Busse Modified ASH1

[Varmithunter]

I have a BG ASH1 that I modified when I got back from deployment. I was trying to sell it and I’m curious as to how much I depreciated the value.

 

[Murman]

Was this one on eBay? Probably pretty significant depreciation. Don't mean to be insulting but since you asked... The lines look amatuer and took a lot of metal off, so much that it can't be altered to be anything else. I'd give $40 max

 

[Murman]

Thanks for your service BTW.

 

[Varmithunter]

Yes, I had it on eBay. I was trying to get about what I’d paid for after all the fees. Are you referring to the lines going down the blade?

 

[Murman]

No those you did a pretty good job on really. The recurve blade and the swedge are what I am looking at. Find someone who likes it I bet you can get $100 or more the sheath should be worth $40 which is what I was meaning. I shouldn't be so harsh above. It's decent just not for me.

 

[Murman]

I'd also be concerned if you affected the heat treat with the mods. Those concerns make me value the knife very little

 

[Varmithunter]

I went with the recurve for cutting rope and the swedge for a sharper point. I liked the way it was originally until I started using it for more than chopping. I tried to style it after the fighter variant. As far as affecting the heat treat....everything but the sharpening was done with needle files and sandpaper. If it wasn’t for the constant flak about it being too big from my command, I’d keep it.

 

[Varmithunter]

I understand your concerns though and everyone has different tastes. If all I ever got was praise for my work, I’d never improve. Thank you for your input, it really is appreciated. I’m new to the forum and I have a lot to learn.

 

[zmbhntr]

I really like the general shape of what you were going for, and good for you for making your knife your own. With that being said, the modifications you made are quite significant. It's really tough to tell from the single pic how the details look close up, how thick the edge is behind the recurve you added, how even everything is etc. Also, the heat treat is a definite concern with mods like this, and INFI without the proper heat treat is just a toy. When you modify a knife to this extent you quite honestly are making it your own, and pretty much removing all resale value. There are so many unknowns here. My guess is that you would be lucky to get 25% of your purchase price back (I wouldn't even pay that), but who knows, I could be completely off and someone may be happy to pay a lot.

I think you should keep it, beat on it, and enjoy the heck out of it!

 

[Varmithunter]

 

[hydeinmind]

Just post it on the for sale forum and drop the price until someone takes it if you want it gone bad enough. You won’t get what you paid but someone will take it and it’s better than nothing. Or keep it and buy another lighter blade for command.

 

[hydeinmind]

And get rid of the red felt background when you post it for sale. A lot of ppl here associate red felt backgrounds with a dishonest flipper on eBay just FYI

 

[dogboye]

It certainly is different. Nice polishing job.

 

[Varmithunter]

If I was single and didn’t have kids I’d keep it. I’m still surprised that a 6” blade is “too big,” especially being infantry. I’ll find something else for the pictures later.

 

[AZTimT]

I kind of get where you are coming from. I wore a BOSS Jack shaped blade during my deployment and nobody said a word, but it was a narrower blade with a more traditional shape. I believe the width of the ASH and similar blade designs throws non knife people off a bit, simply because it is different. It seems that decades of brain-dead television, via "regularly scheduled programming", has conditioned many people to believe falsehoods like guns are bad (little inanimate objects responsible for massive harm of innocents all by them selves, don'tchya know? ), all firearms with long looking magazines are automatics (some with no reloading requirement) and that only a knife shaped like a BOSS Jack or a machete (with not much in between) is used as a weapon or combat knife. Many of the kids raised on that kind of TV education (some of them sadly with it as their primary parenting tool) are the current crop of people joining the military, and some of them move up the chain quicker than others. When I went in, it was the gang members that were joining for the free tactical training to take back to their turf. The details of history vary, but the plot follows similar scripts over and over. Conditioning of the masses is one of those scripts.

What I am getting at is that before you get rid of your customized to your taste and devalued BGASH1, if you can educate your command a little bit with a demonstration of the utility of the design, it might just change their perception in a positive way so that they are fine with you having it. It is still a rather attention grabbing blade design, especially now that it has all of those new features along with highly polished reflectivity being one of them. Unless you want it to double as a mirror, a matte finished bead blasted blade seems like a more cautious choice for a knife you might pull out on a sunny day in a combat zone where snipers are attracted to flashy things. If you try and succeed, you have gained much (as you stand to lose more selling than keeping your knife), and if it does not work, you are right back where you are now.

If you do have to sell it, I am pretty sure the look of spine features are what will lower your resale value more than anything else as they are clearly not a factory look. You could always remove them and blend into the clip swedge to give it a more Persian custom look and as long as you disclose that during the sale, it might get you a few bucks more than the current busy look. At least it was just an SR-101 blade instead of INFI that you gained some valuable experience with! Also, keep in mind that rather than a few bucks in your pocket right now, years from now one of your kids might actually one day want the customized heirloom knife that Daddy carried overseas and came back alive with. Once you sell it, that chance might never return.

Good luck and stay safe out there!

 

[clampdaddy]

If you decide to sell it just make sure to advertise it as a "Modified Busse" not a "Busse Modified" knife.

 

[Yonose]

Looks like the original pilot survival knife, with an extra inch. Infantry no longer allowed to carry fb knives?

 

[ScoMa]

 

[Varmithunter]

The finish was worn down some and since I had already modified it I went ahead and stripped it....then I got carried away. If I don’t sell it, I probably continue using it for outdoor activities. It’s way too shiny for combat. As far as the command....it was my BC and CSM that called in my whole COC and myself. I was told that the knife was too big and might scare someone (in Afghanistan). He then threatened to relieve us all of our positions and made a 3” or under rule. I kept it in my ruck.

 

[Yonose]

The finish was worn down some and since I had already modified it I went ahead and stripped it....then I got carried away. If I don’t sell it, I probably continue using it for outdoor activities. It’s way too shiny for combat. As far as the command....it was my BC and CSM that called in my whole COC and myself. I was told that the knife was too big and might scare someone (in Afghanistan). He then threatened to relieve us all of our positions and made a 3” or under rule. I kept it in my ruck.

I guess post#15 nailed it in the first paragraph! I didn’t realize boneheads made it to CSM; Afghanis scared by a knife? I suppose he/she thought Afghanis were to stupid to realize what rifles did!
Sorry I can’t contribute to the question value, as I’m a beginner collector myself.