BUSSE REPORT! Who got there Busse's?

M

Mike Turber

Joined
Oct 2, 1998
Messages
5,461
OK Guys the most talked about fixed blade in years is out and in many of your hands.

What do you all think?

Is it all Hype? Or is it all that?



------------------
Best Regards,
Mike Turber
BladeForums Site Owner and Administrator
Do it! Do it right! Do it right NOW!
www.wowinc.com

 
I have a Basics #9 and am selling it.

I don't think there is anything wrong with the knife, it just fills a non-existant gap in my knife use. I usually carry a smaller skinning/utility knife and a large chopper. If I were the type that only carried 1 knife I might like it more. Perhaps a #5 would be more utilitarian for me.

Other than that:

The handle is comfortable.
The blade geometry is nice.
The sheath seems well made although I would prefer a bit of a thumb tab to help open the sheath a bit while drawing or re-sheathing the knife.
 
I like my #7 better than my #9, just because of the easier carry. Other than that, they're WICKED sharp, sturdy as hell, well-balanced.

I'm not too thrilled about the handle material; I like the material on the Mad Dogs better, but that's pretty minor. The sheaths are awesome.

I liked 'em so much I bought a couple more.
 
I haven't had the chance to really play with my #9, but from what I've seen so far; me like, me like

------------------
Joshua
But doom'd and devoted by vassal and lord.
MacGregor has still both his heart and his sword!
-MacGregor's Gathering, Sir Walter Scott
 
Dang Mike, I am still waiting for mine. I ordered my 9 through a Dealer. I am sure I will like it. I also ordered a Basic 3 for grins.
 
Are we talking about the Basics, or any Busse? In which case I'll have to say that I've had my INFI Steel Heart since early August and just love it. I've used it on several camping trips already. Our South African friend and occaisional poster here, Aubrey, was right on the money when he recommended this one. Came sharp, has stayed sharp so far, and just keeps cutting. Heck, even used it a bit as a lark while helping a pal tear up part of his kitchen for remodelling, and it worked fine in the basic chopping and "sharpened prybar" chores. Just bought a house, so who knows what kind of stuff I'll find to use it on.

------------------
Don LeHue

The pen is mightier than the sword...outside of arm's reach. Modify radius accordingly for rifle.


 
Hi Mike,

got the #9 Bladeforum edition. Thanks for your efforts on making that happen. I'd wanted to see / use one of Busse's knives for awhile so I was glad to take advantage of your offer.

Positives:

The balance of the knife in the hand is excellent - this is really a small machete that wields like a hunting knife.

I have a medium sized hand and the grip is a very good fit. I don't know if the grip would fit a large hand as well, particularly when wearing gloves. I like the rubber grips. It'll be interesting to see how well they wear going in and out of the Kydex sheath after a while.

The blade shape and overall design of the knife are also super - I think you can bring a lot of force to bear when using this knife to hack or chop.

The Kydex sheath is excellent. Well designed and very well made. Comes complete with top quality fittings and straps too. Holds the knife securly and releases it smoothly.

Negatives

The flat grind on the knife I have extends all the way up to the spine on one side of the knife and on the other the grinds stops 1/8 inch from the spine. In my opinion that shouldn't happen on a knife that costs as much as the #9.

I'm also not a big fan of the uneven sharpening. The edge grind starts higher up on one side of the knife than on the other. This results in the point of the knife being assymetrical - as seen from above the spine - It may work great but I think it looks sloppy.

The black powder coating - like all the other powder coatings I've seen or tried - looks great for the first day, but then starts getting scrathched almost at once. Doesn't hurt the performance of the knife one bit, but again, it looks a bit nasty. I'd prefer satin finished steel.

As far as the cutting ability of the ModInfi steels goes, I haven't had a chance to take the knife out and hack anything apart yet...but the knife was - and still is - very sharp as delivered.


All in all I'd say the knife makes an impressive package for a hard use knife of this size. The sheath design is certainly outstanding. I think Busse should pay a little more attention to the grinding though.

------------------
www.wilkins-knives.com


 
Hey Mike, I whacked the hell out of my #9 Saturday cleaning up after a storm. Couldn't dull it. Six inch tree branches in under a minute. Scuffs on the black finish but no perceptible edge wear on a wood that tears up chainsaw blades (banyan). Hats off to Mr. Busse. I'm not an expert but I know what I like. It will be interesting to see the results of your testing, as long as Jose doesn't speed up and ruin yet another weekend!

jeff
 
I would like to look into this company a little more, but the web site is limited.
Any other place I can go for pics on ANY Busse knife?
 
Hey Kevin, that flat grind should all the way. Your post had me sighting down the blade like it was a 2 X 4. No problems with mine. I'm sure it will be rectified if you ask.

I agree with you about the asymmetrical grind. Makes the grab different on the left and right strokes when using it to chop. Deflects more on the right-hand cuts with mine. I'm no expert but with a steel like this (or any really) it seems unnecessary and the logic escapes me. The edge angle is the edge angle and if you want to feather it into the main blade OK but why not both sides equally so it cuts equally? Got a good answer please enlighten me.

jeff
 
Very impressive looking knife. Solid feel and great fit and finish. Really like the sheath too. Have not had a chance to field test it yet. Mike, thank you and Busse for making the black blade possible.

------------------
Jer. 9:23-24
 
Might head off to the woods this weekend with a friend to beat up a #7 a bit. I' ve only chopped up a few cardboard boxes and some aluminum soda cans, just for fun. The black coating scuffs/ scratches easily. Balance is nice, grip is comfortable for my medium size hands and edge is sharp enough to shave hair. One really nice design feature is the dropped handle. It provides better leverage and a more natural point.The sheath system is great but it needs some closer molding as the #7 rattles when moving about. Finger/ thumb tab is needed for a silent draw (if this is a concern for some)and I too am curious as to how the well the rubber wears when unsheathing and resheathing. The #7 is smaller and lighter than it appears on screen but feels great overall. Also I' d like to see some file work on the spine to aid in choking up on the blade. Lastly, is the black coating done all the way to the end of the tang? This is a consideration since the Resiprene grips are pressure fitted without any sealant/ adhesive.

L8r,
Nakano

[This message has been edited by Nakano 2 (edited 21 October 1999).]
 
Jeff, the bevel grind is about performance not looks. The convex part gives strength and that flat part allows greater flexibility in sharpening. Concering it effecting performance curing chopping, that is interesting. I have noticed this with chisel ground knives, but they have rather much more severe differences in profile from right/left. I have not noticed this problem with the Basic #7 and BM.

Being specific here are some measurements. On my BM, the convex part of the bevel extends back 3.7 mm and the blade is 1.5 mm thick at that point. The flat part extends back slightly less, 2.9 mm, and the blade is 1.3 mm there. The Basic has a larger difference in the edge profiles. The convex part is 2.0 x 1.1mm, and the flat part 0.8 x 0.6 mm. Anyway, if the grind is really being a problem then just sharpen it. I would be curious to know the dimensions though.

As for the difference in primary grind, that seems to be a bit sloppy. As with most things, drop the dealer or Busse a note about this. Unless they are aware of problems they can't be fixed.

Nakano, that is an excellent point. Considering the discussion of MD's tangs recently it would be interesting to know the profile of the tang in the Basic's.

-Cliff
 
Thanks Cliff. The one thing that blade does is perform. But when it needs sharpening in a couple of years I'll stick with what those with much more experience than me originally designed.

I am curious too about the way the handle is held on. Inquiring minds need to know. I assumed the brass grommet went through the tang. I don't think we have to worry about the blade flying off of the handle though. After much exuberant use of my knife as an axe the top of the blade still indents the handle slightly and that lets me know no shift has occured.

After dozens of times with the old in and out, the handle shows little signs of wear. Even the little letters that stick up are hardly scuffed. I figured they would be quick to go. Very interesting material, it feels soft but you can hardly indent it with your nail. It also keeps its grip well when your hands are sweaty. I'm sure Jerry thought long and hard about the best material to use.

Sorry if I sound like a Busse commercial, I just really like it.

jeff
 
Jeff, the handle material is fairly wear resistant. One of the first things I did with the Basic was to draw and sheath it 200 times (quickly). All this did was wear the handle very slightly just behind where Busse Combat is on the grip making little lines/ridges visible in the rubber. Based on the amount of wear that this produced, I can't see sheath abrasion being significant.

Grip wear through normal use is even slower. I loaned my Basic out, and while it comes back for sharpening every few days, the handle still looks unchanged. It is much more durable for example than the Cold Steel Kraton handles which showed visible smoothing of the checkering pattern in the same length of time and thus reduced grip ergonomics.

-Cliff

[This message has been edited by Cliff Stamp (edited 21 October 1999).]
 
As Kevin stated earlier,
i just got my BF black coated version... i was hoping to keep it in new condition but just had to try cutting something... i chopped at the cardboard lid of the box it came in twice... while it did great cutting (the weight just seemed to carry it an extra inch) the finish was torn up. i am a little dissapointed with the ease with which it marks.. i would have probably would have gotten the satin finish if i had known this... DONT get me wrong, i think this will be a lifelong purchase that will do everything i want it to BUT it marks VERY easily so beware... other than that it feels great and the sheath is cool too.
just my opinion.
 
I got a Basic 3# and it came with a sheet from Busse which not only describes the recommended sharpening technique, complete with diagram, but also shows a cutaway view of the tang. I thought that the sheet came with all of the Busse basics but apparently not.

The picture I have shows a straight and narrow (about half the width of the blade)tang extending back to just behind the lanyard hole where it is rounded off. As the tang enters the handle, it drops down at a 90 degree angle at the spine. On the botton, the curve continues up smoothly as it enters the handle. It appears that the handle is secured by the brass grommet which runs through the hole in the tang. If you'd like, a may be able to scan and post the page with the picture which was delivered with my knife.
 
Got mine today. Looks like quite a workhorse. Haven't had time to do anything with it other than make some hair jump off of my arm. My 12 year old son's eyes got a little big when he saw the size of the thing.

------------------
John
 
Awww Jim, it's not virgin anymore... cool! Fire 9 at will! It's actually best that now you can feel free to do with it what you will without worrys. The coating may be (is) soft but it is also thick. I can feel a gouge in mine but it didn't go through to the metal. The only thing that gouged it was a beer can that someone threw in my yard that I speared. As far as chopping wood, only scuffs. And the blade only gets better looking with some scars. Sorta like certain bloodsucking rodents with micras. Feel free!

jeff
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top