FBM chopping fun test

Great review cobalt. One question about that Brute. Are those handles standard, or did you modify them? Mine are different colour.
The more I see the FBM the more I want it!:thumbup:
 
TheBrute has the sand handles o a BK9.

The HI is so edge thick that it crushed more wood causing more damage and no doubt what hindered it a bit
 
My comments below in red.

Tony G
"At the end of this month I have to go to Sonoma and hack down all of a 75 foot long hedge and another 75 feet worth of brush. It will be one of the FBMs workouts."

For 150 feet of desert-toughened fun, be sure to take along a powered backup.... I recommend one of these. :)

Guyon
"I would like to have added to the mix a Becker BK-9. Besides the Busses, it's one of my favorite choppers. Also be interesting to see how one of Justin's RD-9's would stack up."

A while back I did some testing on fir branches of 9-inch knives, including a BK-9. All edges were at factory thickness, if not polish. Unfortunately I never got the result written up. Any of the four pictured below would make IMHO a good companion to have when the SHTF. While the relatively thin edge of the BK-9 allows good penetration, its poorer clearing of chips (due to thinner stock/spine) and seeming considerably lighter weight put it behind the BM-E, RD-9, and even the pretty-much-equally-light Basic 9.

Niners_x4_v1.jpg


Niners_x4_v2.jpg


Schuey2002
"How about adding a Rat Daddy or Basic 9 to the test?"

The BB-9 used in the test mentioned above comes in a solid notch under the BM-E for chopping due to lighter overall weight and more neutral balance in hand. In the comfort category, IMHO the Basics are still the best, because those Res-C handles fit my hand better and more securely than anything I've found to this point. The Basic 9 is still probably my second favorite Busse after its little brother, the Basic 7, which I prefer for its easier carry and its "do everything a little bit" mid-size blade. While the Basic 9 seems to have a little finer edge than the BM-E to my uncalibrated eye, in my informal usage I find the BM-E to be an equally good slicer due to its asymetrical grind, which it shares with the Basics, and overall edge length.

Guyon
"Break out a Steel Heart! You know you want to...
I'll bet randucci or Mulder will send you one free for testing."

I don't think so. How's that "from my cold dead hands..." battle cry go?

randucci
"Correct my fine man, send all of the Steel Hearts to me, they are worthless! :D"

See what I mean.... ;) :D

aaronjayl
"Would be interested to see how the other BM's compare. Got a BM-E and a ZTBM to compare to these?"

Cobalt
"... BM-E will not come close to either the FBM or the SHBM. The blade is not as wide and it consequently has less mass. The ZTBM has a wider blade but also suffers from less mass."
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My experience with the SHBM and my BM-E beater lines up with Cobalt's conclusion. The -E version seems lighter and is considerably less nose-heavy in balance. This makes it IME a better **carrying** big blade, but not as good a chopper as the SHBM. But I won't be looking to unload that beater anytime soon. He's still got chores to do. ;)
 
Don't know why I can't see your pics ( any help out there?) but I sure love your avatar. :D
 
RokJok said:
My comments below in red.

Tony G
"At the end of this month I have to go to Sonoma and hack down all of a 75 foot long hedge and another 75 feet worth of brush. It will be one of the FBMs workouts."

For 150 feet of desert-toughened fun, be sure to take along a powered backup.... I recommend one of these. :)
Click to expand...

I usually use one of these

http://www.portable-electric-power-generators.com/p_husqvarna_clearing_saw.htm

and an older Dolmar saw like this one

http://www.dolmarusa.com/site/managed/html/produkt/4083/PS-540

I have been at this for just about 40 years;) :thumbup:
 
RokJok said:
My comments below in red.

Schuey2002
"How about adding a Rat Daddy or Basic 9 to the test?"

The BB-9 used in the test mentioned above comes in a solid notch under the BM-E for chopping due to lighter overall weight and more neutral balance in hand. In the comfort category, IMHO the Basics are still the best, because those Res-C handles fit my hand better and more securely than anything I've found to this point. The Basic 9 is still probably my second favorite Busse after its little brother, the Basic 7, which I prefer for its easier carry and its "do everything a little bit" mid-size blade. While the Basic 9 seems to have a little finer edge than the BM-E to my uncalibrated eye, in my informal usage I find the BM-E to be an equally good slicer due to its asymetrical grind, which it shares with the Basics, and overall edge length.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the info on the Basic 9, RokJok!!!!!!!!!!! :cool: :thumbup: :thumbup:
 
Cobalt said:
cuz your in maryland, I think they banned pics of knives there.:eek:
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Right on Cobalt! This is a Fuctard state when it comes to self-defense whether by guns or knives. The new democrat governor of Maryland (O'Malley) will probably ban safety pins as being a menace to society.:rolleyes: God forbid an innocent victim try to defend him or herself with a weapon. I want to move to a more friendly state where victims have more of a chance for survival. Any suggestions? :o
 
digdeep said:
Right on Cobalt! This is a Fuctard state when it comes to self-defense whether by guns or knives. The new democrat governor of Maryland (O'Malley) will probably ban safety pins as being a menace to society.:rolleyes: God forbid an innocent victim try to defend him or herself with a weapon. I want to move to a more friendly state where victims have more of a chance for survival. Any suggestions? :o
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Florida!

Just this past weekend I was walking my dog with my wife and 4 month old baby and we were attacked by a big mean mastiff (well over 100 lbs). It grabbed my 70lb dog by the neck and trashed him around like a rag doll and as soon as he let go he turned to get me (my wife and son were moving quickly towards home).
I shot the dog one time in the back and his hind legs dropped from under him. The fight was over and my wife and son were safe (my dog is shaken and has a few bad punctures in his neck, but he is doing better).

When the police showed up I immediatly told the police officer what happened. I asked him if he wanted my license and carry permit. He just asked where I lived (just a few houses away) and told me "OK"
about a half hour later the officer and the animal control investigator stopped by and just asked me to fill out a short one page report and send it to animal control. The officer told me I did what I had to do.:)

In New York or somewhere like that I would be sent to jail for defending my family. In Florida they consider it a community service because I got rid of an animal that has attacked people before:)

P.S. It's probably a good thing I did not have my FBM because it would have been ugly. I luckily had the right tool for the right job.
 
So, how would you rate them (in order) as choppers? Curious where the RD 9 came in. I had a B9 and loved it. Got a Battle Rat coming and have been considering a RD 9 and FBM.

GregB
 
I'm going to do a similar test of blades in the 9" to 10" range pretty soon using a new 2x4. The line up so far?

FBM CG
FBM LE
SHBM (if I get up the courage and put mine in the rotation)
Ranger RD-9
RTAK-II
Blackjack Becker Brute
Camillus Becker BK-1 Brute
Camillus Becker BK-4 Machax
Camillus Becker BK-9 Combat Bowie
Swamp Rat RD

I'd like to get ahold of a Basic 9 to try at some point.

For kicks and giggles, I might toss in a HOGFSH (what it lacks in length, it makes up for in bulk), a BK-5 Magnum Camp (8.5" blade), and a BK-6 Patrol Machete (14" blade). I may also throw in a HI khuk or two.
 
I actually sold my BM-E.... well... sorta sold.... sigh. I dont have it anymore.

because it was to nuetral balance for me. The handle was very tall and very weighted, where as with the basic 9, the handle was very light allowing the balde to feel heavier in the hand, even though it was lighter overall.

I never really liked the e-handles because of that, they always moved the weight backwards away from the blade.

But that could just be me... the basic 9 is one of the baldes I will allways have, and if need be, will always re-buy if sold.
 
I'm looking for a Basic 9 myself. Would love to find a good user.

Not to go all RAT!!! on the folks here, but I just got a Rat Daddy in the mail from xaman today, and WOW. That's a serious piece of SR101. :eek:

I think I need to get really drunk and toss my SHBM around like Cobalt. Once it's a user, I won't look back. :D
 
Guyon said:
I'm looking for a Basic 9 myself. Would love to find a good user.

Not to go all RAT!!! on the folks here, but I just got a Rat Daddy in the mail from xaman today, and WOW. That's a serious piece of SR101. :eek:

I think I need to get really drunk and toss my SHBM around like Cobalt. Once it's a user, I won't look back. :D
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Yup, the blade on the Rat Daddy is almost an exact copy of the SHBM. I really like the feel of my Rat Daddy LE satin, but cannot brng myself t use it.
 
I have done some chopping on hard and soft woods with a

RD-9
CGFBM
ZTBM

For me the ZTBM ran away with the comparsion. Cut much deeper due to the acute edge and very high blade speed, and was WAY less tiring to boot. Mine was HIGHLY polished and that seemed to help with binding as well.

In my Mind the ZTBM were the best so far but I have High hopes for the LE that should be here in a day or two.

My use is not typical because I don't run factory edges on knives I use. I thin and convex/polish them prior to use.

For me the RD-9 is a big blunt unweldy pig of a knife. The CGFBM much better...but the ZTBM.... That is a vampire killer.
 
Justabuyer said:
For me the RD-9 is a big blunt unweldy pig of a knife. The CGFBM much better...but the ZTBM.... That is a vampire killer.
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you must have an older rd9 with sabre grind. the new ones are much better balanced since they are flat ground
 
I would love to know how the AK47 rates in chopping against the FBM and SHBM. ;)

:D :D
 
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