Busse versus Tops?

[LVSteel]

Hey All. This is my first post, so excuse me if I am covering old ground. I am considering a real heavy use camp knife that would also work in a self defense role. Something in the 5-7 inch fixed blade, + or - 1/4 inch thick, micarta. I've come down to Busse and Tops as ones that should fit this role. What is the group's opinion? Are there some others I have overlooked? Which model specifically?

 

[cerberus]

They both make great blades, but out of the two I'd go with the Busse. In the 5-7 inch version, you you have the SFNO which makes a great camp blade and self defense blade.

Cerberus

 

[thebladeguy]

There is also Fehrman. I would go with ethier Busse or Fehrman any day before TOPs.

TBG

 

[LVSteel]

I just looked at Fehrman and they look great! Thank you.

 

[wetdog1911]

Busse for sure, or, for something closer to the TOPS price, Swamp Rat, Busse's sister company.

Either way, you won't go wrong.

Rob

 

[djolney]

Busse SFNO
Busse Satin Jack
Swamp Rat Desert Jack
Swamp Rat Ratweiler
Chris Reeve Neil Roberts Warrior
Chris Reeve Green Beret 5.5”
Ranger Knives RD6

I’d prefer any of the above knives to a Tops. Tops make good knives, but, IMO, they are expensive for what you get.

 

[STR]

I don't think you can beat the Busses. They are pricey but the old saying that 'you get what you pay for' is so true with his knives.

 

[Spydiefan04]

Don't mean to start a war with the Busse folks they are quite nice people and Busse makes great knives with the best warranty out there, but for me personally I would buy a TOPS for the 1095 Steel which I can easily freehand sharpen, I have to have somekind of kit to sharpen any hard or stainless steel so I prefer a softer Carbon Steel, also if you haven't already check out the stuff from Becker or the Chris Reeve one-piece line.

 

[yoda4561]

Not to step on Spydie's feet, but I sharpen my Busse Natural Outlaw freehand, and my 2 dollar silicon carbide hone from the flea market cuts it fine. If you use Arkansas stones exclusively you're not gonna do much more than polish the high alloy steels though.

 

[Cliff Stamp]

... a real heavy use camp knife

What kind of things would you call really heavy use?

As a side note, I checked out TOPS line again and "Surgical Stainless Steel" is now one of the blade steels used.

...I have to have somekind of kit to sharpen any hard or stainless steel so I prefer a softer Carbon Steel

Tops spec the 1095 knives at 58 HRC, INFI is ran at 58-60, it isn't significantly harder. It sharpens readily on any hones.

Ease of sharpening is more towards geometry and suitability of the steel for the type of knife than the actual machinability of the steel.

I have several really hard and really high alloy steels which all sharpen easily just with a piece of sandpaper.

-Cliff

 

[djolney]

In my experience neither INFI (Busse), 52100 (Swamp Rat), nor 5160 (Ranger Knives) are difficult to sharpen.

1095 is very easy to sharpen, but doesn’t tend to hold an edge as well as any of the steels mentioned above.

The S30V blades on the Chris Reeve Warrior and Green Beret knives are another story: S30V takes a bit more work to sharpen, but with Chris Reeves heat treat it’s worth it.

 

[Walking Man]

The newest Busse knives are really great knive, but until recently (IMO) the e Handles were a little uncomfortle, and suited toward large hands. These days there are many more choices. TOPS, however, IMO, of course has always had great feelling handles and are better finished. It really depends what you like. The TOPS armageddon is a SERIOUS knife made just for what you're looking for. YES!!! I am Busse fan, but I think TOPS knives are underappreciated.

 

[Slim to None]

I've liked my busses, but fehrmans have been catching my eye lately. I'd choose either of those over a TOPS. 1095 is just fine, but paying a whole bunch for it doesn't seem right to me, regardless of finish or heat treat.

 

[500jefferyDK]

I don't own a Busse but have 4 TOPS
I have 3 in carbon and one B.E.S.T. with a hunters point in cm154 2X heat treated.

I like the handels on the TOPS knives and find then to be good all round knives.

Sorry no picture of the B.E.S.T.

Cheers,

André

 

[Walking Man]

The small Busse have some of the best ergonomics on a knife that I've ever handled. TOPS, however, has the advantage of having many more models, and have much greater availability. (which is a good or bad thing, depending on how you look at it, after all, only the good stuff sells, but then again, TOPS probably produces many more)

 

[Dr. Thor]

What it comes down to is this: Busse has better steel, but a long wait, unless you buy from the company store. TOPs has better selection, but not as great steel, and are kind of expensive for 1095. I highly recomend Swamp Rat. They are economically priced, and very good camp knives.

 

[Brian Jones]

As a side note, I checked out TOPS line again and "Surgical Stainless Steel" is now one of the blade steels used.
-Cliff

Just to clarify, the "surgical stainless" used on some of their knives is in fact 440C.

Best,

~Brian.

 

[LVSteel]

Thanks for all the great comments. I will let you guys know what I end up buying.

 

[Fan of Steel]

Swamp Rat doesn't use 52100. They make the comparison to it on the level of performance they squeeze out of their knives.

"Think of it as 52-100 tool steel with added Kryptonite"

SR-101 Steel is the combination of an extremely fine-grained tool steel and a proprietary multi-step tempering protocol....

Sounds more like 01 tool steel pushed to the limit by Busse's in house heat treatment.

 

[Cliff Stamp]

Just to clarify, the "surgical stainless" used on some of their knives is in fact 440C.

They might want to add this to the webpages, calling it "surgical stainless" is going to give the wrong impression, this usually refers to really low end stainless grades.

-Cliff