the BA-E. I always thought it was, well, an answer in search of a question. Smaller, less substantial knives, are more versatile for everyday chores, but the NO, or SH were better examples of the go anywhere do anything type of blade than the truncated BA-E. Don't get me wrong. The BA-E can open crates and cut baseballs in two, but not as well as an NO or SH. The original BA, now that is an interesting compromise - stout but not obstrusive and overly burdensome for a knife of that size. I have one and it is one of my main carry knives. You can open crates and you can fillet a fish and not feel like you are using a bazooka to kill a rabbit. The BAIII is another knife altogether. I think of the blade profile as a larger, stronger, fixed blade Sebenza. No, it is not a chopper or a prybar. It is a general purpose knife I would not hesitate to take as my main camp knife or hunting knife (provided, of course, I had a Steelheart or Battle Mistress along for the ride too). I don't particularly like the tang extension with the lanyard hole on a knife this size, but hey, this is a Busse trademark and I can live with it. Taken as a whole, I would classify the various BA's as three different categories with the earliest as the best of the all- arounders, and the BAIII as the best general carry, real- world, utility knife. Well, I need to qualify that. The AD is smaller, but it is a great all around, sheeple friendly knife, one that is there when you need it knife.
 
whenever people saw my regular ad, they were impressed by "how pretty it is", but in use, every single time i wished iether the choil wasnt there, or the blade was longer. so far, people have been highly impressed with the user freindliness of the howling rat, and how purpose orientated it is.

now that ive heard the response that the ba-e is the more stable knife of its size in the hand during stressful situations, i can definitley see its purpose. id still rather go with a more classic handle in a knife that size though...

so far it sounds like the shba is the best all around design, and the others "have their place"... wich makes me wonder where the new one will fit in. as a shorter satin jack, i think it will be closer to the old style of "will do anyhthing well, without being task specific", in both handle and blade shape... though id prefer the longer blade of the satin jack with the choil configuration...
 
SethMurdoc said:
:rolleyes: :p :D
the weight is a good point though... i think thats one of the reasons im going to like it. i adore my howling rat, and even though i know that i can go all out on it without damaging it, i want something a little more substanstial... and i want to try the micarta handles...
Click to expand...

Trust me, you'll know you have it on. Even if I'm not wearing the fatty the weight of the 1/4"er is substantial. I can forget I have the MS on, not the SHBA. Like carrying a full size 1911 vs a Glock. It's heavy, but a nice heavy.

Rob
 
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