Camp tramp mod?

[high desert]

I have recently traded for a camp tramp and really like it. The handle is a good fit, the blade shape is awesome and the tip is design is strong. I also have a B-11 which has a slightly better feeling handle, but the overall balance and nimbleness of the B-11 is sort of a paradox. It has the length and balance to be an adequate chopper and yet is light enough to be controlled like a much shorter blade. The B-11 is for sure my favorite in the Busse Family. I think If I were to thin the camp tramp from .24 to .187 to make it lighter and faster in hand I might like it even better than the B-11. Think of it as a Sarsquatch with res c handle. Can I thin it down using a belt sander or will it need to be ground down by a Grinder? I know a basic 7 might be the easy way out, but I have tried for quite a while to get one with no luck. Any thoughts on the easiest way to thin it or if I sent it out what it might cost? Thanks

 

[mhawg]

Check out a Busse 'Skinny ASH1' before you go grinding on the ole Camp Tramp. It's similar but a bit more costly.

XXX

 

[AZTimT]

I feel your pain. I've been debating picking up an extra B11 just to convert it to a Basic 7-8 since they are so hard to find for a decent price. I am sure I could think of something to make out of the remaining 3-4" I removed. It would be so much easier though if the B7 was offered again, or even the B9. Heck, while I am dreaming, how about a .25 full flat ground 8" res-c rat that weighs around 12-13 oz!

The Camp Tramp is rare enough to deserve being left alone for the most part as it does exactly what it was designed to do very well and it is still 3 oz lighter than the B11. The B11 handle is just the Camp Tramp handle squeezed in a hot press mold to add the logo, thumb grip and squish down the belly/spine as far as I can tell which makes it a little smaller.

A skinny ash is nice, so is a SAR 6 and SARsquatch for similar sized knives, but they aren't res-c either.