Busse Boss Jack questions

nosrak

nosrak

Joined
Jun 25, 2011
Messages
56
I'm new to bladeforums and have a few questions regarding Busses knives. I'm really interested in buying a Boss jack and would like to know how people feal about the knife with a choil and without. Also cg or le is the extra thickness really needed. If I were to get a cg how hard is it to remove the finish and how do busses knives look after the finish has been removed( any pics would be great). I know infi is not supposed to rust easily but will a le or a blade with a removed finish rust more easily? Will Busse combat change the handles on your knife if u send it in? The primary use of this knife will be for camping and backpacking. I appreciate any feedback. Thanks a lot guys. I can't wait to get one of these awesome blades!
 
Welcome to the forums!

I only have CGs, but I can share what I've read. Anything I mention about the LE is purely from what I hear. It was interesting to me, actually, that when the BOSS Jack was first released, any post on the forum asking for feedback on which one to buy overwhelmingly favored the LE. Later on, though, the CG gained more support.

INFI is a great steel and the LE is still plenty strong at 0.18" thick. The LE, however, with its thinner stock and saber grind, is a better slicer.

I am usually a choil guy, but I found that in actual use around the campfire, I did not employ the choil at all. I enjoyed the choil when I was chopping the air at my desk in my comfortable, warm home, but once I started using the BOSS Jack for shaving, chopping, so on, I didn't choke up on the choil at all. As you probably know, though, your preference may be different.

There are several pictures of Busses with the coating removed. They look surprisingly clean after a few easy minutes with some paint stripper. Not tough at all to remove.

An uncoated blade will rust more easily just because it's uncoated, of course.. but it's still very easy to deal with. Just wipe it off after use. In my experience with INFI, this is almost a nonissue.

Busse will change the handles if you like. I am not sure how they handle this if the knife is used and if you'd like a custom handle or a handle that was regularly offered in the BOSS Jack's production run, but I'm sure they'll be willing to help you out. They're great people.
 
I have inquired in the past about the handles, on the blade I wanted I think it was like $50-$75 depending on the handle material you wanted, didn't matter used or new just email Garth
 
silverbullets said:
I have inquired in the past about the handles, on the blade I wanted I think it was like $50-$75 depending on the handle material you wanted, didn't matter used or new just email Garth
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Is that true even with handles that weren't offered standard with the model? If so, it seems like a loophole...
As in, rather than pay the way higher custom price for a different handle directly from Busse, you could buy the cheapest standard production handle then send it back for a nonstandard custom one and pay less. No custom shop logo of course, but I was wondering about that.

I have some combat grade ones right now that, when I'm through beating them up, want to send back for some nice wood handles, but don't know whether I would pay just $50-$75 for the wood and labor or that plus an extra hundred or so for the wood not being offered standard with those CGs.
 
I received my BJLE just days before they ended the run. Very fortunate timing. I had double liners added to canvas micarta. Made this one of the most comfortable knives I've ever used. I'm not a choil fan. I understand the advantage in the times you need a larger blade to do fine work, and I've read it can help when sharpening. Like most around here, I never carry a large knife without a smaller knife (or two!) as well, so no need for a choil to let me "choke up" on the blade. Sharpening seems to work out fine for me without the gap created by a choil, so I'm okay there too. I went with the LE because I prefer Satin blades, the thinner profile makes a better slicer (as much as a blade this thick can be), and I've never had a problem with rust on Infi, including a very hard used-stripped Mil Overrun Meaner. I think the CG's best advantage is usually price. As I believe Gary mentioned, they are pretty easy to strip.

Since Blade Forum threads are "useless without pics", here you go.

 
I am partial to sabre grinds and had the shop credit, so I went with the LE. I would generally go with CG and strip it. Stripping coated INFI is very easy and you will find quite a few threads on that subject here. As to the choil, I believe firmly that it is just about preference. I find that any argument as to the choil being a detriment or benefit to this size of knife is going to be based on personal use patterns. So, you will have to do the research yourself or have faith in one side or the other. I prefer choils, but would not try to convince anybody else that it would be better for them than not. For the size of knife the handle is a little lean, but I prefer that. I have read of others having thicker slabs and liners put on through the shop. I generally go the other direction since I have meaty hands and can manage thinner slabs better.

Here's mine.
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My immediate response when the BJ went up was this.
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After using it on a few deer this fall I also ordered a CG with black/ orange G10 right before they got pulled- also no choil. It wasn't because the LE was too fragile- far from it. It was because I liked my LE so much I figured having a thicker one would be a good idea- and easier to see in low-light with orange slabs.

I did send the LE back to get one set of liners put on it because I found it to be a tad thin. The thicker CG I'm waiting to see how it handles before deciding on liners.
I went no choil on both because I never use them- not even on my NMSFNO. Just not a choil guy I guess. The edge comes further back on the choiless blades as well so you can cut almost all the way back to the slabs or rock on the back of the edge to get more leverage.
Just my 2 bits.
 
We can change your handles to just about anything. To clarify, No any handle does not run $50-$75 it depends on the material being used. Wood, bone, ivory, mammoth tooth all incur a higher price than micarta or g10 handles. It also depends on the availability of said material. Mammoth ivory for example has a price that changes like the weather. If interested in a handle change just email me with what you are looking for and I can get you a price.

Garth
garth@bussecombat.com
 
Garth Reckner said:
We can change your handles to just about anything. To clarify, No any handle does not run $50-$75 it depends on the material being used. Wood, bone, ivory, mammoth tooth all incur a higher price than micarta or g10 handles. It also depends on the availability of said material. Mammoth ivory for example has a price that changes like the weather. If interested in a handle change just email me with what you are looking for and I can get you a price.

Garth
garth@bussecombat.com
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He and his crew do excellent work. I've always been VERY happy with the results.

Just don't let him get at the tequila until the work is done!:eek:
 
Here is a pic of my CG that I stripped.

It took just over two hours for all of them. All stripped very easily. The B11 was a little more stubborn than the others but the CGBJ did not want to give it up totally and ended up with some sort of dark color remaining. The first after-strip pic was taken prior to any sanding (except the Rodent Solution which was stripped a few days prior).

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After some sanding, the CGBJ looks like this:


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I don't have a preference yet for CG vs LE.

Because I have used the CG but am ashamed to admit that I have not used an LE yet.:(
 
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l2lku2 said:
DSC_5062_resize.jpg
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The grind line on #349 is so different from the rest of them... it's lower and gets closer to the tip than the others do. Was that an imperfection or did you request that? Still a nice collection. I'm jealous! :grumpy: And I thought I was a BOSS Jack addict... I knew the end came when I passed #5 (the custom BOSS Jack) in Knoboganza :eek:
 
Thanks for the info. I,m still undecided on what style of Boss Jack to get, though I suppose whatever is for sale on ebay or here will dictate my decision more than anything. Thanks again.
 
uyotg said:
The grind line on #349 is so different from the rest of them... it's lower and gets closer to the tip than the others do. Was that an imperfection or did you request that?
Click to expand...

You have a keen eye - someone else noticed the same when I posted these pics in another thread. I did not request it - it just came that way.
 
nosrak said:
Thanks for the info. I,m still undecided on what style of Boss Jack to get, though I suppose whatever is for sale on ebay or here will dictate my decision more than anything. Thanks again.
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Let me decide for you then :) CG. I dunno, something about buying an LE secondhand seems to defeat the purpose of the limited editionness of it. If you use it harder, the thickness and full-height convex grind might just end up being better.
 
A lot of guys on this forum absolutely love their boss jack, but for some reason I never warmed up to it that much, I sold it a few weeks after I got it in the mail. The handle to blade ratio felt awkward to me, and because the blade was significantly larger than the handle (imo), the knife had a weight forward feel, which is great for choppers, but the BJ was to small to be a designated chopper, and to big and thick for most food prep. The handle was also very thing thin; many people put spacers in to solve that problem, but by this point I figured I'd sell it and buy some other INFI... Do what you want though, you can't go wrong with Busse!!!!
 
To me the Boss Jack seems to be the most practical Busse knife for basic camp chores and backpacking/survival. I feel the basic 6 fits this category too, but it has no beauty just pure functionality. Therefor the Boss Jack is the knife for me and I'm leaning toward a CG because it will see some serious use and look really good doing it. Thanks for the pictures l2lku2 great visual reference.
 
Ive posted quite a few boss jack threads showing my stripping and polishing process. A search will show you them. I prefer the CG. I think its a better value. I stripped mine and polished it to a mirror shine. Numbers on knives don't do anything for me. I got a thicker more robust knife with a zero convex edge for less money. I have found zero tasks that the knife was too thick for.
 
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