RokJok
Gold Member
- Joined
- Oct 6, 2000
- Messages
- 4,198
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Like the Trail Master, I flexed the Busse in 10 degree increments. The Busse has a wider blade at the 1" mark, so I noticed very quickly that it was going to be harder to pull than the Trail Master. With both hands I pulled back on the Busse to the 10 degree mark. No problem, and it returned to true. The Busse's blade uses a thinner stock, but the width of the blade and the fact that it has a bigger belly towards the tip made it much harder to pull, especially past 10 degrees. I thought about using a pipe because I actually made the table tip up on my second attempt. I put more weight on the back of the table and that solved my problem as I did not want to change the test at all for either knife.
The Busse made it to 20 degrees with no problem and returned to true with no observable bend. I then took it to 30 degrees and again no problems, and it returned to true. Then I went for 40 degrees and again no problems, and the blade returned to true. Getting the Busse to bend at 40 degrees was a task! I will admit, I was straining so much I was shaking while trying to hold the angle for a picture. Still without a pipe, I continued to go past 40 degrees to get to the truth about blade flexing. My next attempt was going to be my last as I was getting very tired from flexing these blades as well as my muscles.
I pulled the the Busse past 50 degrees and and it finally gave way. Busse's web site claims 80 Degrees using regular INFI so I guess we now know that the modified INFI will not make it as fa,r but pretty darn impressive none the less. Whether or not this particular test proves how tough a knife is, calls for some debate.
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Here you can clearly see that at the 1" breaking point, the Busse has a wider blade. This made it more difficult to pull. The Trail Master has a false top edge which makes it thinner towards the tip than the Busse. This combined with the smaller belly made it much easier to pull in the vise.
After the test, I decided to see what the tangs on each knife looked like. So I sliced off the handles using my trusty HALO II. Upon close inspection you will notice that each maker takes a different approach to tang construction. You will immediately notice the Busse has radiuses leading to the blade. The Trail Master has 90 degree angles cut out in the same area. Busse claims the radiuses reduce shearing effect and makes for less vibration during heavy chopping. It seems to work. The Trail Master has a hole in the tang, dead center, for no apparent reason.
At right you can see the Trail Master has the thicker stock. This added weight makes the Trail Master a very effective chopper. The balance on the Trail Master allows it to be a very effective fighter as well. Something the Busse does not do very well. If you click on the picture at left you will notice the broken tips of each blade. At the one inch mark the Busse shows a lot of belly. The Trail Master's smaller profile tip makes it the better stabbing knife by far.
So if you are looking for a great chopper and an all around utility knife, get the Busse. If you want a very good utility knife and a 9" fighter/bowi, get the Trail Master. Either way you will be getting a great buy!
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Like the Trail Master, I flexed the Busse in 10 degree increments. The Busse has a wider blade at the 1" mark, so I noticed very quickly that it was going to be harder to pull than the Trail Master. With both hands I pulled back on the Busse to the 10 degree mark. No problem, and it returned to true. The Busse's blade uses a thinner stock, but the width of the blade and the fact that it has a bigger belly towards the tip made it much harder to pull, especially past 10 degrees. I thought about using a pipe because I actually made the table tip up on my second attempt. I put more weight on the back of the table and that solved my problem as I did not want to change the test at all for either knife.
The Busse made it to 20 degrees with no problem and returned to true with no observable bend. I then took it to 30 degrees and again no problems, and it returned to true. Then I went for 40 degrees and again no problems, and the blade returned to true. Getting the Busse to bend at 40 degrees was a task! I will admit, I was straining so much I was shaking while trying to hold the angle for a picture. Still without a pipe, I continued to go past 40 degrees to get to the truth about blade flexing. My next attempt was going to be my last as I was getting very tired from flexing these blades as well as my muscles.
I pulled the the Busse past 50 degrees and and it finally gave way. Busse's web site claims 80 Degrees using regular INFI so I guess we now know that the modified INFI will not make it as fa,r but pretty darn impressive none the less. Whether or not this particular test proves how tough a knife is, calls for some debate.
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Here you can clearly see that at the 1" breaking point, the Busse has a wider blade. This made it more difficult to pull. The Trail Master has a false top edge which makes it thinner towards the tip than the Busse. This combined with the smaller belly made it much easier to pull in the vise.
After the test, I decided to see what the tangs on each knife looked like. So I sliced off the handles using my trusty HALO II. Upon close inspection you will notice that each maker takes a different approach to tang construction. You will immediately notice the Busse has radiuses leading to the blade. The Trail Master has 90 degree angles cut out in the same area. Busse claims the radiuses reduce shearing effect and makes for less vibration during heavy chopping. It seems to work. The Trail Master has a hole in the tang, dead center, for no apparent reason.
At right you can see the Trail Master has the thicker stock. This added weight makes the Trail Master a very effective chopper. The balance on the Trail Master allows it to be a very effective fighter as well. Something the Busse does not do very well. If you click on the picture at left you will notice the broken tips of each blade. At the one inch mark the Busse shows a lot of belly. The Trail Master's smaller profile tip makes it the better stabbing knife by far.
So if you are looking for a great chopper and an all around utility knife, get the Busse. If you want a very good utility knife and a 9" fighter/bowi, get the Trail Master. Either way you will be getting a great buy!
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I doubt if it would hold well, either.