FBM compared to NMFBM??? pics.

A

Aunt Jemima

Joined
Nov 30, 2011
Messages
14
I know the comparison has been done before, but on the threads I looked at it was almost entirely opinions. I am curious about some picture comparisons, and the pic I'm most curious about is a pic down the spine of both, side by side. I'd love some opinions about the knives as well! I'm all about information as I really want to buy one in the near future (it takes a while for some of us with lots of financial obligations when the objects in question are so darn pricey) and I truly want to make an informed decision when I do.
 
here you go:)

TheBigsale046.jpg
 
I would love to own one of these, they are the flagship's of Busse IMO! Unfortunately, I was not around when they were released and hope to see them released again in the future.
 
I kind of feel like the NMFBM is Busse's flagship as well.

You still haven't gotten a pic of their spines.. but I'm curious what info you're looking for anyway. I was looking to get one of these months ago from the custom shop and ended up with the NMFBM because 1. they only had NMFBM blanks and 2. it's the NMFBM!

Some advice that I received when making my decision, though... the NMFBM is so huge that it's kind of heavy and awkward to carry for hiking and camping trips. So I guess it depends what you want to do with it, but in the end you still gotta trust your heart, and my heart said 1.5" more of blade was the obvious choice :thumbup:
 
uyotg said:
I kind of feel like the NMFBM is Busse's flagship as well.

You still haven't gotten a pic of their spines.. but I'm curious what info you're looking for anyway. I was looking to get one of these months ago from the custom shop and ended up with the NMFBM because 1. they only had NMFBM blanks and 2. it's the NMFBM!

Some advice that I received when making my decision, though... the NMFBM is so huge that it's kind of heavy and awkward to carry for hiking and camping trips. So I guess it depends what you want to do with it, but in the end you still gotta trust your heart, and my heart said 1.5" more of blade was the obvious choice :thumbup:
Click to expand...

The NMFBM is not to heavy if you get a .25 inch one, that is the best thickness for this knife, very user friendly, some are thicker to way thicker than .25 inch and it does make a difference.
 
The NMFBM isn't really much heavier than an FBM. If the handles are the same material/thickness, you are talking about only a few ounces of difference at most, however, you can really tell when you cross that two pound mark and the further it is from your hand the quicker it will tire you out.

Personally, if I was paying the money for a custom shop NMFBM to use and keep, I would have them thin it down to .24-.25 max, satin with handshaped linen (black, green, tigerhide, or black/yellow) micarta mags and smooth bolts, even if it cost a bit more it would be worth it. The thinner and slightly lighter blade will actually bite deeper. Just sayin'. ;)

Show thickness coated .285 NMFBM with really thick/heavy G10 mags (probably the same blanks they have now as I understand only the early runs were thinner) 35.30 oz this thing was just too heavy to use for more than a couple of minutes, even after removing some weight via the handles/coating.
2jflu1d.jpg

3445ab9.jpg


Early run satin .265 NMFBM with standard thickness G10 32.05 oz
314otnp.jpg


FBM LE .318with G10 mags. 31.75 oz The balance on this one is perfect for my needs even though it doesn't bite as deep as the NMFBM, it doesn't tire me out as fast either.
29m7yns.jpg


.275 coated saber grind FBM from recent shows with G10 mags 29.00 oz this one felt really sweet in the hand.
2dhctqx.jpg


Not a super huge difference until you drop down to a .24 CGFBM with standard micarta 25.45 oz
1fismg.jpg


Spine thickness shots, but not all together.
2z6ugxy.jpg

dp7int.jpg

2ikryva.jpg

34qpmcy.jpg

23tjywz.jpg


Group shot for size comparison with an FSH thrown in.
5y4zn5.jpg

 
Good report again Tim!!! IMHO I think like above in that if you are going to be humping in the woods a .250 NMFBM or the CGFBM is the way to go. If your Vehicle camping take a bigger blade if you want. Depends on how much chopping your going to do. I just think the .250 stuff is perfect but I like the heavy weight to. DILEMMA for sure...
 
AZTimT said:
Personally, if I was paying the money for a custom shop NMFBM to use and keep, I would have them thin it down to .24-.25 max, satin with handshaped linen (black, green, tigerhide, or black/yellow) micarta mags and smooth bolts, even if it cost a bit more it would be worth it. The thinner and slightly lighter blade will actually bite deeper. Just sayin'. ;)
Click to expand...

I hear the difference between a .25" and a .27" thick NMFBM is still really noticeable. That said, I went with a .27" for my custom because I have a recurve and clip point taking some steel out of the blade. (Inspired by your custom shop BWM, as you probably guessed!) I'm hoping the the extra steel in the blade from the thickness is enough to counter the lost steel from the variations and the extra steel in the handle.

I went with double cut and hand-shaped black canvas, by the way :) but tubing instead of smooth bolts. Any reason you like the smooth bolts? I figured they were mostly aesthetic.
 
Tim you are thorough, I was just going to post a pic of the 2 together.
 
the difference between a .25" and a .27" thick NMFBM is still really noticeable

Yes this is very true, I have a .25 and a .276 NMFBM and the difference is very noticeable, I will be honest, I love the NMFBM but any thicker than .27 would be a blown out shoulder, I am a 6' 225 pound weight lifter and still think .27 is the limit.
 
Last edited:
Smooth bolts with handshaped mags = no blisters from the hotspots where the tube fasteners can rub with prolonged use without gloves and before you develop the callouses necessary to overcome it.

Either thickness of the NMFBM will feel good to your hands with the rounded spine/choil so that part is irrelevant and they both feel way nicer than any flavor of the shorter FBM.

Like I said, for a long term keep and use type investment, thinner is way better... in performance, weight savings and wear on your body. This really only matters to a person that would have a choice on which one they can get their hands on of course, ie custom shop scenario or finding one of the ever rarer .25's. I wish I had more pics, but more than half the time I use my knives I forget the camera. For me the .25 always bites deeper than the .27 if the edge geometry is the same on both, ie both v-edges or both convexed. I thought it would be the other way around and even argued why it made sense, but trying both firsthand proved me wrong.

It works the same with the CGFBM vs the FBM LE with factory v-edges too, however the balance of my FBM LE actually makes it more fun to use and would be my keeper of the two. It also is shaped different on the spine so it feels better when choking up for choil work.

I wound up with the Zilla in place of the .275 NMFBM as it was easier on my body to keep swinging for extended periods (6'2 235 countryboy here). I think that is mostly a result of the placement of the "sweet spot" on the blade combined with the more comfortable handle on the TTKZ though as the Zilla is actually a tad heavier. The KZ2 is around 32 oz.

Dave, the thoroughness is a beneficial result of being up all night so Mama could sleep. ;)
 
Wow, thanks a lot for the info, great! For a while I was totally stuck on the FBM, but the more I see I'm really starting to dig the NMFBM.
 
NMFBM is the monster Busse chopper, no doubt. But it is a heavy beast, not something you want to carry around much.

Note that both the FBM and NMFBM come in different models, with different thickneses, esp the FBM. Good luck in your quest!
 
I have a .25 NMFBM with hand shaped scales and its very comfortable to chop with and carry. I had some really extended chopping sessions with it bare handed and my shoulder and hand were all fine after 15 min of straight chopping.

I think there is a really fine line with big blades when it comes to good weight that helps you chop and bad weight that tires you out and hurts your shoulder.

I had a Killa Zilla 2 that I think weighed like 35 ounces and it killed my hand, forearm, and shoulder every time I used it. The .25 NMFBM which is around 30 ounces is a whole different chopping experience. It was Very comfortable and if you just carry with a baldric setup its really not a pain at all to carry while on the trail. Im a scrawny 6'2 and 180lbs and Im still amazed at how comfortable the NMFBM is to use and carry. Carrying a big blade on your belt is never very comfortable. Over the shoulder is the way to go in my experience.

I have yet to use a FBM but I doubt and variation would beat the .25 NMFBM in a chop off.

Also I have a .27 NMFBM and like the others have said it is very noticeably heavier and slower and I havent used it for that reason.
 
Last edited:
KalEl said:
I have a .25 NMFBM with hand shaped scales and its very comfortable to chop with and carry. I had some really extended chopping sessions with it bare handed and my shoulder and hand were all fine after 15 min of straight chopping.

I think there is a really fine line with big blades when it comes to good weight that helps you chop and bad weight that tires you out and hurts your shoulder.

I had a Killa Zilla 2 that I think weighed like 35 ounces and it killed my hand, forearm, and shoulder every time I used it. The .25 NMFBM which is around 30 ounces is a whole different chopping experience. It was Very comfortable and if you just carry with a baldric setup its really not a pain at all to carry while on the trail. Im a scrawny 6'2 and 180lbs and Im still amazed at how comfortable the NMFBM is to use and carry. Carrying a big blade on your belt is never very comfortable. Over the shoulder is the way to go in my experience.

I have yet to use a FBM but I doubt and variation would beat the .25 NMFBM in a chop off.

Also I have a .27 NMFBM and like the others have said it is very noticeably heavier and slower and I havent used it for that reason.
Click to expand...


I am so glad I am not the only guy that loves the .25 inch NMFBM, I think I need to go get some INFI love and play with my NMFBMs.
 
RickJ said:
I am so glad I am not the only guy that loves the .25 inch NMFBM, I think I need to go get some INFI love and play with my NMFBMs.
Click to expand...

Guys... stop making me secondguess my 0.27" decision :p

I actually kind of got it thinking it'd be too heavy to easily carry around for camping--I have a B11 for that--and, uh, well, uh....... zombacolypse. But hey, if I can take it out camping too, why not.

Anyway, Aunt J., sorry for hijacking your thread :p but I still don't know what you're looking for in asking for spine shots of the two side-by-side. And I know you said you wanted objective stuff instead of opinions but I subjectively think the NMFBM is cooler :D
 
I didn't realize that later run CGNMFBM were so fat. Mine is from the original run, so it was probably 0.25" with coating.


After stripping

102.jpg



After some time with the belt grinder, with a nice convex edge. She's a lean, mean chopping machine now, at 0.238" and 29oz. In terms of chopping power, about equal to my TTKZ that was reprofiled by Garth.

132.jpg
 
One of the original runs hereand it came in at .249" and that's a coated blade. Strip it and it drop off about .008" to .010"
IMG_3382.jpg


Now my new SOS-NMFBM came in at .268". One thing to keep in mind as well is if you got a v-edge or convex. the SOS is convex. I havn't cut anything with it yet but with my past experience using convex edges, they chop exceptionally well.
IMG_3482.jpg
 
Hey Kal, Russ:
Have you tried chopping with that .268"~.27" SOS NMFBM of yours yet? Curious to know how it performs compared to your <= .25" ones. Just the intrinsic performance of the knife alone rather than how much it wears off your arm.
Thanks!
 
I brought my SOS nmfbm camping the day after I got it and it is definitely heavy. I still prefer my small hunting wetterling
For anything thicker than 3 inches in diameter but for batoning and chopping up things less than 3 inches it is king. (the looks I got by passer-byers on the trail were priceless) it's weight for chopping things layed parallel to the ground/on a chopping block is awesome but when chopping on things strait up my forearm tired very quickly.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top