Best Busse for hutning/camping

C

Comrade

Joined
Mar 20, 2007
Messages
54
I need a good 4-5" blade for skinning game and doing camp chores. I don't need a chopper or a prybar or smth. I already have the small forest axe from grunfors.

I don't know much about Busse's so if anyone could do a comparison (specs and pics if at all possible) of their "smaller" knives like GW, BA, AD etc. Also, a recommendation would be nice.

Thx
 
Are there any straight from the box? I thought they all came way too lumpen to be a decent cutting instrument and needed considerable after market hand work to get the best out of them. hollowdweller illustrates what I'd expect from a NIB Active Duty and a Game Warden in the thread below. Although that specific aspect wouldn't bother me 'cos I'd thin them out myself, it's not hard to conceive of that coming as quite some disappointment to someone else.

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=547215&page=6
 
A friend has shown me quite an assortment, many of which would be great hunting knives, particularly adept at field-dressing a Studebaker. Seriously, I will have a Busse long before some other knives 'on my list' (C R Sebenza). Their BAD may be just right for bushcrafting - it's nice. Try to find one 'satin finished'. Of course, you'll need a sheath - they don't come with one.

For my camp/hike use, I'll take a Buck or Bark River. I still want a Busse, of course.

Stainz
 
Based on your list of activities, the GW or AD sounds about right. Try to get a thinner stock GW or one of the new skinny active duties out there. Handle ergonomics on the Busses are really quite amazing. Swamprat also had some smaller 4" blades out there also.
 
Hi, Comrade.

Between Busse, Swamp Rat, and Scrapyard knives, there have been quite a few that would be excellent knives for your purposes. The Active Duty and Game Warden don't really fall within the 4"-5" size category you mentioned, but they work well for dressing game. The AD has a 3.5" blade and the GW has a 3" blade. Many people use them for field dressing and love them. And yes, they usually can do a fine job right out of the box - at least that's been my experience with the factory edges. For a comparison shot, 3 GW's are on the right and then 3 AD's next to them.

EDCs-1.jpg


The Boney AD's mentioned (BAD's) are for sale at the company store right now, and are the thinnest ground of all the AD's. They slice like there's no tommorow, but may not be the best choice for heavier camp chores. I'd definitely consider one of them for a dedicated game knife.

There are also many fine 4"-5" knives by Busse or Swamp Rat or Scrapyard that would be excellent choices, but some can be hard to find. I personally use a Swamp Rat Dog Skinner in D2 for field dressing most of the time, with a 4.75" blade. Great knife, but not made any more.

Here's one more photo with a BA in it. From the right, there's a GW, 2 AD's and then a Badger Attack TAC. I think it would work well for game, along with handling other camp chores. These can be found on the Exchange fairly easily.

Users1.jpg
 
Comrade said:
I need a good 4-5" blade for skinning game and doing camp chores. I don't need a chopper or a prybar or smth. I already have the small forest axe from grunfors.

I don't know much about Busse's so if anyone could do a comparison (specs and pics if at all possible) of their "smaller" knives like GW, BA, AD etc. Also, a recommendation would be nice.

Thx
Click to expand...
Get the Busse Skinny ASH-1 from the Busse Company Store. The Skinny ASH makes a superb camp tool... And they are selling them at Great price! They won't last very long... In case you prefer something smaller, they are also selling the BAD - Boney Active Duty. Check it out:

http://bussecompanystore.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=PLST&Store_Code=BCS
 
Stainz said:
A friend has shown me quite an assortment, many of which would be great hunting knives, particularly adept at field-dressing a Studebaker. Seriously, I will have a Busse long before some other knives 'on my list' (C R Sebenza). Their BAD may be just right for bushcrafting - it's nice. Try to find one 'satin finished'. Of course, you'll need a sheath - they don't come with one.

For my camp/hike use, I'll take a Buck or Bark River. I still want a Busse, of course.

Stainz
Click to expand...

My work here is done, and I haven't even broken out the good stuff yet.
 
I think the ABA, a .150 BAIII, is the best knife made for this.

ABA
Meaner
Cultie
AD
GW
IMG_3386-2.jpg
 
Ken44 said:
I think the ABA, a .150 BAIII, is the best knife made for this.
Click to expand...

Agreed, but prepare to cough up about $700 or more. This is one of the most sought small Busses out there.

Much easier to find will be the BATAC, pictured in the bottom shot.

BusseHunters.jpg


Badgers.jpg
 
Another choice could be the SAR5 if you can find one on the Exchange. The handles are blockier and put some folks off, but the blade shape/size is remarkably similar to the ABA.

ABALESAR5.jpg
 
I think the BAD would be a good hunting knife but it would require a lot of reprofiling of the edge to come up to most other less expensive blades in cutting efficiency.
 
hollowdweller said:
I think the BAD would be a good hunting knife but it would require a lot of reprofiling of the edge to come up to most other less expensive blades in cutting efficiency.
Click to expand...

Hey hollowdweller, have you handled a BAD? They're very thin already, thus the name "Bony Active Duty." Mine sliced very nicely right out of the box.
 
Actually the BAD makes an excellent hunting/skinning knife with little to no reprofiling. Busse edges have been known to be all over the map as far as consistency, but are easily sharpened to the working edge needed for game prep.
Although I do prefer some other makers designs for smaller blades, I think the thinner Game Wardens are about as good as it gets for game prep in INFI. That is, unless you can land a BAIII.
 
Guyon said:
Hey hollowdweller, have you handled a BAD? They're very thin already, thus the name "Bony Active Duty." Mine sliced very nicely right out of the box.
Click to expand...

Hey Guyon! Yeah I own one! I like the design but the edge was too steep on mine. I think I could work it over like I did my GW and make a good cutter but out of the box mine was only ok. See here:

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=583170
 
One that hasn't been mentioned is the Cutellus, affectionately known as the 'cultie'. It has a 3.5" thin stock blade, and is a bit lighter than the Active Duty. I have a couple of them, and they came very sharp from the factory. About 30 seconds of stropping with loaded leather made the little sucker scarry hair-popping sharp.

Some guys on here have had the unfortunate experience of buying a Busse with a substandard factory edge. No doubt it happens. All of mine have been very good. At any rate, I think most people on Bladeforums know how to sharpen a knife. ;):) If not, simply go with the bic lighter of knives, the mora, :thumbup: throw it away when it gets dull and buy another one for $10 bucks. :D

Here are two Culties with a Game Warden.
CutlieswGW-1.jpg


Here are two Culties with a Game Warden.
 
hollowdweller said:
I think the BAD would be a good hunting knife but it would require a lot of reprofiling of the edge to come up to most other less expensive blades in cutting efficiency.
Click to expand...

Hollowdweller,

Have you tried asking for the edge you want?

Busse tends to put somewhat fat edges on most of their knife designs, because of the knife's intended scope of use. However, whenever I've asked, they've been willing to put exactly the edge I wanted onto a knife, straight from the factory.

If you know what kind of edges they normally come with, but you don't ask for what you want, when you want something different, and when they are happy to provide what you want, then they can hardly be blamed that the edges are not to your taste.

In my experience, they do try to please their customers, if you give them the chance.
 
The current offering on the Busse Combat site is the HACK Bear Cub. From looks and dimensions alone it looks like it'd make a fine hunting knife.
 
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