Busse infi vs swamp rat infi

garythegoat

garythegoat

Gold Member
Joined
Apr 26, 2016
Messages
110
Hey all,

Relatively new around here, but I was curious about the differences (if any) between the infi put out by Busse and the occasional infi put out by swamp rat.

Is it the exact same steel with the exact same heat treat?

I know it’s all a very close (literal) family of Companies, but I am curious if on the rare occasion that swamp rat puts out an infi blade, if it is done with the exact same heat treat as would be found in a “production” Busse. Hoping some of the hogs that have been around for a while could enlighten me on this front.
 
I would be very careful with the Infi from Swamprat. It has been tainted by the waters of the swamp. Many Rats have become drunken beyond return by its swamp infested powers. I strongly advise you to stay away!!! Please save yourself! I can help you escape. Send all your swamp infested Infi to me. I will keep it from harming another Rat ever again.
Thanks , Jack ... pm me for shipping address.
 
RobStanley said:
It is exactly the same :)
Click to expand...
This ^^^ INFI is INFI. Even the "M-INFI" or "modified INFI" of the original Basic Series is essentially the same stuff. Every batch of steel will be slightly different but you can be confident in the fact that Jerry (or Dan) are not going to ever put their (or INFI's) name on an inferior product.

I would venture to guess :confused: that Jerry has been CQI'ing (Spyderco term I know but you get the idea) INFI since he invented/discovered it. Some people have spoken fondly of the original batches of INFI but I would venture to guess that today's INFI is probably "better" in some objectively measurable way. :thumbsup::cool:
 
Yep, no reason to believe that INFI is any different in a Busse vs. a Swamp Rat or a SYKCO. It's all the same bacon, cooked up the same way. :thumbsup:
 
What used to be the case for swamp rat was that they did a lot of the SR101 where most of Busse was Infi. I think after the battle grade Busse's became more prevalent, you saw a lot less swamp rats come out. SYKCO is still probably best defined by having the resiprene handle.

These are very rough guidelines as there is a bit of crossover over between them all, though SYKCO (most budget) rarely delves into the Busse territory with the exception of Busse basic's with resiprene and then SYKCO with infi, which is even more rare than swamp rat having infi I think.

Busse, of course, tends to have the most machining features like CBT, fullers, etc. I really like the swamp rat line as I'm a budget kind of kind, but mostly I really like SR101.

This is your standard swamp rat "grade" with the middle being the infi ratweiler that blurs the lines into the Busse features category. All are ratweilers.
12v3Mh0l.jpg


Battle Grade Busse which blends into the swamp rat "grade" with good designs and SR101
BT730Ttl.jpg


Typical Busse "grade" with CBT, swedged slip, highly sculpted handles and infi.
qVYXaNvl.jpg


I think this is a good comparison of what you pay for in the Difference in Busse vs Swamp rat. Very similar knives, ratweiler and nano fusion forsaken steel heart. Keep in mind, the infi ratweiler adds a fuller so it's slightly more feature heavy. You can see the CBT, more sculpted ridges on the steel heat, and a little more intricate design, often some fancy stuff at the pommel as well.
l2rd7Hwl.jpg


Typical SYKCO "grade"
pnzXCWNl.jpg

ge3q7Zol.jpg


Blurring of SYKCO and Busse "grade", which rare
SpUKZ7Nl.jpg


Hopefully this helps with the distinction between the brands, or "grades" as I like to call them as it helps distinguish the basic character/feature level I'm looking at when looking into the Busse or Busse kin knives. It's not quite what you asked for but if you're new then you may be asking this too, as I had a hard time figuring this out a couple years ago when I discovered Swamp Rat through a great trade (the ratweiler) and then into the rest of the Busse madness (protect your wallet).

SYKCO is hands down a great value for some sharp you just want to beat the shit out of. Swamp rat gets into premium knife category and Busse is top tier, easily competing with custom knife levels with the exception of guys that craft freaking historic grade stuff that run thousands of dollars, though I think a few Busse's from the custom shop fall into that category as well (look at the recent ganza post and you'll see some high-level awesomeness).
 
Hey all,

Thanks a bunch for the replies. I own a few busses right now and absolutely love em.

I also love the design of the ratmandu, and when I realized a few had been made in infi I couldn’t quite believe it - such a great design in my favorite steel ever. Thanks for confirming my suspicions that that combination is everything I think it might be...
 
bikerector said:
What used to be the case for swamp rat was that they did a lot of the SR101 where most of Busse was Infi. I think after the battle grade Busse's became more prevalent, you saw a lot less swamp rats come out. SYKCO is still probably best defined by having the resiprene handle.

These are very rough guidelines as there is a bit of crossover over between them all, though SYKCO (most budget) rarely delves into the Busse territory with the exception of Busse basic's with resiprene and then SYKCO with infi, which is even more rare than swamp rat having infi I think.

Busse, of course, tends to have the most machining features like CBT, fullers, etc. I really like the swamp rat line as I'm a budget kind of kind, but mostly I really like SR101.

This is your standard swamp rat "grade" with the middle being the infi ratweiler that blurs the lines into the Busse features category. All are ratweilers.
12v3Mh0l.jpg


Battle Grade Busse which blends into the swamp rat "grade" with good designs and SR101
BT730Ttl.jpg


Typical Busse "grade" with CBT, swedged slip, highly sculpted handles and infi.
qVYXaNvl.jpg


I think this is a good comparison of what you pay for in the Difference in Busse vs Swamp rat. Very similar knives, ratweiler and nano fusion forsaken steel heart. Keep in mind, the infi ratweiler adds a fuller so it's slightly more feature heavy. You can see the CBT, more sculpted ridges on the steel heat, and a little more intricate design, often some fancy stuff at the pommel as well.
l2rd7Hwl.jpg


Typical SYKCO "grade"
pnzXCWNl.jpg

ge3q7Zol.jpg


Blurring of SYKCO and Busse "grade", which rare
SpUKZ7Nl.jpg


Hopefully this helps with the distinction between the brands, or "grades" as I like to call them as it helps distinguish the basic character/feature level I'm looking at when looking into the Busse or Busse kin knives. It's not quite what you asked for but if you're new then you may be asking this too, as I had a hard time figuring this out a couple years ago when I discovered Swamp Rat through a great trade (the ratweiler) and then into the rest of the Busse madness (protect your wallet).

SYKCO is hands down a great value for some sharp you just want to beat the shit out of. Swamp rat gets into premium knife category and Busse is top tier, easily competing with custom knife levels with the exception of guys that craft freaking historic grade stuff that run thousands of dollars, though I think a few Busse's from the custom shop fall into that category as well (look at the recent ganza post and you'll see some high-level awesomeness).
Click to expand...
Wow, what a helpful and comprehensive post! Wish I could “like” it more than just once!
 
View attachment 1149351 The Ratmandu is an awesome blade! The top one in this pic is an Infidu with a full convex grind by member Nick. That thing is a laser beam. The bottom is a swatmandu, also in Infi. The 2 in the middle are sr101. The desert sage/black one I beat the snot out of last weekend. I batoned some firewood with it. I was hammering it into a piece of wood with a huge knot in it. I was beating the hell out of the Ratmandu with a mallet (orange harbour freight) it was half way into the big knot and was stuck. When I looked down thru the crack in the wood from above, I was a little startled to see my Ratmandu in the shape of an S. I had bent it! I grabbed my 1/4” ratweiler to help extract its little brother. I put the point of the ratweiler in the crack in the wood below the stuck Ratmandu. I hammered the pommel of the ratweiler till I was able to extract the Ratmandu. To my amazement the Ratmandu was perfectly straight, the edge was also perfect. I have no doubt that that little Ratmandu can handle anything I throw at it. I have not had the balls to beat on my Infi rats....yet. I’m certain they can handle just as much if not more abuse.
 
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