Comparing Busse & Swamp Rat

M

m10commander

Joined
May 8, 2005
Messages
412
Hi, I know Both are made by the same company what I want to know is Swamp Rat knife a lesser version of Busse? Kind of like Ford to a Lincoln or Toyota to a Lexus? Thanks
 
your metaphors are good. I would say like Toyota to Lexus since the rats are right up on the heels of the busses, kinda like the Basics before the rats.

Their choice of steel is good also. INFI or modified 52100, can't go wrong with either?
 
swamp rat is a seperate company to busse, and as such they actively try to better their product, both as a personal goal, and in competition to the quality of other knife companies, including busse; while maintaining the lowest possible end cost without sacrificing production quality.

they are not made by the same people, they are only made on the same machines. swamp rat uses the shop and equipment at night, and busse combat uses it during the day.

what they have done with 52100 is close to the properties of infi. its not quite as good, but its close. for those who beleive that busse is truly the best, obviously, anything else would be slightly or largely below the standard that busse has set - so in a way, yes, swamp rat is like an economy busse.

but they are not designed to be an economy version of a busse, rather a seperate company who is actively going after busse's level of quality. so the designs, while similar, will differ greatly.
 
busse = good microbrew
rats = cbl

busse = johnny blue
rats = johnny red

busse = opus X
rats = fuante

busse = fogo's
rats = sizzler

now if you were to go over to that rat infested forum across the street, they would probably reverse those thoughts. but we've always had trouble with those rodents right from the very start ;)

maybe we need a couple o big cats around here :confused:
 
Or maybe
Padron Aniiversario Maduro
to
Aston Virgin Sun Grown

Both Super Premiums, just a different flavor.
 
SethMurdoc said:
they are not made by the same people, they are only made on the same machines. swamp rat uses the shop and equipment at night, and busse combat uses it during the day.
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Rats come out at night! Oh my! Hmmmmm.... what you trying to say? :eek:

I own both. I have to agree with Seth here. Different company striving for perfection. That bar has been set by Busse. Competition is a good thing. Especially good for the end user. That of course would be us!

Stay Stong & No Regrets
Brian
 
Thanks guys for your fair & honest opinions! I know if I started this thread on Swamp Rat Forum it would be a different story.
 
They're both great, and while they can be seen as a lower cost "alternative" I prefer to think of them as offering features that one can't get (or at least can no longer get) from Busse. Most importantly those resiprene handles, I love that material and the ergonomics. I say Jerry should include a run of full Infi Basics in the production rotation :p
 
idahoskunk said:
now if you were to go over to that rat infested forum across the street, they would probably reverse those thoughts. but we've always had trouble with those rodents right from the very start ;)

maybe we need a couple o big cats around here :confused:
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I don't know, I've seen you in there from time to time looking around the great deals. ;):D
Ian.
 
It seems to me that Rats eventually evolve into Hogs. I enjoy Swamp Rat knives and have quite a few, but I also enjoy the Busses as well. You won't go wrong with either company. I guess that I would be a RatHog, if there is such a thing. :D
Both the Busse and the Swamp Rat forums are outstanding. Great group of people.

Dan
 
yoda4561 said:
They're both great, and while they can be seen as a lower cost "alternative" I prefer to think of them as offering features that one can't get (or at least can no longer get) from Busse. Most importantly those resiprene handles, I love that material and the ergonomics. I say Jerry should include a run of full Infi Basics in the production rotation :p
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i would instantly purchase a basic 5 and a basic 9 were they in infi
 
What about a Basic Fusion BM, that would be too cool :p And yeah, bring back the Basic 5!
 
Rant on,

Do a bunch of cutting and prying and hammering with the three knife types listed.

The Sr 101 will out flex without taking a set, and will hold an edge better in gritty materials,,,and it will be a better choice for chopping cement blocks or steel because it is not as malleable as the other two.

The INFI/Modified INFI will hold an edge longer used cutting clean soft materials like wood, cloth, rope, meat, hair, and is easier to bring a working edge back(resharpening)

Pry with INFI/Modified INFI you may put a "Set" in the Steel,,,,but you are not likely to ever break it by hand without a cheater bar,,,,

I have done TERRIBLE things to INFI/Modified INFI knives(Made a Basic #3 where you could use it to make bowls, I bent it so much.

Then I just bent it straight again.

In use I have seen almost no difference between INFI and Modified INFI
The differences I found were only in the heat treat.

The early INFI was harder than the rest and would some times chip when you hit hard wire or a hard stone in concrete.

The rest of the INFI and all of the Basics just deform, and you can bend or steel the malleable metal back into place.

In the field I have found no difference I could see in hard use between INFI and Modified INFI, in the "Lab" ? sure,,,in the field nothing else comes close
in a big knife.

I am not a big fan of the Basic 5,,,I only have one,,,my wife has another.

I Love (pet, fondle and Abuse) the Basic 3 and give them as gifts.

If you like the handle, The Basic # 9 may well be the finest knife on the planet for its size.(I have half a dozen or less left) I just seem to keep buying more, but people keep needing them worse than I do.

If you do not like the handle,,,,get a SteelHeart or a Battle Mistress, I did, they will do.( I have a few)

Rant off.
 
interesting comments.

from what i understand from nthe various stories (only 2 come to mind), it seems like the reason mod-infi (compared to infi) tended to be able to be broke because it would take on stress in the steal matrix more readily then infi.

such as the one that broke while breaking apart pallets, it seems to me that rather then getting to the limit of the knife, the limit of the knife was slowly but surely lowered by constant stress to the steel, wich probably could have been prevented by stress releaving.

it could have been that those knives were made slightly harder then the normal mod-infi, i'm not sure. needless to say, i only bring this up because i've never heard of an infi blade breaking (even the earlier blades wich i know very little about), and that seems like a reasonable explanation for why...





one of the only reasons i switched to my NICK mod (and i'm still considering making an xxxl NICK mod in the same format), and the 1/4" saber sj, as well as the terror monkey bm (wich will become the hogfbm - (near 3/8" larger version of the bm w/f-handles = perfection. just, perfection.)) was because of the 2 stories of basic 5's i heard breaking. given that cliffs was during extrodinary circumstances, specifically with massive modifications.
 
Ian Allomes said:
I don't know, I've seen you in there from time to time looking around the great deals. ;):D
Ian.
Click to expand...
it wasn't me, honest, it was my, my, wife! yeh thats it, my wife has been causing trouble :rolleyes:
 
I bent a Basic #3 into a sharp U at the last inch of the tip, thinking I would break it off and modify the length to short enough for my son to carry at U.C. Riverside.

After bending it once(one way) I straightened it back out as fast as I could(Slapping it with a hammer with the tip in a vise)

The knife just straightened back out nearly perfectly,,My son still has this knife and it is his Beat the snot out of a knife king.

I have put maybe 30 Busse knives into a big crack in the cement slab behind my house and kicked them hard sideways,,,,Some bend a little some just flex, all straightened out just fine and showed no weakness throwing them at trees or car doors after that, I gave Jerry bad dreams doing the stuff I was doing to his Babies.
I would tell him at 1:00 am my time 4:00am his time about my Throwing Busse knives and sticking them in cement walls,,,Floors,,,and other un-mentionable things not to be repeated in public.

Good times ,Good times.

All the knives were fine, no breakage no returns, there were a few knives I was never able to sharpen,,,,but that is a different story and I have not heard of any knives like that in several years.
 
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