How does the Busse Satin Jack

J

JohnnyO

Joined
Sep 1, 2002
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compare with the Fallkniven A1? I'm looking for a mid sized knife, with good strength and corrosion resistance. Have been eyeing the SJ for a while. Is it worth the extra money over the A1? I've heard some pretty good things about the A1. I have an S1 and it's a great little knife. It will be used for hiking, camping, rafting trips, ect. A general woods/wilderness knife.

I'm presently using a CRK Mountaineer II. I love this knife, but am looking for another knife with a little more tip strength. Not planning on getting rid of my Mtn II, by the way. Thought about their Shadow IV, (spear point) but felt my other two choices (INFI/VG10)would offer better corrosion resistance.

Didn't want to post in individual forums(Busse/Fallkniven/CRK) as folks tend to be a little biased. Hee Hee. That's why I posted in the general forum. Appreciate your thoughts and experience with these knives.

Thanks......
 
I know I joke around here some, but this is a serious post. I have an A1 and a Satin Jack with the .250 thick blade. Both are extremely tough knives, but the nod would go to the Satin Jack mainly because of the INFI steel and the Micarta handle. My personal experience is that INFI performs better than VG-10 - tougher and holds a better edge. The VG-10 is more stain resistant, but INFI is not bad. The handle on the A1 is kind of slippery for a soft synthetic handle, not too bad, but not as secure as the SJ. Also, the SJ sports a nice hook for your fingers so you can extended the blade for better leverage during chopping, and a generous choil so you can choke up when you need to. I do think the A1 sheath is superior to the Busse sheath, but that is just my opinion.
 
Kliff, post sounds serious! You make some good points. This is exactly the kind of feed back I'm looking for to help make my decision.

Bladeswinger, I'd like to know why you feel the SJ is the "hands down"
winner.
 
The Satin Jack is a great knife. I don't think I'd be using carbon steel for rafting though. INFI will easily rust from exposure to water. Mine rusted badly after an afternoon in the rain, just like any carbon steel.

I don't have an A1 to compare it too, but my SJ is a bit thick at the edge for my tastes. You may find yourself wanting the blade grind thinned out for better cutting efficiency. It would be worth asking to have yours ground extra thin. The standard edge is pretty thick for a non-chopping sized blade.
 
Kliffy,
How does the Fallkniven sheath compare to the Becker Camanion sheath. Say you were walking through the woods and a briar caught on your leg, could you draw and wrist snap cut thethe offending briar, and resheath the knifewith one hand? Are their the "lips" that someone once wrote about? Does it hang below jacket level?

Thanks,
Eric
 
I don't know about Kliff, but I have an A1 and the sheath is similar to the Becker Campion's sheath - same materials I believe. The A1 sheath is a bit lighter and I like the way it hangs on my belt better. I gave my Becker Campion to my son who likes it quite a bit. After I got an SRWK Camp Tramp I put my other knives in that size range in the drawer though. Buzzbait is right about the corrosion factor. If I were storing a knife on a raft I would opt for the Falkniven A1. I carry a Falkniven S1 on my wading belt while fishing and have yet to see a rust spot form. I do wipe it down on occassion though.
 
For once I agree with Steelhed. The Falkniven A1 would make a good rafting knife. As for the SRWK Camp Rat, I'm running some tests on that knife as we speak, ouch!, I'll let you know how it turns out. Now where did I put the emergency kit?
 
I spend a lot more time hiking and camping in the woods, than rafting. If the SJ is a better knife overall than the A1, I would just as well use my S1 for rafting. It will get the job done on those trips.

Having the SJ edge ground down is good advice, from Buzz. I'm not intending to use this knife as a chopper. I'd prefer it cut better, than chop.

Apprecaite everyone's advice. There have been some good points made, helping with my decision. Although, making these decisions are half the fun!
 
The Satin Jack is 3/16" thick now, isn't it? I have only ever owned one Busse(Natural Outlaw), and it is a truly awesome knife. Mt Fallknivens are pretty good too, but not in the same class, as price would indicate.
 
As far as I know, the SJ is not made with a 3/16" thick blade now. That should help with its slicing ability some. Funny, my only other Busse is a NO, too. Quite an awesome knife.

I didn't want to use price as an indicator of which knife was better. Price does not always proove that. Although, most times it does. That's why I was asking for advice from people that may have been familiar with both knives. Like I mentioned earlier, I heard a lot of good things about Fallkniven. Some say their knives are as good as other costing much more.
 
The Satin Jack is now in 3/16" stock, it as 1/4" before.

Here is how the 2 thicknesses compare:
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My thanks to Clifford the big red dog for his help.
 
Thanks for the comparision shots. It definitely looks like a better 3/16" knife, than a 1/4".
 
Yes, the Satin Jack is now 3/16" thick. I still found the edge too thick for my tastes, so I have flat ground mine thinner. I havent posted pictures yet, because it ain't too pretty yet! Wait until I get all that black stuff off. :)
 
I have a 1/4" Satin Jack and a Dozier KS-7...for camping, hiking, fishing, wilderness type activities, I like the Dozier much better...talk about the SHARPEST tool in the shed !!

Meant to add I also have an S1 and an A1...very nice knives but still not in the same class as the KS-7.
 
I've got a Dozier General Utility Knife coming. My wife got it for me as a Christmas present. Very much looking forward to that one....

How do you feel your A1 compares to your SJ?
 
I bought an A1 last year and marveled at its construction to cost ratio. A 1/4" thick of solid VG-10 is pretty impressive. And then I realized: exactly what is this knife good for? I have a Steel Heart with the same thickness, but you can chop with that thing, since it is 1.5" longer, is noticeably heavier, and has an ergonomic handle. The A1 is just a short, thick chunk of knife. It has a funny convex edge, too. I'm not sure how easy those are to sharpen, so you may want to stay away from using it much.

As far as toughness goes, from all of the testimonials I've read, the A1 is almost in the Busse/Strider category.
 
Originally posted by JohnnyO


How do you feel your A1 compares to your SJ?
Click to expand...

The A1 is a very nice knife...there is something about the Satin Jack that defies description...ya just gotta get one in your hand and you know. :)
 
It's too bad you can't just go to a knife store and hold whatever knife your interested in. Especially when it's outside the normal production mfgs. Seems like the SJ is the way to go. I inquired with Busse yesterday about grinding a thin blade on one, to accentuate it's slicing ability. It's size does not really allow for much of a chopper and that's not what I am looking for. Just waiting to hear back from Busse before making my final decision. If they can make a real cutter out of it, it's mine......

Appreciate everyone's input!
 
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