Could one of these be "The Knife"

G

garythenuke

Joined
Jun 16, 2005
Messages
72
This is my first post on this forum. I cannot believe I have been around so long and have just now discovered this site.

I have a number of large fixed blades. I would like some advice. Which of the following, if any, would be a last best and final, bet your life on it, come hell or high water knife?

1) K-Bar next generation with Kydex sheath

2) Busse Combat Battle Mistress

3) EK Bowie model M-5 with OD Web sheath

4) SOG SEAL 2000

5) K-Bar USMC with Leather washer handle and leather sheath

6) Timberline Bowie. It has Bill Sanders on the Blade with a leather sheath. There is a sharpening stone under a flap on the leg side of the sheath. There are no other identifiers on the knife. The Back of the sheath has the handmade in Colorado logo.

7) SOG Tigerhshark with Leather sheath.

My hunch is that one or two of these may be collectible and perhaps one is junk. But which one of the above would you stake your bacon on?

Thank you for your time and efforts. If this should have been in another area, please let me know and I will post there as well.
 
Mistress, without a doubt. Though the E-handled models really wouldn't be my first choice from a looks perspective (the blades don't look wide enough for the length) the new Fusion ones are beautiful. I bought a Natural Outlaw as my ride-out-hurricanes and go-to knife, and plan on getting either a Fusion Steel Heart or Battle Mistress for that same purpose later, big steel tends to keep the nerves cool ;)
 
Hello

"Bang for the Buck", it's tough to beat the Battle Rat from Swamp Rat Knives (same company as Busse)

Also, if considering the Battle Mistress, take a look at the Final Judgment from Fehrman Knives. Serious Blade

And if you want to go low end, try the Cold Steel Trail Master, 5/16 thick and plenty stout.

Good Luck ;)
 
I did not realize Swamp Rat was the same company as Busse. When did that happen? Boy have I been out of it for a while. My goal is not to buy any more, but to perhaps streamline my collection. I currently have all these and would like to make only one of these my go to knife. If I were going to buy another, it would probably be one from Ferhman. Dang, I think I just jinxed myself. I better sign up for more overtime :(

Thanks again
 
The Mistress will survive just about anything.

Swamp Rat is Busse's sister company. They use 52100 instead of INFI, and their knives are made to be more affordable. The quality of Swamp Rat is incredible for the money.
 
Swamp Rat seems to make very high quality knife for the money (i haven't seen one in reality but it will be cool to compare it with my Becker CU7...)
The only problem seems to be the waiting period ...
I've ask Mr Linnemeyer (for Europe customers) for a Camp Tramp in February and i'm still waiting for (mr Linnemeyer still have no news from USA about it...) :(
I hope it will worth the waiting time...
 
IMO, and a lot of other peoples' opinions, it will be worth the wait.

The combination of a small company making high quality knives at great prices, and a high level of demand, seems to make waiting unavoidable.
 
It's not really the waiting time that i criticize : if a knife maker told me 4 months, 6 months or one year it's Ok because i know when it will come..
For the Camp Tramp, it may come tomorrow or in 2/3 months ... : and the fact i take the "Cash on Delivery" option, oblige me to keep 200 E at home for paiement (i'm student and i must say it represent some money for me ...)
By the way, i hope it will be a very good knife ....
 
garythenuke said:
I did not realize Swamp Rat was the same company as Busse.
Click to expand...
It isn't, but it is in the same family. Jerry runs Busse Combat, his wife Jennifer, runs Swamp Rat.

-Cliff
 
garythenuke said:
My goal is not to buy any more, but to perhaps streamline my collection. I currently have all these and would like to make only one of these my go to knife. If I were going to buy another, it would probably be one from Ferhman. Dang, I think I just jinxed myself. I better sign up for more overtime :(

Thanks again
Click to expand...

I didn't read your first post completely :( the Battle Mistress would be the keeper. Never owned one, but everything I here about them makes me very, very envious :D
 
Out of those keep the BM. Not only is it a good field knife, but it's also collectible.
 
I think many of the SOGs are over-priced considering the low quality stainless steel they use. The Seal knives are made from AUS6 stainless, which is near the low end of stainless steels.

Cliff Stamp did a review of a SOG Seal knife once. As I recall, he did not find much good to say about it.
 
Always wondered why SOG hasn't updated their blade steels.Have several and never had any real problems though.
 
garythenuke said:
Are the SOG's unsafe or just junk?
Click to expand...
The Tigershark is just a large Seal 2000 which is one of the worst knives I have ever used, the edge was very thick at ~0.050" and ground at 26 degrees per side, with about 1/3 of optimal NIB sharpness, so the cutting and chopping ability were both very low. The handle is boxy and not very ergonomic or secure and the serrations very low in utility or versatility compared to most patterns as they are too pointy to work well on ropes, cardboard, woods, synthetics, etc. . If you want that style of knife in stainless Fallkniven does a decent job.

-Cliff
 
garythenuke said:
I did not realize Swamp Rat was the same company as Busse. When did that happen?
Thanks again
Click to expand...
From the Swam Rat Website:
ntroducing Swamp Rat Knife Works
I was given the directive to "aggressively come after Busse Combat". Having been the leader in high performance knives for more than ten years, Busse Combat has had many wannabes dreaming of such a venture. I am proud to state that no other manufacturer has ever come close to making Busse Combat blink. Needless to say, Swamp Rat's performance tests have certainly made Busse Combat glad to be on the same team. The Swamp Rat line is amazing and unparalleled in its offerings.

Here's how it stands at this point in time. The Busse facility will be used during off-hours, (nights and weekends) in order to prevent the interruption of the everyday happenings of our regular business. Our original office space, which although on the same property, is housed in a different building, and has been remodeled. An entirely new staff has been hired to handle production and administration. The Swamp Rat production line will be run as a completely separate business, but will be a division of Busse Knife Co.

http://www.swamprat.com/
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top