Is Happiness a HHFSH?

CPC

CPC

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I've bought a few mid-sized Busse's lately in an attempt to find the "perfect all-rounder". I know I'm not actually going to find a single perfect knife but I'd like to find one that covers as many bases as possible, mostly for when I go camping. So far I've bought myself a BATAC, SFNO LE, NMSFNO and a HHFSH. The HHFSH was my latest purchase. I'd read a lot about it and seen it was a favourite of many. I picked up a lightly used original black/black magnum HHFSH locally. I must say, I've paid less for FBM's but after handling the knife I could see why it was so revered. It's a seriously hefty knife but small enough to be fairly quick in the hand.

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Anyway, I though I'd try them out in the back yard. The NMSFNO and HHFSH were always going to be the best choppers. I'd used the NMSFNO a couple of times and found it to be quite comfortable but I ended up lightly sanding down part of the handle to better fit my hand. The top of the palm swell on the right side was a little too uncomfortable. Here's where I sanded it. It's not noticeable visually but it feels nicer to grip.

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So I chopped a heap of soft wood up to 6" or so in diameter. I also used my BWM to compare the NMSFNO and HHFSH against. I was really surprised how well the HHFSH did. I honestly thought I'd prefer the NMSFNO but I didn't. In fact, I'm unsure what I'll use the NMSFNO for, now that I have the HHFSH. The HHFSH felt the most secure in my hand. It didn't want to ride forward when I started to swing wildly. The hand-shaped slabs on the NMSFNO felt decidedly slippery when compared to the textured magnums of the HHFSH. I found the sweatier and more fatigued I got, the more I had to stop and adjust my grip on the NMFSH. Not so with the HHFSH.

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The weight of the HHFSH and the sabre grind allowed it to bite much deeper than the others. Although it was heavier, I needed less effort and co-ordination to chop with it compared to the NMSFNO. I did find the HHFSH was a little less forgiving on my hand over time though. I managed to get a blister while using it, which is not something I've managed to get with any of the others. The HHFSH did feel more secure in my hand though.

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I mostly blame my soft, weak hands rather than the knife though!

So the HHFSH might just become my favourite Busse so far. It's ridiculously tough, quicker and easier to handle than a true chopper (although not as quick as the NMSFNO), comfortable and more capable than I expected. What are some long term users opinions on this knife, and why? Is it worth me getting a standard FSH to try, or is that just too close to the NMSFNO? What don't you like about the HHFSH? Show me some user pics, sheaths and carry-set ups folks.

Chris.
 
Great post -- would love to own one sometime!

The FSH is the ultimate Busse to me, probably because I don't own one and it's on the Busse logo! I own the NMFSHLE and CG, NMSFNOLE and CG, SFNOLE, ASH-1 CG/LE/Skinny, SJTAC, Boss Street, and others. All are great for different reasons.

Congrats on a good find.

John
 
HHFSH is awesome! One I hope to not part with. Chops amazingly, but choke up on it and it does detail work exceptionally as well. And as the thread starter states, Fusion handles rock! Would love to see an ASH1 with a Fusion curve to the grip.
 
gunfixrjoe said:
HHFSH is awesome! One I hope to not part with. Chops amazingly, but choke up on it and it does detail work exceptionally as well. And as the thread starter states, Fusion handles rock! Would love to see an ASH1 with a Fusion curve to the grip.
Click to expand...

...You mean like an ASHwacker? ;)
 
Great post! So as far as HHFSH, what are the handle differences compared to the NMFSH? You said that you're hand slipped a bit on the NMFSH. Could you inform a newb a little bit on the pros of a HHFSH?
 
jesse2205 said:
Great post! So as far as HHFSH, what are the handle differences compared to the NMFSH? You said that you're hand slipped a bit on the NMFSH. Could you inform a newb a little bit on the pros of a HHFSH?
Click to expand...

The HHFSH has a "fusion" handle, called such as it's a fusion of the older ergo and straight handles. They're very comfortable. My HHFSH has the textured finish on the handle slabs and they are "magnum" size. This means they have a bumpy, machined finish on them and they are fatter than the thinner standard slabs.

My NMSFNO has the SF type handle. It's generally straighter than the fusion type. Somehow my NMSFNO escaped the shop with LE style slabs on a CG blade. The LE slabs are "hand shaped" which means they don't have textured finish and they are magnum size.

Both handles on my knives are canvas micarta, which is my preference. The HHFSH is black canvas and the NMSFNO is Tigerhide. You can see what I'm talking about if you study the pics above.

I think the canvas micarta slabs offer the most comfort and grip (personal preference). The smooth hand-shaped finish on the NMSFNO is less grippy than the machined finish of the HHFSH though. This is made slightly worse for me with the straighter ergonomics of the NMSFNO handle. It wants to move forward out of my hand when I'm sweaty and swinging it hard. This is not a problem with the fusion style handle on the HHFSH. I think I'll try a lanyard on the forward hole in the knives to see how they perform. From memory this is called a Osborne Lanyard. Hogs please correct me.

Chris.
 
Very informative. Thanks! I'm getting a NMFSHCG and I was just curious on the differences in the handles between the two. That helps.
 
"Is Happiness a HHFSH?"

Absolutely!


Congratulations on getting an HH! The HH is an amazing beast and would be my 'one knife' if I had to make that choice.

What you have written almost echos my own discoveries, including exactly the same comparisons with the NMSFNO, which I ended up selling simply because I knew it would never be used while I had the HH. It is so well balanced that I find it feels lighter and quicker in the hand than some others that are in fact quite a lot lighter than the HH.

I've never had any problems with blisters or hot spots on the handle myself, even though I first thought that might be an issue. Here are some thoughts on the magnum fusion handle that I wrote some time ago. Since then my HH has seen a fair bit of action and now sports a D-guard. That makes chopping even better.


First, a standard-ish grip. Bit difficult to really grip normally as I'm holding the camera as well. The palm swell fits perfectly into my palm, and my fingers are quite comfortable around the other side:






Now, if I want to get a closer, more controlled grip: The palm swell still fits my palm, just a bit further back, and the fingers still curl neatly around the opposite side. Feels very tight and secure:






Next up, an even closer grip. Once again, it all just fits. The little thumb notch on top now fits the web of my thumb, and my last two fingers slot in front of the palm swell:








If I want a little more chopping power, the grip shifts to the rear. My thumb web now fits just in front of the swell, my index finger in front of the opposite swell and my last two fingers in the dip behind the swell. Lock-up once again:





More recently...

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Great pics there foxyrick. I see you've sharpened that blade at least once. What sort of angle are you using on the edge? Any pics of your sheath?

Chris.
 
Happiness is a nice slab of INFI. Always. Great pics mate. Good to see you giving those blades some love.
 
Hello from France .
For me, HHFSH = good proportions, good balance and effectiveness .

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No posh sheath here unfortunately, but a purely functional spec-ops combat master. It took a little work to get the HH to fit in there but it works very well.

I've not actually measured the angle, but it's flat beveled and about 20 degrees (per side) for the first two-thirds from the handle, and about 22 degrees from then on for a bit of extra resilience for the chopping sweet spot and tip. The edge is polished and stropped to a mirror finish.

That angle and edge finish seems to work very well and I can still shave with the knife after a good few hours chopping and batoning.

If I were ever to by lucky enough to get a second HH, I might give it a convex edge, but when I first got mine I was only really familiar with flat edges so that;s what I did. No worries though, it works great as it is.

Here are some more pictures from when the knife was still minty:

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I've been searching for sabre ground infi goodness lately myself. This post motivates me further.

My next scores will be a HHFSH and either an FFBM or FBM SE (since all of these I've seen are sabre and look identical to FFBM with exception ofthickness).
 
Yep, the FSH, HHFSH, HOGFSH and even the MOASH are pretty much the quintessential Busse Combat. I haven't held or used a NMFSH yet so I can only comment on the ones I mentioned!!!
 
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