Honest question about first Busse!

The General

The General

Joined
Jun 6, 2000
Messages
3,625
OK, this is a question for the guys and gals.

I own a ot of knives, a heck of a lot of knives and have a good level of outdoor skills and experience. I have a lot of bushcrafter friends and have learnt a lot from them and practical use in the field.

I see a heck of a lot of knives and use a lot of different styles and types.

My current carry in the field is a 1.Leatherman Charge, 2.Alan Wood Woodlore/Falkenkniven Idun/ Bark River Highland special, 3.HI Chiwa Kukri/Falkenkiven A2/Trailmaster.

This is backed up with a good folder like my Damascus Tom Brown "Quest" or my Strider AR TAC.

Well I have heard a lot of hype about the Busse line and to be frank don't hold much weight in such things until I have tried it myself, thus I will ignore such claims and simply ask, would I be better with a Busse or a Swamp Rat blade? I like the look of both series of blades and the price difference is noticable, but do the guys and gals think for general field use that a Busse would be noticably better than a Swamp Rat blade?

I won't be chopping steel bars or concrete and just want a good hard use larger blade without paying over the odds for performance I will not need.

I understand the Busse and SW range are high performers and are well regarded. You are not hearing me complain about this! I just wonder if you chaps think I would need the Busse performance difference and honestly ask you how much extra do you get over a SW blade?

Like all things, the rule of diminishing returns states that once you reach a certain level of performance you have to spend a heck of a lot more to get even a small increase. My thinking is that the SW range are very high performers and the Busse range are in the position of spending a lot more to get a little extra, like quality HI-FI components.

Do I need that "little extra"? What do you think? :)
 
Disclaimer: The following statement is only that of "KAAK". All info with held there in may not hold water so to speak. At this point, his frame of mind is questionable at best. Further discussion on that later. With that said, I hope I don't put my foot in my mouth. ;)

Forget what I said. My mind is questionable right now. Better safe than sorry. :eek: ;) :D

VIVA LA BUSSE!!!
 
A Busse blade is definetly superior to a Swamp Rat, but for your needs and tastes it sounds like a Swamp Rat will do. It will get the job done, and if you don't demand "the best available", you might as well save the dough and get the next best thing. Personally, I'd rather spend a few more bucks and get "the best available".
 
Okay, you used the hi-fi example, so lets start there.

I own Rega components (which all sit on isolation platforms), and use B&W speakers.

Better sound than this is definitely possible, but I'm not prepared to pay for it.

I notice enough difference between a Busse and a Swamp Rat to justify the pleasure of using (and pride in owning) relatively more expensive Busse knives.

You can't go wrong either way, but how beautiful/almost perfect an experience/product do you want?

David
 
The actual steel performance is similar enough that most folks say that there's no appreciable difference in normal use. One advantage Infi has over SR-101 is rust resistance, sr101 rusts like any carbon steel, Infi just tends to form a thin surface film that's easily wiped off. Unless you do lots of work in wet regions where you have rust problems it's no biggie. The handles and balance however are very different between the two. I'll go as far as to say that Swamprat's resiprene handles are superior to Micarta ones in every way save for resistance to being cut/hammered on. Also, the resiprene handled Swamprat's are balanced more blade forward, so they tend to have better chopping performance/ inch of blade compared to a full tang knife like all Busse's are. If you're looking at something like the Ratweiler then I'd say spend the extra bucks for a Busse, and get the better steel, you can find Steel Heart E's for not much more money on the secondary market,
 
secondary market? Does that mean used? Where can i find this Secondary market? I mean I can have busse sharpen and fix it up for me right?

Hydraulicman
 
Secondary market= For Sale forums here on Bladeforums.com. You'll often find collectors selling brand new/almost brand new busse's for decent prices as they get ready to buy new models/need the money more than they need a safe queen, etc. You'll also very rarely find well used knives that are way below the original selling price. This is the nice thing about Busse's, cosmetics aside even well used knives are generally just like new ones, and since the warranty goes with the knife you're covered in the rare occasion that there's a problem of some sort... which honestly I've never heard of.

On refinishing, I've heard that the shop is busy lately, but I think they're still doing refinishing and resharpening for a reasonable cost. There is actually a fair bit of work involved when refinishing the knife, including removing the handles so that the whole blade can be cleaned off and the new finish applied, etc, I think that the service runs around ~50 dollars unless you want something fancy done.
 
General,

You sound like the perfect candidate for a Camp Tramp. I tend to appreciate the difference in the smaller knives, actually, such as a Badge Attack or Active Duty. That's not to say I don't appreciate my Bandicoot, they just have different uses.

what sort of extras are you thinking of, and thinking that you don't want/need?

This is a difficult question since I like both lines for different reasons.
 
I would go with the Busse.

Though, you won't find a better bang for your buck with the Swamp Rat line.

But I've held both, and I like the feel of the Busse in my hand much better. You have to hold it to believe it!

At first, it was hard to talk myself into spending that much money on one knife, but now, I have a whole collection of Busses, and I love 'em. You won't be dissapointed. Spend the extra bucks and get the Busse. It will last you for your whole life, and if you ever did have a problem, it has a lifetime guarantee.

In a nutshell, the Swamp Rats are all you need, but to me, it's worth the extra $$$ for the Busse. For all the slight differences. The edge will hold up better, it will be more rust resistant, it will look and feel cooler (IMHO), and it will carry the Busse name. It's nice to know you have the best in your hand. And besides all that, you'll have it for so long, and you have so many knives already, you definitely should have at-least one Busse.

Shane
 
swamp rats are great! busses are better!
the most appreciable difference to me is:
my busses get beat nHARD and get back to hair scarin sharp with a 30 second steeling;
the rats require an exhausting 2 minutes of work sharpening THEN steeling.
plus the infi don't rust.
 
All things considerd, why do most professional mechanics use Snap-on, Matco or Cornwell tools when good ole Craftsman will do the job.
 
The advantage to INFI is fairly simple.

Stays sharp longer when used to cut soft things like Hair/wood/leather/skin/bone.

You can also use it to dig holes in the ground (you got to figger this will dull the knife)

Then you can use a steel or the back of another knife to resharpen it.

If you want to cut grit filled dirty material,,or chop concrete blocks/rebar,,,,,

Pick a different steel.

INFI is both Flexible and malleable, so where you need to remove steel to resharpen most knives, with INFI you are able to just bend(steel) the edge back out into place and "Poof" you are ready to get back to work.

Hard to believe until you use it.

I have had INFI knives that got sharper from chopping wood, for the first 5 minutes or so of use,,,it would appear that the chopping action polishes the edge,,,that was weird enough for me that I called the shop to see how this might happen.
 
General

I'd suggest getting the Swamp Rat first. You won't be disapointed, I wasn't. Still have my Rats, use one at work everyday. They impressed me so much I ended up getting a few Busse's to keep them company. Bet you will too, both SRKW and Busse are all they claim to be and then some.

Drop in at the Swamp sometime.

Rob
 
Thanks guys, I think a Swamp Rat would be enough knife for me, though I don't doubt a Busse would be the next logical step.

It seems to be the way in knife collecting for me at the moment, I think " this knife will be the ultimate for me and I won't need to buy any more" YEAH RIGHT!!! :)

I am looking at a Battle Mistress E or the Swamp Rat version right now... at the moment while money is not a desperate problem, expenses are always jumping up unexpectidly thus the SW price difference is very appealing.

A SW I think is the way to go for now and then after a bit, a Busse. :D
 
Iff'n it's gonna be a regular chopper, and of that size class, definately go with the Battle Rat, your hands will thank you after a few hundred swings :)
 
And then I saw the "penalty clause" and found out I would have to buy from a German site (that is not even in English or has an English option!!!! :eek: ) at a sickening mark up... Time to reconsider my options. I am not paying those prices. :( Bummer, now I am upset and feel like a second class citizen. :mad:

Example Battle Rat ( the knife I want) $148 and on the German site? $273!!!!!! :barf:

STUNNED
 
Hey mate

Welcome to the forum, just get a Busse mate, you will never look back.

That rule only applies to continental Europe and not us in the UK.

B
 
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