Busse and Bark river

An average guy can afford a Bark River. The same is not true of a Busse.
 
J_Curd said:
An average guy can afford a Bark River. The same is not true of a Busse.
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False. The "average guy" would think Bark Rivers extravagantly expensive. Bark Rivers are priced at about the level of Swamp Rat knives. (which are in the Busse Family)
 
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Fairly different companies, and hard to compare directly. Busse is low volume and produces in batches. They use INFI steel exclusively and make their knives to be more durable. Bark River, while still a small operation, produces more knives and uses dealers. Their knives range from very tough bushcraft models to more delicate skinners and EDC knives. Bark River targets the outdoors/bushcraft/hunting crowd more than the Military/LEO market that Busse targets. Bark River makes smaller knives in general, though they have some large models. Bark River uses a wider range of handle materials including hardwoods and bone; if you want a wood handled Busse you'll have to go through their custom shop. As for which one suits you best, it depends on your needs. There is a Busse subforum here and a BRKT subforum over at KnifeForums for more information.
 
morimotom said:
like Apples And Kangaroos....
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I like it!



Another point of difference: BRKT does primarily smooth handles - Mike Stewart believes that on a knife designed to be used, a rough handle just raises blisters. It's the shape of the handle, not the roughness, that gives a secure grip.

Busse tends to heavy, obtuse convex edges for durability in heavy use; BRKT does very fine convex edges for cutting.
 
A busse is good for breaking through concrete, metal and tough hardwoods without damage. A bark river will slice like there's no tommorow while still being incredibly tough (nowhere near as tough as a busse though). I would say a bark river is a better bushcraft/hunting/camping knife and a busse is a better survival/combat/abuse knife.
 
If I'm going into combat, the very last thing I'd want to take with me is a knife - chances are it will still be sitting handsomely in its sheath on my belt when my opponent picks me off from a few hundred yards away with a lowly .30-.30 lever action cowboy gun.

I think I'd rather have an M-14 with a 4x Zeiss or Swarovski optic (and plenty of .308 NATO), if it's all the same.

As far as knives go, the choices of fantastic blades in all manner of materials and design are endless and the optimal choice, it seems to me, is really just a matter of personal preference.
 
Both very different styles IMO, but both make great knives, which compliment each other nicely. They are in my top three brands.
 
perksy said:
Both very different styles IMO, but both make great knives, which compliment each other nicely. They are in my top three brands.
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What he said! Both are great knives, but really like Jekyll and Hyde. If you like knives, your life will not be complete until you have one of each! :D Of course, for many people on these forums, these two companies are the worst as far as "You can't have just one!" Both make a great range of different models, all really good knives.

If it helps any, if I could only have one and my life depended on it, I would take a Busse. If I could have two, the other would be a Barkie! :thumbup:
 
Bark River makes very affordable semi-custom knives that look fantastic and perform great.

Busse makes, from what I've read here, limited runs of nigh unbreakable large choppers that take a great edge and hold it a long, long time, through plenty of abuse. You pay the price for a limited run of what are arguably the best of their kind.
 
Bark River makes mostly very traditional knives, whereas Busse generally makes everything but - Busses are strongly built modern tacticals, quite the opposite of what Bark River does in many ways. I like both, although out of the two, I spend more on Busses - simply because Busses have little competition that builds the same type of knife, which is an immensely tough combat/survival knife. Bark Rivers, being more traditional cutters and slicers, have much more competition that attracts my wallet. :D
 
Both companies make great, highly addictive knives. Busse's are generally bigger and tougher, Barkies are generally smaller and more highly finished. Busse's are basically indestructible, and have an unconditional lifetime guarantee. Barkies are much more traditional, and generally have better out of the box edges.

Both companies make useful, durable knives that can be used in outdoorsy/ survival/ military environments. Both companies have excellent reputations, and are run by highly enthusiastic individuals who value the feedback of their end line users.
 
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