Busse like Ratweiler

[stblade]

Just curious if anyone knows of a Busse Combat knife similar in length, heft, geometry, etc. of the SR Ratweiler? Not so sure about the handle and general feel of the Ratweiler so I am looking at Busse now as an option (mag handles look good).

Thanks!

 

[MORIMOTOM]

you'll get a better response in the busse forum, but the fusion battle mistress is pretty close in size and weight and is readily available on the exchange.

older models like the fusion steel heart and steel heart ergo are also similar.

 

[stblade]

Cool thanks. I've been looking at the FBM and may go for it but am not sure if it is "too" long to be handy and good for most things. The difference in length I thought was about an inch or more. Maybe I'll throw the RW on the exchange and see if someone will trade for a Busse with some cash coming from my end. Hmmm...

Any other suggestions are welcome. Thanks!

 

[pbubsy]

The Eu-17 Magnum has a very similar handle and sports a 9'' blade. It's very light and quick in the hand. Mine's a touch over .250 and isn't as wide as the SH or BM's. It's a hell of a blade. I've had most of the Busse models at some point of other and it's one of the few models I've held onto and REALLY like

It came in three sizes. There were very limited numbers made of all sizes. The rarest of all being the Magnum. There were 28 made. Fortunately everyone that bought them bought them off an offering here on the forums so you could probably locate one with enough searching. I found two Magnums. Expect to pay at least $400 and up to perhaps $700 for a new one.

I also like the NO-e, it's got a 6'' blade and with a good edge is a mean little chopper/bush blade:

I also really like the Battle Mistresses, here's a pic my SHBM's and a pic of many of my Busse's:

If you have any further questions feel free to ask!

 

[Rat Finkenstein]

Steel heart of some kind. Ratwieler is the midsized swamp rat, just as the Steel Heart is a midsized Busse.

 

[stblade]

Hey thanks for all the replies! I was looking at the SH but my goodness are they up there. At least what I have seen. I'll check the others out too. Any idea, how comfortable they are compared to the RW? Any issues?

And BTW, what is that Gold monster you got there!?!

 

[MORIMOTOM]

the one that looks most "gold" to me is a straight handled battle mistress, polished/satin finish. the lighting makes it look gold. (second pic from bottom, knife on the far left)

 

[pbubsy]

The only one that looks gold to me (other than the tan handles on my tan FBM) is the knife Mark named. It's a "special" SHBM though. It's one of the first three hundred and a BBSHBMLE Fatty (birds beak straight handled battle mistress limited edition that's thicker than .250). It came out of the custom shop with a BEYOND hair scarin' zero'd convex edge sweet satin finish and some nice hand shaped G-10 slabs. It's easily my nicest knife.

 

[starboard]

Looks like the gold blade has a titanium nitride or somesuch finish you see on high end motorcycle fork tubes among other things.

 

[wetdog1911]

Steel heart of some kind. Ratwieler is the midsized swamp rat, just as the Steel Heart is a midsized Busse.

That pretty much sums it up.

I can't say too much about the Ratweiler simply because I haven't used it much yet, have only had it a few months.

I do have it's predesessor the Camp Tramp (same knife, different grips), and have been using that since I got it in 2002. Can say nothing but good about that knife.

I also have several Steel Hearts, old and new, and a couple of the big boys, Battle Mistress and Battle Rat, but the CT gets grabbed the most often.

You would do well with any of them.

Just did a quick side by side of my HH (Heavy Steel Heart), and the RW. For being pretty much the same size the HH almost makes the RW look puny and the RW is far from puny.

Rob

 

[pbubsy]

Looks like the gold blade has a titanium nitride or somesuch finish you see on high end motorcycle fork tubes among other things.

I'm going to start calling that thing the "Gold SHBM" it's really a beautiful knife! I took that picture in the early AM and had to make some light with a bright reading lamp. For some reason it cast a yellow shade when reflected off the walls. Makes for a eerie glow on most knives. Cool pics :thumbup:

 

[stblade]

It's definitely pretty dang sweet!

My rule of thumb for selection at this point is to ideally find something that will fit in a large spec ops sheath. The RW fits like a glove which is nice and makes it a nice size to carry around especially in the back country or what have you.

Any one know how width and length compare between the HH/SH and the RW?

And if there are any other busse's that are less than $900 and up of similar size? The secondary market seems to be charging that price for HH and SH at the moment.

 

[pbubsy]

Heavy Hearts should be around $425-$525 depending on who's selling and if it's got standard or magnum scales. CGFSH's should be $400-$475. SHSH's should be $700-$950. Out of all of them I'd go with the SHSH, but for the money I'd do the HHFSH with standard scales. Probably go for $450: Just make a post for one. Of course, for $375-$450 depending on what configuration you get you can get the FFFBM at the Busse Company store right now which is just a little longer and can tackle bigger jobs. The Battle Mistress in all variations except BM-e is my favorite regular production blade.

 

[stblade]

What's the real difference between them? Like why is a HH half the price roughly of a SHSH? Is it mostly blade thickness and length or is it actual material used or both? Any good resource I can check out? Thanks!

 

[Deadhead Archer]

The SHSH was released years ago and are much more limited in supply. Busse knives increase in value as they get older as there has been a big increase in collectors in recent years.

The HH is even inflated a little from what they cost originally; but are still available at a good price.