difference between a busse and a swamprat?

V

valentino petrusich

Joined
Jun 16, 2010
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can any one tell me the differewncew between a busse and a swamprat? i know gerry has his legendary infi steel is it honestly superior? it seems like it, i am curious to those with lots of experience
 
Biggest difference IMO is the rust resistance. SR101 rusts quicker than any steel I've used. I still like SR101 don't get me wrong. I know how to prevent rust and it takes a screaming edge.
INFI may be tougher when it comes down to abuse but it is nice to know that you can be a little more lax with blade care and it won't rust on you overnight also.
If I had the choice I'd take INFI if possible.
 
Swamp Rat is simply a subsidiary of Busse, a "budget" Busse so to speak.

Same heat treat quality, and no difference in performance under normal use.

Rusting isnt really an issue with me, I have knives that show rust much more easily than SR101 and can take care of them. 1095 is a good example.

You can research over on the Swamp Rat sub forum here to get more info on them, they are a good bunch over there and will eagerly answer any questions you have. I'll probably get the smackdown again for suggesting that, but I think its important.
 
I didn't have rust problems with my SY Regulator and it is sr101 , I have take it with me this summer in a very wet forest and got no problem . The only big problem with rust I got with a carbon steel Opinel , it was crazy ,rusted just standing on a desk ,no humidity ,no nothing .
 
I've found SR101 to rust quicker than 1095 for me. It's usually not an issue but for instance wearing a neck knife in the summer when I'm drenching sweat at work, then get home and pull the knife out of a kydex sheath.
When it comes down to INFI or SR101 my recommendation would be to go with the design and price you prefer, not the steel. Unless you work around salt water :).
 
Swamp Rat's SR101 is their branding of 52100 steel, a steel well known in the knife world. It seems to be a little more common among forgers than stock removal makers. Ed Fowler uses it, for example. With a great heat treat (the secret to any good knife) it is very tough, and many among the Bussekin fans claim that it has better edgeholding than INFI.

The Busse line exclusively uses INFI. Jerry describes it here: http://www.bussecombat.com/infi/index.shtml

I like to think of SR101 as having 90 - 95% of the performance of INFI at 60%of the cost. As said above, the average person will be hard-pressed to find a difference in typical use. There was a guy who beat on the spine of his Swamp Rat M6 (?) for 8 hours with a pipe wrench until he finally broke it. :rolleyes::eek:
 
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