"Do-It-All" Fixed Blade

Green River knifes at Crazy Crow, most under $20 all under $25. As a kit save $4-5.

Ontareo work/field knifes at Knifecenter-$3-12.
 
Right now, I'm gonna have to say Busse basic 5 with Assymetrical edge.
Got it not to long ago, and resiprene handle is very shock obsorbant for chopping /batonning, and the edge is pretty good for whittling, light duty stuff as well.

Pretty corosion resistant to boot.

I will say though, that I have medium sized hands, don't think it would be as ergonomic for the folks with really large hands - fits me like a glove though.

Esav really has me curious though about the Leuku and Puukko..
Gonna have to check those out.

sp
 
CS Master Hunter, Helle Eggen, Marbles Campcraft or Fieldcraft, Russell Belt Knife, F1, H1, Dozier K2, Roselli erapuukko would all fit the bill.
 
My usual one for all knife is the Scrapper 6. The handle seems to fit me well and it does take a great edge. I am partial to Res C any more too, it's just so comfortable for me. The only thing I didn't like is that it doesn't hold a edge compared to my busse's/Rats.

I recently bought a Battle Rat from a Fellow Forum guy, and I am testing it out as we speak. It is an awesome blade and is not nearly as heavy as a Battle Mistress/RD 9. It does feel suprisingly light in the hand. I imagine it would be difficult to clean an animal with although I have never tried to skin/quarter an animal with so large of a knife. I usually use a Gen 1 Howler. The edge holding is nothing short of spectatular though. It certaintly excells in chopping. I was gonna plan on posting a review of it shortly. Although I would like something a tad shorter. Maybe 2 inches or so.

So Maybe a Camp Tramp? *amn! Another purchase!
 
Assuming that I have a SAK in my pocket, I could go with a Busse SH E, CS Recon Scout, Ranger RD7, CS SRK or CS Master Hunter, Busse Satin Jack, Dozier K2, Scott Gossman Nessmuk, SRKW Bog Dog, Bark River Little Boone, or Fehrman Peacemaker. From the big ones to the little ones, choose your poison. More camping and less hunting, I would lean towards the larger, and vice versa. The SRK/Satin Jack are probably the best overall in size v.s. utility for most tasks.
 
Anybody here have a 'Duty' knife from Busse? For example, the Active Duty? If so, how do you feel about this as a "Do-It-All" (not chopping, of course) blade?

Doc
 
Mors Kochanski’s "do-it-all" fixed blade, quoted from his Bushcraft, Outdoor Skills and Wilderness Survival book.

"The general-purpose bush knife should have a blade as long as the width of the palm, although blades half or twice this length are within acceptable limits. A blade five centimeters long would be an excellent survival knife except for being too small to fall and limb trees of wrist-thickness. A blade 10 to 15 centimeters long will do intricate work like carving a netting needle, yet be large enough to present a good target for a baton when cutting down small trees. A blade 20 centimeters long is a superior tool for heavy work, but awkward to use for fine work. All general-use knives should have the blade tip close to the profile centerline of the handle. The back of the handle and the back of the blade should be on the same line. The back of the blade should not be thinned down or sharpened so that a baton can be used more effectively without being cut up. There is no advantage to a two-edged blade in bush living. The blade should be of a good quality carbon steel, from two and a half to three millimeters thick and about two to two and a half centimeters wide. This size of blade is light in weight, yet difficult to break. The steel should be soft enough to be maintained at a shaving edge with common sharpening tools, without frequent sharpening. Such steel is found in Mora (Sweden), Solingen (Germany) or Sheffield (England) knives. Carbon, unlike stainless steel, can be used as the striker in the flint and steel method of fire-lighting. Inexpensive stainless steels have had a bad reputation with respect to producing a keen edge let alone holding it. The Mora stainless steels however, are every bit as good as their carbon steels. The metal of the knife blade should extend for the full-length of the handle (a full tang) for strength. The handle should be a durable, water-resistant material that can be shaped to the user’s hand if necessary. The knife should have a strong pommel that will protect the handle if the knife is driven tip first deep into wood. The curvature of the cutting edge should extend for the full-length of the blade. This cuts well and is one of the best shapes that quickly sharpens to a razor’s edge. The knife blade should have a sharp enough point to penetrate deep into wood with a minimum of effort. A guard on a bush knife is in the way and detracts from many operations. It prevents the use of a simple, secure deep sheath. Some people prefer a guard for fear of slipping forward onto the knife edge, but unless the knife is used for stabbing, the hand should never slip in this way. In all my years of instructing I do not recall an injury due to the lack of a guard. As a test of strength, a good knife should not break when driven four centimeters into a standing tree at right-angles to the grain, and the handle bears your weight as you stand on it."
 
(Ouch. Is there an extra charge for inserting the occasional blank line, i.e., paragraphing?) :D
 
DOC-CANADA said:
Anybody here have a 'Duty' knife from Busse? For example, the Active Duty? If so, how do you feel about this as a "Do-It-All" (not chopping, of course) blade?

Doc
Click to expand...

Here's an Active Duty (top) with a Leaner Meaner. The AD is a just a bit short for bushcraft to me. But the AD *is* a great EDC blade. It would certainly do for wilderness chores in a pinch.

Pair.jpg


My favorite bushcraft-size blade from Busse is the Anorexic (thin) Badger Attack (5" blade). Here's a pic of mine when it was new.

Badger.jpg


Here it is, made to look artsy-fartsy in Photoshop and employed in one of the most important back country duties one can practice:

ABAART.jpg


I also like the new TAC version of the Badger, which doubles nicely as a modem killer:

Earthlink.jpg


And finally, from Swamp Rat, both the new Ratmandu (top) and the Howling Rat Little Mischief (bottom) are good bushcraft-size blades.

RatmanduHR.jpg
 
Nice looking blades Guyon. I've tried to pick out one smaller Busse to possibly try and test out. Unfortunately I don't have the brain capacity to decodify the BFMSH BRKG LMSWTF lingo of the Busse community. I can only understand simple names like F1 and Rat-7.
 
Guyon said:
Here's an Active Duty (top) with a Leaner Meaner. The AD is a just a bit short for bushcraft to me. But the AD *is* a great EDC blade. It would certainly do for wilderness chores in a pinch.
Click to expand...

Thanks for that, Guyon.

As far as being a bit short (from Myakka's post - according to Mors):
The general-purpose bush knife should have a blade as long as the width of the palm
Click to expand...
and unless I read the specs wrong, the 'Duty' knives have a 3-1/2" blade length (the width of my palm).

Having said that, I would never be out in any kind of bush without a chopper as well. (my Machax, of course :) , although I just bought a couple of Linders machetes and am looking forward to trying them out.)

Doc
 
DOC-CANADA said:
Thanks for that, Guyon.

As far as being a bit short (from Myakka's post - according to Mors): and unless I read the specs wrong, the 'Duty' knives have a 3-1/2" blade length (the width of my palm).

Doc
Click to expand...

Yeah, but Mors does give a range to account for personal preference: "although blades half or twice this length are within acceptable limits"

My choices above are just my preferences. I'm sure an AD would be fine if you like the smaller blade.
 
I have an AD and like it pretty well. It's a little overkill on such a small knife if you are concerned with skinning, etc. If you just want a cutter, then a small Dozier might be a better fit. But if you want a good cutter with a little room for error, such as digging arrows out of stumps, etc., then the AD is perfect.

I like carrying it both in and out of the woods, nothing much seems to faze it. It cuts well, and is very strong.

Here's a couple of comparison pics:

from top to bottom, Dozier Arkansas Traveller, Busse AD, Fehrman PM

http://s137.photobucket.com/albums/q203/sodak_photos/?action=view&current=p1010007.jpg

from top to bottom:
SRKW Howling Rat, SRKW Howling Rat LM, Fehrman PM

http://s137.photobucket.com/albums/q203/sodak_photos/?action=view&current=p1010007-3.jpg

or,

top to bottom: Gossman PSK, Mora 2000, Gossman Nessmuk

http://s137.photobucket.com/albums/q203/sodak_photos/?action=view&current=p1010025.jpg
 
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