If I have no money for a Busse and if A2 sucks? What options for a survival knife?

I like a nice round ass.





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philwar said:
1095 is great steel. But if you don't want that and want cheap and indestructible, get a Cold Steel GI Tanto. It will break, but you'll have to really put some work into it. And you can buy a dozen for the price of one Busse Tank Buster (great knife btw :D)).
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I have the cold steel trail master in sk5. great chopper but I have seen it break in some you tube clips in the area between the handle and the blade. Its becoming a known fault of the trail master.

The trail master is also too big for the bag even if it was trusty.
I was set on the bravo 1 until I saw the test then i changed my mind.
trailmaster
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KmO0XSWhV04
 
A2 and 1095 are great knife steels if treated properly. I saw the Bravo-1 Noss test also. I would take that with a bag of salt. I don't see a ton of stuff on the web about how crappy the Bravo 1 is... to the contrary it has alot of great feedback. I personally don't want a Bravo 1 but I'm sure it's a good knife. Scott Gossman, Rod Garcia, and a host of other good makers use A2 with outstanding results. You don't have to spend $300+ to get a good bush knife. Maybe that kind of money for a knife you want, but certainly not for a good quality knife overall. I like what I see in the Busse forum , but I don't think they are the penultimate of the knife world, Imo. I have knives costing hundreds less that I would have no trouble relying on for survival. If it's failure you're worried about, just carry a spare knife. That's what I do , and I've never had a catastrophic failure yet and I beat the heck out of my knives, inexpensive or not. I never go in the bush with just one knife on me because anything can fail no matter how much you spent on it.
 
I have a Busse in A2...does that mean it sucks? BRKT does a pretty good job of A2 heat treatment; as does TOPS and ESEE on their 1095 knives.

I don't know Noss's background, but his knife tests are done in a garage. My Bravo-1 and RAT/ESEE RC4 did pretty well in both Iraq and Afghanistan. Of course, I did carry a pry bar and fencing pliers for heavy projects. A lot of people want a "survival" knife, but they really don't know what that entails. I personally think digging, light prying, battoning, using as a chisel and even using the handle as a hammer are typical tasks that most quality knives should be able to perform on a limited basis. For the most part, I've been wearing a Mad Dog Pygmy ATAK (O1 alloy steel) as my duty EDC for the past 12+years and to more than 20 different countries...from South American jungles to Egyptian, Iraqi and Afghanistan deserts. Yes, I used the handle as a hammer, yes I've used the blade to lightly pry open windows; nothing more than I've used my RC4 and Bravo-1 for. I don't know why people think a survival knife needs to be some mega blade on steroids...most can't even list tasks they want it to perform. The best "survival" knife is the one you can always have with you (within legal reasoning); and the simple Mora could cover 99% of those tasks without fear of failure. Know what you want your knife to do and get to know your knife...what makes a knife a "survival" knife is not the blade but the sound rational and skill of the user.

Just my two cents;)

ROCK6
 
For 250 - 300 you have a load of options. I am particular to 0-1, like so many other. For 200 you can get a nice custom and either have a sheath made (or make it yourself) with the extra 100 bucks.

I teach primitive living and survival skills. The only knife I ever broke was an Anza Tracker, which is high carbon but not sure exactly what type as they are made from old files. Anyways, I had no idea what a hollow ground knife meant. Well, I learned that heavy batonning is not the best for it. I also learned why the tree was named 'ironwood'.

I've had a Koster Nessmuk for a few months now and am really happy. Im on the list for a Hatchula because Im a sucker for heavy choppers.

Maybe an axe is what you're looking for.
 
ROCK6 said:
I have a Busse in A2...does that mean it sucks? BRKT does a pretty good job of A2 heat treatment; as does TOPS and ESEE on their 1095 knives.

I don't know Noss's background, but his knife tests are done in a garage. My Bravo-1 and RAT/ESEE RC4 did pretty well in both Iraq and Afghanistan. Of course, I did carry a pry bar and fencing pliers for heavy projects. A lot of people want a "survival" knife, but they really don't know what that entails. I personally think digging, light prying, battoning, using as a chisel and even using the handle as a hammer are typical tasks that most quality knives should be able to perform on a limited basis. For the most part, I've been wearing a Mad Dog Pygmy ATAK (O1 alloy steel) as my duty EDC for the past 12+years and to more than 20 different countries...from South American jungles to Egyptian, Iraqi and Afghanistan deserts. Yes, I used the handle as a hammer, yes I've used the blade to lightly pry open windows; nothing more than I've used my RC4 and Bravo-1 for. I don't know why people think a survival knife needs to be some mega blade on steroids...most can't even list tasks they want it to perform. The best "survival" knife is the one you can always have with you (within legal reasoning); and the simple Mora could cover 99% of those tasks without fear of failure. Know what you want your knife to do and get to know your knife...what makes a knife a "survival" knife is not the blade but the sound rational and skill of the user.

Just my two cents;)

ROCK6
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Great post my friend. :thumbup: :cool: :thumbup:





Big Mike
 
I have a Spyderco Tim Wenger, the small one not the large one, that I retired a couple of years ago because I sharpened about five sixteenths of the blade off all the way around and of all the bigger and badder knives I own if I had to bet my life on one thing I would bet my life on that knife. It is Seki City ATS34. I also have owned a Bravo 1 in A2 and I am sure I would bet my life on it also. I have rolled the edge on it one time but that is very easy to correct. I could not imagine bending or breaking the Bravo. You will be dead long before it in a survival situation, of that I am certain.
Regards
 
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Ah, a voice of reason!

That sums it up right there. Listen to the experienced military guys, not someone with nothing better to do than post knife tests on You Tube.

Is this how you buy a car? Watch someone abuse the car, wreck it and claim that it sucks?

Sure it's nice to have confidence in your tools, but how about confidence in your skills? I don't like rolling the edge on my knives, so I don't hit rocks and concrete. I don't pry, hammer, or baton when I don't have to, and I don't break knives.

Hell, humans survived without steel for many many years!
 
ukknifer said:
Thanks Mike

The thing is, Allot of the thousands who have this knife or that knife, don't use them hard enough , some don't use them at all to be able to know their limit.

Some have problems but simply don't report them.
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Huh? What? How hard do you want to use it?
 
I have tested WELL OVER 300 knives my MANY makers--and have the Debt to prove it.(photos as well)

In all sorts of steels(from 1095 to INFI)

I am fond of 5160 for a hard use knife--but have several with A2,1095,D2,CPM3V,CARBON V,AND INFI ETC)

All knives can be broken or damaged.

You do not NEED to spend a lot of $ to get a good knife.

Spending more gets you better fit and finish and better ergonomics...but not always better cutting ability.

Becker,Rat,Ranger,Swamp Rat,all make EXCELLENT knives for anything you might need a knife to do.

And ANYONE who knows ANYTHING about metals knows Heat Treatment is as important as Blade Steel choice.

A great steel improperly heat treated is CRAP and will fail much sooner than a less quality steel Properly heat treated.

The ONLY way to find out what knife works for you--is to TEST it yourself.

Do not trust anyone to tell you what is a good knife..

If it's your BUTT on the line--Test it yourself.

:)
 
Jerry Busse is always looking for a good steel for his knives. Before coming up with INFI, he used A2 and really likes it. If it's good enough for him, it's good enough for me. By the way, you can get Busse knives for $250 to $300, just depends on the specs. If you are looking for a large bowie in a fancy steel for under $300, you are probably out of luck. Check out Busse combats sibling companies. I'm sure they have something that would fit your needs. If you don't mind giving 1095 a chance, check out the Esee knives Junglas or Becker BK-9 Combat Bowie or BK-3 Tac-Tool. All three are big hard use knives and the BK-3 is the praverbal Sharpened Prybar.
 
I'd recommend a Lightsaber.
The survival blade of a Jedi Knight. Not as clumsy or random as 1095 blade; an elegant tool for a more civilized age. For over a thousand generations, the Jedi Knights were the guardians of peace and justice in the Old Republic. Before the dark times... *cough*
 
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