Disappointed with my NO

Buzzbait

Buzzbait

Gold Member
Joined
Feb 25, 2001
Messages
6,701
Well, my Natural Outlaw arrived today. I’m afraid that I wasn’t totally blown away though. The NO is a tough and highly overbuilt knife, but perhaps too overbuilt for my tastes. I’d really like some feedback from you guys, as many of you are well acquainted with Busse knives as a whole. It’s possible that I just picked the wrong model for my needs.

The first thing I noticed upon picking up the NO was the handle. I’m afraid that the e-handle is far too large to be comfortable in my hand. It’s actually big enough that I can’t even get a secure grip on the knife. This is too bad, as I really dig the shape. The handle size is just all wrong for me. I did try wearing leather work gloves, which helped a bit. Unfortunately, the finger coil in the blade was much too small for work gloves. The coil was really just barely large enough for my index finger without gloves. I never could find an easy way to quickly change between a normal grip and a choked up grip.

I know this is heresy, but I wasn’t exactly blown away by the cutting performance either. It pounded through knots in wood well, but did quite badly on average everyday cutting chores. There was no arm shaving here, which I really don’t care about. But there was no paper cutting either. The NO met with much resistance on both cardboard and leather. I tried making a fuzz stick out of a cedar stick, but the Natural Outlaw just couldn’t dig into the wood at a slight angle. I ended up cutting the stick in half, or just not cutting into the stick at all. It seems that the NO is built solely for light chopping, with little regard for slicing or shaving.

Please don’t think that I’m picking on Busse. I’ve had other knives with similar traits to the Natural Outlaw. It may just be that Busse knives are designed for much more extreme use than I require, or that the NO just isn’t versatile enough for the outdoor work that I do. Help me out here. I REALLY want to like both Busse and the Natural Outlaw, but what I have here just isn’t doing it for me. I’m looking for a knife to take backpacking with me. I want a knife for normal camp chores such as food prep, fuzz stick shaving, infrequent chopping and prying, tapering sticks to a point, as well as the offhand skinning and fish cleaning. I know that I can’t have my cake and eat it to, but I’d really like to at least get a nice slice of pie. Do I try a Paul’s Hatchet and also carry my Marbles Fieldcraft? Or is there a Busse with the same cutting efficiency as a Marbles, but with the stronger integral handle? Is the Satin Jack still too thick and large for what I want to do?
 
I was hoping that you'd give a super report that would really get me motivated towards my first purchase. I don't know what to say??? I know that you're not a rookie with knives or the outdoors, WTF. Any of you Busse guys got an answer?
 
It's OK, everyone has their preferences. If you're looking for a Busse that fits that description, a Busse Basic 5 is what you need, they aren't made anymore, but I've seen some pop up on the for sale area. The Basics have smaller, rubberlike handles. Ask around, maybe someone would have one.
 
I too would say try the basic series. I just got my basic 9, and though I have not had much of a chance to use it here in the urban jungle, it seems much closer to what you are looking for.
 
Buzzbait, Sorry the NO isn't what you were looking for.
I'm a big fan of the Satin Jack.
It's 3/16" instead of 1/4" and more of a feild knife.
I prefer the Satin finish SJ's, but the coated ones work great too.
It's worth giving the shop a call tomorrow and see what they say.
 
I, too, recently received a NO and am totally delighted with it. But, I have a knife to clean fish with. I have a 4" folder for miscellaneous slicing chores and field-dressing. I have a skinner which normally stays in the truck because that is the way I am going to get the deer to the skinning rack anyway.
I see the NO as a serious get-my-butt-out-of-trouble knife. It will be along while hunting for any serious emergencies. (It would have been helpful to have had it last season to test the punky wood in the deer stand seat that I decided was ok and which subsequently fell out from under me.) Digging, prying and chopping are for me emergency type activities, and the NO will do it.
But, the premier location for my NO is going to be between the driver's seat and the console in my car. Where are 99% of us more likely to face life-threatening situations than anywhere else? Probably while in a vehicle. Not for self-defense, that is what the .45 is for. But, if I ever must cut or pry my way out of the car
after an accident, or go to the aid of another motorist with similar needs, the NO will handle it. It will handily break glass. And it will not break. Neither my fish knife, my folder, nor my skinner could handle all these jobs. In short, I love this thing!
 
Buzzbait,
That is why I like the Satin Jack, I have smaller hands and prefer
the handle on the Satin Jack.
My 1/4" SJ CG came hair shaving sharp out of the box. I think
it was my sharpest Busse. The new SJ are coming in 3/16th inch, it might make a nicer camp knife. Sorry to hear your disappointed in your Busse.
 
Maybe you could try a Satin Jack LE. I believe the CG versions may still be 1/4" thick but the LEs are 3/16" and have the zero edge, which means a narrower edge for better slicing performance. Since you would only be doing light chopping, the loss in edge durability shouldn't be a big concern. I have a Satin Jack CG and the handles feel pretty good in a variety of positions. You would have to pay a little more for the LE, though.... Hope this helps!

~SteelDriver
 
Buzzbait, sorry to hear that it wasn't quite what you expected:(
I have also had some friends make similar comments about the handle, while a lot of people love it there will always be exceptions:)

Don't sweat the edge. Since you just recieved it and have had a chance to use it enough to discover that the edge isn't quite up to par, why not give the shop a call and see if they could give it a better final touch up.

My recommendation would be to play around with it a while longer to get aquainted with the feel of the handle. While it does seem quite different (and larger) than what your used to, my own experience has been that it will grow on you and before you know it other knives will tend to feel wierd;)

If you still are uncomfortable with it after the edge is spruced up my only other recommendation would be to look into a 3/16" Satin Jack. It is definitely going to lend itself to lighter duty camp chores, while still perform light chopping and splitting tasks well.
 
Well, that sucks.
Did you sharpen it? Not shaving hair, not slicing paper...sounds like a poor sharpening job from the factory (I have had a total of five Busses come through my hands, and only one came with an acceptable edge-'course that was my Natural Outlaw).
Dull blades don't do anything very well.
Because of the width of the blade, I would think the NO is thinner behind the edge than a SJ or a Basic 5, and should be a better cutter.
I was happy with the performance of my NO, but the handles ruined it for me, and I sold it. The choil was big enough on mine, though. One of the features I really liked.
My Basic 9 cuts fuzz sticks fine as long as I use the flat side of the edge against the wood. The convex side doesn't bite in as well. It does ok on cardboard, but is outclassed by most smaller blades.

Note: the newer Satin Jacks are supposed to be 3/16" and may be right up your alley.
 
The NO isn't for everybody, although i am quite surprised at the reportingly poor cutting performance. Sounds like it needs a sharpening. I loved my NO when it arrived, and I still do. It fits my hand really well, but everyone differs. It sounds like you want a more versatile and thinner blade, and thinner handle. The Satin Jack and ZT's might be better for you. I don't use Busses for lighter work, or finer tasks, simply because I already have quite an assortment of lighter and faster blades. But I wouldn't hesitate to suggest trying one of the thinner Busses to you, if only because Infi is superb stuff, the knives are really well put together, the price is good for what you get, and the warranty is second to none.
 
Truck - Don't get too worried. The NO is a very well made knife, through and through. The design just doesn't seem to lend itself toward what I would consider normal cutting tasks for a camp knife. It chops quite efficiently, but lacks the finnese that I associate with most knfe uses.

I'll give the shop a call tomorrow and maybe see about trying an LE Satin Jack. I really wasn't planning on spending that much money, but it's too late to turn back now. :D If the stock is thinner, and the grind is thinner, The LE SJ may be just what I'm looking for.
 
Send it back Buzzbait and we'll get her fixed up for you. 100% satisfaction is what we're after. :)

Thanks,

Jerry
 
Jerry - Would you recommend me trying out the LE Satin Jack, or just having the NO worked on? I have a big hiking trip coming up in three weeks, so I'd like to get any shipping done as quickly as possible.
 
Buzzie - The Satin Jack LE is what you're after, if that Outlaw handle didn't fit right for ya... My experience with those whose hands didn't fit the Outlaw, just LOVE Jacky...! And i can't rave enough about the edge: it slices thru camp chores just great.
Sorry to hear the Outlaw gave ya some problems, tho...
Jerry won't let ya down, tho.
INFI Powered,
Climber Clif
 
Careful Buzzbait,
I didn't care for the handles on my FIRST Busse and Jerry fixed it up for me...now I have 50 some of them:D
 
Buzz...
If ya can't get what you want in that time B4 your trip, let me know:
i will send my SJ LE, which i love dearly, to ya to try out on your trip...
(How's that for Busse customer satisfaction ?)
And ya been around the forums enough that i trust ya...
INFI Is Forever...
Contented Climber Clif, wishing the world was full of Busse Limited Edition Satin Jacks...! :D

Integrity
Not
Found
In-too-many-places

= INFI

[The INFI Acronymer Strikes Again!]
 
I think you'd love the SJLE. It has a much finer edge than the Natural Outlaw.

Let me know,

Jerry
 
Thanks for the quick reply, Jerry. Talk about sensational customer service!!!

The consensus of opinion here seems to be that the SJLE is the more appropriate knife for my tasks at hand. I'll ship the NO back tomorrow.
 
"You cannot please all of the people all of the time". That is a fact of life. From what I can tell Jerry Busse pleases a hell of a lot of people a hell of a lot of the time. The ones that he doesn't please right away, he pleases in short order.
 
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