I ........... have a question !

M

Mike-The-Knife

Joined
Dec 6, 2011
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1,301
First let me say that I have had Swamp Rat , Scrapyard and Busse knives in the past and still have a couple . I have been out of the knife loop for a while due to some larger financial obligations . "Almost" escaped the addiction , almost .

Anyway now I see that Busse has started selling knives in SR101 as well as INFI and calling them CG or Combat Grade . I get that . Same knife at a lower price makes it easier for people to get into the Busse knife experience .

Here's what I'm not clear on . I went to the Swamp Rat site and see they "had" Ratweilers and some other knives posted up and marked as CG . All Swamp Rat knives (other than custom shop) are SR101 and coated blades with micarta handles . So what is the difference between the CG and the standard knife with Swamp Rat ?
 
BG (Battle Grade) means SR-101 knife from Busse. For example the BB13 came in BG and CG, both are coated, the BG is SR-101 steel and the CG is INFI.

CG (Combat Grade) means coated with paint. Usually means coated INFI but as you mentioned it is on the Swamp Rat site so it can be coated SR-101 too.

LE (Limited Edition) means satin finish, either SR-101 or INFI.

The specs always say what steel it is anyway but I agree the terminology can be confusing sometimes, hope this helps,
 
I understand , but what I want to know is actually about Swamp Rat . I see no difference between the CG Swamp Rat and any of their other ones . ALL Swamp Rat knives (other than special INFI ones) are made of SR101 , so no difference there . And ALL Swamp Rat knives are coated , so no difference there . So ...... what IS the difference with a CG Swamp Rat knife and a none CG Swamp Rat knife ?
 
Most, not all Swamp Rats are coated. Some are LE's (satin finish).

Why they wrote CG for the Ratweiler's I do not know. It's like writing "Coated Ratweiler", we already know it is coated.

There is no difference between the Swamp Rats marked CG and not marked at all.
 
Mike-The-Knife said:
I understand , but what I want to know is actually about Swamp Rat . I see no difference between the CG Swamp Rat and any of their other ones . ALL Swamp Rat knives (other than special INFI ones) are made of SR101 , so no difference there . And ALL Swamp Rat knives are coated , so no difference there . So ...... what IS the difference with a CG Swamp Rat knife and a none CG Swamp Rat knife ?
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Really only the designs and the name, but the prices are very similar.
Scrapyard also uses SR 101, but the handles are Res-C, and so the prices reflect that generally as well

So all three companies use SR 101, what you were looking at is generally just the design and handle material, the good thing is all three of them carry the same bombproof lifetime warranty
 
Pretty much what everyone posted above. All Swamp Rat is SR-101, just varied names & designs, some not coated. Swamp Rat is the "mid-level" Busse if you can't afford the higher priced satin INFI Busse Combat but you want more than the generalized Scrap Yard designs and res. handles.
 
Mike-The-Knife said:
I understand , but what I want to know is actually about Swamp Rat . I see no difference between the CG Swamp Rat and any of their other ones . ALL Swamp Rat knives (other than special INFI ones) are made of SR101 , so no difference there . And ALL Swamp Rat knives are coated , so no difference there . So ...... what IS the difference with a CG Swamp Rat knife and a none CG Swamp Rat knife ?
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Hi MTK. Most models that come out of the swamp are CG. Like Luke said, they're coated. These models are also not finished as 'finely' under the coating, saves a few bucks for a user model anyway. The satin models are usually 'LEs'. These are a bit more money and are nicely ground.

This picture shows two CG model ratweilers in the background, one thick, one thin, and an LE model in the foreground that is starting to take a patina.


 
SevenOfNine said:
Pretty much what everyone posted above. All Swamp Rat is SR-101, just varied names & designs, some not coated. Swamp Rat is the "mid-level" Busse if you can't afford the higher priced satin INFI Busse Combat but you want more than the generalized Scrap Yard designs and res. handles.
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There are some INFI models like MTK noted. The Inficoot and INFI RMD come to mind. Also, the Swamp produced the Hairy Carry in 154CM I believe, and I'm thinking the Rat Trap folder was done in S30V. I can afford the Busses but prefer a lot of the Swamp's designs, especially the Ratweiler and RMD. I think that there's also MUCH more that could be done with variations of the Rodent Solution, such a great handle and blade profile :thumbup:
 
With all the recent changes in Busseland one simple fact remains true about ordering a CG, regardless of steel/brand, you aren't going to receive an LE in the box. ;)
 
AZTimT said:
With all the recent changes in Busseland one simple fact remains true about ordering a CG, regardless of steel/brand, you aren't going to receive an LE in the box. ;)
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Sure you are - its just hiding under a protective coating you need to remove ;)
 
Not all satin Rats are LE, some are Custom Shop pieces or SE (special edition) items.

In my opinion the CG Busses were offered just to add new stuff to the mix...the crossover with Scraps and Rats is a family ties kinda thing. Some designs from each company also compliment each other. Still hoping for a MOAR (Rat's answer to the MOAB) one day though.
 
Thanks for all the input guys . Lots of good information . Some that I knew , some that I wasn't sure of . I've been on here for years and like I said I've just been away from the forum and the knife addiction for a bit .

It's back now and I have recently bought two ZT folders and have a Rodent 3 and a 3/16" version Ratweiler on their way to me . I just found it strange when I was looking on the Swamp Rat site that they had the two thicknesses of the Ratweiler , the Ratmandu and the Rodent Rucki marked with CG and all the other knives with the same handles and same blade coatings NOT marked CG . So it seems , as Extra Beacon said , there IS no difference and they just do that for no reason . Just find it a bit weird , but obviously not weird enough to stop me from buying two LOL
 
Mike-The-Knife said:
I just found it strange when I was looking on the Swamp Rat site that they had the two thicknesses of the Ratweiler , the Ratmandu and the Rodent Rucki marked with CG and all the other knives with the same handles and same blade coatings NOT marked CG . So it seems , as Extra Beacon said , there IS no difference and they just do that for no reason . Just find it a bit weird , but obviously not weird enough to stop me from buying two LOL
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I think I see what you're asking now, after taking a look at the site. In my mind, those Rodent series knives are 'CG' models, but they're not marked 'CG.' I'm going to wager a guess that they've only distinguished the knives 'CG' that have also had a run of SEs or LEs. For example the coated Ratweiler is denoted CG and I know it had an LE run, whereas the Rodent 9 is not denoted CG and I don't recall any other runs of the Rodent 9.

Short version: No difference between the build/finishing process of a Rodent 5 and a Ratmandu CG.
 
Hard Knocks that's exactly what I meant . But I guess you're right . I don't remember of seeing any of the Rodent series being done in LE models . But I know they made the Ratmandu and Ratweiler in the LE finish at one time .

So there you have it . There's no damn difference lol

Now I know !
 
Combat grade = coated version of either three companies regularly used steels

Battle Grade = A label to differentiate a coated Busse in SR101 which is/was not their regularly used steel.
 
Not all Rats are coated, there's some satin, there is (a lot less) some competition grade.

Not all Rats are SR-101, I've got D2, 154cm, INFI Rats, and Rat Trap was S30V.
 
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