I'm a Newbie and would like your professional/experienced opions

T

TrueBlue11c

Joined
Mar 31, 2014
Messages
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Sorry to say i'm no knife expert. I was an Infantryman and am an expert on military rifles and other weapons. But I'm not familiar with the best quality knives, I've had several, just not the elite ones. I have a K-bar and the blade broke off (an actual K-bar not the Case brand I had) and it really bothered me. So now I have a Spartan Horkos (please give me your experienced views on that) I really like this knife, but it's not really effective in the bush/woods, it's more of a close quarters weapon, which is ok. I really want to know which knife is the baddest in the land. Mind you I live in NY and am not allowed exotic brass knuckle knives and so forth. Also I live in the thick woods and need a reliable chopper, because of the thick brush around here. I really want to get a Busse battle mistress, and I would really like to get some feedback about this. Tell me if it's the blade to have or if there's something better.
Thanks
 
Typically a "tactical" knife or the like is better at looking good than doing anything else. Most have thick grinds which do not cut well and make it difficult to sharpen. Rounded edges on handles for comfort and plain designs that have been proven to work but lack the wow factor are the ones to be looking for.


For chopping a axe wins. Light brush is ruled by the machete, and for a general use fixed blade a 4 or 5 inch blade is hard to beat.

I have a few bussekin knives ( busse, swamprat, scrapyard) and have sharpened many more. They are great knives with good looking designs but have thicker geometries and poor edges, a belt sander or a really good set of stones and some elbow grease will be needed out the gate.

I would recommend looking at the Becker BK9 too, amazing knife for the price.



For a smaller knife to carry on your person check out the ratmandu. http://www.swampratknifeworks.com/ratmandu-cg/

The ESEE knives are good too.
 
Busse makes a fantastic knife, the large ones like the battle mistress makes a great chopper. The tglb makes a great all around blade, like a kabar on steroids with stronger everything.
 
I really appreciate y'alls help. I've been itching to get a Busse or it's swamp kindred. I am just very amateur as to which knives are the best. While I was in the military I had a bunch of folders they gave us I.E CRKT, Benchmade and a gerber multi-tool which were fantastic and practical. But I had a Case brand K-bar that I used for combat and breaking open ammo crates. I'm no longer in the Infantry but I live deep in the woods and always run into branches and brush. I lost my Case k-bar in combat and not to long ago bought a real k-bar and it broke hacking into the brush. I am a huge fan of Bowie style knives since I'm a native Texan and love the last stand at the Alamo. So I'm curious if you guy's know of anything better than Busse or is Busse the pinnacle of the Bowie world? I just want to know before I drop greenbacks on something that's so important to have out here. And what are your opinions on the INFI steel they use?
So far the only professional tools I have are the Spartan Horkos and an RMJ Shrike. Also, what is the absolute best way to sharpen knives and axes. At the moment I use Smith's brand sharpeners, one is the pull through type and the other is the normal wet stone. I never get the results I would like.
 
Busse Infini steel is probably the best you will run across for hard use. But, you pay for it.

I use an ESEE Junglas when I need to break some trail and it has been a real trooper. It will take on a shaving sharp edge and sharpens back up after use quite efficiently. Warranty is an industry leader, and if it does disappear, you won't cry.

Does knife size and weight matter?
 
Infi is a great tough steel, it wears well, holds an edge well and is very tough. Now for bowie's thats a whole other question I'd spend some time looking on the custom forums here at some of the true works of art these gents turn out. Just absolute artwork thats useable. For a beater in the woods that won't break and holds up to anything you want to throw at it Busse, Swamp Rat, Scrapyard, Esee, Becker are all good, just depends on what you want to spend. I did list them in order of what I think are quality levels too.

Really though check out the custom makers.
 
I will say concerning sharpening, get your tools of choice professionally sharpened depending on the use (the service provider can tell you a good bevel angle depending on your intended use). I have used Razor Sharp Knives in South Carolina for my sharpening needs several times and his work is simply excellent and since knives are rather light and compact, shipping there and back is relatively cheap considering the cost for decent sharpening instruments. For maintaining an edge, the Spiderco Sharpmaker is very good.
 
Dear Trueblue11C,
First thank you for your service. You guys are the reason the rest of us existed.
Second, I just bought a Kershaw Camp 10 for a heavy use chopper. So far, I'm quite pleased with it. The weight forward design and kukri bend make it want to keep going when you swing it. Its sub $50 price tag was another nice feature. I love my KaBar, but it's not a chopper. I'm not a Busse owner, so I can't comment on that.
 
I have never heard a complaint about a Busse but I have also never owned one! With that said if budget is an issue then I highly recommend ESEE knives!
 
I think of it as a set of knives that work together to do whatever I need to do. Here's my setup.

1. Leatherman Micra on my keychain ($20-30). It's enough to cut something little, drive a screw or two, and take care of my nails.
2. Opinel #8 ($13?). Good slicer. The Micra isn't so good at cutting the neck off an apple juice bottle, the Opinel is great at it. It fits my look at work better than a flipper, and I generally have enough time to open a knife before I cut anything. It fills the role of a paring knife in the kitchen very well.
3. Svord Von Tempsky Bowie ($200). Hold my beer and watch this. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5r4E2n83dmk

Honorable Mention: Gerber Shard ($7). Prying little stuff apart, driving the occasional screw, etc. It kind of helps bridge the distance between the Micra and Opinel for digging into stuff. A while ago I used just the Shard and Micra to change out the speakers in my car. Between those two everything got done.

You were mainly interested in a monster Bowie, so all that other stuff is just noise in the mix. Still, I think it depends on what else you have and how you use it all that would influence your choice on a big chopper. Since I have a lot of tasks handled by what's on my keychain and one single-blade knife, I can commit to a giant chopper because it doesn't really factor into my daily utility.
 
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