Bushcrafter jr or Busse Boney active duty

J_mcrane

J_mcrane

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Dec 7, 2013
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Im looking for a thinner smaller fixed blade and narrowed it to these 2 knives. It will be used for edc, outdoors, and possible game prep.

Do any of you have both or give perspectives.

I'm a long time Busse guy. But this would be my fist FF.


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Sorry but these are not in the same category with each other. The Fiddlebacks are a fine beautiful handmade tool that will bring you smile when carrying and using as an EDC. especially in 1/8 or 3/32 thickness. There are numerous models that will fill your wants or needs.
 
Out of those two I'd actually go with the BAD. I like the BAD handle and blade profile. The overall feel of the BC Jr and its blade profile is just not for me. I'm probably in the minority there.

That said, I'd definitely take a Patch Knife or a Handyman over either of them.
 
I've never had one of The Active Duty models, but the Rodent Solution I had was along those same lines. The BC Jr will have more hand comfort in long term use. The Busse will offer more traction with bloody hands. A tapered BC Jr will have less needless mass in the handle. The Busse has a pointier tip. The BC Jr can be gotten with various beautiful burl wood handles. It really all depends on your knife use priorities.
 
I have had and used he BAD. Loved it. No experience on the bushcrafter.
 
As many have said, the BC jr is an all purpose small fixed blade BC knife. It will tackle game prep, field craft, and every day chores with ease. The Busse will do the same albeit with more tactical ergonomics and is a bit pointier.. I love both makers, but my heart has always been with the 'forge as their knives seem to function as a natural extension of the hand. The Busse A/D models are work horses and are good to go out of the box.. I guess It just depends on what style of knife you like; either way you are good to go :thumbup:
 
Bc Jr. has a much superior guard. The active duty has a big circle right where you don't want a big circle. I have verified that this particular big circle offers very little resistance to hand pressure. Your hand has the potential to slip on the guard if using the knife in a way that would permit that. The BC Jr. does not have much of a guard, but the integral guard made by the frame has a hard, squared point which does offer some resistance. With either, the blade may be "locked" in the hand by using the thumb up against the butt of the tang. In such a case the BC Jr. offers a more comfortable reverse grip. These are in my experience only. I own knives from both brands and enjoy them very much. In this particular case, but not all cases, the Fiddleback would be my choice. I am also sensitive to knife names... the Active Duty speaks to military heritage that unfortunately I do not share. Bc Jr. makes me want to hike.
 
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J_mcrane said:
Im looking for a thinner smaller fixed blade and narrowed it to these 2 knives. It will be used for edc, outdoors, and possible game prep.

Do any of you have both or give perspectives.

I'm a long time Busse guy. But this would be my fist FF.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

Both great knives. The decision comes down to the uses you have for the knife and whether or not a choil would be a dangerous hinderance to those uses. IE, are you planning to skin game with it? Cut cloth? Rope and string? Plan on notching or doing any tough cuts where you need the edge right by your fist? If so, avoid choils.

And I ask. Why does a finger choil need to be on a small knife? A knife that size, why would you need to choke up on the blade? I assert that if a blade this small needs to have a choil so one can 'choke up' for fine work, then the handle is not designed right. You won't need to choke up on ANY of my smaller knives. Your hand can stay safely on the handle.

Keep in mind that I own and love and have used many Busses, and I revere Jerry Busse. BUT I do detest choils. They are a fad and a design flaw. JMHO, YMMV.
 
Fiddleback said:
And I ask. Why does a finger choil need to be on a small knife? A knife that size, why would you need to choke up on the blade? I assert that if a blade this small needs to have a choil so one can 'choke up' for fine work, then the handle is not designed right. You won't need to choke up on ANY of my smaller knives. Your hand can stay safely on the handle.
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That's one of the things that bugged me about that model. It isn't actually a finger choil. It's too small to fit a finger in. It's an over-sized (in my opinion) sharpening choil, which would seriously get on my nerves when cutting things like cord and fishing line etc. It wouldn't bother me with feather sticks, I could work out past that, but in a lot of my uses it would get in my way. I'd rather have cutting edge there. I actually learned this from one of my own older designs where I stupidly thought to use that area to strike a ferro rod...then learned how bad of an idea that really is. The absence of a sharpening choil really bothers some folks, but I am just the opposite. One of the many reasons I like carrying Fiddlebacks is the absence of any sort of notch between the edge and ricasso for string and line to get caught in.
 
Bushcrafter Jr is the way to go. I skinned and quartered a whitetail deer this weekend with a Bushcrafter Jr and it performed flawlessly with zero hand discomfort and the A2 steel held it's edge well.

No disrespect to Busse as they make great blades as well
 
Thank you all for your input. This will be my first FF. I appreciate the respect shown to the other brand mentioned as well. Y'all are a top notch crew over here.

Andy, I value your opinion. It's rare to see an owner way in. I appreciate your time.

Let the hunt begin...


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J_mcrane said:
Thank you all for your input. This will be my first FF. I appreciate the respect shown to the other brand mentioned as well. Y'all are a top notch crew over here.

And Andy, it's rare to see the owner way in. I value your comments.

Let the hunt begin...


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Click to expand...




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I do love the feel of a Busse, I've got a few : ) But I have to agree with the no-choil opinions here. More than once in my around the house chores have I cursed the Busse choil... I'd actually recommend a FF Patch or Hiking Buddy if you're looking at a Busse A.D. The blades are a little more in line with the A.D. but the handles fit my hand better than the B.C. Jr. YMMV.

~Jim
 
Have the Busse, great little knife, no experience on this specific FB. I'd say both will work great, just depends on which blade profile you like best.
 
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