Bussekin & Friends + Epic Fail

[Stubai]

And, out of all those neat looking blades, which one actually goes with you on a camping trip?

 

[edctac]

I wish I could print this out so when people say i have too many I can just say "look at this guy"

 

[l2lku2]

And, out of all those neat looking blades, which one actually goes with you on a camping trip?

When car camping I take a whole bunch of all sizes and I rotate through the collection.

When backpacking depending on various factors, I take only a small, or a large and small, and sometimes just a small with a saw or small axe, or sometimes one of each - not because I will need it, just to test and have fun.

I always take the Victorinox One Handed Trekker because I like the saw and awl. Of the small fixed, I rotate often but my favorite small is the Skookum Bush Tool. My favorite large for backpacking is the B11 but I am excited about the new B10 and the ASH Whacker 9.5 .

I seldom carry a medium size when backpacking (I have in the past but I don't think I will in future, maybe, never say never!) as it does not do small knife tasks well or large knife tasks well. I just use them at home for fun or throw it in for a day-hike, also just to feel good - I never really use it on day-hikes.

But my choices will continue to change as I test more - many of these have not been tested so by no means will I say that my current choices are necessarily the best choices. They are my current choices based on the knives that I have tested adequately.

 

[l2lku2]

All of I've got to say is ..... WOW! What a collection!!

Way to go bro!! :thumbup::thumbup::thumbup:

Actually, I envy your collection!! Major congratulations on what you have achieved in such short time. That really takes some doing.

 

[DBH]

You failed, but you did it well Nice collection.

 

[bm11]

Not often as jaded as I am I see something impressive on the internet. My hat is off to you, sir.

 

[bigjuice]

Will you adopt me?

That was incredible to look through!

Really digging the bark rivers.

 

[seadweller]

Holy smokes .. that is a lot of knife man! Epic for sure!

 

[Hadji Flip Me Over]

I am a FAILURE.

No, I think you actually did pretty well for yourself. That's the biggest collection I have ever seen.

 

[David Brown]

all these naked knives its sad

kidding nice collection my friend.

 

[l2lku2]

It has been a slow start for the collection this year but I am excited about this one that just arrived.

Fehrman First Strike

She joins her siblings, Final Judgment and Shadow Scout. She may go to the factory for the same handle mod as the Final Judgment to remove the sub-hilt.

Some Busse size comparisons with the NMSFNO and SFNOLE:

Haul for the year, I have an itch for old-logo Alox Vics at the moment:

 

[linguini3]

 

[rodogg]

......... That's a LOTTTTTTT of knives my man. You must be loaded. So which do you like the best of them all? And which do you use most?

 

[Brummie]

Busse, swamp rat, bark river, fehrman, caldwell, koster, fiddleback - seems like we have similar taste in knives. Your collection includes many of the fixed blades I have (and a lot more besides). What I don't generally have are duplicates of the same model, though. I think the only knife worth >$30 of which I own more than one is the Busse B10 - I have #21 and #22 choil-less. The idea was of course to buy two for the lower price and then sell on one of them. I just need to keep reminding myself about the selling on part.

 

[wyattT]

love it. your so balls deep in knives that my gf didn't get mad about my stuff when i showed her this thread.

 

[l2lku2]

Busse, swamp rat, bark river, fehrman, caldwell, koster, fiddleback - seems like we have similar taste in knives. Your collection includes many of the fixed blades I have (and a lot more besides)..... I just need to keep reminding myself about the selling on part.

Well I commend your taste in knives and I sympathize with your selective memory - we seem to have a lot in common, like most of us here I guess. I was admiring your Koster Muck yesterday. I want one.

So which do you like the best of them all? And which do you use most?

If for some reason I had to end up with only a small number of knives, it would look like this:

2 fixed only - large and small:

Add a folder:

3 fixed only - large, small and pocket fixed:

Add a folder:

4 fixed only - large, small, pocket fixed and a specific purpose knife:

Backpacking combo:

Pocket carry / EDC type / urban carry, around town, whatever term, you know what I mean:

Favorite and most used:


Fixed

Folders:

What I like about each:

What all of them have in common are comfortable and versatile handles (in any grip) and high performance - i.e. chopping for the large ones and slicing / efficient cutting for the small ones.

The B11 is the Asymmetric model. I have the other as well and like it but the Asym is better for me.

All of them, except for the Benchmade 171, are lightweight and very versatile. The 171 is neither, so it is unlikely it will ever make it into my extended duration backpacking pack, but it is the best chopper I have and I love using it to chop and baton with.

The Browning Crowell / Barker and SAR 8 are the smallest and lightest fixed blades that I still consider good choppers. They are light and fast in the hand and I enjoy using them for large knife and small knife tasks. My favorite Browning Crowell / Barkers are however not the standard ones (which are still good) but re-handled and re-profiled ones that are much sharper and more comfortable in the hand. The standard handles are a little too square.

What I specifically like about the Caldwell is that I can control the cuts with it very well. Where the Skookum and the other small ones are very good cutters, they tend to sometimes bite more than I want. That is not a problem for any type of cutting that I would actually need to do for my uses, feather sticks, tent pegs or whatever. But sometimes when I just want to carve things like flat surfaces, just because I want to, the Caldwell works better than anything else for me. And it is 154CM so provides some options for stainless in my collection.

What I specifically like about the Bark Rivers, the Canadian Special and the Liten Bror is that they were factory modified for me with rounded spines and rounded handles, so when I want to do a lot of work with my thumb on the spine, they are very comfortable for extended use. The Canadian Special specifically, with the upward slope provides great traction for the thumb without any jimping, which I HATE on a knife. I typically HATE any hilts, jimping, finger cutouts etc. on a knife handle but the Canadian Special cutouts fit my fingers perfectly, and I don't feel them at all even in chest-lever grip.

I carry the Fallkniven(s) to the beach mostly because they are stainless VG10. I also use all my Fallknivens in cold weather when I don't want to wear gloves.


Folders:

I like the Sebenzas because I like the Sebenzas.

I like these two Victorinox because they have saws and awls / reamers. I actually prefer the Pioneer Harvester over the One Handed Trekker for many reasons and there are many things that I don't like about the OHT but I carry it more in the woods because so far it is the best option I can find with one handed opening and closing, an awl / reamer and the longest saw in a folder.

I also prefer the Pioneer Harvester over the Farmer because it does not have the split-ring attachment, that on the Farmer digs into my palm, and the Pioneer Harvester has a pruning blade, that I prefer over a bottle opener / flat screwdriver.

And my disclaimer .

My current choices do not mean that they are the best even to my preferences. They are only the best of the ones I have used and tested sufficiently. There are some knives in my collection that have seen very little or even no use and they may displace some current favorites.

That holds true especially for the mid-sized knives because I find them to be too much of a compromise so I do not focus much attention on them, but I will in future. Because of that there are some knives that I really like, like the Chopweiler for instance, that are not listed under my absolute favorites, purely because I prefer a large and small combo over a single mid-size. But I know that I could do just fine with any of the mid-sized ones also and I do use them and enjoy using them. They are simply not my first choice.

And that is really the criteria for my collection. I ask myself, if I closed my eyes and grabbed any knife (other than a few that were gifted to me that I keep for that reason), would I feel comfortable, trust and enjoy using that knife in its role and within its limitations, within any possible scenario. If the answer is not a definite yes, the knife is not here. But I do find that my tastes are becoming more discerning as I learn more and as some knives set new standards, some of these will probably have to go.

 

[grunt soldier]

yeah you have a killer collection. keep it up

 

[l2lku2]

Sometimes the stars just align and they did for me in the last few days.

- I have wanted satin finished RMD's forever.
- I have been on the lookout for a Green / Orange G10 SAR 5 for a long time and also for a .25 NMFBM with hand-shaped Micarta or G10. I found both of them in the same thread!. I will get a G10 one next to compare the balance of the heavier G10 with the Micarta.
- You can't have enough B11s.
- The S90V Carbon Fiber Military is my favorite Military so I was thrilled when they announced the Carbon Fiber M390.
- While I have wanted a lighter / thinner SAR 4 for a while. I had not thought about that for the larger SAR series so the SARGE 7 was not something to check off my "long time wanted list", but is well received.
- I have been wanting one for a while but I have not been looking very hard. But when I did look, it was right at the top on the exchange, so I snagged the Laconico EDC. It should be here in a couple of days.

So many that were on my list just became available, all at once. Lucky days!!

I will take the NMFBM out with the NMFBMLE tomorrow and am very excited and interested how it will compare with its sibling. NMFBMLE = 32 3/8 oz. The .249 thick NMFBM = 28 7/8 oz.

Seller's pic:

 

[skich01]

Dude!

 

[euroross]

Slow start for the year!!!??? You already have EVERYTHING! LOL