Busse ASH Transformation

I recall a thread in the Koster forum where folks compared INFI to CPM 3V. Interesting reading from what I remember although talking about the differences in steel reminds me of folks talking about fine wines. I love the descriptions.
 
kdstrick said:
I have used it around the ranch (cutting haystring, feedsacks, etc...) gutted, skinned, and processed (going through bones and all) 4 deer with the knife below this year. It is as sharp now as when I applied the convex edge before deer season. It will split hairs.
Click to expand...

Are you really saying that after all that work INFI will still split hairs? Seriously :confused:
 
I bought my one and only busse back in 98 and its by far the best knife i have ever had. I dont ever envision needing to but I could chop down a telephone pole with it if i needed to or pound it into a tree and tie off to it. And I love the way it cuts. I have found it easy to sharpen and it stays sharp.
After ten years of use the finish was showing wear so I stripped it. Rust has not been a problem. It was worth the cash I laid out for it. Its one of the very few things I have bought and been totally satisfied with. With it and my LM charge I feel like I'm good to go.
Also, Simon did some work for me a while back and it was top notch. I recently sent him another project and I would recomend him to anyone.
Josh
 
k_estela said:
Now, the real test will be the Winter Survival Course I'm teaching this Sunday through next Friday. You guys will have to wait for pics to see how it performs in the field. Don't you hate it when I tease you like this?!
Click to expand...

Not at all.:)

Jerry's been teasing us all for ... well, years.:eek:

I think what you're doing is just fine and maybe great. You're making your knife fit your needs -- not a thing wrong with that.

<tapping foot impatiently, awaiting field performance results>
 
Cool transformation. I just can't get past the look of their handles. I don't like end part of the handle on most of their knives.
 
Kev,

Your knife is a Skinny ASH, which is much thinner (.195") than the very thick ASH1 (.32"!) and already has a convex edge versus the ASH1's flat grind.

I have both versions and enjoy each one very much. Lots of folks think the Skinny ASH is the most practical Busse available.

If you haven't seen the knife destruction test video of the Skinny ASH, you should watch it. You'll find out what the knife is capable of and you'll have an even better appreciation of it! :)
http://www.knifetests.com/busseskinnyash1dtest.html

I am amazed at the close-up shots of the knife's tip after Noss pounded it into a concrete brick with a three-pound hammer several times. That INFI is some amazing stuff. Seeing the abuse it can take will give you complete confidence in the knife as a survival tool.

Great mods to a great knife! Thanks for sharing the photos.

Stay sharp,
desmobob
 
j_d said:
I bought my one and only busse back in 98 and its by far the best knife i have ever had. I dont ever envision needing to but I could chop down a telephone pole with it if i needed to or pound it into a tree and tie off to it. And I love the way it cuts. I have found it easy to sharpen and it stays sharp.
After ten years of use the finish was showing wear so I stripped it. Rust has not been a problem. It was worth the cash I laid out for it. Its one of the very few things I have bought and been totally satisfied with. With it and my LM charge I feel like I'm good to go.
Also, Simon did some work for me a while back and it was top notch. I recently sent him another project and I would recomend him to anyone.
Josh
Click to expand...
Which Busse do you have?
 
James_Terrio said:
At those prices, they should come from the factory already "modded" like that... so they actually cut well. There is simply no reason a big knife shouldn't be a cutter. INFI steel has a great reputation for toughness, so I don't understand why their edges aren't ground thinner to begin with.

Sorry, Busse spies, but I'm still not buying the hype. No way am I paying multi-hundreds of dollars for a knife I have to re-grind.

On the other hand, the ones you guys have modded look great!
Click to expand...

The problem is the intended use. Busse Combat isn't making bushcraft blades -- although they can be used for that. They are hard use knives for doing things with that you normally wouldn't do with a knife. IMFI steel is TOUGH. It isn't the best for edge retention, for grinding super-thin edges, etc. It's meant to take a beating and keep going. There's plenty of stories on the Busse forum about guys doing rescue work prying car doors open with them. One police officer (IIRC) got shot with a .40 S&W and the bullet dented the blade of the Busse he was wearing -- and DID NOT go through.

As for the edge, it's ground fairly obtuse and toothy. For it's intended use -- prying, chopping and cutting things like seatbelts, metal, etc, it's exactly what you want.

To see just how "bad" a Busse Combat blade could be for bushcraft, I gave a Hellrazor a workout. This is obviously not a blade designed for bushcraft:
Hellrazor02.jpg


As it came, the edge was not good for cutting wood. I sharpened it -- keeping the factory grind angle -- just polishing the edge. That made allt he difference. It cut fuzz sticks with ease, batoned through very hard wood without problems, drilled out divots for a bow & drill. . .you just don't need a convex edge to do that, sorry.

If you want such an edge, then you can either do what Kevin did (which I don't have a problem with, for the record), or buy the LE versions they sell which (from what I've seen) come with satin finishes and convexed from spine to edge.
 
Point taken, CplPunishment. But I have a couple big knives with mildly convexed edges, they both slice like blue blazes and
I wouldn't hesitate to bash my way into a car with them if I had to. I'm saying you can have it both ways, that's all.
Cpl Punishment said:
If you want such an edge, then you can either do what Kevin did (which I don't have a problem with, for the record), or buy the LE versions they sell which (from what I've seen) come with satin finishes and convexed from spine to edge.
Click to expand...
kdstrick said:
Well... I'm no spy ;)...but I am convinced that INFI is fantastic knife steel based on my experiences. Busse recently released several blades in a competition (no coating, but rough) finish with a wicked convex edge. I bought 2 models and they are ungodly sharp.
Click to expand...

Now you're talking my language. That's a wise move on Busse's part.

kdstrick said:
IMG_2316.jpg
Click to expand...
Wait a second... you carry a fine high-dollar knife but drink Bud Light?!?!?

Me too :D
Cpl Punishment said:
One police officer (IIRC) got shot with a .40 S&W and the bullet dented the blade of the Busse he was wearing -- and DID NOT go through.
Click to expand...

Just to be a smart-alec... I'm not sure that's much of a test. Would the same pistol bullet have been stopped by an equal-sized piece of 1095? Mild steel? Aluminum?

It does show that the blade isn't brittle :thumbup:
 
Last edited:
Point is, INFI is tough, not uber hard -- thus not the best edge retainer -- and meant to be abused, thus they come with the grind they do.

Not saying a convex edge isn't good, or even better, for wood chores (my favorite bushcrafter being a BRKT Aurora), I'm just pointing out that Busses are optimized for a different task.

Answering the "Why don't they all come like this?" question.
 
Great mods Kev, :thumbup: …nicely done Simon. :thumbup:


I would have done the same if it was my knife,

…and would be tempted to upgrade to wood handle scales. :cool:


No shame in making a knife work the way you want it to, :eek:

…with the mods it should be a great field tool. :thumbup: :thumbup:




"If you're not living on the edge, …you're taking up too much space."

Big Mike
 
Cpl Punishment said:
Answering the "Why don't they all come like this?" question.
Click to expand...

Fair enough, friend. At the time of my first post, I didn't know Busse offered the option of a convex edge. I've never heard anything I don't like about INFI steel, I'm all about giving up a little edge-retention to get more toughness on a big knife.

Dammit, now I want one too!! :D
 
theonew said:
Are you really saying that after all that work INFI will still split hairs? Seriously :confused:
Click to expand...

Absolutely... I haven't touched the edge since and I can notice no difference in the edge after all that. Well... maybe a couple of strops on my jeans leg at most (kind of a habit for me):). I really thought going through the ribcage of the deer would do it. Or even the haystring, since the hay often has a LOT of dirt, grime, etc... between it and the string and it can dull a knife fast. I was as surprised as anyone.

At Blade several years ago, in a live demonstration, Jerry cut over 2700 pieces of 1" hemp... the knife was still cutting but they ran out of rope. Search the forum here and you can find some threads. That fact is the reason I first bought a Busse.

I don't use Busse's because I necessarily like to spend money... or because I like the way they look. In fact, I am more of a traditional knife fan with regard to appearance... It is all about performance to me... and I haven't seen anything out perform it yet in all around use. Now if I can just get Busse to make a nice stag hunter model...;):D
 
That looks well done. I have compromised many a blade with my belt sander, I learned from my mistakes and send 'em to Ban...
DSC_0162.jpg
 
The mods on the ASH-! look great. I hope they do what you want them to do. I don't mess with the blade coating since it smooths out and wears down after some use. I re-profiled my Shinny ASH to a 20°-25° compound edge (40°-50° inclusive) and give it a good stropping on the mousepad with sandpaper at 400 then 600 grit. I maintain it with the sandpaper. I hate grinding away a bunch of steel that I just purchased, I figure it will lose a little bit as it goes along. You sure put a lot of work into yours and I hope it works for you.
 
I'm sure there is a Busse lover out there somewhere gritting his teeth and praying for your ruination...
I had to do close to the same thing with my old RAT7. Had to remove the black coating and polished it as much as I could with successive grit sand paper all the way up to 2000 grit. Now it has an almost mirror shine. I'll post some pics when I can think about it. It looks good, actually.
 
Damn that thing looks great. Simon, great work duder! and my F&I lady wants to rape you. She was standing here while I was reading the thread and fell in love. lol
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top