Best 9"+ Beater for the Buck

the two larger spydercos are way too pricey and made in Italy, though i do REALLY like them. if i could get Jerry to make me one for $250 this would all be settled :-P

wish you hadnt asked the MSRP question. Rant : on

i pay MSRP because most people on here don't. those prices aren't arbitrary. they reflect a fair mark up on a fixed cost. a mark up which is AMAZINGLY low for most industries, and represents a BARGAIN compared to what our homes and clothes and gasoline make, as far as profit. that money keeps the industry going. it pays webmasters who sell you knives. it pays knife SALESMEN (like me) who spend their lives and livelyhoods living and learning knives in an attempt to better serve customers who are all-too-rapidly disappearing in favor of sitting at home and feeling great for saving a buck.

i grew up in knife stores. i frequented Plaza Cutlery so often that i can drive there blind. and they answered all my questions with aplomb and let me compare everything i wanted. if we all payed MSRP i wouldn't have NEEDED to start this thread because there would be a knife store in my town that HAD all these knives in stock, so i could compare and feel them there. then i'd buy it for my frequent shopper discount, tell the cashier to keep the change, go out for beers with my knife-store friends when they got off and life would be perfect.

i wouldn't get stopped for walking down the street with a 3.5" fixed blade (this happened on Monday) and have a cop tell me i'm committing a felony (i'm not).
and when i tell people i work in the west coasts largest knife and sword store i wouldn't get looked at like i eat babies or something. because knife sales would be a business that 30 Merlos locations, 5 The Edge Locations and R&J Cutlery could have stayed in, and knife sales would be a part of AMERICAN lives instead of just knife-nerd lives.

i donate to businesses in the industry all i can. i work off the clock all i can. i'm a member of the AKTI, Kniferights, the NRA, NSSF, a former NICA-certified Cutlery Specialist and i have no other way to support the industry i love but to pay for my products what the MAKERS say is fair.

whew.

Rant: Off

sorry.
 
DEXIX_five-oh said:
an event i have witnessed, yes, but Busses cost more than californias current deficit. especially FBMs. especially 5 of them.
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Currently you can order Busse Bushwacker Mistress NOW for $347, it was just put up the other day as the current model. ;)

10 1/4" blade
16 1/4" OAL
3/16" thick INFI
Weight About 22 ounces
 
Nope all wrong...the best for the $$$ is the outdoor knife from frost,3 1/6" 440 convex ground six inch blade beater with a kydex like sheath,you can beat the hell outa this thing and it just keeps going.....all for the 15$ ,sometimes 2 for 15,If I'm gonna take a custom into the bush,I baby it,I spent hours earning it,not with this,is a true beater,but it actually works.
 
I've never seen any posts about Outcasts breaking or even chipping for that matter. I have however seen pics of one of the new Becker/Kabar knives that had broken while batoning. Outcasts can be had for roughly $70-75 online, add (I haven't, just saying) $10-15 for full convex job and apparently they become real beasts. I think they get a bad rap because they're produced in China and they are made of D2. I'd love to see pics of one failing, because I don't think they exist.
 
DEXIX_five-oh said:
t if we all payed MSRP i wouldn't have NEEDED to start this thread because there would be a knife store in my town that HAD all these knives in stock, so i could compare and feel them there. .
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i dont know if i can agree with this, because while yes theyd be making more per knife, there would probably be a lot less knives sold. i know i wouldnt buy some of the knives i own if i had to pay msrp. ex: my poliwog- msrp is 185 but i believe i picked it up for 72 nib on ebay. while i understand the nobility of what youre saying i just dont think it's very practical.
 
DeCanon said:
Nope all wrong...the best for the $$$ is the outdoor knife from frost,3 1/6" 440 convex ground six inch blade beater with a kydex like sheath,you can beat the hell outa this thing and it just keeps going.....all for the 15$ ,sometimes 2 for 15,If I'm gonna take a custom into the bush,I baby it,I spent hours earning it,not with this,is a true beater,but it actually works.
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not US made, not long enough

Ankerson said:
Currently you can order Busse Bushwacker Mistress NOW for $347, it was just put up the other day as the current model.
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Lame, that means i missed a second Tank Buster for myself.......i'm about to give up on Busse for just that reason...... Bushwacker still too pricey for this purpose......dig the handles though, might need one for me.......

man, i'm pissed about that....with so many options, it's likely my "perfect" Tank Buster never even got MADE...... F&@!....... frickin busse.......

crom said:
I've never seen any posts about Outcasts breaking or even chipping for that matter. I have however seen pics of one of the new Becker/Kabar knives that had broken while batoning. Outcasts can be had for roughly $70-75 online, add (I haven't, just saying) $10-15 for full convex job and apparently they become real beasts. I think they get a bad rap because they're produced in China and they are made of D2. I'd love to see pics of one failing, because I don't think they exist.
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did....you READ the thread? two other people here HAVE seen posts about them failing and i said no foriegn made pieces...
i LIKE the outcast, i got one in 05 and just loved the hell out of it. mine was ground right, and MSRP then was $100 so it was a deal. but i thought they were US made then ........

sweet_hitch-hiker said:
i dont know if i can agree with this, because while yes theyd be making more per knife, there would probably be a lot less knives sold. i know i wouldnt buy some of the knives i own if i had to pay msrp. ex: my poliwog- msrp is 185 but i believe i picked it up for 72 nib on ebay. while i understand the nobility of what youre saying i just dont think it's very practical.
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i understand that. there are "loss-lead" items that you make less on in the hopes to sell more of or to get people buying so they buy things that are marked up properly. but my favorite example is this : i have a Kershaw/Shun DM0500 Ken Onion Kitchen Knife. the 8" one with the stand. Retail the year i got it was $248. i would NEVER have paid that. thats way too much for a kitchen knife for a bachelor like me.

then KAI gave me one as a reward for my sales that summer. so since i paid nothing for it, i used the hell out of it. now that i know how well it performs and why its shaped so oddly, i see how much that helps and i appreciate the benefit of the stand....i'd easily pay $275 or $300 for it. now i understand the difference in quality kitchen cutlery and i have a set of Benchmade Prestigedges. i paid retail for them, too, knowing that i would FIND the worth, and furthermore the VALUE in such high performing knives at such "low" price.

shecky said:
Save your money and go with a good cheap machete. Tougher than anything, easy to maintain. You won't cry when the blade chips on a zombie skull, because:
It won't chip
it didn't cost $200
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i repair too many machetes, and sell too many replacements for broken ones to get sucked into the stupid machete hype. this aint my first rodeo.

also, theres that law enforcement encounter aspect to consider. the machete does have a certain rep here in SoCal, hence the introduction of the open carry law in LA, which is being discussed here
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?p=7446413
if i'm not a gardener or groundskeeper it might be hard to explain.

also, the leather i'd have to use to make a decent sheath for a machete would be worth more than the knife. also you can't pry with it nearly as well. also it will flex and spill contents and lose leverage while being used as a shovel, god forbid. also, the edges are a joke as shipped. also the handles are the least comfortable thing mentioned thus far in this thread. see? i MAY have had reasons for saying no machetes......

why's everyone insist on trying to change my mind about my needs? no machetes, no foreign made!


Jpalmer1988 said:
Nope you're warranty is fine. The people on the Becker sub-forum here love the Bk-9, just to big for my taste.
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Thanks!
 
Bark River Golok will chop many of these under the table...and is comfortable and fairly quick and light. Just over 16" OAL, and 0.24" thick, but doesn't feel it.
 
JCavSD said:
Bark River Golok will chop many of these under the table...and is comfortable and fairly quick and light. Just over 16" OAL, and 0.24" thick, but doesn't feel it.
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KSF seems out, can you link me to a vendor with them in stock? what's the price point? i do REALLY like the golok...... i played with a friends, it was the sharpest thing that size i've ever seen.

Has anyone used the BRK&T KSF Machete? it doesnt look like it should be flexible.... (also can't find it on the site anymore, lame)
 
DEXIX_five-oh said:
oh inexplicably lame! i just discovered that the outcast is made in china now! when did this happen?!

now my options are
1.) scrapyard Dog Father
2.) Becker BK9
3.) RAT "RC-10" (if the price is acceptable)

i'm not seeing any listing for the micarta replacement slabs for the beckers, anyone got a part number?
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For me, Res C is king for comfort, but all those look like winners to me. The golok sounds like a lot of fun and everybody loves them.
 
i dont have any Scrapyards to check out, but it looks simple enough i'd leap-of-faith it, for the price. i just dont know if i can actually BUY the things.

i've also never handled the BK 9, but we've got the BK2 in the shop and maybe its the balance but i just can't get behind that handle. micarta i can at least contour out real nice.

no problems with any problems with the Becker handles getting slippery? seems likes they would......
 
Sure I read it, I think you'll have many choices with that criteria. Good luck with your search. FWIW, I did a lot of research before buying the Outcast and didn't come across any posts regarding failure, at least not on this forum. If I were you I'd go with one of the Ontario Spec plus series:
http://www.knivesplus.com/QN-SP8-Ontario.HTML

I don't know how they can call it a machete when it's a quarter inch thick.
 
DEXIX_five-oh said:
Lame, that means i missed a second Tank Buster for myself.......i'm about to give up on Busse for just that reason...... Bushwacker still too pricey for this purpose......dig the handles though, might need one for me.......

man, i'm pissed about that....with so many options, it's likely my "perfect" Tank Buster never even got MADE...... F&@!....... frickin busse.......
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I have 2 Tank Busters (Urban Shadow Camo, Black/Tan G10 and a Sage /Tan Canvas) and a 3rd Coming soon: Double Cut with Black/Tan G10 Swedge, Skull Crusher and Choil.

Also have 2 Bushwacker Mistresses on order. 2 Of my Tank Busters cost me more than than either of the BWM did. LOL :eek:

But yeah I feel your pain, I missed out on a few models over the years, bad timing on my part. :(



 
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