Choil or No choil

CG Boss Jack for a Marine Choil or no Choil?

  • Choil.....classic, usefull, necessary?

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • No Choil.....more useable blade length, more utilitarian, looks better?

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Total voters
    0
Bigfattyt

Bigfattyt

Gold Member
Joined
Jun 23, 2007
Messages
19,226
Hi all.

I am getting ready to order a CG Boss Jack for a Marine (thanks to some very generous Hogs on here!!!! Thanks).

My question for you illustrious gentleman and ladies.....

To choil or not to choil?

It seems to my eye, that the choil is classic on this design (probably from lusting after the originals for so long).

I don't particularly have to have one, nor do I hate them in larger knives.

The CABS is just perfect without one.

For a combat knife, to be used by an actual Marine, which do you think is handier?

No choil gives more blade length, and nothing to catch when cutting.

Choil allows choking up for detail work (something I don't do a ton of with my larger knives.......).

This knife is going to a young Marine, who has never owned a Busse! (so he won't have any pre conceived notions on what a Busse should be, and how awesome they are!)


Lets hear what you think.
 
Here are my reasons for a choil:

1 - It just looks better to me, which I know is vain but it is important on an expensive knife.

2 - No matter what anybody says I personally do gain more control by choking up for detail work. The BOSS Jack is long enough to need it IMO. It puts my hand closer to the middle of the knives overall length giving me better balance.

3 - An elf choil causes problems when cutting things like rope or straps but the large choil allows you to choke up and your finger then prevents anything from snagging on the choil. Then you can actually get closer to your work than you could if the talon hole were there between finger and cutting edge.

Just some thoughts. I'm sure either way he will be super excited and you are THE MAN for putting this all together. Let me know how I can help too. :thumbup:
 
Oeser, Thanks.

However, I am not the man on this one. Others started it, and more jumped in to pick up the difference!

I am just super excited. I really want Robert's First Busse to be perfect!

And a CG Boss Jack with a convex edge should be just that!
 
I've said it before and I'll say it again... for a BOSS Jack it comes down to this.
big fingers = no choil as if your fingers don't safely fit in it it is a pure waste of potential edge space
small fingers = a functional choice either way

Not having a choil will be much more useful when cutting straps/cords/belts etc without hanging up at all when you need a fast clean cut. A choil does look better, but I can't honestly see where a choil is a combat benefit and in a life or death scenario who cares what it looks like? :confused:

Please help your Marine get the knife that will be the most useful for him, even if it is not the coolest looking, during his deployment as his life may truly depend on it. Just like the dress blues, you leave the pretties at home. ;)

Oh, and ask him if he likes reading the Terminal Lance comics, they are a hoot.
 
If there's any chance that he'll have to cut netting of any sort, be it fishing nets, cargo netting, tangled up parachute chords or any other group of fibrous bunchy material - choils are an absolute no go in my book.

P1020473.jpg


I'll accept everyone's opinions as valid as far as the choil being useful for choking up, aiding in sharpening and having a more appealing aesthetic, but not when it comes to it's safety on netting when you need it to work the first time, every time. If you have to cut netting like shown in the photo - you will not be able to do it blind, you'll have to pay attention to what your doing and rake the edge across the netting which is inefficient and dangerous if you don't have the time or ability to watch your hands as you work. The knife I have here is a modified mini sus scrofa thats had it's choil ground out so it's all edge - I would not trust any knife busse has ever made that has a choil on it to do this task blind if I needed it to do it as a matter of safety.

You could say "well how often is he going to have to cut his way through netting in pitch black or when he can't watch his hands?", for me the answer is that it doesn't matter. You shouldn't have that variable present to begin with, your knife should be all edge from tip to guard.

You could say "well just choke up on the choil, problem solved", in my opinion you should not have to switch grip positions after you unsheath your knife to have it function correctly - doing so puts you at unnecessary risk of dropping your knife, cutting your glove/finger, and gives you a compromised grip that will again have to be repositioned to resheath your knife. Your knife should work the second your draw it and in the grip you draw it in.
 
Choil IMO (full size). I do not have the problems others seem to have in using my knives in any of the same circumstances. That being said, I hope the decision is made that will give the best results for the new owner. Good on all involved.:thumbup:
 
No Choil is safer and more effective when you have to cut something--just like LVC posted. Stuff gets caught in the choil when cutting in my experience. A Marine should have no choil on his go-to knife IMO.
 
Last Visible Canary said:
If there's any chance that he'll have to cut netting of any sort, be it fishing nets, cargo netting, tangled up parachute chords or any other group of fibrous bunchy material - choils are an absolute no go in my book.

P1020473.jpg


I'll accept everyone's opinions as valid as far as the choil being useful for choking up, aiding in sharpening and having a more appealing aesthetic, but not when it comes to it's safety on netting when you need it to work the first time, every time. If you have to cut netting like shown in the photo - you will not be able to do it blind, you'll have to pay attention to what your doing and rake the edge across the netting which is inefficient and dangerous if you don't have the time or ability to watch your hands as you work. The knife I have here is a modified mini sus scrofa thats had it's choil ground out so it's all edge - I would not trust any knife busse has ever made that has a choil on it to do this task blind if I needed it to do it as a matter of safety.

You could say "well how often is he going to have to cut his way through netting in pitch black or when he can't watch his hands?", for me the answer is that it doesn't matter. You shouldn't have that variable present to begin with, your knife should be all edge from tip to guard.

You could say "well just choke up on the choil, problem solved", in my opinion you should not have to switch grip positions after you unsheath your knife to have it function correctly - doing so puts you at unnecessary risk of dropping your knife, cutting your glove/finger, and gives you a compromised grip that will again have to be repositioned to resheath your knife. Your knife should work the second your draw it and in the grip you draw it in.
Click to expand...


I guess opinions differ on this. For a CABS, no choil was the only way to go. But the blade to handle ratio is almost equal giving you more control and leverage when performing the action in your photo. With the BOSS Jack the blade is so much longer you do not have as much leverage and therefor power and control to cut the netting. Having a choil and choking up puts my grip in more of a forward position giving leverage to perform the task. And I don't find it difficult to pull the knife out of the sheath already in a choked up position. We will have to agree to disagree. :thumbup::cool:

Also, I have BIG hands and the choil on the BJ has never been a problem for me. Just the right size. :thumbup:
 
Choil or no Choil - The user always wins if his/her blade is a Busse. Good luck to this Marine too and may his Busse bring good fortune to him on his journey to protect our great country.
 
IMHO choils are for decoration. They are one way to add sweep and visual detail to the blade. But from a practical point of view, they force the user to partially abandon the handle for a far less supportive surface when close control is desired. This compromise is not necessary.

When the blade is extended close to the handle, more or less force may be exerted when needed since the hand has far more surface contact with a handle than with a choil. The user has more control with a choil-free design.

And as has been observed, no choil means more useable blade length.
 
oeser said:
I guess opinions differ on this. For a CABS, no choil was the only way to go. But the blade to handle ratio is almost equal giving you more control and leverage when performing the action in your photo. With the BOSS Jack the blade is so much longer you do not have as much leverage and therefor power and control to cut the netting. Having a choil and choking up puts my grip in more of a forward position giving leverage to perform the task. And I don't find it difficult to pull the knife out of the sheath already in a choked up position. We will have to agree to disagree. :thumbup::cool:

Also, I have BIG hands and the choil on the BJ has never been a problem for me. Just the right size. :thumbup:
Click to expand...

The netting is too wide here even for a boss jack - the boss jacks round belly will be more likely to let it slip forward and off of the blade. I'd want to put the netter as far away from the tip as possible to avoid that. Ideally I want to be able to grab the net, put it on the blade, push with a light sawing motion and have it be cut without me thinking about it.

This isn't in regards to civilian use - I could cut the netting any knife choil or not just fine. Because this is going to a marine, I have to consider whether he's going to want, or be able to, to do what you just described while taking fire or while sitting in a burning vehicle. To me it isn't about the virtues of a choil, it's about limiting potential dangers in the field. You shouldn't have to switch grips while taking fire, and you shouldn't have your knife hang up on anything, there shouldn't even be a chance of it.
 
Last Visible Canary said:
The netting is too wide here even for a boss jack - the boss jacks round belly will be more likely to let it slip forward and off of the blade. I'd want to put the netter as far away from the tip as possible to avoid that. Ideally I want to be able to grab the net, put it on the blade, push with a light sawing motion and have it be cut without me thinking about it.

This isn't in regards to civilian use - I could cut the netting any knife choil or not just fine. Because this is going to a marine, I have to consider whether he's going to want, or be able to, to do what you just described while taking fire or while sitting in a burning vehicle. To me it isn't about the virtues of a choil, it's about limiting potential dangers in the field. You shouldn't have to switch grips while taking fire, and you shouldn't have your knife hang up on anything, there shouldn't even be a chance of it.
Click to expand...

Very good point. :thumbup::thumbup: My requirements for the BOSS Jack and the situations I plan to use it in may not be the same as a Marine in the field. :cool:
 
Soulrack223 said:
No Choil is safer and more effective when you have to cut something--just like LVC posted. Stuff gets caught in the choil when cutting in my experience. A Marine should have no choil on his go-to knife IMO.
Click to expand...

^^

As a keyboard commando who has not had the privilege to serve, I agree.
 
Just one lady's opinion, gentlemen, but I vote a strong +1 for a choil. Better control for fine work, and I like it better for my smaller hands.

Oh, and women are veterans, too! :D
 
I like the looks of the choil, but for this Gent I would go with no choil and sterile blade

It's a user - right :thumbup:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top