Busse knives really worth the bux ?

[Shotgun]

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

Can you back this statement up? Not saying you're wrong but in years of being on the forum I've only heard SR101 as being 52100 with a "special heat treat." I've never heard it being a different composition then 52100.

 

[FortyTwoBlades]

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.

I think you slightly misunderstood me but I agree with you from a conceptual standpoint. I don't think the thread was started to provoke a reaction--upnorth is a level-headed guy in my opinion and I think he was genuinely interested in picking the brains of the folks who frequent this subforum to see if they were worth the money for the kinds of uses this crowd has which helps differentiate it from the usual threads. People often DO, however, seem to post such threads to garner a reaction like you describe. My reference wasn't to the thread starters but the people that jump in on those threads to spout off their hate for Busse. While some are possibly still motivated to generate a reaction I think there are also those that hate the brand because they hate the fanbase, and the main reason I think that is because it's a very common phenomenon in other communities and cultures.

 

[PatrickKnight]

Can you back this statement up? Not saying you're wrong but in years of being on the forum I've only heard SR101 as being 52100 with a "special heat treat." I've never heard it being a different composition then 52100.

I do not for sure know this. I copied this from a post made earlier in the thread. I am in the same boat as you, as I have always read and thought it to be 52100 with the Busse heat treat done to it.

 

[hollowdweller]

I think you slightly misunderstood me but I agree with you from a conceptual standpoint. I don't think the thread was started to provoke a reaction--upnorth is a level-headed guy in my opinion and I think he was genuinely interested in picking the brains of the folks who frequent this subforum to see if they were worth the money for the kinds of uses this crowd has which helps differentiate it from the usual threads. People often DO, however, seem to post such threads to garner a reaction like you describe. My reference wasn't to the thread starters but the people that jump in on those threads to spout off their hate for Busse. While some are possibly still motivated to generate a reaction I think there are also those that hate the brand because they hate the fanbase, and the main reason I think that is because it's a very common phenomenon in other communities and cultures.

Agree 100%.

 

[Cobalt]

Can you back this statement up? Not saying you're wrong but in years of being on the forum I've only heard SR101 as being 52100 with a "special heat treat." I've never heard it being a different composition then 52100.

I made the statement. The only way to truly back it up is to chemically analyze the metal.

but you never heard that it was 52100 either, not from the horses mouth anyway. All you heard was this: "52100 with added Kryptonite"

 

[leatherman]

Threads like these are really good learning experiences, filter out the obvious biases, and the obvious pot stirrers (trolling) and a person gets a well rounded view of what a person views as "worth it"

Now, an honest question. In my profession I use a plethora of knives from 1000.00 customs to 2 buck break away "razor knives" One knife I use more than anything else is a Stanley utility knife, I sharpen the blades till they are unusable then either reverse or finally throw the hook shaped remnants away. The Stanley is 10 years old. Is there anything better?

Even a Mora is expensive by comparison.

Point, there is a devils advocate for every price range.

 

[sodak]

I made the statement. The only way to truly back it up is to chemically analyze the metal.

but you never heard that it was 52100 either, not from the horses mouth anyway. All you heard was this: "52100 with added Kryptonite"

I have often heard it described as 52100 with a special heat treat, and that description usually goes unchallenged. Unless Busse has it's own foundry, which I highly doubt, then that's probably a true statement. Yes, it would be interesting to have it tested, but not interesting enough to pay for it, at least for me.

Just my opinion, I really wish they'd lay off the "kryptonite" type remarks. It strikes me as juvenile and makes it hard to take the company seriously. YMMV.

 

[Cobalt]

I have often heard it described as 52100 with a special heat treat, and that description usually goes unchallenged. Unless Busse has it's own foundry, which I highly doubt, then that's probably a true statement. Yes, it would be interesting to have it tested, but not interesting enough to pay for it, at least for me.

Just my opinion, I really wish they'd lay off the "kryptonite" type remarks. It strikes me as juvenile and makes it hard to take the company seriously. YMMV.

LOL true, but kryptonite infers a substance, so there is a difference.

 

[chiral.grolim]

I have often heard it described as 52100 with a special heat treat, and that description usually goes unchallenged. Unless Busse has it's own foundry, which I highly doubt, then that's probably a true statement. Yes, it would be interesting to have it tested, but not interesting enough to pay for it, at least for me.

Just my opinion, I really wish they'd lay off the "kryptonite" type remarks. It strikes me as juvenile and makes it hard to take the company seriously. YMMV.

Well, from what I've read Jerry Busse created INFI steel, meaning access to a foundry... and there is a Latrobe Specialty Metals less than 5 miles away from Busse headquarters... so it seems perfectly possible that SR101 is a specially modified version of 52100, just like INFI is surmised to be a modified version of Latrobe's A8mod chipper steel, and SR-77 may have a similar story...?

I am theorizing here, I don't have the truth "from the horse's mouth". The secret HT process just adds to the mystery. You don't need to buy into either, imho, the performance data is what matters in use, right?

And the "kryptonite" comments I consider amusing as a statement of ignorance regarding what gives the knives the performance that users laud. Another example concerns the ResC handles. Some have said "black magic" keeps the handle in place as 'modders' struggle to remove the ResC without cutting the material apart even after removing the lanyard-tube. There is no epoxy involved, just static friction over a large surface area - the ResC holds onto that tang like phonebooks with interlaced pages!

 

[sodak]

Well, regardless of marketing, the steels used are certainly good enough to stand on their own. I like them, and really like the range of attributes they give you, toughness, edge holding, etc.

 

[hollowdweller]

Threads like these are really good learning experiences, filter out the obvious biases, and the obvious pot stirrers (trolling) and a person gets a well rounded view of what a person views as "worth it"

Now, an honest question. In my profession I use a plethora of knives from 1000.00 customs to 2 buck break away "razor knives" One knife I use more than anything else is a Stanley utility knife, I sharpen the blades till they are unusable then either reverse or finally throw the hook shaped remnants away. The Stanley is 10 years old. Is there anything better?

Even a Mora is expensive by comparison.

Point, there is a devils advocate for every price range.

Good one!

 

[FortyTwoBlades]

Ironically, there aren't many high-end offerings for utility/box cutter knives out there. I've been looking for an upscale one and have yet to come across one that hits all the right buttons for me.

 

[Guyon]

Ironically, there aren't many high-end offerings for utility/box cutter knives out there. I've been looking for an upscale one and have yet to come across one that hits all the right buttons for me.

Dude. No brainer. It has to be a Bessey. It's totally worth the bux.

 

[FortyTwoBlades]

Of course! How silly of me.

 

[Bowxpress]

Cobalt, have you ever sold Kirby vacuums before? I like everything else you said, but the edge holding claims are reduculas at best,

 

[Cobalt]

Cobalt, have you ever sold Kirby vacuums before? I like everything else you said, but the edge holding claims are reduculas at best,

lol, no never been a salesman. You weren't there when it happened, but many of the old timers in BF and KF were and they witnessed the edge holding ability. I assume you are referring to the rope cutting. You obviously did not know about the knife world in the 90's. cruwear, vascowear, talonite, stellite, 440v, lol. The old ugly assymetrical edge might have had something to do with it as well. But there is no doubt that the knives were amazing. INFI has this ability to dull to a certain point and then hold that point for what appears like forever.

 

[Bowxpress]

That's were I have to disagree, ---the forever part,--- Ive yet to have a INFI that can skin and cut apart a adult mule deer, to test steel vs steel on geometry wise, as close as you could get without making it yourself, the S5 models, and its own Kin 101 spanks INFI in edge holding time after time after time. and yes Ive been around for years.

 

[Cobalt]

not long enough. The hemp rope test went for 2000+ cuts and the knife was still sharp. There is no doubt that tougher materials will cause dulling faster, but that test happened with many witnesses, not sure what more to tell you. You can't disagree with something that actually happened in front of many witnesses, lol.

oh and nothing holds an edge forever, it just appeared that way when most steels dulled so much faster.

 

[Maniacal Pete]

Too bad it happened before the advent of video cameras and youtube.

 

[Cobalt]

here is a quote from that event at bladeshow

Busse knives have not only performed "live" destructive tests but "live" cutting tests as well. It is important to note that we don't just bend our knives in vises and chop concrete blocks in half with them at shows but we also do a lot of cutting. We've cut over 3,100 pieces of 1" hemp rope with the same section of blade and then easily sliced through paper with that same section. . . . We've done the free hanging rope test many, many times at these shows.. . Not just single pieces of rope, but several pieces at a time. We've also performed many wood chopping tests and demonstrations at these shows. All with the same knife. Trying to propose that Busse knives "don't cut" is ridiculous.
.....
Jerry Busse