Busse price justification

[Ken44]

Who made the custom you speak of ?
And do you think it would sell for what you paid for it if you had to sell it now ?
Not that you would ever sell it, but just wondering.

and it will have better fit and finish (one at time production will always be put together better)

Not true. One at a time production doesn't mean it will always be put together better. I've had plenty of customs that weren't made as well as the knives some mid-tech production knife companies put out.

If you want something that cuts well and is still durable there are better choices, honestly guys this is just plain true.

Busse has made many thinner models. If you want a tough knife that cuts well those models are hard to beat.

 

[evltcat]

Busses are great if you want something to cut a car in half. If you want something that cuts well and is still durable there are better choices, honestly guys this is just plain true. When it comes to doing stupid stuff with a knife that no one in there right mind would ever have to do Busses are at the top of the hill.

Which is precisely why I have a TGLB (and as soon as I get it from the Swamp a Rucki) in my trunk. I work 41 miles from home, and God forbid there is ever an 8.0+ quake in SoCal, I may be hoofing 41 miles to get to my home/family. There are dozens of bridges and open scrub between me and home. I NEED a knife I may have call on to do crazy things. So yes, I want a knife that will cut a car in half, chop a tree down, and pry things open and not break.

Bottom line; I'm willing to pay for a knife I can bet my life on!

 

[mephistoph]

you obviously haven't read my earlier post, man you guys are easy to rattle

Thanks for the info guys. I guess that on further introspection I am comparing apples and oranges. These while are beautiful in their own right and can surely become a show piece if one wished, they are first and foremost "users". My knife is entirely a show piece and a work of art and most definitely not a user by any rights. I wouldn't even think of using this knife to even open a box with it. Therefore I believe that all of your points are valid and I think that I understand why they command the price they do. I was trying to compare raw materials (ie) the mastodon molar and moku ti Damascus against something that is entirely different. Thank you for your input and I will most definitely consider making a Busse one of my next purchases
Meph

Take your custom, and use it to baton through hardwood posts with nails in it... when it breaks in half, send it back to the maker with a video of what you did to break it, and ask for a replacement. When he stops laughing and tells you no, you'll understand what set's Busse apart

 

[lsheldon]

Purely an apples to oranges comparison by the OP. I'm still confused as to why we need to justify our love of Busse knives and INFI to anyone. Bottom line, someone has to keep Jerry in booze and we are the self appointed enablers.

Have a great day....

 

[drift draft]

''If you like it, you'll find a way to justify it. But if you don't , you'll find ways to falsify it.''
Toba Beta

 

[jdm61]

Not a very good guess. If I want Micarta scales 3D machined, I can get a pair for around $16 if I order say 50 pairs. G10 would cost me around $20. As for Infi, it may be a great steel but it is still a cast steel, so no $100 price tag. If you pay more than $8 to have a blade water jet cut, you have probably paid too much. If I was making a good sized knife from say CPM 3V and outsourcing everything but the assembly, i think that I would expect for that to cost me around $125-135 or so including a basic kydex sheath. Where Busse does well is when they sell directly to the customer because they get to keep the "dealer cut." That doesn't suck under any circumstances.

Busse's are cheap!!!, now you are probably thinking i must have lost my marbles to say such a thing but i used to make a living making things from steel so will try to explain. Infi is a nitrogen infused steel and this type of steel does not come cheap, the closest thing to infi you can get your hands on is probably Vanax. So let's pretend we are going to make a ASHBM in Vanax, when buying steel you pay by the pound and a rough estimate on the cost of the blank needed brings the starting cost to 100$ then add the cost of cutting the shape 15$ and the CNC at a estimated self cost of 75$ per blade, next thing we can add is the 72 hour heat treat and deep cryo treatment and i cant see how this can be done cheaper than 100$ per blade, large scale industrial vacum heat treat with cryo costs about half but Busse is by no means a large scale company and they do a in house heat treat with attentinon to detail.

I don't know much about micarta but i can't see how buying the raw material micarta slab and machining it and then fixing it to the knife with tubes can cost less than 100$ , i think hand finishing and sharpening also adds up to at least 50$ per blade in self cost, now let's pay for some booze and marketing and the workers that works behind a desk with 150$.

I am also thinking that Infi would add a cost of 60$ over Vanax per blade.

Add it all together and you get 650$ (busse charges 697$). I do think Busse has better margins than this but it is a somewhat educated guess.


Len

 

[Busto]

Qualityremains long after the price is forgotten and that is what drew me to these remarkably tough blades....:thumbup:

 

[Lennox]

Not a very good guess. If I want Micarta scales 3D machined, I can get a pair for around $16 if I order say 50 pairs. G10 would cost me around $20. As for Infi, it may be a great steel but it is still a cast steel, so no $100 price tag. If you pay more than $8 to have a blade water jet cut, you have probably paid too much. If I was making a good sized knife from say CPM 3V and outsourcing everything but the assembly, i think that I would expect for that to cost me around $125-135 or so including a basic kydex sheath. Where Busse does well is when they sell directly to the customer because they get to keep the "dealer cut." That doesn't suck under any circumstances.

Whoa if machining and material cost is that much cheaper in the US i need to get something made in the US to sell here in Norway . How much do you have to pay a skilled CNC operator in the US ?

 

[voracious1]

Whoa if machining and material cost is that much cheaper in the US i need to get something made in the US to sell here in Norway .

'Merica! The new china! Joe knows.

 

[M67]

even Jason Brous blades cost more than $300, and he's relatively new to the custom market what maker has a one of a kind for $300?

It may not have mammoth tooth or anything fancy, but Bill Siegle I'm sure could make you one nice one of a kind custom with a hell of a heat treat

 

[voracious1]

One to the head and I'd have a Mozambique drill.

 

[Busto]

It may not have mammoth tooth or anything fancy, but Bill Siegle I'm sure could make you one nice one of a kind custom with a hell of a heat treat

You Nailed it........You can can cover a Studebaker with Diamonds and its still a Studebaker...All the Glitz is meaningless without a "Hell of a Heat Treat"....:thumbup:

 

[RUNIT]

The value of something equals what folks are willing to pay for it. That works for a gallon of gas, or a Busse knife.

Not a perfect analogy. I do not believe the price of gas has anything to do with the peoples ability to pay for it.

As far a Busse goes, I believe they charge what they are worth with a slight price hike for the name. With the recent price increases across the board on most of the Busse-kin products, they obviously are willing to try and get all they can for the product and the knives will continue to prove their worth and everybody will continue to be happy.

Seems like capitalism at its finest. Oh and

 

[zakjak221]

I'm proud to support an American Company that makes a quality product.
Yes, there are other US knife Mfg's & I own some of their products too, but....
For big bad choppers tho, Busse is King of the heap!

 

[Vegas Blade]

I just have to add my 2 cents to this deal. I received my SFNO LE #99 of 300 the other day (thanks MTWildman) and this thing is a monumental work of art!!! I mean this is like a Viking Sword in a Spec Ops Sheath!! Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but to KNOW, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that I own something that there are only 299 others of, that COULD AND WOULD cut through hell and back is neat. There are many talented makers here that can do that, but would they offer the same warranty? Would they encourage reckless disregard for the knife's safety and beauty and rarity? Lastly, would they sell it for <$1000 ?? That is what makes Busse's so great to me. Just me YMMV.

 

[Lennox]

I just have to add my 2 cents to this deal. I received my SFNO LE #99 of 300 the other day (thanks MTWildman) and this thing is a monumental work of art!!! I mean this is like a Viking Sword in a Spec Ops Sheath!! Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but to KNOW, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that I own something that there are only 299 others of, that COULD AND WOULD cut through hell and back is neat. There are many talented makers here that can do that, but would they offer the same warranty? Would they encourage reckless disregard for the knife's safety and beauty and rarity? Lastly, would they sell it for <$1000 ?? That is what makes Busse's so great to me. Just me YMMV.

Congrats :thumbup: i got #22 the SFNOLE is a great knife

 

[David Brown]

They're not worth it. Not even worth checking out.Move along.

Perfect answer

Yep they are not worth even half the price, I just have way more money than I know what to do with.

 

[Lycosa]

I sold all my INFI.
And I'm dyin here!!!!!

 

[nydude]

Seriously dude, the worst thing about Busse blades is that I use all of mine as if they were light sabers and occasionally they show some abuse, only encouraging me to abuse them a bit more.

Once I rolled the tip of a fbm by accidentally plowing it thru a paving stone hidden under some dirt. Once I left a satin GW (actually a HACK) in grass over night in the rain on a camping trip with no discernible rust.

I haven't yet had to send any back for treatment, but I'm sure they would take care of them if they I did. I have no safe queens and abuse all my equipment "a bit" for one simple reason. If I am ever in an actually survival/search and rescue situation, as I'm trained for and has happened, I'm not interested in gear that fails. There are other great knives certainly, and other companies that I like, however the cost of a Busse company store blade is 1,000 percent worth it's price in trust.

Best

nyHOG

 

[Garth Reckner]

The fact that no one has ever been willing to duplicate our live test says a lot. We always have let the performance of our knives do our talking for us.

To the OP,
Hang around and enjoy the party. Try one of our knives out if it suits you. Check out our Combat Grade knives at www.bussecombat.com there are knives listed there at prices starting right around $225.

Garth