FBM question

on_the_edge

on_the_edge

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Jan 31, 2006
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It's about time I get a sheath for my user FBM. I have a number of variations, so a modification such as making a fatty thinner, or eliminating the corrugated bevels on the CGs is doable.

Which one, pimped or as from Busse, have folks found to be the "best bang for the buck" as far as a user goes?

I know some folks here were going to attempt to modify a version that was less costly than the LE in an attempt to match the LE's performance. Anybody have any success?
 
A plain Jane CG is probably the best bang for the buck.

Ban's Anorexic FBM is pretty awesome but it's edge is thinned to the point that it probably won't stand up to chopping through nails (in wood) or throwing.

I think the best value was the 2007 SE. It's double cut without CBT and I think it cost less than my CG with camo coating and B/T G-10 magnum slabs.

I have never been a fan of the fatties, but after seeing some of Ban's thinned out knives, I am convinced that thin is the way to go if you want to chop efficiently. That's why he's got my EU-17 magnum but he has strict instructions to leave the point thick enough for throwing. When it's done it should be almost as good a chopper as the AFBM (and lighter as well).
 
I'm not sure why you'd want to eliminate the corrugated bevels. As an earlier thread pointed out, they improve the lateral strength of the blade.

I think that the CG FBM is the sleeper that everyone is going to want at some point. Definitely the best value. The SE is great, but much harder to find. You either had to score at Blade or in the Ganzaaaa to get the same bang for the buck.

FBM1.jpg


FBMSpecEd.jpg
 
I would also have to vote for a CGFBM as the best bang for the buck. Next would be the FFBM but it is a tad heavy for my taste.

The FABM is the king of choppers out of all the knives I own. It will easily out chop a stock CGFBM and even a FFBM. It will outchop a CGFBM 2 to 1 on 2X4s and will easily spank most 9" bladed knives out there. It is significantly lighter and much more nimble. It is not as tough as either a CGFBM or FFBM in lateral strength or edge impacts against hard materials such as nails, rocks, and the like. That is to be expected because it has a much thinner spine and edge than either. It is tough enough for everything that I need it to cut. I would not throw my FABM but I am pretty sure that it would not break on me if did.
 
My favourite so far out of all the ones I have had (a LE, CFGbm with standard handles, 2 fat sages with standard g10, and a fat black with black mags) is by far the black fat with black mags. The finish is really high on this model, and the weigh suits me perfectly. I was going to strip it before I got it but so far havent been able to as it looks so good.
 
Ban said:
I would also have to vote for a CGFBM as the best bang for the buck. Next would be the FFBM but it is a tad heavy for my taste.

The FABM is the king of choppers out of all the knives I own. It will easily out chop a stock CGFBM and even a FFBM. It will outchop a CGFBM 2 to 1 on 2X4s and will easily spank most 9" bladed knives out there. It is significantly lighter and much more nimble. It is not as tough as either a CGFBM or FFBM in lateral strength or edge impacts against hard materials such as nails, rocks, and the like. That is to be expected because it has a much thinner spine and edge than either. It is tough enough for everything that I need it to cut. I would not throw my FABM but I am pretty sure that it would not break on me if did.
Click to expand...

You basically turned your CG FBM into an SHBM or a BM-E, which are much more neutral in handling and much faster than all the FBM's. The FBM SE may be the closest thing to an SHBM in an FBM.

MY SHBM does cut better and cuts into woods better, but the thinner edge and blade has the drawback of binding more than the larger blades.

Your FABM may chop better for you into 2x4's but when it comes down to physics, if the edge geometry is similar, the higher mass will cut deeper and better.

Also chopping 2x4's is a good coparative test, but knives do not bind in 2x4's much, they bind when cutting trees and large branches, this is where the difference in the thicker edge is noticeable. You may actually see worse performance on real trees with your modded blade. However, if it is too heavy then you will tire and performance will drop.

so in the end what works for me may not work for you and etc...
 
Cobalt,

Yes, my FABM is probably very close to the edge profile to a SHBM. Actually, it is much closer to a Proto FBM. The edge geometry is similar or maybe slightly thinner. The spine thickness is .210 so it is much lighter. In terms of weight it is more comparable to a ZTBM but I think the FABM is still lighter.

Yes you are right about the thinner edge having a higher chance of binding against softer materials. That is because it would bite deeper per cut. I would still be ahead of the game unless the blade binds to a point where I cant remove the blade. But with a .210 spine there is still plenty meat and wedge on the blade to minimize serious binding.

I think of a FABM as a cross between a large knife and light machete. I think that it fills that roll just fine in its current form. For brush clearing type jobs it would still spank the heavier blades because of getter geometry, speed, and less fatique.

If we a talking about soft wood 1-1 1/2" in diameter the FABM would still win out because it only requires 1 to 2 chops to go through.

For larger soft woods that are 6"+ in diameter I would still pick the lighter FABM because it would mean high numbers of chops are involved. This means less fatigue and more accurate chops for me. A bind here and there is no big deal for me if I get nearly twice the depth per chop. In the end I still think that I might be ahead of the game. Also, one other thing... If you are familiar with your knife and geometry then you will quickly find its binding point at a certain depth on various materials. Just reduce the striking power to adjust the depth of the cut to minimize the binding.
 
Steelnut,

Yes, that is a darn good deal :thumbup::thumbup: That is the most INFI for the buck alright!
 
Ban said:
Cobalt,

Yes, my FABM is probably very close to the edge profile to a SHBM. Actually, it is much closer to a Proto FBM. The edge geometry is similar or maybe slightly thinner. The spine thickness is .210 so it is much lighter. In terms of weight it is more comparable to a ZTBM but I think is still lighter.

Yes you are right about the thinner edge having a higher chance of binding against softer materials. That is because it would bite deeper per cut. I would still be ahead of the game unless the blade binds to a point where I cant remove the blade. But with a .210 spine there is still plenty meat and wedge on the blade to minimize serious binding.

I think of a FABM as a cross between a large knife and light machete. I think that it fills that roll just fine in its current form. For brush clearing type jobs it would still spank the heavier blades because of getter geometry, speed, and less fatique.

If we a talking about soft wood 1-1 1/2" in diameter the FABM would still win out because it only requires 1 to 2 chops to go through.

For larger soft woods that are 6"+ in diameter I would still pick the lighter FABM because it would mean high numbers of chops are involved. This means less fatigue and more accurate chops for me. A bind here and there is no big deal for me if I get nearly twice the depth per chop. In the end I still think that I might be ahead of the game. Also, one other thing... If you are familiar with your knife and geometry then you will quickly find its binding point at a certain depth on various materials. Just reduce the striking power to adjust the depth of the cut to minimize the binding.
Click to expand...

Although I think your skills at grinding are excellent, I still think that putting the same edge on a standard CG FBM, FFBM, FBMLE or FBM SE would give even better results because of the extra mass on these blades. I do think that your blade, much like the SHBM and the BM-E, is going to be much better suited for all around use and as a heavy short machette which the heavier FBM's just cannot be. So overall, you may have turned the CG into a better all around knife, but wih the right edge profile I think the std CG will chop better.

I also think that the FBM SE may be the best overal FBM as an all around knife, better overall balance than all the others.


As for hte protoFBM, they are no different than the FBM LE. Just a different point. Still 0.32 inch thick which makes it an awesome chopper..
 
Yes, If the heavier BM are given the same edge profile as my FABM then they would be better choppers. We are definitely on the same page here.

But what do you get when you full flat grind a CGFBM with a thinner edge? Something very close to a FABM ;) The reason why the FABM chops so well is because there is hardly any wedging of the material for the 1st inch or so of the cut.

The edge of the FABM measures .03 at the edge and tapers only up to .120 1" up from the edge.

The CGFBM measures .052 at the edge and tapers quickly up to .220 1" up from the edge.

The FFBM measures .052 at the edge and tapers quickly up to .220 1" up from the edge.

The EU Magnum measures .042 at the edge and tapers up to .160 1" up from the edge.

The super lightweight anorexic BIBB is .032 at the edge and tapers very slowly up to .110 1" up from the edge.

Based on these numbers it is easy to see why the FABM penetrates deepest. That is because there is very little resistance for the 1st inch of the cut which is very close to max depth per a chop on medium to hard wood for 9" blades.

The profiles of the CGFBM and the FFBM are the same for the 1st inch so their cutting performance should be the same if given the same weight. But the Fatty wins out simply because it is heavier and has more momentum on the chop.

The ABIBB and CGFBM is about equal in chopping ability despite being less than half the weight of a CGFBM simply because of edge geometry. One has a huge weight advantage while the other has edge profile advantage for wood chopping.

Wash voice on ;) "My Whole Point Is...." that a thinner and lighter weight knife can still give heavy knife chopping performance utilizing edge geometry.

What I was looking for in the FABM is a light to medium weight long knife that can give similar chopping performance of heavyweight knives and yet can still be fairly efficient at machete type duties.


I have always thought that a SE FBM is just a DC FFBM?

The edge profile on the Proto looks to be thinner than the FBMLE. At least on the one that I saw.
 
Ban said:
Wash voice on ;) "My Whole Point Is...." that a thinner and lighter weight knife can still give heavy knife chopping performance utilizing edge geometry.Yup, agreed on this.

What I was looking for in the FABM is a light to medium weight long knife that can give similar chopping performance of heavyweight knives and yet can still be fairly efficient at machete type duties.True which none of the current FBM's are good at due to their mass.


I have always thought that a SE FBM is just a DC FFBM? No, the SE is 0.27 nch thick while the FFBM is 0.32 inch thick sabre ground, making it the heaviest of all FBM's

The edge profile on the Proto looks to be thinner than the FBMLE. At least on the one that I saw.
The blades are the same width and start off at the same thickness and both are flat ground, so again the edge is done by the shop will be the same or will vary according to who is doing the work. I have LE's that have thinner edges than other LE's.
Click to expand...
answers above in red.

It would be interesting to compare your blade to the best cutting BM's, like the SHBM and the ZTBM.
 
Just when I thought I got my piglet-newb brain around all the letters of the BM, this thread comes along and kicks my sand castle in my face, laughs at me, and takes my girl! :mad:


:p
 
zenheretic said:
Just when I thought I got my piglet-newb brain around all the letters of the BM, this thread comes along and kicks my sand castle in my face, laughs at me, and takes my girl! :mad:


:p
Click to expand...

ffbm: fat fusion battle mistress, or fffbm, fat flat...
cgfbm: combat grade fbm, w/corrugated bevel technology
fabm: ban's fusion anorexic battle mistress. one he modded himself, removing the cbt's and giving it a full height grind (i think).


:thumbup:
 
zenheretic said:
Just when I thought I got my piglet-newb brain around all the letters of the BM, this thread comes along and kicks my sand castle in my face, laughs at me, and takes my girl! :mad:


:p
Click to expand...


It's OK; in real life Cobalt had that done to him so many times on the beaches of southern California that he had to move to Virginia. His revenge is to come here to post; where nerds can get even.
 
Cobalt,

Well it pretty much sounds like we are on the same page :D

If I knew that the SE FBM were .270 I would have tried for one :mad: I always thought that they were fatties.

Yeah there are definitely edge differences depending on who sharpens them at the shop. The proto FBM I saw must have been bee sharpened thinner.

I don't have a SHBM so I really can't compare them. How are they compared to the BM-E or EU Magnum?

Are there any differences between the coated ZTBM vs the Satin ones?

I have chopped with a coated ZTBM along side with the FABM. There is definately no competition. The FABM would have gone through close to 2 sections of 2X4 by the time the ZTBM goes through one. The coated ZTBM edge profile is slightly thinner than the CGFBM. Based on my use I would say that they are similar in chopping performance because one is has weight advantage while the other has a slight geometry advantage.

Wash should chime in also because he chopped with both of them side by side.
 
I don't think my ZTBM chops anywhere near as well as my FBM CG. If you factor in comfort, the FBM has a large lead. The ZTBM is a lot lighter but the FBM seems to bite off more with each swing.

The EU-17 Magnum seems to chop better than my FBM CG, it's lighter so it's easy to swing for a long time and the handle works very well for me. Once Ban is done with it, I think it will have close to AFBM chopping performance and I'll still be able to throw it.

Ban doesn't really agree with my desire to have a knife which trades stabbing performance for throwing durability, but he looks at knives differently. I want a go to the grave chopper. I think that knife needs to make it all the way to the grave. I'm prone to doing foolish things along the way, it will have to be tough.
 
Best Bang Bar None is the Proto. Thin Edge, thick tip....throws like a dream, cuts like a light saber and I have 3.......so that is my vote.
 
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