Basic 9, 10 and 11 length picture.

resinguy said:
Peter, great to see you back! We have missed you. Happy New Year.
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Cheers Guy and Happy New Year to you too.

The smooth black ASM's with the Elf Choil are the ones I have and the choil is great for using a ferro rod and de-barking roots or young branches to make cord. I also have used it to pull bullet heads to use the powder for tinder when the rain has everything soaked. Handy design size and you can still use the back part of the edge of the knife for fine cutting by placing your forefinger on the eyelet guard and partly into the elf choil. Good Luck in your quest for one. :thumbup:
 
resinguy said:
ragnerok, (great handle, btw) have you noticed that when chopping with a B11, you get a little 'zing' in your hand? And that doesn't happen with the SY 1111 or 1311, for example? Another menber pointed it out to me, and it seems to be true in side-by-side chopping comparisons. The B11 sends a vibration to your hand.
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Right buddy- have now been testing out a bit; normally i`m chopping softer wood and i feel no diffrence between the knives but this time i went with oak and yes there is a significant diffrence between the B-11 and the B-9; no vibrations with the B-9 but plenty when chopping with the B-11. Did test out my old B-11 and my new one too. New one is an old user with a new tan coating and an assym. grind by Garth.

Pics taken this afternoon at the Basic Test Range somewhere in these woods where i`m living:

B-9:
LlHJ5HAl.jpg


Assym. grind B-11:
Xmylmmzl.jpg


B-9, B-11 and assym.grind tan B-11:
j4BnYr0l.jpg


fF6O0Cal.jpg







PeterPHWS said:
That would be from my posts Tim. Happy New Year by the way!

The ASM B9 is the best knife Jerry ever made. I have two and great thanks to Jimmy Jones and to another old Hog who provided my first whose name escapes me just now.

I hardly ever get back on the site now. The holidays account for my availability and curiosity to see what is going on. Nice to see the old guys still curious over the B9.

Those interested can search my posts as to why the B9 is the best and look at the other knives I have tested to reach that conclusion. Life is too short to do it all again.

The custom Zilla you picked up for me Tim runs the B9 close all the time though. More of a fighting knife and better in the Rain Forests on hard wood and where it can do machete duty as a one knife. The lighter weight on that one is a real bonus.

Those two earn their keep all the time. I need to get the other collection comparison knives sold at some point and have been wanting to do this for years. PM me if you want anything. I owe you and won't forget.

Cheers Pete.
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Happy new year to you too, Pete.

Allways enjoying your Posts and Threads.

H

AZTimT said:
The sage/tan B9's were definitely from Blade 2012... I wish I had grabbed one, but I foolishly mistook it for a B10 and they got scarfed too quickly.



Hey Pete, it's great to hear from you again and Happy New Year! Also nice to hear those two are still meeting all your needs, I was happy to help you score that sweet zilla. All the rest are much heavier than yours, so you got a unique one there. :)



I just checked and it took me three years to score mine and I had to settle for a smooth coat that was spa treated with crinkle instead. Patience is indeed key on these.
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2012 Blade Show is correct on the tan ones, very few sets were made (9,7 and 6) and for this show only.
 
AZTimT said:
The sage/tan B9's were definitely from Blade 2012... I wish I had grabbed one, but I foolishly mistook it for a B10 and they got scarfed too quickly.



Hey Pete, it's great to hear from you again and Happy New Year! Also nice to hear those two are still meeting all your needs, I was happy to help you score that sweet zilla. All the rest are much heavier than yours, so you got a unique one there. :)



I just checked and it took me three years to score mine and I had to settle for a smooth coat that was spa treated with crinkle instead. Patience is indeed key on these.
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Hi Tim,

Those B9 Desert Tan's with the Elf Choil would have been a sweet score - I feel your pain at missing them :o

They look to be old stock ASM grinds re-coated with new handles? Anyway - you can always do what I do and spray the black B9 with cammo paint - I do mine when I do the rifle and webbing if it needs it. It preserves the smooth black coating a bit too.

They key to the B9 being so good is the ASM grind. Lots of info on the site as to why but for those looking to score a B9 try and get the ASM grind if you can. So easy to sharpen and the life of the knife is extended as a result. A single crock stick is all you need in the field whereas my custom Zilla with a convex edge needs my spyderco sharpmaker which has a leather strop glued to the base and use of two of the light crock sticks in the V setting for touching up.

Recurve blades and convex edges do need more TLC and more "kit" to keep them right.

One day I may ask Jerry or Garth to try to re-produce the Zilla I have with an ASM edge with the same weight and features.

It is a strange two combo I like because the B9 was probably the cheapest of Busse's when Jerry started out and the custom Zilla's we have are probably some of the most expensive!

When I take kit through an airport I always put the knives with the rifle. I doubt I would still have the Zilla if it was in ordinary luggage. The weapons need to be checked off and on by hand and are much more carefully regulated. If you ever travel with your Zilla abroad organise a hunt or comp permit and take a rifle. They attract admiration or worrying looks in equal measure with officials and for both reasons you could find it confiscated or missing if it were in a suitcase. In a rifle Pelican box you are there when it is opened and have the chance to say why you need it and keep it. I have struggled to keep the Zilla on a few occasions and it would seriously annoy me to lose it!

The Basic 9 is much more "official" friendly and easier to travel with in comparison and probably accounts for why I use this a lot more. It works really well but looks so "normal" in comparison.
 
Hi H - happy new year to you too.

Interesting to read your tests on the B9 and B11.

I have the very same ASM grind B11 with tan blade and black handle. Mine was by Jerry IIRC when they were first produced. Like you my use with the B11 is on UK woods which are predominately "soft". Oak and other hard woods are valuable over here and usually protected with preservation orders as they are normally well established trees.

Guy would probably be able to explain this better but I think this may be simple physics of having a longer knife and vibrations being created by more "flex" from the length and force applied.

I can say though that I have used my Zilla and NMFBM and B9 on hard woods without issue. What sort of level is the vibration at? Is it uncomfortable or just "noticeable"?

I have used machetes which give great problems with vibration - the British issue Golok being a good example which was why I swapped this out for the NMFBM when I first started using Busse's. I have also noticed this in the issue Khukri's but they have grips which are not my preference either and hence my move to the Zilla's which are more ergonomic and more effective.

Is the skeleton spine on the B11 any different from the B9?
 
Peter!

Guess the one inch diffence in lenght has all to say when it comes to wibes, but the B-11 hit harder and is a more effective on the wood. Will say that the vibrations was uncomfortable the way i was using the knife, but i have to do one more test. Did use both ASM grind and V-grind B-11 to see if there was any diffrence in wibes (diffrent bites), but wibes was the same.

H
 
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PeterPHWS said:
Hi Tim,

Those B9 Desert Tan's with the Elf Choil would have been a sweet score - I feel your pain at missing them :o

They look to be old stock ASM grinds re-coated with new handles? Anyway - you can always do what I do and spray the black B9 with cammo paint -
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They are ASM-grind and handles are tan Dogfather handles like the ones on my B-10 and 8, Garth will do Dogfather handles for you, just ask.

B-10 vs. B-9, both Dogfather style handles, B-10 done ny Garth (has a B-6 like that too):
o5eORNel.jpg


B-8 with original handles, Dogfather style:
UuBoIbrl.jpg


SonOfDogfather with tan Dogfather handles:
YGPCMXDl.jpg
 
I don't have any sort of zing or vibration when I use my B11, but mine is a standard v grind if that makes any difference.
 
Always thought the 2012 Blade was the best ever, and now finding out the tan basics were there just adds to and confirms that opinion. Wish I had seen/grabbed those. Love my B-11 and have not had trouble chopping with them. Find it to be a comfortable chopper. B9 is also a great knife, and think the old black smooth coat was best coating. I never warmed up to the B10, just seemed to lack blade weight to be a good chopper for me.

Peter- always good to see you and appreciate your posts.

Happy New Year to all.
 
This is a very interesting thread.

Cobalt,

In your first picture it seems like the knife on top has a straighter top line,while the other two appear to be the classic drop point.

Is it the angle of the picture?

Blade geometry is a science and an art.

Shane
 
Shane, the B11 is much straighter than the B10 and 9. So it is not an illusion.
 
I got these blades in the last 6 weeks so I have not used any of them. But I cant wait to try the B11
 
I like the choiless B10 myself. If I need to choke up I should probably be using the smaller knife clipped in my front pocket so I don't remove a finger. Those Basic 3's look great, never seen one before.
 
Still in love with the B-11, it just hit harder than the B-9, all there is to it i believe.

Bama clay Basic-11 with penetrator tip:
yaCEepGl.jpg
PGEBAqvl.jpg


More Basic-3, satin and convex by the custom shop:
ZrH96HVh.jpg


Basic-11, original "Drunken Janitors Edition" assym. grind, 30 made:
sjSwfcPl.jpg
TWfVPO6l.jpg


7rpwDnsh.jpg


Pretty straight spine on blade.
 
ragnerok said:
Still in love with the B-11, it just hit harder than the B-9, all there is to it i believe.

Bama clay Basic-11 with penetrator tip:
yaCEepGl.jpg
PGEBAqvl.jpg


More Basic-3, satin and convex by the custom shop:
ZrH96HVh.jpg


Basic-11, original "Drunken Janitors Edition" assym. grind, 30 made:
sjSwfcPl.jpg
TWfVPO6l.jpg


7rpwDnsh.jpg


Pretty straight spine on blade.
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show off ;)

Clay finish B11? really? What else do you have hidden away
 
Great, informative thread. I had little idea that the B9 had so many variants, especially with respect to the choil style. It is amazing to me that the B10 and B9 are almost identical in size. My B9 has been with me for many moons and it is an early edition. I had no idea that I'd fall in love with the B9 when I acquired it.

The balance seems perfect in this knife. As I have said before, this blade would probably be the one I'd keep if I had to part with the others in my collection. Somewhere in the back of my mind I keep thinking there might be a better all-rounder out there, but this may be a fruitless line of reasoning. Of course, the original B9 knives are scarce these days, not to mention VERY expensive. One might venture a look toward the 9 inch Swamprat offering as a possible substitute. Special mention and hats off to the venerable Camp Tramp which might be a viable second fiddle to the B9 in the eyes of some collectors. Again, the Camp Tramp will be hard to find!

The Dogfather is a good one as well as the 1311. My affinity for the well tuned Ontario 18 incher led me to hanker for a 1311, and now I use both almost equally in the machete role/survival tool. The B9 brings a great package size, rides well on the hip and can function in just about any role you can imagine. It represent the best of both worlds, at least in my estimation. Also, the B9 does not vibrate my hand during use. It is easy to sharpen, somewhat flexible and has a great bite in the chopping role while not being too heavy to swing. While I have other tools to choose from, the B9 remains my first choice for hunting trips and wilderness adventures.
 
And of course this leads into a B12 and a B13 lol. You never know.
 
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