Chopapalooza

Thanks all for the encouragement. I appreciate the comments.

PatroitDan - The golok could have been improved I believe with a broader blade and handle, and a flat grind.

Paua - The Kanetsune would not need more weight, but a thinner cross section, and to avoid the problem that the golok had, a broader blade. This blade I think was made only to puncture things, like steel armor!!

Dog of war - You are correct. Also, that broad blade gave it a lot of lateral strength, and at the same time allowed a thin cutting angle. This was a flat grind, no convex cross section on this one.

Bigfatyt - I have used it in the kitchen as well.

This is a great design. Compact but powerful.
 
DavidZ said:
Dog of war - You are correct. Also, that broad blade gave it a lot of lateral strength, and at the same time allowed a thin cutting angle. This was a flat grind, no convex cross section on this one.
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Thanks, DavidZ, this is something that really interests me, I wish I had some background in physics to better understand these things. But just from personal experience I've found that many times a blade that handles lighter and quicker in the hand, focusing a higher % of energy into the chop, is much more enjoyable to use ... and I'm betting Monster Nessie is one of those. By comparison sometimes longer, heavier blades that initially seem to have real chopping power turn out to be pretty fatiguing to use. I'm also betting the Nessie chops well over much of the edge, not having the narrow "sweet spot" you find with bowies and most longer blades.

This grind and edge are very important too, especially for a faster-handling chopper, IMO. The same 12 degree/side edge I run on most my EDC folders is what I prefer on such a large blade, helping maximize its efficiency. Of course the Nessie is different than blades I've used, but I think I can see how Koster might have come up with the design, it makes good sense.

Again, a really terrific review :thumbup::thumbup: and not just the Nessie.
 
Thank you, David--very useful comparison and good analysis.

I find a regular 18" blade Ontario machete with an improved convex edge hard to beat on anything from light brush up to 2" diameter limbs, which seems to be the same size range the Nessie excells on. I like the heavy Busse's for thicker stuff I once would have used a hatchet on, but the larger sweet spot, batoning capacity and greater overall versatility of the big Busse blades win out over a hatchet hands down in my experience.

Since I haven't tried the Koster, this brings me to a question: How would you compare the Nessie with the FBM LE on limbs of 2-6" dia. ?

Thx,
Will
 
The Nessie outperformed the Busse on the thicker limbs. Due to its thinner cross section, but still being .250 thick at the spine, it bit a lot deeper than the FBM LE, and was much more controllable, with less fatigue. On a 2" limb, the Nessie sliced through the whole way. The FBM LE cracked through the last 1/3rd of the branch. You could see where it split. On thicker stuff, the Busse stopped way before the Nessie. I was even surprised. Where the Nessie sliced, the Busse bulldozed.
 
Thanks again, David. Sounds a lot like reports I've seen of the efficacy of the heavy version of the Busse NICK when used as a chopper. That modified "cleaver" design seems to be very effective. I would also imagine the kind of wood being chopped would have a bearing, as softer woods like pine would yield better to the penetration of a thin blade while harder stuff like mesquite might be better dealt with by the "bulldozer" effect, as you describe it.

Much obliged,
Will
 
David,

One more question if you don't mind:

What were the largest diameter limbs you cut/chopped with the Nessie?

thx,
will
 
Well I have a surprising update to this review. As noted, I sold all of the other knives in this review, and was pleased with my Koster monster nessie during my daily treks on the trail, hiking and walking our pooch. It did a great job of clearing our way through the dense vegetation as needed on our trail. Do not get the wrong impression however, I am not cutting new trails. This is not real heavy use. I just hack the wayward branch that gets out of place on the ATV / hiking / horse trails we use. It was not long after, that I did however begin to notice some "waviness" on the edge began to appear, and it got worse as you would expect as time went on. I just kept an eye on it, and let it go. It continued to work just fine. I am one of those if it ain't broke, do not fix it! Note that I did comment that this blade had the thinnest edge of all of the blades I tested. Well, while that thinness was it's advantage initially, it proved to be it's downfall in terms of reliability. One day, while hiking the trail, I went to chop a small hemlock branch out of the path. I hit slightly high, and went into the bark above the branch. See pic below. No problem, just pull it out and swing again. Something did not feel right on the second swing. I looked at the blade, and WOW - a chunk was missing! The pics below tell the story. I went home to study the disaster after our walk. OH, - and in case you were wondering, I now walk with confidence with my Busse NMFBM LE.


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Here you can clearly see the waviness
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Sorry that these two above are out of focus.

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Here is the tree and the trail!

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Here you can see the high hit above the limb. And the piece of the blade stayed in the tree!!!

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So you can see the perspective, That is a three quarter inch chunk missing
 
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i really appreciate your review
in austin tx. we do'nt have a lot of choppable wood
drought has stressed many of trees in this area
we never had much to chop on to begain with
brothers ranch has mostly cedar, mesquite, &oak
oak in this area is threatened by oak wilt,experts say in 50 yrs. live oak in tx. will be extinct.
cedar is more a bush & foilage makes your skin break out
mesquite has huge thorns
essentially,tests of your nature are impossible around here.
you can certainly understand your tests give info that is unobtainable here
thank you very much.
 
Now that is a shame about that knife. Probably a good example of why competition cutters retire their blades after a while.

Now here might be a case that can show an advantage for convex edges - the strength they can add for an EDC (every day chopper).
 
Wow, thanks for the update. I hadn't really thought about all the stresses such a wide and almost full height grind knife must be under. I remember knifetests had a RTAKII that whipped and broke under extreme stress due to the length and thinness, now I know problems can happen vertically too. Now when my cleaver wants to go outside and chop some wood I can scream, "Get back to the kitchen !":p

kitchen.jpg
 
I did a little "Chop off" with my FFBM that I had professionally sharpened and a custom Moran style fighter that I had made years ago with 1095 which has an 111.5 inch blade. The Busse is much thicker and heavier, the custom is thinner, distal tapered blade and convex grind. You are right, the Busse has a mind of its own sometimes, and Im 6ft 250-ish. Pay attention or hurt yourself. It would just break through stuff at a certain point rather than cut. The custom on the other hand whipped through 2 inch branches like they were barely there. The tree I cut down was about 5-6 inch in diameter and the thinner blade was actually faster than the FFBM. I still love my Busse's and for batoning, the FFBM is the wood splitter extraordinaire. I wouldnt cut through tougher stuff with the thinner blade either, or dirty wood for that matter. The Busse is still the tank.
 
Patriot Dan -
Mr. Koster's response could easily be the subject of another thread. My initial thought was that the blades heat treat was poor. Bottom line however, was that after he received and reviewed the blade, he indicated that it was ground to thin for the size and use of the blade, his mistake, and that he would replace it. However, when that would occur is still unknown. That is why I am now fully geared toward a manufactured knife as opposed to a custom for a user knife. With the custom maker, if you have a problem, you may have to wait for a very long time before you get a replacement, if ever. If the maker retires, gets hurt, or just quits the business, you have little or no recourse. You are out the item. If you frequent Mr. Kosters forum here, you are aware, that he is very backed up, and has too many irons in the fire to do them all justice. I still love his knives though.
 
Dang. sorry to see that huge hunk of blade missing from the edge.

Hopefully you get a replacement from Dan soon.

I would still love one of these monster Nessie's maybe in 3v, with a slightly thicker grind profile.
 
Wow, this has been a great review. Sorry about the Koster. Did you notice any differences in edge damage and retention between the blades?
 
DavidZ said:
My initial thought was that the blades heat treat was poor.
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Whenever you see big circular chips like that as a result of chopping it's probably safe to assume it was because the edge was too thin unless there is a visually obvious defect in the steel.

Another example of this is the famous nutnfancy clip of the benchmade failing similarly.
 
I thought that that grind might have been quite thin for choppin. To bad, its a really nice knife. Update us on Mr Koster's response!
 
DavidZ said:
Patriot Dan -
Mr. Koster's response could easily be the subject of another thread. My initial thought was that the blades heat treat was poor. Bottom line however, was that after he received and reviewed the blade, he indicated that it was ground to thin for the size and use of the blade, his mistake, and that he would replace it. However, when that would occur is still unknown. That is why I am now fully geared toward a manufactured knife as opposed to a custom for a user knife. With the custom maker, if you have a problem, you may have to wait for a very long time before you get a replacement, if ever. If the maker retires, gets hurt, or just quits the business, you have little or no recourse. You are out the item. If you frequent Mr. Kosters forum here, you are aware, that he is very backed up, and has too many irons in the fire to do them all justice. I still love his knives though.
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Exactly my thinking!:thumbup: I have had a quality related issue with a brand new knife that I had bought directly from Dan Koster and I had to return the knife to him to make it right. I must say that he was fast to do it, but I had to pay for postage although the knife came ugly to me. I don't think this is good customer service. Comparing that to the customer service that I have had from Busse is like comparing apples and oranges: Busse customer service is from another realm! That is why I'm hooked on them and happy to invest in their knives.
 
ivan51 -
I now proudly and confidently walk the woods with my Busse NMFBM LE. This one is a real chopper!!
 
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