Also, what qualities in a knife make for a good fighter?
there are only so many things you can do with a knife in a fight.
slash -
a fast cut (meaning there is a slicing action involved, it is not a push cut)
chop -
a heavy perpendicular cut relying on either blade weight or arm weight
stab
push cut -
(which can be a starter, where the blade is already on the person, your staring your motion from a stationary position with the blade on the target)
strike -
(either punching with the handle giving your hand weight, or a pommel based hammer fist. this can also be slapping a person with the side of the blade or the spine)
leverage -
where your using your blade to apply pressure to any given body part, either the blade itself, the flats of the blade, the spine, or the pommel
what makes a good fighter? depends on how your going to use it. a 4.5oz folder won't make a very good chopping weapon. something that's 2" long won't make a very good stabbing weapon. likewise, something that has a 14" blade may not make a very good stabbing weapon, you'll end up having to use it like a sword with thrusts as apposed to "stabs". if your going to be using your knife for non lethal pain compliance type action that has a lot of leveraging, something thats 1/32" thick extra flexible wouldn't work very well. how you are going to be using your knife will determine what general size, weight, and geometry is appropriate.
an 18" 32oz ang khola khukuri, a katana, a 4" fillet knife, and a 12" long, 3/8" thick bowie are all formidable fighters, if their various forms are utilized properly.
for me, there are prerequisites for a knife that I will personally carry if I intend to use it as a dedicated "fighter".
-I have to be able to carry it without anyone noticing it, that rules out anything longer then about 7" (blade length).
-the edge has to be long enough to reach the heart, lungs, and brain in a stab.
-it cannot have a choil (aboslutely
worthless on a fighter - the
only thing it can do is hang up on things. want your hand closer to the edge? then shift your gaurd.)
-it has to have a gaurd of some kind.
-i have to be able to index where the edge and tip are when completely blind.
-I have to be able to hold onto the handle when its slippery without thinking its going to rotate out of my hand if any pressure is applied to it.
-it has to have a thin edge, and a relatively thin tip, not excessive, but meant for cutting, not heavy abuse.
so, with those requirements there has never been a busse knife (during the production run, or custom that I've seen) that fits my requirements.
as far as weight, by having a thin edge and tip, being under 7" in blade length, and having a good cutting geometry, even the heaviest blade made to those parameters would be acceptably light. even if the tip is super thin, if your blade is 1/2" thick it's not going to penetrate through leather. maybe one layer, with a stab that has your full weight behind it, but even then you'll be pushing hard to get it through.
I ordered a satin jack tac with no choil and as thin as jerry would allow. to me, that is the perfect general edc user and fighter combination. well... depending on the edge indexing issue.
edge indexing means that you know where the tip and the edge is without having to look at it. as an example, if you were blind folded, and asked to put the tip of the blade into the table between your index finger and your middle finger (with your hand splayed flat on the table) - how likely are you to be able to do it without stabbing one of your fingers? if your guaranteed to stab your fingers, your unable to physically index the profile of the knife without looking at it, which is a sign that the weight distribution is too handle heavy, or the edge is in an abnormal shape or positon.
Yeah, that'd work ust fine. 
then it's the AK all the way.
. I ordered it about a year and a half ago, so I'm not quite to the half way point of the expected wait time yet... well, the expected wait time I expect anyways. could take 5-7 years for all I know. we'll see. I've got 2 choiless thin ones on order, one based on the 3rd gen satin jack, and one based on the sjtac. 
