Help with fixed blade decision?

One last Q: Does Busse make a fixed blade smaller than meaner/leaner street, something that could be small enough to be used as a fixed blade edc/neck knife? Just curious :)

And finally, I meant to ask this earlier, How difficult is it to sharpen INFI, in particular on the Spyderco 204 Sharpmaker?
 
Check out the Busse Active Duty: it would make a great little fixed blade EDC. I think the blade is 3.5".

The lock on my old Police is still solid, and I have a soft spot for conventional locks.

INFI is easy to sharpen. I sharpen free hand, and always use diamond stones.
 
I mentioned in a post on the spyderco forum of hopes that they would re-release the old style G10 police, maybe if enough people voice that opinion we'll at least get a limited run, I love that knife, it and the delica, though I must admit Busses look totally wicked, and gotta love that warranty. Still I wonder how is the Meaner Street vs. the Leaner st. for slicing like say carboard. It's more impt. to me that a knife cut like a laser than be absolutely indestructible, you could always buy a bigger knife. Just curious if anyone has any info comparing the two as slicers/utlilty knives. BTW I noticed the leaner st is only slightly thicker than a Benchmade Nimravus, but is you get the BM in M2 steel there's not much difference in price but the Busse has a superior warranty.
 
I mentioned in a post on the spyderco forum of hopes that they would re-release the old style G10 police, maybe if enough people voice that opinion we'll at least get a limited run, I love that knife, it and the delica, though I must admit Busses look totally wicked, and gotta love that warranty. Still I wonder how is the Meaner Street vs. the Leaner st. for slicing like say carboard. It's more impt. to me that a knife cut like a laser than be absolutely indestructible, you could always buy a bigger knife. Just curious if anyone has any info comparing the two as slicers/utlilty knives. BTW I noticed the leaner st is only slightly thicker than a Benchmade Nimravus, but is you get the BM in M2 steel there's not much difference in price but the Busse has a superior warranty. Whew, that was a mouthful.
 
Also, as if I haven't annoyed you fine people enough, how does the sheath for the leaner/meaner street work, or what options are available?
 
M2 is nice steel, but I've seen some M2 blades with chips missing—suggesting that it might be brittle.

If you really want the ultimate slicer have another look at the Safari Skinner.

That plus a Mean Street, or a Badger Attack, would make an awesome combo.
 
I've definatley decided on either a Leaner or Meaner St. or a Safari Skinner, maybe even a bog dog, I'd appreciate any reviews, pros, cons of each of the 4 knives. Main purpose slicing/cutting/utility. Thanks guys for all the good advice :)
 
Nobody has mentioned the Howling Rat or the Bandicoot. I carry a Bandicoot and it's without a doubt a very tough knife. It's 3/16th thick and slices nicely. I carry a Delica for delicate work. The Bandicoot will take on those jobs as well. It's tougher than a Safari Skinner which I also have.
The price point is lower on the Bandicoot than it is on the Mean Streets or the Safari Skinner. Same warranty for all though. Check out swamprat.com and look at the smaller Rats. You mentioned a neck knife. The Rat Tail is a good EDC neck knife. I prefer the Bandicoot though. I have pretty much all of them but find myself reaching for the coot unless I need to skin something. Most of the guys on the Rat forum love the Howling Rat. It may be the kind of thing your looking for. It's very similar to the Bandicoot but with a wider blade from spine to edge. It's probably more utilitarian. I was never unhappy with my Bandicoot so I never got one.
 
ive owned a bandicoot wich i put down to a 21 degree edge, and honestly it doesnt slice well. its to short (as in heighth from edge to spine) to have a saber grind like it does, even at 3/16.

and to be honest, from what ive seen, busse doesnt make a knife that will slice like the nimravus will. every single time i pick the one up that i gave to my brother i think "holy crap thats sharp", wich isnt because it actually is sharp, its because its so thin with so little metal behind the edge that it would feel sharp even if you took the edge to a belt grinder.


busse makes some models that are good cutters, but your not going to find anything like the nimravus anywhere in the normal lines. unless you wanna mod a NICK, but youd be crazy for messin with such a nice kitchen knife ( ;) :footinmou :p :D )

the active duty and presentation nark are both excellent slicers when you take into consideration how strong they are, but they are still saber ground (and in the case of the the NARK a low saber ground) knives at 1/8". but if your willing to bring it down to an 18 or less degree edge, you'll get something that is excellent for cutting regardless of its thickness or geometry. slicing is a different story (meaning start to finish cut, knife running through the material from edge to spine).


that being said, busse makes some excellent cutters, anerexic badgers, active duties, presentation narks, NICKS and a few others.



of course, while i admire the nimravus' thin geometry, id always recomend busse/swamp rat first. swamp rat has obtained an amazing degree of strength and durability from their d2, and the bog dog at 1/8 and full flat is a great bargain. if i had to kill my current set, and had to get something that was on the open market, id go for an anerexic badger and... lol... i have no idea for the prybar, its late (3:15am) and i cant think straight... id probably try for a killer bee, wich are somewhat available second hand....
 
an example for what i mean by the coot not slicing well - grab 3 peice of cardboard and hold them together, then run the coot through them after running the nimravus, immediate and massive difference in ease of cutting, and the pressure needed to push the blade through the material.
 
Been checking on blade thicknesses. I'm used to measuring thickness in mm so mm gives me a better idea of how thick a blade is relative to another and also I'm used to Spyderco folders, so I'll use them as a frame of reference.

The Bog Dog is .12 in thick which is approx 3mm or same as my Endura which is an excellent cutter/slicer.

The Mean St. is over 6mm, probably as thick or maybe even thicker than any large fixed blade I have so prob not what I'm looking for.

However, the Howling Rat and the Lean Mean Steet are both .187 in which is between 4 but not quite 5mm. My Military is 4mm and is also an excellent cutter/slicer.

So it looks like the Bog Dog would prob be the best slicer, but I think the Howling Rat or Lean Mean would be tougher knives, while still being thin enough for the light/medium utility work I'd subject them too. I realized that the work I put my knive through probably is very tame compared to hard-core Swamprat and Busse users. BUT thats why I came to this forum, I was essentially wanting something like a fixed Military or a Nimravus, but with the ability to be used for heavier work should an unforseen emergency arise.

Any reviews or ideas of the cutting ability, edge retention, durability, ease of sharping, rust resistance (I'm familiar with using Tuff Cloths so I don't think rust will be a prob on a user knife) would be appreciated. Also what kind of grinds are used on these knives I usually prefer a flat grind, but I do carry hollow grinds bc not every knife made is flat ground, something I'd change if I ruled the world..............lol And thanks again for all the great info I've really learned a lot about Busse and large fixed blades in general from starting this thread. :)
 
Spydiefan04 said:
BUT thats why I came to this forum, I was essentially wanting something like a fixed Military or a Nimravus, but with the ability to be used for heavier work should an unforseen emergency arise.

what kind of grinds are used on these knives I usually prefer a flat grind, but I do carry hollow grinds bc not every knife made is flat ground, something I'd change if I ruled the world..............
Click to expand...

i think that the bog dog is the closest to the military or nimravus, as the d2 has a better edge holding ability then sr101, and is still pretty much stronger then any other d2 blade of the same geometry your gonna get anywhere (thanks to swamp rats heat treat)

the howling rat is an excellent choice, but the bod dog is thinner, and with more edge.

pretty much all of the knives from both company's are flat ground. some of them are full flat grinds, some are saber flat grinds. there are a few holow ground knives, such as thes keleton key but they normally arent done because of strength issues compared to flat grinds, and they are much more labor intensive to perform then flat grinds.
 
OK, for my .02

I've got a boatload of big Busse's and Rats. It sounds like that's not what you need or want. My 3-5" blades get carried every day. The big-uns don't. Here's my take on it.

Super Tough/EDC/Slicers (?) 1 knife only

SHBA (EDC)
BA Ergo (EDC, skinner, slicer)
Anorexic BA ( thinner slicer, skinner, EDC)
Active Duty (slicing Machine, EDC)
ZTNO ( probably the best thing to happen to the NOE, very lively) A bit on the larger size (6")

Slicing/Kitchen (What I use)

SRKW Howing Rat #1
SRKW Bog Dog
ZTNO
Active Duty (great paring knife)

All in all I think you would be best served by a Busse or Rat in the 3 1/2 to 5 1/2" range. Different lengths and thicknesses and shapes will determine what you like best. INFI is extremely tough and naturally a 1/4" blade will be stronger than a 3/16" or less and slicing ability will be affected as well. SR101 is no slouch either being very close to INFI in performance. My D2 (Bog Dog) pretty much stays in the kitchen. Very sharp and a hell of a slicer, but I wouldn't trust it to cut me out of my truck if I go into a canal. SHBA in INFI has that duty.

Clear as mud, eh?

Rob
 
I was practically convinced to buy the howling rat, but now i've seen the anorexic badger. How do the two compare, including sheath options?
 
Get the Howling Rat first! I like it better than the AB, and I have both.

That blade shape in INFI or D2 ...... I'd be on it like white on rice!

The AB just doesn't have the deep belly of the HR. The closest would be the BA-Ergo (which I have several of), but even they don't match it for all around chores. Especially in the kitchen.

Rob
 
Thanks, I was leaning toward the howling rat anyway, that, a bog dog, or nimravus was what I was originally leaning toward. Although the BM or bog dog would be better slicers with superior edge retention, the howling rat appears to be much tougher and is in carbon steel, which I prefer for fixed blades. I think I will start with the howling rat, does anyone know how is compares to a Becker Camillus CU/7 I have one of those, flat ground .188 in thick and it cuts like a big razor blade. The howling rat appears (to me at least) to be smaller but similar in thickness, shape, and geometry, if this is the case I know I will love it. :)
 
I can't say about the other knives you asked about, don't have them. When I got back into knives I bought just 1 before I was directed the Swamp Rat site (a CRKT something, it's long gone). I bought a HR first and it is still my fav Rat. Got all of the Rat line back then (2002?) and then got into Busse's (25 or so). At first it was mostly collectable pieces and some users. Later on (at my age), the collectables went to other collectors and I began just concentrating on users.

It was, what works for me and what doesn't? I still have collectables, but the majority get used, scratched, sharpened the way I like em and so on. I really don't think Jerry intended (with some exceptions) for his knives to be safe queens.

I suggest the Rat HR or BD first simply because of the cost. You'll be less afraid to beat up on them. Ya gotta do that to appreciate what's coming out of Wauseon. When you get to the point where you can put a scratch on a $300+ knife without flinching ..... then go for it. It's worth it.

Rob
 
Thanks for all of the help I am going to buy a HR just as soon as I get a few other bills paid. I will let you guys know what I think after I've used it for awhile. :) Also I am thinking about buying either another Spyderco Military in S30V, mine is the older 440V, or a Rat Trap, these two knives look very similar, I'd appreciate any info from someone that has both of these knives as to how they compare. And how do they compare to the strider SnG. Also does the Rat Trap have the same warranty as other Swamp Rat Knives.
 
If you're looking for a slicer, go for the Bog Dog, or possibly a Busse Skeleton key (I believe they're scheduled for release soon, but I'm not sure).

Pretty much everything else is designed for "hard use" - which I take to mean medium prying (heavy pushing or steady application of full body weight), and impacts to the spine or edge (such as you might use for chopping, or whacking on the spine with a stick to drive the edge through something). The steel, heat treat, and blade thickness are designed to stand up to this harder use. That's not to say they won't be sharp and can't slice, but they will certainly bind up more than a thin folder.

Blades I would consider for regular carry. These are situations where you want a knife handy, but you don't have a particular purpose in mind.

Active Duty - not currently available from Busse, but hopefully will be available in the coming year
Swamp Rat Bandicoot
SR Howling Rat
SR Safari Skinner
CRK 4" fixed blade - couple of different styles available. The cheapest knives Chris makes. Somewhere between Swamp Rat and Busse. They do come with a very good sheath and the hollow metal handle (could be a plus or minus). The handle is a little short if you have big hands. Hollow ground, with a fairly narrow blade (edge to spine). I suspect it would be a better slicer than the Howling Rat or thicker Busses, but haven't done a head-to-head test.
Mean Street - Considering all options, I would say this is the best jump from large folders (Military, ATR) to high-end fixed blades. Similar size, in a tough package.
Badger - I like the older Badgers better but the new one (not yet released) is slim and sexy.


Larger knives - these are pure fixed blade glory. You have a specific job (usually chopping something) that justifies carrying a big knife, and a folder just won't do. If you get out in the woods at all - camping, hunting, tromping, etc. I would actually get something here first. These blades do stuff that a folder really can't. They also double as kitchen knives!

SR Camp Tramp
Busse Natural Outlaw - my personal get out of $hit free tool
Busse Satin Jack - soon to be released, and IMHO, may be the finest blend of old (full-height grind, smooth lines) and new (shaped, textured micarta, handle ergonomics) Busse.

Good luck with your choices!
 
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