In Search of the Best Busse

Balislinger said:
I know micarta's great, but I like the softness and feel of the g-10.
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G-10 doesn't have "softness" compared to micarta. Micarta has a softer feel. G-10 has a much harder feel. I perfer micarta. But, micarta tends to look fuzzy and not so great. Black G-10 tends to look much cleaner and finer in finish, but for feel, I have to give my nod to micarta.

I have the SJTAC, Skinny ASH, HR and SARSquatch. I modified my SJTAC by re-shaping the thumb ramp. The thumb ramp was very wrong for my hands. But, with that modification and a little more reshaping to fit my hand, the SJTAC is one of my favorite mid-sized knives. The Skinny Ash is very close. Without the thumb-ramp modification to the SJTAC, the Skinny Ash would be easily better. But, with the modification, the SJTAC is probably just a hair preferrable to me. The SJTAC is a little lighter and more nimble for versatility and is a great "Jack" of all trades (.... except not much for chopping).

The SARsquatch is a new favorite. It is a very nice knife. I just got mine a few days ago and have not had an opportunity to use it yet. But, it seems to fit between the two VERY excellent Classic Swamp Rat knives: the Camp Tramp and the Chopweiler. But, the SARsquatch is a little skinnier and with a slightly taller blade. The SARsquatch is more of a small chopper compared to most mid-sized knives like the SJTAC and Skinny Ash. There is a significant enough difference between the SARsquatch and SJTAC.

The HR falls between the SARsquatch and SJTAC in size and weight. The HR is a unique and pretty cool knife. But, it is a little large compared to the SJTAC for a good all-rounder and a little light for a chopper. The SARsquatch should be a much better Camp use mid-sized chopper. In any event, the HR is just cool. I resisted the HR for a long time because I didn't want the CBT and missed out on the Mud Razor. With the last release of the competition HR's, I decided I must have one. I just received my HR this past week and have to admit the CBT is growing on me. I am still very sure I wouldn't want it on most knives. But, somehow it seems to be working aesthetically on the HR. (????)


Bottom line: all of the above knives are pretty darn awesome..... just different in their own unique ways and because of some size differences they all have slightly different potential uses. Depends on what you want to use them for.

All of these are about .187" - .195" thick or so. I love this thickness for the above sized knives. :thumbup:

I had a Heavy Heart at one time. It was a VERY cool and impressively massive knife. But, I had a financial situation that caused me to have to sell it.... Sorry for breaking the code, but I "REGRET" selling it. However, it was pretty heavy. Very cool, but for the weight a Battle Mistress would out-chop it and the Swamp Rat Chopweiler compared well enough for me.

Someday I think I would love to pick up a FSH and a SFNO if ever Jerry releases them again at a price I can justify. :thumbup:

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This is my favorite Busse, the Flying MOASK:

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OK, some knives have arrived in the mail, all the ASHs I ordered, actually, so I can make a comparison between them. Here is a pic of the 4 I decided to try:

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My review is as follows:

The CG ASH with black G-10 scales is too thick and heavy. The DC is a nice finish, but not as nice as satin. The G-10 scales are awesome, my fav in terms of scales, but I just wouldn't want to have to lug this thing on a hiking trip! It rates dead last in my comparison.

The desert sage Skinny ASH with tan micarta mags is a great size and weight. MUCH better then the CG. But when I compare it to the next two knives it just lacks style. It seems drab. The CG may be heavy, but at least it has personality. The Skinny in this configuration just ain't that pretty. In addition, the handle slabs don't fill up my palm as well as the next two, probably because the thickness of the metal in between the slabs is less. The next two knives, being thicker, feel better in my hand, even though all the scales on these are mags. The blade profile on this one is slightly droopier, making the knife seem sad. This one gets third place.

The 2008 Special Edition ASH1 is a great knife. The thickness is good, the weight is good, and it looks great. For some reason, I don't like the feel of the G-10 on this one as much as the micarta on the next knife. Overall it just doesn't feel as good in my hand as the first place knife, but it only lost by a hair. 2nd place.

First place in this comparison goes to the Tigerhide micarta 2008 Limited Edition ASH. This knife is perfect, for an ASH that is. It feels great in the hand, looks great, and has great thickness, weight, and balance. Every knife has a unique feel and personality, even among knives of the same exact model, and this particular knife feels great. The blade profile also looks better than the skinny; it has a stouter look, It seems like that's partly because the spine doesn't just droop but begins to angles down at one spot. It could just be visual illusion because of the skinny's coating. The blade seems wider as well. First place. A great knife. Now we need to compare it to other models. Stay tuned . . .

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Great review, BaliSlinger. No one can ever tell you which knife will be best to you. Seems like you're going about it the right way.

I would like an ASHLE myself, but it'll hafta wait.

Now tell us how you like the ASHLE vs the '08 SFNO SE.
 
Well the ASHLE is a great all-around knife to carry. It's not too big, or heavy, and can handle most tasks. It's not a real chopper though. The CE Sarsquatch (I picked up one of those too) seems more like a good camp knife, and a chopper. The 08 SFNO SE is a compromise between the Squatch and the ASH. It's in between, and seems like it could handle a little chopping but still not too big to cut fine stuff. But the SFNO is a little big to carry as an everyday knife, and this one in particular is a real looker, so I could imagine keeping the 08 SFNO SE in the drawer while the ASH1 gets duty time. I can't do a full comparison of these without some other knives I'm waiting for that will give me some perspective on the SFNO and the Squatch. When the others land I'll continue my review.
 
Take it from me (and I'm sure others will agree): the SFNO can indeed chop. At least the sabres can. The Squatch can chop too, and as it is lighter (with that lovely convex edge as well), may certainly get more regular use in place of the NO. I would also think your ASHLE can handle most anything you would throw at it during camp chores, including chopping average branches and batoning.

You may be right: Keep the SFNO SE in a drawer/safe and use the others. What you REALLY need though is a Nuke Badger. :D

You've dived into the trough head-first, BaliSlinger...and I'm running around with a butterfly net tryna catch me a rare Dobruski. ;)
 
It sure is a great time to be into the mid sized(for Busse anyway most humans think of the SH as a HUGE knife) knives with the SARsquatch's and skinny ASH's. I really like the way the Bussekin are going to skinnier knives. They are lighter cut better and with steel and heat treat that good they can sure handle it.

I have run my SS4 at a very thin zero edge and it has held up really well. I would not dare to use a knife that sharp like I do if it was not INFI.

I would suggest getting a nice INFI EDC now that you have your mid size's taken care of.
With a good sheath they are as handy as a folder and then you can use INFI for pretty much all your cutting chores.

As for handles I prefer the look of G10 and paper micarta especially in black but canvas micarta has a nice grip. I love the black G10 on my HairyCarry ,nothing looks better than satin and black G10.
 
OK, I can continue my review now, having received the final three knives for the test: a BATAC, a SE SJTAC, and a SE FSH. The BATAC is a nice size, but thin without mags, and it lacks personality. I also don't really like the look of it, the blade seems short proportional the handle. In tan/tan, there isn't much distinctive about it. Maybe if it was satin/snakeskin, but the proportions would still look weird to my eye. On the plus side, the sheath by Pucket is top notch.

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The SE SJTAC is a nice knife. It has a great grip. The G-10 mags really feel better than standard micarta. But I don't like this knife much. Surprisingly, I like my the look of my regular tan CG SJTAC better, the blade profile looks slightly different, maybe it's the coating. The blade on this knife is pretty long, making it a big knife to carry in a way, but it does not have enough heft to chop. The blade is also too big for skinning, leaving this knife in a kind of weird area where it's not really practical for either task. Perhaps it is a good combat/fighting knife, but I don't really see this being a good choice for all-around camp use.

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Then there is the 2008 Blade SE FSH. This is a really nice knife; a beast, really. It's definitely big enough for chopping, and the handle feels good. But this is too big and too much heft to carry around practically. The SFNO seems just right in comparison. The SFNO seems like it could handle some light chopping, without weighing down the waist of the person carrying it.

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So now we need to compare these to the other two I briefly mentioned earlier in the thread: The CG Squatch and the Blade 2008 SE SFNO, as well as to another knife I picked up: The CG Hell Razor.

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I still really like the Squatch as an all-around camp knife. It's the kind of knife that I would feel comfortable to have kicking around in the truck as a work blade. The 2008 Blade SE SFNO seems just about the right size now. It seemed too big before, but now having handled the FSH . . . . In fact, I thought it was the ASH the first time I picked it up after holding the FSH, not having seen the other knives for a few days.

As for the Competition HR, this thing is bad-ass! I mean, it just looks like what it's called. I would be proud to carry this knife, but it's a little overdone, almost like a caricature, and it's a little too small for chopping. It gets points for being so cool, and it's a good mid-size knife, but it definitely scares away all the sheeple, and my buddies might think I've become a mall ninja. I also have a HR with a black blade and black mags. It's also a nice blade, feels good in the hand, and has good balance, but the CG has way more style points, so not much point to carrying around the black/black.

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Seems like the finalists are the LE (Tigerhide) ASH1, the Blade SFNO, and the Squatch. Let's compare the three finalists:

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The ASH has the best handle in terms of fitting my hand. My fav grip is the G-10 of the SE ASH, and the LE micarta grip comes in second. I like the size of this knife, but I don't like the look of it as much as the SFNO. The blade profile of the ASH is a little boring IMHO. Much like a utility blade when talking balisongs, the simplest most basic design. Plus that slope on the spine, well, you know how I don't like slopes. I'd rather carry the SFNO, which I think looks cooler and I like the fact that it is a little bigger. The Tigerhide LE ASH gets third place overall, after winning it's ASH division.

Second place goes to the CG Squatch. This is a nice camp knife, but the grip is less ergonomic than that of the ASH or the SFNO. I struggle a little bit to keep my hand on the Squatch grip, thinking my hand could slide out the bottom of the grip, whereas the SFNO grip cups my hand more, and makes slippage less likely. The Squatch's blade is also pretty weight forward, and while that's good for chopping, I prefer a more balanced knife. Finally, the blade, with its large flats, seems a little boring. I know, it's got all that going on with dimples, decarb, and convex grind marks, but despite that, it is a wide, flat blade that has that factory-production look to it. It may be trying to look like Rambo IV's knife which just got forged while in camp and is rough and ready to go, but it doesn't quite pull it off. The total effect of the blade is too clean and perfect to really carry the "beater--user--I was just forged in a dirty-fire" type of look. Now, don't get me wrong, I really like this knife. I will definitely keep it. Pro'lly throw it in the truck and make it a good work knife.

The Squatch got edged out by a better blade. The 2008 Blade Special Edition SFNO is our overall champion. This is a great knife. It has a nice look, has enough heft to chop, but is reasonably sized and not too heavy to carry. The blade is a nice size for most chores, and heavy-duty enough for one to feel secure with it as a sole knife around. The G-10 grips are great, and the handle is fairly ergonomic.

Can't wait 'till those customs show up to complete this review and pit custom SFNO's vs each other. Now that the toxicity of G-10 has been mentioned, I may have a slight preference toward micarta, although I have yet to feel any micarta that feels as soft and grippy as the G-10. Curious how those woods will stack up as well.

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Man...this guy really does dive right in, no? If you were keeping all of those knives, George, that would be a HELL of a collection already.

This has been a very lucid and well-articulated review thread, and I'm sure many have found it informative. Ultimately though, you just came to the conclusion I shared at the begining: SFNO WITH MAGS, BABY! : D

Can't go wrong with that knife. Now, why did you decide to sell the satin/black version?

Oh...and I have a few things to share. Maybe be able to do so either today or this weekend. ; )

Jason
 
The Epic customs have landed and I can finally finish my review. Gimme some time to take some pictures though. Jason, thanks for the kind words. No way I'm keeping all these, though, just wanted to really sample what Busse has to offer and keep the one that felt best to me. As expected, I'll pro'lly keep a little more than one. :D

The satin/black mags SFNO is a real beauty, but ultimately she's a little too pretty for me, and I like the feel of G-10 better. I have a feeling she would be a drawer queen, and I don't need another one right now. She would make a heck of a user, of course, but I'm afraid to dirty her up.
 
DWRW said:
G-10 doesn't have "softness" compared to micarta. Micarta has a softer feel. G-10 has a much harder feel. I perfer micarta. But, micarta tends to look fuzzy and not so great. Black G-10 tends to look much cleaner and finer in finish, but for feel, I have to give my nod to micarta.
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Interesting your opinion, DW. To me, G-10 has the softer feel. It feels grippier and stickier to me as well. Warmer too. Micarta feels harder and more abrasive. The sanded-down handles may be skewing my view a little bit. I have mostly sanded-down handles in G-10.
 
So, to finish my review, (at least until I'm able to find a satin or DC Sabre SFNO), we're going to compare the winner of the review up to this point--the 2008 Blade Special Edition SFNO--to the new customs that came in.

When I picked up one of the customs for the first time, the difference is immediate. The handle is much rounder, warmer, and seems to swell my palm much better. Corners and edges on the handle and near the base of the blade seem polished, rounded, and softer. The warmth of the wood is very noticeable compared to either G-10 or micarta. It really feels nice.

The blade seems about the same on both, so it comes down to the handles. The mosaic pins on the custom are very nicely done and add a distinctive touch. While the tri-color handles are a little Grateful-Dead-ish, they make the knife much more distinctive than the black & white G-10 handle on the SE, which now seems industrial in comparison. You can tell there's something special about this knife.

As great as the 2008 Blade SE SFNO is, I don't think it is a match for the rounded handles, the warmth of the wood, the fuller grip (less valleys in the custom handle), and the distinctiveness of the custom's handle. Plus the mosaic pins are really nice. The grip on this custom just feels awesome in the hand. If you haven't tried one of these mag handles in the natural material, you don't know what you're missing!

Overall best winner goes to the Epic Ganzaa custom SFNO. What a great knife! Now I just need to find it a nice leather sheath . . . . Any suggestions?
 
Nice reviews and opinions here.
Here's another one.

First of let me tell you what Busse knives I've USED!!
These include: all Ash1 variants (skinny, cg, and LE with mags or regular handles), SFNO's (mags and regulars), HellRazor/MudRazor (mags and regular), HHFSH (mags and regular) HOGFSH's (mags and regular), BATACLE, Paul's Hatchet.

There are knives here with G10 but most are micarta. Also I have some handshaped handles but most are factory contoured.

G10 vs Micarta
My findings are that in a USER the Micarta is topfavourite. Absorps your sweat better and with use the micarta will become as smooth as G10. So my winner is micarta!

Handshaped vs Factory shaped
In the beginning those handshaped feel incredible BUT in a user I found that these perfect fits are a little drawback. The factory shaped handles allow for more gripvariations and in my case that means less fatigue and also more grip-options for various cutting chores. So I prefer Factory shape.

Magnum vs Regular.
This is very knife depending. For example on a HHFSH I much prefer the regulars. On HOGFSH's its magnums all the way:confused:
As for my favorite Ash1: it's the DC cgAsh1 with REGULAR micarta grips.

On the HellRazor it's magnums. The SFNO is more difficult. The perfect handle for me on the SFNO is the handle on the custom shop muddy SFNO with serrations. This is a regular handle but it's slightly thicker. But for the other SFNO's it's magnum!!

Now for your initial question. My best blade would be the HHFSH with regular handles for mostly chopping.
For all other camping knife tasks it would be the HellRazor with magnum handles!
For allround use (chopping plus other camping chores, and if you could bring only ONE knife) it's hard not to choose the infamous SFNO.
The fatty SFNO is even more suitable for chopping, only problem with this knife is FINDING one:D

Oh, allmost forgot: The TAC handle from the BATACLE is not my cup o coffee!


As a reminder: these are my opinions ofcourse YMMV:thumbup:
 
Thanks Crafft, I was wondering myself how different my review would go if i was actually putting these knives through their paces, so thanks for adding some real life use commentary to my armchair review. I use most of my knives rather lightly (camp chores, cutting, etc.). If I need to chop alot of wood, I'd rather have a hatchet or an axe than a knife. So I think MY use experience would still produce a favorite similar to my armchair review. But the ASH LE might do very well with me in a user test because the size works well for many tasks, it is light, it can skin, and the grip fits my hand just right. Sounds like you end up much the same place as I do: The SFNO. What's the diff between a SFNO and a fatty SFNO?
 
Balislinger said:
Thanks Crafft, I was wondering myself how different my review would go if i was actually putting these knives through their paces, so thanks for adding some real life use commentary to my armchair review. I use most of my knives rather lightly (camp chores, cutting, etc.). If I need to chop alot of wood, I'd rather have a hatchet or an axe than a knife. So I think MY use experience would still produce a favorite similar to my armchair review. But the ASH LE might do very well with me in a user test because the size works well for many tasks, it is light, it can skin, and the grip fits my hand just right. Sounds like you end up much the same place as I do: The SFNO. What's the diff between a SFNO and a fatty SFNO?
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See here: http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=575407
 
Crafft sniped me for that damned fatty. I was a bit heartbroken, too. Anyway, are you going to use those custom SFNO's, George?

J
 
Probably I'll use one, put one away, and part with the third. What do you guys think would make good leather sheaths for SFNO?
 
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