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

That could be. I like to keep knives in a safe as much as the next guy, but I can only handle the screams of abuse I hear from the safe for so long. Then I have to take one out and give it a good beating to make it happy.:cool::thumbup:
 
He was talking about Bravado. You will hear from him soon enough. He is actually really funny in a twisted kind of way. At least I think so . . .
 
PeterPHWS said:
They are all from 3 or 4 mm thick stock and they all have a depth of scandi grind which is 8 to 9 mm....doing trigonometry maths this means that the edge on a zero grind is around the 25 degree inclusive mark.

This is way too thin for 01 steel or any other steel hardened to around 58-59 Rc... the edge simply rolls and if hardened higher it like as not would probably chip.

The best edge retention for these blades is by giving them a micro bevel and from my experience my best/most long lasting edges come from using the Sharpmaker on the 40 degree inclusive angle for the ceramic rods.

Spyderco tested a lot of angles before putting the Sharpmaker out on sale and found 40 degree inclusive to be the ideal for most steels and I have to say from my experience trying all sorts of angles I cannot contradict them.

However if you are looking at Scandi grinds for Bushcraft use on the basis that field sharpening is the reason for choosing them as the consistancy of using the grind for a zero edge makes field sharpening "easy"....and now find out that to make the knife perform well you need to sharpen using a micro bevel...the whole reason for choosing a Scandi design has to come into question :confused:

And for those who want to say my knife works perfect on a Scandi zero edge...well check out the Ray Mears DVD on sharpening a Woodlore....I think it is available on U tube...Ray does a zero grind and then strops his edge for 50 strokes which will certainly convex the edge somewhat...and then he runs it along the window of a Landrover at an angle which is not a zero edge but more like the 40 degree inclusive you would get from a Sharpmaker....so if Ray is putting a micro bevel on his knife and he designed the Woodlore and probably has more user hours clocked up than most of us...it is unlikely that what I have said is wrong...
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Cliff Stamp tried to teach folk here the value of a narrow grind, strengthened by a microbevel. Some of us listened and learned. Vivi has been doing his best to carry on that advocacy, among others.
 
Moloko Plus said:
One thing I should mention, I will not be modding the BOSS to give it a convex edge prior to the competition. This test is to see which one I like better in its "natural" configuration.

While a RAT 4 may be more similar to a BOSS, similarity isn't the point here. The Bravo 1 is the best bushcraft/survival knife I own and I want to see if I can one-up it. The RAT 4 and Fallkniven F1 and S1 already lost in previous field tests, so this is just a one-on-one competition.

Here's a preliminary list of test factors I'll be considering:

Bulk
Cutting geometry
Balance
Ergonomics
Ease of sharpening
Edge retention
Corrosion resistance
Notching
Batoning (with cutting edge)
Batoning (tip-first)
Chopping
Slicing
Prying (light only - this isn't a destruction test!)
Stripping (bark and branches, not shirts and underwear)
Firesteel striking

Any ideas for additional tests?
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You forgot throwing!
 
Cpl Punishment said:
...This is why I'm such an advocate of the two-tool philosophy. And historically, the two-tool philosophy is borne out....(snip)... Get a big tool and learn to use it, use it for everything, including the detail work, as much as possible. (snip) Then get a small blade of your choice for the little stuff. Most of all, pick the tools that work best with your style...
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I agree wholeheartedly. and appreciate your contribution to the thread.

I will find the right pairing for my BWM, which I've been using for all sorts of things from chopping limbs to cutting up whole turkeys to cleaning and dicing jalapenos. handling it often, creating/refining muscle memories.

I intend to become very very familiar with this knife, in a myriad of situations. and I've ordered a BOSS Street to see how it fares. together I will expect most anything and everything from them. it'll be fun for sure.
 
Mr.WTF! said:
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.
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Easier to sharpen than what? Its easier than a minute on a strop? Really? How can you personally say something is easier when you have never done it? INFI doesn't chip? Ever? Maybe under normal use it doesn't, but I have seen it chip. INFI is great, yes, but it is not supernatural magical metal that is superior in every way, every situation, every time, always.
 
Well this thread is turning out to be one of the more interesting ones....and to help if I can on some points made....

On the "no guard" and "no choil" aspect on a true scandi knife the reason for this is the need to work with Mitts on in a cold climate. If you look at the scandi blades posted by Cpl P on page 5 you can see that the handles are very distinctive in their features. The first is the large rear swell and taper to the blade...this is because knife techniques in the Artic circle teach that all cuts need to be "pull cuts" and not "push cuts"....thick mitts or numb hands....whichever way...as both are likely and need to be catered for...mean you need to design a knife that can work well in those circumstances.

If working with Mitts on and cutting you don't want a choil snagging on the cut where you line it up...you need to go simple and just place the object near the handle and pull away...

The scandi grind acting as a guide for fuzz sticks or more particularly slicing dried meat and fish is again a feature of the need to work well with little "hand feeling"....the grind is a real plus as a guide when it is minus 30 degrees and until you have a fire going preping food bare handed is a quick way to loose your fingers.

Then the lack of a metal guard or any guard...you don't need them if you pull cut...and you don't want metal near the handle because of skin freezing and sticking to it.....hence hidden tangs and no metal guards or bolsters...

Seemingly when the Woodlore was designed some of the useful aspects of a Scandi blade were incorporated and using the grind as a guide for wood working is a noticeable benefit...but there are disadvantages as well...at 4mm thick the short travel when slicing before you meet the full thickness of the blade does'nt do wonders on preping vegetables if slicing...but the grind works a treat if peeling...personally I prefer a blade 3mm thick which is a better compromise but it is a nuance thing really....

A lot of people say the true scandi blades are thinner because they work so much with fish...I agree with this...whilst you can use an Innuit technique of using your thumbs to fillet a fish...a thinner blade is a real blessing if needing to slice it for "drying"...or "smoking"...and they do a fair bit of this over the summer...in winter...the temperature means preserving food is no problem...it is warmer in most peoples freezers...

Therefore the "Scandi Grind" is there as a guide for cutting/slicing...not for sharpening.

A good way of working with a knife when you have no sense of feeling...

I have posted elsewhere that when it comes to a military knife for cold climate use I think the S5 LE is a much better knife than the F1 issued to the Swedish Army and which I have had to use on certain courses...the larger grrips work great in heavy mitts...and when wet from melted snow they stick nicer than the F1...and the sabre grind helps a lot in acting as a guide but you do have to "tilt" the knife once lined up...however the F1 has no similar guide anyway...the only thing needed to finish the job of the S5 being perfect is to reduce the choil or better still to remove it....and with the mudder grips you can do a very effective "push" or "stab" cut if need be...

These are just some of the reasons I really rate the S5LE...

For warmer climate "Bushcraft" work any good woodsmans knife would do...but you can get some great work from the Woodlore...one of the benefits of this knife is that the Scandi Grind is done by Alan Wood on a slight hollow grind basis...meaning he uses a wheel for this and not a belt which gives a flat or convex shape...the slight hollow grind really helps easily doing a micro bevel and also helps clearance on getting a slicing cut to bite...

After a lot of waiting I have just snagged my "grail" bushcrafter from him...done in damasteel to Rc 62 I am really pleased with it....

P1000914.jpg
 
Excellent thoughts on the difference between bushcraft and the rest.

I am reminded of a few sayings from long ago...

"A tool for every job"

"Jack of All Trades,Master of none"

Regarding some of the all purpose "as seen on TV" super duper knives,
"A fool and his money will soon part"

and finally from PT Barnum
"Theres a sucker born every minute"


Did I mention im one broke tootsiepop?
 
I have a question about the choils, especially the so called 'elf choil'... has anyone ever tried to take a round file and sharpen them? This would obviously be a bad idea for a full sized choil as it would be very easy to not realize its sharpened and cut a finger. But with the non functional choil, if it were sharpened into a half circle type cutting area.... just an idea, and I may end up trying this when my boss st. comes in. Thoughts?
 
I have'nt sharpened the elf choil to a "V" but have took a rounded dremel suitably sized to give a good flat right angled edge to the smaller choil so that you can stick a ferro rod in there and make use of it as a good striker.

If you had a rounded spine with the Nuclear meltdown treatment the use of the choil like that would be quite handy...
 
230grains said:
Not as good as Busses, they have a lifetime warranty against manufacturers defects. The only company with a better warranty than Busse is Rat Cutlery, which is impossible to beat, even by Busse.
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What? Mike Stewart will send you a new blade to you on the spot if you actually manage to break a Bark River. His warranty/customer server is superb.
 
230grains said:
I'm going by the warranty page and what it says, not from experience.
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Bark River's website is probably the most outdated and bugged site in the history of the World Wide Web. Nobody updates it... If you want reliable info on Bark River concerning their policies, you need to pick up the phone or deal with them in person. (or read the Bark River's message board).
 
Bark River's warranty is pretty good. The only bad thing I could see with it is that if he doesn't have any of the blade blanks for your knife available, you may wind up waiting until the next production run to get your replacement.

He does fix problems, though, no matter what caused them. And their $12 spa treatment is nice.
 
If one really wants a real tough Bushcraft blade, then the Bark River Aurora is much better than the Bravo-1-- and better than any Busse, for that matter.
 
DowntownDM said:
any other broad sweeping opinions you'd like to enlighten us with? :rolleyes:
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I'm talking about Bushcraft knives here only, and the Aurora was built and designed from scratch as a pure Bushcraft tool by experts. Hold and use one and you'll immediatly notice that. The Bravo-1 was not... And Busses are sharpened prybars built to take any abuse you throw at them and they excel at that, but they are no Bushcraft tools. I love both brands, but I roll by the "use the right tool for a given job" school of thought. Just my 2 cents.
 
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