Best mid-size chopper?

Moloko Plus

Moloko Plus

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Jan 20, 2008
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What is your favorite mid-sized Busse chopper, and why?

Mid-sized means many things to many people, so I'll set a parameter. I'm thinking somewhere between six and eight inches, approximately. This would include NOs, SHs, Mojos, the Sarsquatch, Satin Jacks, and anything else I can't think of or don't know exists.

I'm probably one of the few Busse dedicatees who doesn't own an ASH, and while they are still available I want to consider if it would be the best knife for small to mid-sized chopping tasks such as chopping all the dead branches that fall out of my trees during our annual windstorms.

Handle ergonomics, blade size and shape, balance, and how much fun you have with it are all worthy considerations.
 
Small - Dmutt CG is King by a big margin for 5" and below

Medium - Battle Rat is good for its size, but not really a dedicated chopper,.. S6 is cool, Yard hook and guard are nice... Personally, I say ResC is the grip of choice for a chopper.

If i had any of the early Busse MInfi I would call those king likely say one of those- but have never had the chance to try one... I also have not chopped with my ASH to no comment yet.
 
Best delimber in that range for me would be my SHE. I'd say the thicker bladed ASH1 would rank right there with my SHE. Course if I actually head out with chopping in mind the FBM gets to go :D
 
Definitely not SJs...

Mojos and Mofos are pretty daren good, but they are 8.5" and pricey.

I think the SARsquatch is the deal of the year right now, it's a sweet do everything blade.
 
For mid-size I'd probably go with the SarSquatch as well, although if money were no object I'd probably thrash my ole SH-DE. Gotta consider the SH-E design has a bit more mass swinging around, and anything bigger than the SH-E probably might not be "medium" for a lot of people.
 
I'd say the Squatch. It's blade/tip heavy which makes it a superior chopper to the NO in my opinion, and it has more blade real estate than an ASH, which is too small and light for chopping IMHO.
 
For mid-size, the SH-E. My recent acquisition is outperforming anything else in that class, and I am lately using it in place of my Hell Razor. :)
 
As AZShaman says, SH-E is quite good for its size.

I would still prefer the Comp Grade SARSquatch however ... by a bit.
 
Of those listed so far, I'd say that the Battle Rat would be the best chopper (with the edge thinned a bit).

For a chopper, compare the blade weight with the handle weight. The Battle Rat is 1/4" with a saber ground 9" blade -- and a resiprene handle. Relatively, this knife is light weight overall, but very blade heavy. A thick knife with micarta slabs and a full height grind would be more handle heavy and a less effecient chopper for its weight....unless the handle lets you "choke back", essentially distributing the knife's weight forward.

My favorites in the 6-8" range are the Heavy Heart, original Ratweiler and saber ground SFNO. These are all blade heavy knives and have handles built for choking back to maximize chopping efficiency. :thumbup:
 
ooooh, I didn't know we could bring in rats???

The original RW is a champ!
 
Bill Siegle said:
Best delimber in that range for me would be my SHE.
Click to expand...

SH-E and then SARsquatch.

SHE8.jpg


SARSQ5.jpg
 
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Basic 7. Perfect chopping balance, thick enough to take heavy abuse, no superfluous weight. Hands down, no contest.
 
SARSquatch's convex edge gives it a lot of grunt with chopping. Can't go wrong with a HOGFSH, but it's heavy. Old School Rat Weiler is a beast too.
 
WILL YORK said:
Basic 7. Perfect chopping balance, thick enough to take heavy abuse, no superfluous weight. Hands down, no contest.
Click to expand...

If it were not for the Sarswatch and the fatty SHSHIIs out there I'd agree 100% the basic 7 is a killer midsize knife.:thumbup: But the Sarswatch is just a lot more knife now and raised the bar for me. An SHSH II is a lot of cash and hard to find.:grumpy:

.
 
Some of you prefer the Squatch and some of you prefer a knife with a narrower blade, such as the Basic 7 or the SH-E. What are the benefits of a blade design like the Squatch over something like the SH-E, and vice versa?

This makes me wish I would have picked up Ban's full convex Squatch while it was available. And I have also had a chance to grab a Terror Monkey (my favorite SH-E design) but passed it up as well. Sigh...
 
You'll hate me for this, but ... the wider blade on the SARSquatch pushes more weight forward (that's easy enough) and (wait for it) seems to improve both the moment of inertia and products of inertia (jargon alert!) for the knife, as opposed to the others we've discussed that are of a similar size.

So ... it swings and chops a bit easier than the other alternatives. Depending on precisely how and where you grip the handle and on your own ergonomics as you chop.

Boy, that's about as clear as mud. :(

Ummm. I know how to chop ... I've tried every one of the knives described (even the Terror Monkey) ... and the SARSquatch just seems a bit better to me. Please note that the Emperor of Battle Mistresses (Mr. Cobalt) agrees ... :)
 
I just got my SARsquatch and we will have to see how it does chopping but I am going to say that it will probably out chop any other mid size knife that Busse offers.
 
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