Busse knives really worth the bux ?

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Of all the Busse knives that I owned- I miss my Zero Tolerance Natural Outlaw the most! Blade design, thickness, grind- all amazing, with skinny flat slabs... so I sold it. STUPID, if I had reslabbed it to suit me, I am sure I would still be using it. Too expensive on the market now when they rarely come up. All makers hit home runs that speak to one person or another. Variety is good.

Bill
 
Lycosa said:
Man, I remember when Hartsfield "used" to get hate like this.
Get a knife you like and end of story.
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True, it seems every large group of fans of a brand or style of knife has its fanatics and haters. Heck, mora has a huge and fiercely loyal fan base and for a while Nessmuk was king of knives. There's been some rather heated discussions about both.
 
For what it's worth I don't understand the Busse hate either, but I think it's tied more to people disliking the fanbase rather than actually hating the company? That happens with all sorts of stuff. Anything that has tons of attention lavished on it will annoy some folks and they'll automatically dismiss the actual thing itself because of how distasteful they find the fans. Then when they actually check out whatever said "thing" is (movie, car, whatever) they're only looking for anything that validates their preconception.

I may find most Busses not to my tastes but I don't hate them. I just don't care for them. There's a world of difference between the two. I don't care for most Kershaws, for instance, since they make extensive use of features I prefer to avoid, but I'll recommend them to folks in a heartbeat if I think they'll fit their needs and preferences well. The same goes for Busse.
 
FortyTwoBlades said:
I don't make knives personally, no.
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So you're just an oridinary schmoe spouting off nonsense like me, that's good. :p

FortyTwoBlades said:
For what it's worth I don't understand the Busse hate either, but I think it's tied more to people disliking the fanbase rather than actually hating the company?

I may find most Busses not to my tastes but I don't hate them. I just don't care for them.
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"It's not that people hate Busse, they just hate the people that like Busse."
And " I don't really hate Busse, I just don't like them."

This is the sort of passive aggressive type sniping that I find personally annoying.

I like (and own many of) all kinds of knives, and I can't think of a serious manufacturer that
I would feel the need to publicly and repeatedly diss in such a manner.

You did at least finally convince me to peruse Barynyx Knife Co. and review its offerings.
You mentioned that you "don't care for" Kershaw either, did they turn down your dealership request? :)
 
Maniacal Pete said:
So you're just an oridinary schmoe spouting off nonsense like me, that's good. :p



"It's not that people hate Busse, they just hate the people that like Busse."
And " I don't really hate Busse, I just don't like them."

This is the sort of passive aggressive type sniping that I find personally annoying.

I like (and own many of) all kinds of knives, and I can't think of a serious manufacturer that
I would feel the need to publicly and repeatedly diss in such a manner.

You did at least finally convince me to peruse Barynyx Knife Co. and review its offerings.
You mentioned that you "don't care for" Kershaw either, did they turn down your dealership request? :)
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There is nothing passive agressive about the mans statements, unlike your little hook at the end. He was simply laying out his views on the knife company, directly, and with no hidden agenda. It is a little sad that I can go on fishing, metal detecting and motorcycle forums and rarely see personal attacks, unlike here. Busse makes a fine product that some want and other do not. No reason to put a boot in.
 
Maniacal Pete said:
So you're just an oridinary schmoe spouting off nonsense like me, that's good. :p



"It's not that people hate Busse, they just hate the people that like Busse."
And " I don't really hate Busse, I just don't like them."

This is the sort of passive aggressive type sniping that I find personally annoying.

I like (and own many of) all kinds of knives, and I can't think of a serious manufacturer that
I would feel the need to publicly and repeatedly diss in such a manner.

You did at least finally convince me to peruse Barynyx Knife Co. and review its offerings.
You mentioned that you "don't care for" Kershaw either, did they turn down your dealership request? :)
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Absolute nonsense. I have access to Kershaw and can get nearly anything they make. I personally just don't find them to be to my tastes, which is a matter completely aside from their quality and performance. I don't usually like recurves, flippers, spring assists, bead blasted finishes, etc. etc. which are all things that are very common in the Kershaw line. So I don't buy them because they aren't appealing to me. But they're very good knives.

And I'm not "type-sniping" at all, nor am I "dissing" anyone. Please reread my posts and stop misquoting me and jumping to conclusions. I've done nothing but state personal preference and have consistently and repeatedly stated my openness to differing opinions. Just because I don't care for something doesn't mean that I think negatively of it. My point this entire time has been that the relative worth of an item to a consumer is a personal matter and will very from person to person. I'm honestly not sure why you think there's something wrong with me stating the things that I have? :confused:

And my comment regarding fanbases was a rhetorical one--I was indicating that it may be the reason why some people (NOT ME) may react so negatively towards Busse, and specifically stated that it was something that I found a little odd.

My motto has always been "use what works for you" and I stand by that 100%
 
lmalterna said:
Of all the Busse knives that I owned- I miss my Zero Tolerance Natural Outlaw the most! Blade design, thickness, grind- all amazing, with skinny flat slabs... so I sold it. STUPID, if I had reslabbed it to suit me, I am sure I would still be using it. Too expensive on the market now when they rarely come up. All makers hit home runs that speak to one person or another. Variety is good.

Bill
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Hey Bill! How you doing? The ZTNO was one of, and is still my all time favorite back in the day. I had one in the shop for sheath fitting (yours?) and fell in love with the ergo's and how sharp it was. I do someday want to get one, and no, the prices are dropping dramatically lately. I've seen original straight handle Busse's go for what they were seven or eight years ago. Dont go by ebay for pricing, theres one fellow on there right now trying desperately to get 1400.00 for a four hundred dollar knife, nothing on ebay makes sense.

I bet you can find what your looking for with a bit of patience and a good hearted seller. :) I hope to find the same. :D
 
I've owned a few Busses (AD, LMS), and though they are made well, I will echo what I've read others say in that I found them thicker than necessary for the size of knife... seems like they are built more for durability than cutting performance. Also, I found the presence of pronounced choils on the small knives to be annoying as hell. I can understand having a tiny choil to help with sharpening, or having one large enough to put your finger in to allow the user to choke up on the blade, but the ones on the AD and LMS were precisely the wrong size... too small to put your finger in, but plenty large enough to catch whatever soft item you were wanting to cut.

Anyway, for the sizes of knives I was buying, I found them not to my liking. Some of the larger knives are quite appealing, though. If you're thinking about it, pick one up and try it out. You'll be able to sell it on the used market for nearly what you paid, or perhaps more if you wait a while. :)
 
Busse knives are more than worth the money. They far out perform anything else I have ever owned and I have owned just about every type of steel in a fixed blade available including other more exotic metals like mission knives Ti and talonite and stellite(and that includes cpm3v). The problem with busse is that they are like a drug, you can't stop buying them. The truth is, you only need a few. A large one, medium one and small one, since these knives will likely outlive you. As for thickness comments, my mean streets are not thick at all. My SHBM is .25" thick flat ground on a 2 inch wide blade. Hmmm, sounds like a competition cutter grind, doesn't it. I have SHBM's that could outcut any other brand I owned with the factory grind. Now as for need. Well, I am sure that a well made knife like a ESEE or Bark River, etc will do everything you need them to do. Busse's can be truly overkill. Most people just don't need that kinda strength, toughness or wear resistance. I still have a few of my original SHBM's, one of which has seen more abuse than 99% of the knife owners in here will ever put their knives through. It's still kicking. Also, busse knife owners tend to use their knives harder than most people because they trust them to not fail. Yes, busse knives are used hard and usually harder than most other knife brands. The other gigantic advantage to INFI is how easy it takes an edge. Something not often discussed, but INFI sharpens as easy as a simple low carbon steel and holds that edge so long, you can't even understand it. In fact, I have had SHBM's with the old assymetrical grind that seemed to get sharper over time instead of dulling. I sold most of my busse collection a long time ago. I still have some core user knives and a few grail knives. This has allowed me to purchase other brands that are cheaper since I enjoy knives in general not just busse. oh and infi is no mystery(except the heat treat):

V .36%
Cr 8.25%
Fe 87.79%
Co .95%
Ni .74%
Mo 1.3%
C .5%
N .11%

FYI, SR101 isn't exactly 52100, but it is close, it just has a lot more of one of 52100's ingredients in it.

honestly, there are so many good knives being made today, that if I could not afford a busse I would feel fine with a lot of the less expensive options. An ESEE Junglas or Falkniven would do the job just fine. there is also scrapyard and swamprat at a lower pricepoint as well.

I know some people hate the fan boys that appear and go on the attack. But there are two sides to that coin. The other side is those of us who hate the Bashers that come out of the woodwork, who really have no clue what busse knives are about since they may have owned one once, but it was to expensive for them to comfortably use. So they sold it and never used it but that is enough to go on an attack. I was around when INFI was introduced and you would be amazed at how many well known knifemakers were impressed with INFI's qualities and hoped to get their hands on it. Also, many of them were present and witnessed INFI cutting more hemp rope than most had ever seen done before and still held incredible sharpness.

In the end, it's all free will. Buy it to use it if you can. If you buy it to look at, it will never perform for you and you won't be happy. Sell it and buy something for less money that you are comfortable actually using. I like knives in general and the only knives I dislike are the ones that fail me prematurely. Premature anything is just not good for your health:thumbup:
 
Dwayne,
Good to see you! I do beleive the ZTNO was one knife that wore your leather :) I would love to have another one some day. I really liked my first gen SH in A2 as well but the NO was special and just worked.

I doubt many of us would ever put a knife to its failure point in use. But for those that feel like they might or their lives might be on the line in case of over use failure- the extra money is insurance. For those that just like or want them and can afford them- no reason not to!
It is all about choice and I am glad we have so many. Alot of knives have passed through my hands over the years, the ones that I have now are a mix of inexpensive(mora and condor) & lower priced customs(100.00-225.00) but they serve my needs just fine.


Bill
 
Doing fine, everything is good on my end. Having a little more time to get on forums ;)
 
FortyTwoBlades said:
For what it's worth I don't understand the Busse hate either, but I think it's tied more to people disliking the fanbase rather than actually hating the company?
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There's a few threads like this, not just about Busse, but about whether a certain knife or brand is really overpriced, or impractical, or whatever, and being a long time forumite, I see them reoccurr over and over periodically in various forums.

I can never really tell if it's just a new person and this occurrs to them and they are not privy to the numerous similar threads in the past on the same issue????Or if there is an element of trollishness involved.

FourtyTwoBlades,

I think you are partially right. I don't think that it's that people HATE the Busse fanbase, I just think that they show up in way greater numbers to defend their brand.

Another brand that used to get that treatment was Bark River. Because they have a big fan club. But the Bark River Club stopped taking the bait.

Not long ago there was a thread, was it here? I can't remember but it was about whether the Skookum Bush Tool was over rated. There was some back and forth but it petered out just like the Bark Rivers bashing threads do.

But look at this thread. We are over 10 pages now so if you want to get a reaction and a long thread Busse is the one to jab because the users are more apt to defend their brands in far greater numbers than other brands.

Which generates more adreneline rush???? Swatting a wasp nest or whacking a hornet nest.

In my mind threads like this are more about generating a reaction than hatred of the brand or the fan club.
 
FYI, SR101 isn't exactly 52100, but it is close, it just has a lot more of one of 52100's ingredients in it.

I do believe this statement to be true. I love me some Swamp Rats and for my own personal uses I prefer SR101 to INFI.
 
Words of wisdom in Hollowdwellers post. To my mind, Chris Reeve and Fehrman are both priced too high for my blood BUT I really admire both lines and would be happy as a clam to carry certain knives of either brand. But I do not see the same polarizing affect when their names come up.

The line may be drawn between users and enthusiasts. There is always a point of diminishing returns but to those wanting to push limits that last 10% is worth the cost. Bless them for finding the limits and sharing the knowledge. I followed long distance shooting at one time and had some very precise rifles, but I never had the skill level to match so I would have been just as well off with a good shelf rifle with a tuned trigger. My knife use is similar, thus my knives are not top of the performance heap, yet perform all my needs.

Bill
 
lmalterna said:
Words of wisdom in Hollowdwellers post. To my mind, Chris Reeve and Fehrman are both priced too high for my blood BUT I really admire both lines and would be happy as a clam to carry certain knives of either brand. But I do not see the same polarizing affect when their names come up.

The line may be drawn between users and enthusiasts. There is always a point of diminishing returns but to those wanting to push limits that last 10% is worth the cost. Bless them for finding the limits and sharing the knowledge. I followed long distance shooting at one time and had some very precise rifles, but I never had the skill level to match so I would have been just as well off with a good shelf rifle with a tuned trigger. My knife use is similar, thus my knives are not top of the performance heap, yet perform all my needs.

Bill
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I think a lot of the dislike for Busse vs other makers such as CRK and Fehrman comes from the lack of information that you get from Busse. Some people want to know how a knife is made and not just take it on faith thats its a well made product. You can find out exactly how a Sabenza is made from start to finsh the same can not be said for a Busse knife. I think a lot of people dont know how good Fehrman knives are as of yet, lord knows they are not nearly as popular as the Busse knives are and are every bit as bomb proof. I think once they are more widly known they will have some of the same "hate" as Busse does.

I for one dont like some of the way they handle things, but that is my own view and I do not try to push that on other people. An example of this I personally dont think there should be a "2 week" wait time for a knife when they have 200+ knives ready to go to Knob Creek, I think you should take care of people with standing orders before you worry about making knives for a show, but it is not my business and I am not one to tell someone how they should or should not run there business.
 
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