Busse Pairing...

Blackwind

Blackwind

Joined
Jul 20, 2004
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482
I was having a discussion with a friend today about the new BATAC I purchased and he posed an interesting question....

"So what are you going to pair it with?"

At first I didn't understand the question and he proceeded to describe my knife setups I'm usually out in the woods with.




-Bark River Bravo 1 with a sheath that also carries a Mini Canadian II and a fire steel
-Fallkniven A1 with a sheath that also carries a BRKT Mini Canadian II and a fire steel


I hadn't really thought about that as an option.....but it does pose an interesting question....is it worth pairing a BATAC with a smaller knife and fire steel setup as well? If so, what smaller knife? A Mini Canadian II? Almost seems a shame not to pair it up with a small Busse but I'm just not all that familiar with Busse smaller knives or ones that would fall into this category of use.....appreciate any ideas on the topic...thanks.....
 
Right now it wouldn't be to hard to snag an Active Duty on the secondary market. There are a few Busse and Busse family knives that would go well with a BATAC, maybe a Game Warden (very plentiful ) a Leaner Meaner Street (also plentiful) an Assault Shaker or a Rat Shaker (not plentiful) a new Swamp Warden (new offering) or even a Skeleton Key (not plentiful.) Somebody else might have some more suggestions.
 
I wouldn't go smaller. I'd go bigger.

A BATAC is almost, but not quite, a jack of all trades knife. It does fine-grained work very well if you grip up on the choil, and it's a good size for field dressing (just ask lunde). However, IMO, it falls short in the chopping department. So I'd pair it with either a small axe/hatchet or a large chopper like a FBM.

At this very moment, my daypack has in it a CG BATAC and a SR Battle Rat for chopping. I keep the BR in there mainly because the daypack stays in my truck for "just in case," and I don't want to risk an FBM getting stolen. Along the same lines, most times, I have a Ratmandu in place of the BATAC.

However, if I know I'm going to hike, I slip in my BATAC and a FBM (CG, LE, or SE) of some sort.

Edited to add: YMMV based on your carry preferences, which are clearly different from mine. If you're going to go smaller, I'd simply go with a good neck knife like a Skeleton Warden or (if they become available again) an Assault Shaker. This way both knives can be carried on your person in two different locations. If one is lost for some reason, you've got back-up.
 
if your looking for something smaller, a skeleton key, or assault shaker is about your best bet.

the other available blades are a little on the large side, and kind of come close to the batac as far as edge perportions. these "slightly smaller blades" include the leaner meaner street, game wardens, police/combat recruit, active duty, and the new scotch dispenser.

if you could get one, and I sincerely doubt that you will, a fogo steak knife would be perfect. a piano key would also be awesome. or a three finger :rolleyes:


busse makes several sizes, starting at

small - skeleton key, assault shaker
semi small - game warden, active duty, leaner mean street
mid - badger attack
large mid - satin jack, sfno, tank buster, ash1
large - steel heart, battle mistress
very large - ak47, ruck kensai, moab


generally when paring busse's, I try to skip one size in between blades. so I'll have a skeleton key and a badger attack, or a game warden and an sfno.

my set that I prefer if I had lots of money would be a piano key (small detail work), custom sjtac sized skinner (general duty), a hogsjtacle (small chopper/prybar), a ffbm (chopper), a ruck kensai (machete), and a moab (splitter).

for carry, it would be paired as piano key with hogsjtacle
custom sjtac sized skinner with hogsjtacle

for pack carry,
custom sjtac sized skinner with ffbm or reck kensai

for home use, all of them.
 
Guyon said:
I wouldn't go smaller. I'd go bigger.

A BATAC is almost, but not quite, a jack of all trades knife. It does fine-grained work very well if you grip up on the choil, and it's a good size for field dressing (just ask lunde). However, IMO, it falls short in the chopping department. So I'd pair it with either a small axe/hatchet or a large chopper like a FBM.

At this very moment, my daypack has in it a CG BATAC and a SR Battle Rat for chopping. I keep the BR in there mainly because the daypack stays in my truck for "just in case," and I don't want to risk an FBM getting stolen. Along the same lines, most times, I have a Ratmandu in place of the BATAC.

However, if I know I'm going to hike, I slip in my BATAC and a FBM (CG, LE, or SE) of some sort.
Click to expand...

Hmmm good point. I however plan on starting to carry a Ft. Turner Hawk with me and I also have a (I'm almost ashamed to say it) a Gerber Outback on my pack. LOL That thing has been through hell let me tell yuh. :)


I looked at the sales and GMs look like the right knife for a smaller companion...do any come with serrations by chance?
 
I bought my BATAC specifically to match and carry in conjunction with my FBM.
 
Blackwind said:
I looked at the sales and GMs look like the right knife for a smaller companion...do any come with serrations by chance?
Click to expand...

Outside of a custom piece or one of the variants, I believe the only GW that came with serrations was the serrated SMOG. One of those would be fairly hard, though not impossible, to find.

SMOGs.jpg
 
Based on your preference for the Mini-Canadian, you'll probably like one of the GW's that came in the thinner varieties (.140" or .170").

Another good option, if you don't want to carry a large chopping knife, is one of the Gerber or Fiskars folding saws. They work very well on small logs in terms of crosscutting. However, they won't split wood like a large chopper will.
 
Guyon said:
Based on your preference for the Mini-Canadian, you'll probably like one of the GW's that came in the thinner varieties (.140" or .170").

Another good option, if you don't want to carry a large chopping knife, is one of the Gerber or Fiskars folding saws. They work very well on small logs in terms of crosscutting. However, they won't split wood like a large chopper will.
Click to expand...

Thank you, I will keep an eye out for the thinner version. The main feature I like about the Mini-Canadian is the stainless steel. I prefer a steel I don't have to do a lot of upkeep on. I really don't mind putting a mini with the BATAC but wanted to explorer a Busse option before commissioning a custom sheath etc.
 
You have got it!! You can't have just one!! Time will tell the stage of addiction.
 
Depends on how you view your BATAC.

If it's going to be your heavy-duty knife for batoning firewood, rough cutting, etc., you want to go smaller. In that case, a Game Warden in thinner steel would be a good choice. Smaller still would be a skeleton key or an Assault Shaker. I'd go with the shaker.

If the badger is going to be more for fine tasks - food prep, whittling s'mores sticks, fire starting - then go with a big chopper. Steelheart might be OK, but I think you'd want to go all the way up to a BM.

As far as non-Busses go, the hatchet is a good choice. A 6" folding saw would be great - anything you can cut with the saw would be easy to baton-split with the Badger. Or go simple and take a SAK. Firesteel is also good if you know how to use it. Practice until you have a little nub, then buy another one. :D
 
Tyrkon Lawson said:
100_1618a.jpg


AK + BATAC :D
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Ha, I was just scrolling through the post, that pairing really got my attention. I sure like the way you think! Great combo!

As to the original post question. if you were looking for smaller, fine work blade I think the Scotch dispenser would make a great pairing (because it has a small blade, super thin cross section, and you would not need much more room or weight. The GW would make a good companion also, but will add more width to a set up.

If you want a larger chopper of course BM works
 
Sorry for the tagent there ;). But I think there are some really great suggestions above. I think that if you are going smaller, and want to stay with INFI, these are some to consider:

GW (all variations)
AD
Assult Shaker

All mentioned above.

If you are open to SR101, and you can grab one, try a Ratwarden. :D

Good luck and let us know what you go with. ;)
 
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