Busse newb question #2

[Svashtar]

Hey Guys,

Ok, I'm getting there: sales done, got the cash with enough extra for a sheath (or maybe 2!), and at the Busse Combat site and then ran into a pile of variants for the TGLB!

Option 1 is to order one of each knife / handle combination, and pay about $12K, and then over time sell off the others here.

Don't think that's going to work, so...

Q1: How durable is the coating? Is it safe for food prep? I'm sure Busse will recoat later if necssary, like Reeve does, but also notice several guys deliberately requesting the "competition" finish. Called Busse and they said they can do that for no extra charge and they have been getting a lot of requests for it. BUT saw the Green with green/black and the black with tan/black and wow!

Q2: Is the competition coating the same as the "satin" coating found here?: http://knifemods.com/2012/08/05/busse-team-gemini/

I suspect that might be a whole other level of polishing as that thing looks awesome, and I'm thinking the factory competition finish is more subdued?

Q3: Do you think that is black paper micarta or black G10 on the satin knife above? The black paper looks a bit glossier I think...

Thanks as always, appreciate your expert feedback, and of course your finish/handle recommendations are welcome!

Best,

Norm

 

[sqchram]

Looks like black G10, the black paper doesn't hardly look black at all.

Comp finish looks like this (with black G10)

 

[Father & Son Traditional Sharpening]

Satin is ideal for food prep as it is easier to clean and sterilize. It also reduces friction when cutting/slicing/chopping vs. the coatings.

The coatings do tend to last quite a long time depending on your uses, first they will smooth before being worn off. It will also help keep rust off your blade, as competition finish has been known to surface rust.

 

[uyotg]

Q1: How durable is the coating? Is it safe for food prep? I'm sure Busse will recoat later if necssary, like Reeve does, but also notice several guys deliberately requesting the "competition" finish.

The coating is pretty durable, some more than others. I wouldn't recommend them for food prep, though. They are tough to clean because of all the fissures. I don't truly understand what decarb is, but if you get the competition finish and want to prepare food with it, I would make sure all of that decarb is off the blade before touching it to food. Again, I don't know why, but I do know that decarb rusts, so I wouldn't want to get that on my food as rust can start forming before it's even visible. I know it's not dangerous on its own, but it can affect the tastes of food.

Q2: Is the competition coating the same as the "satin" coating found here?: http://knifemods.com/2012/08/05/busse-team-gemini/

No, the Competition Finish is just bead-blasted a bit to remove the decarb. That satin finish is actually a satin finish--someone took some abrasives to it.

Q3: Do you think that is black paper micarta or black G10 on the satin knife above? The black paper looks a bit glossier I think...

Looks like black paper to me. Black G10 is made with fiberglass sheets, and their pores are a lot bigger and more obvious--you'll see some white marks all over the place with black G10. Black paper Micarta can be made to look glossy or matte depending on how it's finished.

 

[Svashtar]

Got it, thanks guys! IMHO Busse should offer that full polish satin for an extra $50; I'll bet they would get a lot of takers.

The black paper micarta I've seen on the Busse Combat site looks very black and smoother than the G10, so that matches your info Gary. Looks pretty cool with either a black or competition blade.

At this point for a hard use knife I think I might go with the coated blade, at least for this model. Thanks again.

Norm

 

[Garth Reckner]

Green with green/black g10 has become a recent favorite of mine. Also like the stealth look of black on black.

Garth

 

[uyotg]

Got it, thanks guys! IMHO Busse should offer that full polish satin for an extra $50; I'll bet they would get a lot of takers.

The black paper micarta I've seen on the Busse Combat site looks very black and smoother than the G10, so that matches your info Gary. Looks pretty cool with either a black or competition blade.

At this point for a hard use knife I think I might go with the coated blade, at least for this model. Thanks again.

Norm

It's difficult to polish the Team Gemini, especially the light brigade version, with the concave grind and the deep fullers. There have been very few satin Team Geminis released into the wild.

I think black paper Micarta looks great with a double cut finish. I think the double cut BOSS Jacks were thrown into the bead-blasting machine with handles intact. It looked great. The regular, smooth black paper Micarta is a bit too smooth and indistinct for me.

 

[Svashtar]

It's difficult to polish the Team Gemini, especially the light brigade version, with the concave grind and the deep fullers. There have been very few satin Team Geminis released into the wild.

I think black paper Micarta looks great with a double cut finish. I think the double cut BOSS Jacks were thrown into the bead-blasting machine with handles intact. It looked great. The regular, smooth black paper Micarta is a bit too smooth and indistinct for me.

"Double cut" means that it has a secondary kind of "abrasive" look to it? The regular black G10 kind of has that look to it when compared to the paper micarta.

 

[uyotg]

"Double cut" means that it has a secondary kind of "abrasive" look to it? The regular black G10 kind of has that look to it when compared to the paper micarta.

Double cut is a bead-blasted finish where they blast two different media at it. So it does look kind of abrasive and matte.

I know it'd be much better with a comparison picture of regular black paper Micarta, but I don't have one but the "abrasiveness" and the size of the "pores" on double-cut black paper Micarta are a lot more tiny than the ones on black G10, so they're not really visible; they instead just give a matte effect to the scales.

 

[tbdoc4kids]

Jungle green with either black canvas or green/black G10 looks great. Jungle green finish is smoother than the current black crinkle finish.

 

[Skystorm]

I like black and paper. Just exudes awesomeness. That and it's a real chore to oil and polish 5 zillion knives a month.

 

[uyotg]

I like black and paper. Just exudes awesomeness.

Black paper Micarta is like a properly suited gentleman who has wrestled tigers, smashed mountains, poops bacon, and invented color, but knows how to respect a lady. I mean, I like black paper Micarta .

 

[Svashtar]

Green with green/black g10 has become a recent favorite of mine. Also like the stealth look of black on black.

Garth

Thanks Garth, me too. I'm basically down to that combo or the standard black crinkle with green/black. I actually like that a bit more, but have so many Beckers with that blade finish already, and wanted my first Busse to be unique.

Jungle green with either black canvas or green/black G10 looks great. Jungle green finish is smoother than the current black crinkle finish.

Thanks for confirming this, that's how it also looked to me on the Busse Combat site, which kind of leads me to believe that the standard black crinkle might hold up better over time that the green perhaps.

I noticed that all the Argonne knives which are nothing if not heavy duty in design come with the black finish by default.

Best,

Norm