Boss St. Feathersticks requested.

Iboschi

Iboschi

Joined
Sep 17, 2009
Messages
2,692
Those of you that have user Boss Streets (yes, that includes you 230 and Shankerson). I need someone to make some decent feathersticks with the Boss St. and report back how well it worked (pictures maybe if you're so inclined). You'd be doing me a HUGE favor. I want to see some delicate work please :D
 
People define feathersticks differently. To me a feather stick is made of many very thin slivers of wood still attached to the bigger piece running down the length of the wood. Some people just carve kind of thicker splinters of wood. For traditional (and truly effective) feathersticks, the boss street isn't the BEST knife for the job, but with a little work you can still make an effective featherstick.

I can make amazing feathers with a mora, or my sarsquatch, the boss street just takes a lot of effort. If I either had a useable choil, or no choil at all I could really make it a lot more effective.

That said, it's performance could very easilly be increased with a little thinning and a good polished edge IMO. Some people prefer a toothy edge though. I'll resharpen my boss a little bit before I head back out tomorrow and thin it a little (I've got a 22 degree each side grind on it). I may take it down to 15 and see how it performs.
 
Yeah, if it's really sharp it will make a difference. :thumbup:

The sharper it is the better. :D
 
THE BUSSE CREW IS THE BEST! I asked, and you two posted within MINUTES. I agree about different styles etc but just want to see some hearty attempts from ALL who actually USE their Boss St. Would you mind posting that video here Shankerson? I'm honestly blown away. THAT IS CAMARADERIE AND SERVICE I'VE EVER SEEN IT!
 
Ankerson said:
Yeah, if it's really sharp it will make a difference. :thumbup:

The sharper it is the better. :D
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I'm trying to find the best balance in edge angle on this one. I didn't buy it as a dedicated bushcraft blade, but wanted it as an EDC hard use knife that could complete certain bushcraft tasks, including complete fire prep, game prep etc.. It's hard to find the best of both worlds. I just hate the freaking choil. I wish it was just a tiny sharpening choil, or even a full size choil.
 
Iboschi said:
THE BUSSE CREW IS THE BEST! I asked, and you two posted within MINUTES. I agree about different styles etc but just want to see some hearty attempts from ALL who actually USE their Boss St. Would you mind posting that video here Shankerson? I'm honestly blown away. THAT IS CAMARADERIE AND SERVICE I'VE EVER SEEN IT!
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It was part of my field test I did, just quick and dirty, but you will get the point. :)

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230grains said:
I'm trying to find the best balance in edge angle on this one. I didn't buy it as a dedicated bushcraft blade, but wanted it as an EDC hard use knife that could complete certain bushcraft tasks, including complete fire prep, game prep etc.. It's hard to find the best of both worlds. I just hate the freaking choil. I wish it was just a tiny sharpening choil, or even a full size choil.
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For me it's around 18 Degrees per side with a polished edge. :)
 
I'm nervous about the Talon Hole + Choil on this one, but I think it'll make a SUPER field knife. I just think it ought to do some delicate tasks but if I can make them with a SFNO I think they'll come out with the BS too.
 
230grains said:
I just hate the freaking choil. I wish it was just a tiny sharpening choil, or even a full size choil.
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I'm with you, brother. I rarely end up keeping EDC-sized Busse blades due to the crap elf choils.

The High Street and Nuclear EDC are gems in a sea of annoying half choils.
 
Iboschi said:
I'm nervous about the Talon Hole + Choil on this one, but I think it'll make a SUPER field knife. I just think it ought to do some delicate tasks but if I can make them with a SFNO I think they'll come out with the BS too.
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It's more of a sharpening choil to me, it's really small. :)

With the handle and blade shape it's pretty easy for me to work with, but I have pretty big hands so it's easy for me to control. With a very sharp edge it will push cut wood very easy.
 
Don't get me wrong, the knife performs quite well. My only judgments are based on the edge I gave this knife, as I wanted a balance between durability and cutting performance, leaning more towards durability. With a slightly keener edge, this knife can perform any task you need, including fuzz sticks etc.. It's only real negative is the stupid F'ng choil. Why? What purpose does it serve? I absolutely like a tiny sharpening choil, I even like usable choils. I don't like a random gap in the blade separating my hand from the knife, but this only bothers me when trying to choke up on the blade for stuff like featherstick making.

I would certainly buy one again, and they make a great field knife. If I were making feathersticks for a living, i'd buy a custom scandi from someone like JK knives or koster, not a Busse. Since I don't make them for a living, but I do beat the hell out of my knives, I buy Busse and still get great cutting performance.
 
230grains said:
Don't get me wrong, the knife performs quite well. My only judgments are based on the edge I gave this knife, as I wanted a balance between durability and cutting performance, leaning more towards durability. With a slightly keener edge, this knife can perform any task you need, including fuzz sticks etc.. It's only real negative is the stupid F'ng choil. Why? What purpose does it serve? I absolutely like a tiny sharpening choil, I even like usable choils. I don't like a random gap in the blade separating my hand from the knife, but this only bothers me when trying to choke up on the blade for stuff like featherstick making.

I would certainly buy one again, and they make a great field knife. If I were making feathersticks for a living, i'd buy a custom scandi from someone like JK knives or koster, not a Busse. Since I don't make them for a living, but I do beat the hell out of my knives, I buy Busse and still get great cutting performance.
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If I was doing it for a living I have a very small, very old super thin slip joint I would use, I had a few of these and carried them when I was a kid, this is the only one I have left.

 
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Ankerson said:
It's more of a sharpening choil to me, it's really small. :)

With the handle and blade shape it's pretty easy for me to work with, but I have pretty big hands so it's easy for me to control. With a very sharp edge it will push cut wood very easy.
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That thing is FOUR times bigger than a sharpening choil needs to be, and 50% smaller than a usable choil should be. I think it's only there to be annoying, and so they can watch us buy it anyway. Either that or MM is so high up on Amys list that they make designs just to annoy him!

Either way, the choil doesn't bother me enough not to use/keep the knife. I'd just prefer a real choil or a tiny tiny sharpening choil.
 
230grains said:
That thing is FOUR times bigger than a sharpening choil needs to be, and 50% smaller than a usable choil should be. I think it's only there to be annoying, and so they can watch us buy it anyway. Either that or MM is so high up on Amys list that they're make designs just to annoy him!

Either way, the choil doesn't bother me enough not to use/keep the knife. I'd just prefer a real choil or a tiny tiny sharpening choil.
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I think, like many recurring features of Busse knives, it is there for aesthetics. It's part of the "signature" Busse look.


An INFI EDC with no talon hole and no choil would be absolutely awesome, but then it wouldn't "look like a Busse".



The elf choils HAVE bothered me enough that I've gotten rid of every elf choil knife I've bought except the Active Duty. And honestly, the only reason I've kept the AD is more silly aesthetics - it's made from Bama Clay and I don't own many knives in my favorite color.




My RC-3, which has an actual usable choil, is far more likely to get carried than my AD, because I hate the elf choil so much.
 
That mod I saw with a SAR-4 might work on a BS. Just grind the talon hole into a larger choil.
 
MustardMan said:
I think, like many recurring features of Busse knives, it is there for aesthetics. It's part of the "signature" Busse look.


An INFI EDC with no talon hole and no choil would be absolutely awesome, but then it wouldn't "look like a Busse".



The elf choils HAVE bothered me enough that I've gotten rid of every elf choil knife I've bought except the Active Duty. And honestly, the only reason I've kept the AD is more silly aesthetics - it's made from Bama Clay and I don't own many knives in my favorite color.




My RC-3, which has an actual usable choil, is far more likely to get carried than my AD, because I hate the elf choil so much.
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You and your damn Bama Clay! :p

I agree with you though. :thumbup: We all understand the trademark 'talon' hole and choil. It is fine on mid-sized to larger knives... but on the smaller blades it, frankly, has no place. It only serves to interfere with the useful application of the blade.

The SR Vex is absolute GENIUS! As is the 4" Hack. :thumbup:

My vote is to drop the talon hole when it interferes with the proper design of the knife. Don't build the knife around the talon hole. Eliminate it when necessary. ;)
 
Not specifically with the BS, but for me, I make fuzz sticks better and more easily by push cutting starting where the blade goes from the sweep up to the tip, and running the length of the straight part of the blade. I never could just push the blade near the handle, no matter how sharp the blade was. So the elf choil was never a minus in my book.
 
230grains said:
Don't get me wrong, the knife performs quite well. My only judgments are based on the edge I gave this knife, as I wanted a balance between durability and cutting performance, leaning more towards durability. With a slightly keener edge, this knife can perform any task you need, including fuzz sticks etc.. It's only real negative is the stupid F'ng choil. Why? What purpose does it serve? I absolutely like a tiny sharpening choil, I even like usable choils. I don't like a random gap in the blade separating my hand from the knife, but this only bothers me when trying to choke up on the blade for stuff like featherstick making.

I would certainly buy one again, and they make a great field knife. If I were making feathersticks for a living, i'd buy a custom scandi from someone like JK knives or koster, not a Busse. Since I don't make them for a living, but I do beat the hell out of my knives, I buy Busse and still get great cutting performance.
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You'll also find that Fiddleback (Andy Roy) makes thin, woodsy knives that excel in this area. I've got a passel of Busses and a fair number of Fiddlebacks ... each excels in its own way(s).

Oh. Should mention Andy's superb handles. You haven't lived until you've handled his handles, so to speak.:D
 
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