I like big Blades and I cannot lie

It might not look like much, but I turned 5 2x4's and 2 1x3's into sawdust. My forearm is toast. I'll be back with more details after the kiddos are in bed.









 
Nice test bed. It's really important to build something that will be safe and stable for work like this.

Also, nice wood! Lumber at the home stores around here don't look that good.
 
Stop teasing us man! Let's see those beasts in action!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Disclaimer

This is the first test in a series of tests I plan to perform with these knives. I was a one man show today so I'm afraid that I don't have any videos of my efforts. I do have a GoPro so I do intend to take videos of future tests.

I want to start out by saying these results are not definitive of which is the best knife. I'm not sure if you have seen any videos of Dan Keffeler chopping wood (if you haven't I highly suggest that you go watch some) where he obliterates wood into splinters by almost always hitting the spot he is aiming on the wood, but that is not how I chop wood; I'm quite amateur. I don't always hit the spot I'm aiming, and I don't always do the best job of clearing the wood out of the notch like I should.

Many of us here have some or all of the knives I used today. Some of these knives cost more than others, but none of them are inexpensive. I tried my best do do these tests without bias or preconceived notion about price / performance. I have used all of these knives before, but today is the first day that I have ever tested them back-to-back on similar material. I'm doing this test just for fun, and I certainly had fun doing it, so please don't lash out at me if your favorite knife that you spent your hard earned money on didn't do as well as you think it should have.

All of these knives are keepers, and I'm honored to own each of them.

Test Setup

Today's test consisted of chopping 2x4's vertically and horizontally, and 1x3's vertically. I put a 6x6 pressure treated post on some plastic saw horses. I clamped the 6x6 post to the saw horses, and I clamped the 2x4's and 1x3's under test to the 6x6 post. I thought it would be a pretty stable setup; however, it unfortunately left a lot to be desired. When chopping the wood with the knives the whole setup would bounce a bit, and the wood I was chopping would sometimes move around and out of place. I know for a fact that this had an affect on chopping performance, but the issue remained for all knives under test so it was consistent. I definitely need to come up with a better rig to hold the wood steady.

Results

7. ASH-2. I really like the feel and balance of this knife. In the past when chopping with Busse's that had straight handles I have experienced some pinkie bite, but I didn't experience any today with the ASH-2. This knife can be used to chop if needed, but it was simply outmatched by the larger knives in this competition. Compared to the larger knives it felt like it bounced off the wood more than biting into it. It of course didn't actually bounce off the wood, but the deep bite was just not there.

6. Nathan Carother's LC. I love the ergonomics of this knife, and the TeroTuf handle material is very comfortable. I have used this knife a fair bit in the woods to chop wood. This knife is actually a dream to swing. It's light, comfortable to hold, and easy to swing a lot without getting fatigued. I have never chopped very large wood with it, but it has never felt like it was lacking in chopping ability; that is until today when directly compared with 5 other larger knives. Honestly, this is not really a fair contest because the ASH-2 and the Carothers LC are not meant to be large choppers, but this is a specific test and I'm ranking it accordingly, it is simply outmatched in terms of raw chopping performance.

5. 1311. This is my first time with a real chopping session with a 1311. A lot of people love res-c handles, but I have never been one of them. I have had a Basic 6 and a Basic 8 that I moved on down the line because the handles didn't do it for me. I actually like the res-c on the 1311, it's comfortable to chop with and provides plenty of grip. The 1311 is a long blade, but it's fairly thin and light weight, at least compared to the top 4 knives in this competition. The 1311 actually chopped through the vertical 1x3's in one swing more easily than the NMFBM did, but it did not fare as well with the 2x4's, especially when they were placed in the horizontal position; it just doesn't have the mass to bite as deeply. It is lighter and therefore easier to swing repeatedly than the top 4, but that's not enough to move it up another spot on the list.

4. NMFBM. As I've said, I like big knives. The NMFBM has been my overall favorite Busse for a while now. It's big enough to be a pretty excellent chopper, but the fusion handle and choil make choking up to do smaller tasks a real possibility (I know, I know, use a small blade to do a small blade tasks, but sometimes you you can only have one knife so I'm sticking with that story). I have used this knife more than any other on the list, so I'm pretty familiar with it. I have re-profiled the edge on this knife to 19 degrees, which have found suites me best with a NMFBM. I was actually a bit surprised that the 1311 beat it out on chopping the 1x3's, but it performed well with the 2x4's and bit harder. I love this knife and it's a great chopper, but it didn't chop well enough to get into the top 3.

3. BG WTF. This beast of a knife has an 11" blade and weighs in at 2 lb 4.2 oz. Busse lists the blade thickness as approximately 0.28", but mine measures 3.0.1" on my calipers. This knife has a pretty unique blade shape, and it's a heck of a chopper. It feels a bit odd at first chopping with the WTF because of how tall the blade is. This knife actually weighs more (only 0.2 oz) than the Sasquatch despite the fact that the blade is 2" shorter. I have noticed that this knife tends to get stuck a bit easier than any of the other knives under test. This is a fun knife to use for chopping, and for that purpose it beat out my beloved NMFBM to earn the #3 spot.

Top 2

I expected the MOAB and the Sasquatch to be at the top in terms of pure chopping performance, and they were, by quite a bit actually. What I didn't expect, was for these two to be as close in performance as they are. I'm not ready to declare a winner just yet. I actually spent the bulk of my time testing today using these two knives because they definitely stood out. I will declare a winner, but I need to do some more testing first so that I can be 100% sure that I fully stand behind my decision. I hope you guys don't hate me for this, but I simply need more time.

Tomorrow I will post some pics and maybe a video or two. I may be able to declare a winner tomorrow, but I don't want to say without question that I will have made that decision. Please stay tuned...
 
zmbhntr said:
Disclaimer

This is the first test in a series of tests I plan to perform with these knives. I was a one man show today so I'm afraid that I don't have any videos of my efforts. I do have a GoPro so I do intend to take videos of future tests.

I want to start out by saying these results are not definitive of which is the best knife. I'm not sure if you have seen any videos of Dan Keffeler chopping wood (if you haven't I highly suggest that you go watch some) where he obliterates wood into splinters by almost always hitting the spot he is aiming on the wood, but that is not how I chop wood; I'm quite amateur. I don't always hit the spot I'm aiming, and I don't always do the best job of clearing the wood out of the notch like I should.

Many of us here have some or all of the knives I used today. Some of these knives cost more than others, but none of them are inexpensive. I tried my best do do these tests without bias or preconceived notion about price / performance. I have used all of these knives before, but today is the first day that I have ever tested them back-to-back on similar material. I'm doing this test just for fun, and I certainly had fun doing it, so please don't lash out at me if your favorite knife that you spent your hard earned money on didn't do as well as you think it should have.

All of these knives are keepers, and I'm honored to own each of them.

Test Setup

Today's test consisted of chopping 2x4's vertically and horizontally, and 1x3's vertically. I put a 6x6 pressure treated post on some plastic saw horses. I clamped the 6x6 post to the saw horses, and I clamped the 2x4's and 1x3's under test to the 6x6 post. I thought it would be a pretty stable setup; however, it unfortunately left a lot to be desired. When chopping the wood with the knives the whole setup would bounce a bit, and the wood I was chopping would sometimes move around and out of place. I know for a fact that this had an affect on chopping performance, but the issue remained for all knives under test so it was consistent. I definitely need to come up with a better rig to hold the wood steady.

Results

7. ASH-2. I really like the feel and balance of this knife. In the past when chopping with Busse's that had straight handles I have experienced some pinkie bite, but I didn't experience any today with the ASH-2. This knife can be used to chop if needed, but it was simply outmatched by the larger knives in this competition. Compared to the larger knives it felt like it bounced off the wood more than biting into it. It of course didn't actually bounce off the wood, but the deep bite was just not there.

6. Nathan Carother's LC. I love the ergonomics of this knife, and the TeroTuf handle material is very comfortable. I have used this knife a fair bit in the woods to chop wood. This knife is actually a dream to swing. It's light, comfortable to hold, and easy to swing a lot without getting fatigued. I have never chopped very large wood with it, but it has never felt like it was lacking in chopping ability; that is until today when directly compared with 5 other larger knives. Honestly, this is not really a fair contest because the ASH-2 and the Carothers LC are not meant to be large choppers, but this is a specific test and I'm ranking it accordingly, it is simply outmatched in terms of raw chopping performance.

5. 1311. This is my first time with a real chopping session with a 1311. A lot of people love res-c handles, but I have never been one of them. I have had a Basic 6 and a Basic 8 that I moved on down the line because the handles didn't do it for me. I actually like the res-c on the 1311, it's comfortable to chop with and provides plenty of grip. The 1311 is a long blade, but it's fairly thin and light weight, at least compared to the top 4 knives in this competition. The 1311 actually chopped through the vertical 1x3's in one swing more easily than the NMFBM did, but it did not fare as well with the 2x4's, especially when they were placed in the horizontal position; it just doesn't have the mass to bite as deeply. It is lighter and therefore easier to swing repeatedly than the top 4, but that's not enough to move it up another spot on the list.

4. NMFBM. As I've said, I like big knives. The NMFBM has been my overall favorite Busse for a while now. It's big enough to be a pretty excellent chopper, but the fusion handle and choil make choking up to do smaller tasks a real possibility (I know, I know, use a small blade to do a small blade tasks, but sometimes you you can only have one knife so I'm sticking with that story). I have used this knife more than any other on the list, so I'm pretty familiar with it. I have re-profiled the edge on this knife to 19 degrees, which have found suites me best with a NMFBM. I was actually a bit surprised that the 1311 beat it out on chopping the 1x3's, but it performed well with the 2x4's and bit harder. I love this knife and it's a great chopper, but it didn't chop well enough to get into the top 3.

3. BG WTF. This beast of a knife has an 11" blade and weighs in at 2 lb 4.2 oz. Busse lists the blade thickness as approximately 0.28", but mine measures 3.0.1" on my calipers. This knife has a pretty unique blade shape, and it's a heck of a chopper. It feels a bit odd at first chopping with the WTF because of how tall the blade is. This knife actually weighs more (only 0.2 oz) than the Sasquatch despite the fact that the blade is 2" shorter. I have noticed that this knife tends to get stuck a bit easier than any of the other knives under test. This is a fun knife to use for chopping, and for that purpose it beat out my beloved NMFBM to earn the #3 spot.

Top 2

I expected the MOAB and the Sasquatch to be at the top in terms of pure chopping performance, and they were, by quite a bit actually. What I didn't expect, was for these two to be as close in performance as they are. I'm not ready to declare a winner just yet. I actually spent the bulk of my time testing today using these two knives because they definitely stood out. I will declare a winner, but I need to do some more testing first so that I can be 100% sure that I fully stand behind my decision. I hope you guys don't hate me for this, but I simply need more time.

Tomorrow I will post some pics and maybe a video or two. I may be able to declare a winner tomorrow, but I don't want to say without question that I will have made that decision. Please stay tuned...
Click to expand...

Thank You for the test results. The results were pretty much as expected. No surprises from the test.
Thanks again for taking to time to test and report
 
excellent work,, love the write up so far.
Keep up the good work and enjoy the rest of your weekend :thumbup:
 
Thanks, that writeup took time. Appreciate your thoughts.

Sent from my LG-H820 using Tapatalk
 
Zmbhntr, thanks for the detailed review. Would you rate the order any differently if say you had 15-20 min with each as opposed to on a per swing kind of basis? For example would the lighter weight and comfort of a 1311 move up the list because in that time frame you would get in additional swings. Very subjective of course.
 
Great blades and thread. Thanks for taking the time to do the work and post your results. Looks like a lot of fun!

So much awesome in the pic below... You're going to blow it up and have a run of posters made right? I'll take one :D

zmbhntr said:
...
Click to expand...
 
Zmbhntr, Very Informative thank you! Is the heat treatment on the Keffeler Sasquatch standard 58-60 RC? Also do you have the specs on it? Thanks again
 
zmbhntr said:
I completely understand that large knives are not always practical, but to me they are by far the most fun knives to use, and to me that is a big part of what this hobby is about. My in-laws are leaving town tonight, so in celebration of that, tomorrow I hope to setup a little chopping area in my back yard and do some back-to-back chopping comparisons with some of my favorite 9"+ knives. My plan is to chop 2x4's and 2x6's so that I have very consistent wood in order to best compare the chopping qualities of each knife. I realize that chopping 2x4's is not really a true test of chopping prowess, but it is a start. Usually when I'm in the woods using my knives to chop larger wood I don't have a pile of knives with me to do comparisons with, nor do I usually have the time to do them. This is the start of what I hope will be a long term performance test of my large knives. If all goes according to plan, tomorrow should be fun.
:D:thumbup:

  1. MOAB
  2. Keffeler Sasquatch
  3. 1311
  4. NMFBM
  5. BG WTF
  6. Carothers Light Chopper
  7. ASH-2

Click to expand...


Hey buddy I couldn't find your email address in my inbox Please email me at Kbrower23@gmail.com I wanted to pick your brain about the Sasquatch and how I go about trying to order one. I hope all is well with you.
-Ken
 
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