BOSS Street vs. Bravo 1... it's on!

MustardMan said:
A bushcraft knife is NOT THE SAME THING as an all-around survival knife. It would be typically be paired with an axe or larger knife, which would handle chopping and splitting tasks, leaving the bushcrafter for the detail tasks where cutting is more important.
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Very important point.
This is why I'm such an advocate of the two-tool philosophy. And historically, the two-tool philosophy is borne out.

Since we are discussing bushcraft and scandi grinds, let's look at Scandinavia. Most of the big work in the places with lots of trees was done with the axe. That includes dressing game, cutting wood, making fuzz sticks, traps notches, etc. The knife was used mostly for the detail parts of dressing game (like removing organs and various tubes inside the body), and eating.

Much the same in Nepal, where most of the work is done with the kukri, and the little stuff done with the karda (puukko-like knife).

Most tropical areas a form of machete was used with a small secondary knife. Jeff Randall will tell you that even today in those countries, most of the work is done with the machete, and the secondary knife is often a cheap kitchen knife.

The point? Get a big tool and learn to use it, use it for everything, including the detail work, as much as possible. Then get a small blade of your choice for the little stuff. Most of all, pick the tools that work best with your style. There's more than one way to accomplish any task, and just because one way works best for someone does not mean it will work best for you, or that someone else is dumb because they don't do things the way you do.
 
I never had a problem using large knives in the field as long as they are sharp they will do what you need them to do. :)

Personally I think a lot of this thin stuff has carried over from the so called anti-folding pry bar crowd to fixed blades. :rolleyes:

It doesn't matter how thick the spine is as long as the edge profile is set correctly and the blade is sharp, that is unless they are trying to cut with the spine instead of the edge.... That is how a lot of them make it sound. ;)
 
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Cpl Punishment said:
I often wonder why when someone brings up wanting a thin INFI blade for bushcraft, the BAD never comes up?
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Personally, to me, the AD and meaner handle styles aren't the best for bushcraft, where a straight handle is great in a variety of grips for getting good leverage into the cut. That said, a choil-less BAD would be a pretty awesome bushcrafter, in my eyes. Same goes for a choilless ABA or Cultie. Choilless is pretty high on my list of requirements for a good bushcrafter, though.

And all this should come with a caveat - I'm very interested in bushcraft, and I practice a fair bit of the skills involved when I get a chance... but I kind of suck at it. That's why I need a knife that's as well suited to the task as possible - my poor skills are already setting me way back :p

Re: scandi edges.
I'm a bit of a heretic here, but I'm not in love with a scandi grind overall. First, most people don't seem to realize that in Scandinavia, the "scandi grind" does come with a microbevel. Second, I think most US makers make the grind too obtuse. Look at how far up the cheek the scandi grinds above go, and then look at these:

Instead of a quarter of the way up the blade, they go 1/3 to almost 1/2 way up the side.

I also find the "scandi grind" to be superior in one thing and one thing only, and that's shaving thin slices of wood, like making a fuzz stick, which seems to be the biggest test to most people on what makes a bushcraft blade.

Stand by, more heresy:
I think this is primarily due to the insistence upon pushing the blade straight through the wood. I tend to angle the blade and use a push slice to cut the wood, often with my off-hand thumb on the spine, giving me much more control and, to me, it's easier to do that way.

So, IMO the best bushcraft profile is the best slicing profile, which, to me, is a full flat grind with a convex final bevel.
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I actually agree and am not a fan of the scandi grind. The field sharpening issue is simply not a big deal to me, as I can hand sharpen on a scrap of sandpaper and strop on the belt that's holding up my pants, with a good convex edge. I agree 100 percent that the best task for a scandi grind is making fuzz curls and fine shavings, and that's about it. Give me a full flat with a convex zero edge and I'm a happy camper.
 
Cpl Punishment said:
Very important point.
This is why I'm such an advocate of the two-tool philosophy. And historically, the two-tool philosophy is borne out.

Since we are discussing bushcraft and scandi grinds, let's look at Scandinavia. Most of the big work in the places with lots of trees was done with the axe. That includes dressing game, cutting wood, making fuzz sticks, traps notches, etc. The knife was used mostly for the detail parts of dressing game (like removing organs and various tubes inside the body), and eating.

Much the same in Nepal, where most of the work is done with the kukri, and the little stuff done with the karda (puukko-like knife).

Most tropical areas a form of machete was used with a small secondary knife. Jeff Randall will tell you that even today in those countries, most of the work is done with the machete, and the secondary knife is often a cheap kitchen knife.

The point? Get a big tool and learn to use it, use it for everything, including the detail work, as much as possible. Then get a small blade of your choice for the little stuff. Most of all, pick the tools that work best with your style. There's more than one way to accomplish any task, and just because one way works best for someone does not mean it will work best for you, or that someone else is dumb because they don't do things the way you do.
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You bring up a really good point here.

Most of thin crowd are describing a paring knife when they are talking, you can buy those all day long for $5 or $10 at any Big Box store. Yes they work fine for kitchen duties, opening letters, peeling apples and yes even cutting cheese.

Not sure where all of this it has to be thin to work stuff came from, maybe too much TV or reading blogs from so called experts or reading posts from people who really don't use their knives for much other than the above.

Yes granted if the blade is 1/4" thick with a 50 Degree edge on it then yeah it's not much good for detail work, but take that same knife and thin the edge out to 30 degrees and it makes a world of difference.

The really thin 20 degree edges that some put on their blades will not last 5 mins in the field as they will roll or chip out the edges and are not much good other than to show off how they can split hairs to their buddies so they get that OOOOHHHH AHHHHHH OOOOOOH response.

I can take my blades and cut all the fuzzy sticks you want, and no they aren't 1/8" thick with a 20 degree angle on them either. ;)
 
Ankerson said:
Not sure where all of this it has to be thin to work stuff came from, maybe too much TV or reading blogs from so called experts or reading posts from people who really don't use their knives for much other than the above.
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And I'm not sure where all this "it has to be a quarter of an inch thick" stuff came from :rolleyes:

An "anorexic" Busse is still thick by normal peoples' standards.



Sharpened prybars have their place, but for a knife that I'm intending to primarily use for cutting, you're delusional if you think these thick things will cut as well as a thin knife.
 
MustardMan said:
And I'm not sure where all this "it has to be a quarter of an inch thick" stuff came from :rolleyes:

An "anorexic" Busse is still thick by normal peoples' standards.



Sharpened prybars have their place, but for a knife that I'm intending to primarily use for cutting, you're delusional if you think these thick things will cut as well as a thin knife.
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So you are trying to say that if a knife isn't thin than it can't cut?
 
I really think the thin fad is a reaction to the "Every knife has to be 1/4" thick mania of a few years ago. Notice that big knioves are making a comeback in the Bushcraft circles?

It's cyclic.

What I don't understand is why folks insist on only carrying one blade? They often cite weight, but since they brag on doing 30 miles a day, do they expect me to believe that they are too weak to carry a second blade?

I think it's a combination of laziness, and the romantic ideal of the minimalist.

Yet, when you ask the experts, they always choose their big worker if they were to only take one.

Take someone who works in heavy forests, especially in northern areas, say, Mors Kochanski. His "one sharp thing" pick is a 24" trapper's axe.
Jeff Randall? Machete, and that means an 18-22" one, not a 12" knife.
A Nepali? They'd tell you not to be stupid and just carry the damn karda in the same sheath as your kukri.

There I go ranting again. . .:D
 
Cpl Punishment said:
I really think the thin fad is a reaction to the "Every knife has to be 1/4" thick mania of a few years ago. Notice that big knioves are making a comeback in the Bushcraft circles?

It's cyclic.

What I don't understand is why folks insist on only carrying one blade? They often cite weight, but since they brag on doing 30 miles a day, do they expect me to believe that they are too weak to carry a second blade?

I think it's a combination of laziness, and the romantic ideal of the minimalist.

Yet, when you ask the experts, they always choose their big worker if they were to only take one.

Take someone who works in heavy forests, especially in northern areas, say, Mors Kochanski. His "one sharp thing" pick is a 24" trapper's axe.
Jeff Randall? Machete, and that means an 18-22" one, not a 12" knife.
A Nepali? They'd tell you not to be stupid and just carry the damn karda in the same sheath as your kukri.

There I go ranting again. . .:D
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Yeah I know what you mean. LOL :D

I carry a Big Blade and a folder, usually a Strider with me, that's all I need. :D

The Boss Street will take place of the folding knife as it pretty much the same blade length as my SmF's and I really don't like folders in the field personally.
 
Ankerson said:
The edge can be thinned out pretty quickly if one wants to do it, I plan on putting a 30 Degree edge on mine as soon as I get it. :)
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This is where we are talking about two different parts of the blade. I'm talking about the spine thickness and you are talking about the edge. A thick spine can get in the way while doing certain bushcraft chores. The edge can easily be thinned out but not as easy for the spine.
I had a .220 Meaner I loved but the spine thickness really hampered many tasks.
I had a few old SHSJ's that were black coated CG models. They were about .187 ish on the spine and they did detailed cutiing/notching with ease. Imagine a BOSS St at .187 on the spine....... opens its uses up to more things and more would consider it. The Tweener Meaners are perfect example for these uses and they sell fast when they go up.
I'm a fan of less is more with blades. The more I can do with one, the better.
 
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gofastalot said:
I have the Bravo 1 in CPM154 so the rust-resistance is not an issue, but even so, I have several other Bark Rivers in A2 and never had a problem. The blades are very sharp and I've never had a BRKT that wasn't a mad slicer. Most times they just need a little strop if anything after a days work. My Bravo 2, which is now relegated to kitchen duty, has not been touched-up in a few months of food prep, including cutting frozen ribs apart and carving a couple turkeys and some chickens.

My Busse collection is growing ever larger and its my favorite brand but I still think I have room for two brands in my collection of fixed blades. For light work and even EDC I think a BRKT is a fine choice, along with some Busses. For emergency, major chopping, or SHTF duty, I would pick a Busse. BRKT A2s are very tough but I think the advantage goes to INFI, however, the A2 is easy to sharpen and stays sharp for a long time. Many of my recent Busse's were very sharp when I got them but I think the sharpness and convex grind advantage may be with BRKT, although it is getting very close and any knife can be reprofiled and resharpened to pop hairs.
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Because INFI doesnt chip, its easier to sharpen since youre not grinding steel away from the edge. See what I mean go to Bussecombat.com and click the INFI tab.
 
Mr. WTF - I get that you're excited about Busse family knives, and I don't blame you... but I'm pretty certain gofastalot owns several more INFI blades than you do, and thus he has real actual first hand experience with the steel.


All I'm saying is, don't be so quick to try to inform people about these knives when you are so new to them yourself, and most of your knowledge of them comes from reading websites ;)
 
MustardMan said:
Mr. WTF - I get that you're excited about Busse family knives, and I don't blame you... but I'm pretty certain gofastalot owns several more INFI blades than you do, and thus he has real actual first hand experience with the steel.


All I'm saying is, don't be so quick to try to inform people about these knives when you are so new to them yourself, and most of your knowledge of them comes from reading websites ;)
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I dont own ANY INFI, but I have had many other steels before like X15TN, VG10, S30V, 8cr13MoV, etc...

Im just saying that regardless how many INFI blades someone owns, I think Jerry Busse still knows more about INFI than the person that bought the knives from him. That being said, he invented INFI, and he wrote the INFI page not me, so what Im saying really has nothing to do with how many INFI's I got because the info isnt coming from me its coming from Jerry which Im sure has more experience with INFI that gofastalot.
 
Don't worry about MM. Since Bravado doesn't poke around as much lately MustardMan has assumed the role of friendly opposition. Nothing wrong with a little debate, just roll with it and have fun.

The BOSS Street is a sweet knife and will definitely make a great companion to the BWM. You will be happy you bought one.


.
 
I just thought he was grouchy because all his knives are hidden in a safe and he never gets to enjoy them :confused:




;) :D
 
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