Busse craze?

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cash2006 said:
I have been a knife nut all my life and don't understand the Busse craze. Most I've spent on one is $150. What is it about Busse that commands the high price?
TY
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They are extremely tough, use a proprietary steel (INFI as has been mentioned) and are WELL made!
 
Busse makes some nice knives. I like their TGLB, however, some of their designs are a bit repetitive.

With Busse their is a lot of hype, some truth, a bit of hyperbole, and tons of marketing.

In truth, INFI is just an air hardened tool steel with Nitrogen added. Their proprietary heat treat does make the steel very tough and it will roll before it ever chips. From what you read on the interwebs you would think that INFI is made from exploded comets or Thor's hammer. In truth, its not that much different than commercially available 3V.

I still would like to buy a TGLB because I like the design and the esthetics; I could care less about the hype or becoming part of a "club".
 
bladeninja said:
I don't own a Busse, "YET". But I'm looking into it now cause I'm intrigued by their proprietary INFI. When I get one, it will be put through the ringer and used regularly.
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Check out the Ganza coming tonight. There might be something you like and at a god price. You can read about it in the Busse sub-forum here.



retzius said:
With Busse their is a lot of hype, some truth, a bit of hyperbole, and tons of marketing.
From what you read on the interwebs you would think that INFI is made from exploded comets or Thor's hammer.
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If you take all the joking about INFI seriously, you must not understand sarcasm. Yeah us Busse fans joke about it having super powers but it's all in good fun. I can't imagine anyone actually believing INFI is the best blade steel around for any application. It's a good all around steel for big choppers. Most Busse fans will openly admit it's not the best choice for small knives. I wouldn't want a Busse folder unless it used something other than INFI. There is more to Busse knives than the steel. The guarantee is up there with the best. The designs are amazing (most of the time). The Busse crew are some of the nicest people you will meet.
 
al g blenny said:
Check out the Ganza coming tonight. There might be something you like and at a god price. You can read about it in the Busse sub-forum here.





If you take all the joking about INFI seriously, you must not understand sarcasm. Yeah us Busse fans joke about it having super powers but it's all in good fun. I can't imagine anyone actually believing INFI is the best blade steel around for any application. It's a good all around steel for big choppers. Most Busse fans will openly admit it's not the best choice for small knives. I wouldn't want a Busse folder unless it used something other than INFI. There is more to Busse knives than the steel. The guarantee is up there with the best. The designs are amazing (most of the time). The Busse crew are some of the nicest people you will meet.
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^--- You forgot the Kool-Aid...
We have Kool-Aid in the Busse Sub-forum! ;)

I agree, I really like INFI and the big-honkin-choppers, but I have plenty of knives from other makers too.
Oh, and I'd LOVE to see a Busse folder in ELMAX or CTS-XHP!!! :thumbup:
 
Busse has thick and thin knives.

There are many models that are built like TANKS. Suitable for actual heavy abuse. Prying, smashing, breaking. They make models like this that don't seem to be thick based in spine dimensions. But with a lot of meat left above the edge. Fat cheeks, as it were.


These models won't ever make great slicers.


But they do make models for slicing. CABS, BAD, SS, (usually the shop is sure to let you know when they release slicers).

They make all kinds!


Just get one designed for what you want. Chopper? Thick pry bar? Thin slicer? Convex grind? Flat grind? Hollow grind? Fuller? Clip? Bowie? Sword? Thick sword? Thinsword? Long Sword? Hatchet? Trench knife? Fancy? Plain......? Fancy custom? Plain custom?.......

If you answered yes to any of these...... they have made a model for you.



They are tough. Even the thin higher hardness models are tougher than they should be.
 
Yeah i think they got even more popular with Noss' testing to destruction HERE. He has since quite due to health issues I think but I think you can still find the old D test videos.
 
I didn't understand all the talk about busse untill I got one in my had, then it all made sense.
 
Some of us can afford to pay more and prefer a well made quality knife. I have no Busse knives but my stable is full of Blind Horse, Bark River, Fiddleback Forge, Chris Reeve, etc. All are fine crafted tools made of good material with outstanding customer service. Will they outperform lower cost knifes? Well how many licks does it take to get to the tootsie roll center of a tootsie pop? (Yes I just dated myself)
 
Can one of the Busse fans tell me if they truly believe that Infi is a "proprietary steel"? Do you believe a steel company really makes a special steel just for Busse? After speaking with a former Busse employee, he said it's not a proprietary steel, but a proprietary heattreat.
I've owned a few Busse & find them Ok. The first Busse I purchased was from Jerry at a Dayton Ohio gunshow many years ago.
 
Brules1 said:
Can one of the Busse fans tell me if they truly believe that Infi is a "proprietary steel"? Do you believe a steel company really makes a special steel just for Busse? After speaking with a former Busse employee, he said it's not a proprietary steel, but a proprietary heattreat.
I've owned a few Busse & find them Ok. The first Busse I purchased was from Jerry at a Dayton Ohio gunshow many years ago.
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The one thing that puzzles me about INFI is the resistance to rust and corrosion. I feel it is very similar to 3v in performance but unless there is a lot of decarb left on the blade, it acts more like stainless. It truly is a well rounded steel.
 
Brules1 said:
Can one of the Busse fans tell me if they truly believe that Infi is a "proprietary steel"? Do you believe a steel company really makes a special steel just for Busse? After speaking with a former Busse employee, he said it's not a proprietary steel, but a proprietary heattreat.
I've owned a few Busse & find them Ok. The first Busse I purchased was from Jerry at a Dayton Ohio gunshow many years ago.
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http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_blade_materials

Look under proprietary steels. Funny I just posted this link elsewhere and didn't even have to look it up again. My phone still had it saved in copy mode.

Isn't INFI older than most current super steels you would compare it to? I don't work for Busse but it's my understanding that its 100% proprietary. Not just the heat treat. In fact there are a couple different versions of INFI. I'm pretty sure Jerry Busse has tweaked the formula a little from the beginning. There's also M-INFI as is used in the Basic series. All signs point to....proprietary.
 
Brules1 said:
Can one of the Busse fans tell me if they truly believe that Infi is a "proprietary steel"? Do you believe a steel company really makes a special steel just for Busse? After speaking with a former Busse employee, he said it's not a proprietary steel, but a proprietary heattreat.
I've owned a few Busse & find them Ok. The first Busse I purchased was from Jerry at a Dayton Ohio gunshow many years ago.
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It is a proprietary steel with a proprietary heat treatment. And yes, it is made just for them, and yes nobody else can use it. It's not so "unheard of" as you might think. Contrary to what you might have heard.

I used to be privy to quite a lot of steel industry information. I worked very closely with (as in 20 feet from) the president of a very large steel manufacturer. He said proprietary blends are actually quite common. They pay a little more, but not so much as to be cost prohibitive in most cases. NASA was a big client of theirs and had a sh!t ton of proprietary steels on file.

Since you have an "insider", care to elaborate? Or you want to keep it "some guy who used to work there told me"?
 
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ijustdontknow said:
Well how many licks does it take to get to the tootsie roll center of a tootsie pop? (Yes I just dated myself)
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the answer was 3 if you're an owl... right there with you, man!

back on topic- I like the thickness they use in their bigger choppers. pry, chop, slice- it does it all. I took a battle mistress out and chopped a some wood- came back in and all I had to do was strop to get back to shaving sharp- I've never seen a knife/machete take that much abuse and be that easy to sharpen all while not experiencing chipping at <40 degrees inclusive.

ive read a bunch about how INFI shines in larger blades- but I'd love to have an Off Duty or other .3" thick little blade. Id pry everything I could with it in addition to cutting.
 
INFI shines in cutting performance also. Over 1,000. cuts on a hemp rope before the blade became dull.
rolf
 
I hope to have my first Busse in my hands tomorrow when the big brown toy truck comes. :D

I like a few of their designs and by all accounts they're well made. That's about it for me. I won't be disappointed if the knife isn't magic, I don't expect it to be.
 
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