Is the BM purely a "chopper"?

Classified00

Classified00

Joined
Jul 14, 2000
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210
I've been eying a Steel Heart for awhile now, but lately the BM has been speaking to me. Are the BM / BR / Basic 9 series purely choppers? I have no doubt they could reduce an SUV to bite-size pieces, but how do they cut? :)

I'm thinking about things like; cutting batteries free from their packaging, cutting small sections of rope for misc tasks, and other camp-type uses.

Assuming I have an average build, how easy are these knive to control?
Lastly, what about using one a SD tool? Are they to tip heavy to be easily weilded?

Many thanks!
Brent...
:p
 
They cut well, above average for knives of that class. The edges are a bit overbuilt for pure light cutting such as wood working and rope cutting, as they are intended to be used for harder work. This doesn't mean however you can't thin them out if your preference lies purely that way and enhance the cutting ability while losing some durability.

The knife is blade heavy so as to enhance its power in the swing so it will feel a lot heavier than the fighting bowies which are neutrally balanced. The Battle Mistress is however very neutral compared to a khukuri, so how workable it is going to feel in hand depends on the users physical abilities.

-Cliff
 
Getthe Steel Heart/E. It is the flagship of the Busse line and about the best compromise knife of the family. Though I carry the NO/E more often, I think the Steel Heart is the pick of the litter!
 
I'm going to have to agree with Nimrod on this ;):D

The Steel Heart sounds like it woulc better fit your needs. The BM is a great all around knife but it isn't my first choice for the jobs you've described. My SH is my most used large Busse. :D:D
 
Purely a chopper? No.

The Battle Mistress is (or so it seems to me) optimized as a chopper first and foremost. And it makes for one heck of a fine chopper.

But it also has a thinner edge, and more acute angle, than you might expect. And mine came truly sharp. Obviously, the Battle Mistress is never going to equal the cutting efficiency of an Xacto knife or box cutter; but it can still cut pretty well. It is definitely serviceable for cutting purposes.

As for control: It is extraordinarily controllable for such a large blade, but still somewhat awkward in comparison to a much smaller knife. The finger choil aids the control very nicely. It wouldn't be my first choice for delicate whittling involving fine motor skills, but it can do such tasks acceptably when it must.

It is more than just a chopper; it's an able one-knife-does-it-all large outdoors knife, really quite a chameleon. But don't expect the cutting efficiency and control to equal a small knife strictly optimized for cutting. It won't meet those expectations.
 
Is the Battle Mistress purely a chopper? Yes.

The Battle Mistress is has been optimized to be purely a chopper…
And can be used as a pry bar.

OK… The Battle Mistress has 2 functions: Chopping and Prying…
And can be a wicked slicer.

OK… The Battle Mistress has 3 main functions: Chopping, Prying, and Slicing…
And is great for Opening Cans.

OK… The Battle Mistress has 4 major functions: Chopping, Prying, Slicing, and Can Opener…
And has enough heft to make an excellent Hammer.

OK… The Battle Mistress has 5 primary functions: Chopping, Prying, Slicing, Can Opener, and Hammer…
And great to use as a survival shovel.

Ok… Can I start over…?

No one expects the Spanish Inquisition.
 
If Busse knives are anything like the SteelHeart E I bought at the Atlanta blade show, they are probably duller than anything you own except for table knives. I expect any knife I own to shave hair off an arm, slice a tomato without mashing it, shave paper, etc.
All my folders and kitchen knives (which I sharpen with an Apex EdgePro) do this consistently. The Busse is the dullest knife I've ever bought.
 
If you ever want to give that DULL Steel Heart to a good home, I will give it just that. I always needed a big butter knife.

Darkjedi - May the Force be with you always.

wlvren77@hotmail.com
 
I always needed a big butter knife.


Me too! :D
Hey ericp you might want to perform a search function
in this forum on sharpening tips specifically for
Busse knives, they require a certain method. All
of mine are razor sharp and they slice butter extremely
well.:)
Click to expand...
 
Hey ericp: Steel Hearts DO make great butter knives! I have a kitchen droor full of them. The Battle Mistress makes an excellent letter opener when properly dulled too! Wouldn't want to hurt those wittle fingers now. ;) ;) :p

One question guy: why would you buy it if it was dull?
:rolleyes:
 
I bought it because of the excellent Busse reputation.
I did not check the edge until I got home.
I should have.
Next step was to do what the sharpening video showed.
That probably works very well given a reasonably sharp edge.
The process certainly makes sense.
Apparently this one somehow left the factory without
a reasonably sharp edge. The honorable folks at
Busse have offered to make the knife sharp.
When work schedule allows me to get to a post office
(talk about *banker's* hours! Post office hours
are *really* short!) I will send it in.


I really look forward to the results.
If they are as I hope, this will become my
favorite blade as I really like the balance and the grip.
If the results are not so good, I will probably reprofile
the edge. I hope not to do that as the convex/flat
concept really appeals to me for a 'survival' type knife.
 
Safe Queen?
A gay with a condom?
A chess piece of non-flammable material?

What is a Safe Queen?
 
Battle Mistress sounds feminine in gender, although she is a true
bad ass of knives and would defend with the utmost capabilities.
A knife that is the ultimate protector...however, most never see
much action and are doomed to spend much of eternity in some
wealthy collectors safe...on some lucky day she might be removed
only to travel cross country to some other collectors safe...
sad to me...and what always gets me in trouble because I love
Busse in action stories...know, however I am a bit hypocritical
because I too own Safe Queens...:rolleyes:
 
Oh my! I'd not heard that term.
I guess I don't know folks who can afford to
buy things they won't use. Well actually...
I do know a fellow who owns an SUV which has
never touched a blade of grass or speck of mud,
but at least he drives the darned thing.

I never thought of a Busse-type knife as one to
admire and not use. Maybe the ones by some
guy who is now not making knives due to his death,
or some of these 'handle from endangered/extinct species
and blade from something pretty but fragile' knives like you
see at shows.
 
To those of you who posted 'troll alert'
1) I first did search both here and on Bussecombat for
sharpening info. I read both many times before taking
any action.
2) I really did try the techniques in the video on the
Busse site. The instructions made sense assuming
the blade was already in the ballpark. I think the
one I bought was not. I tried (very gently) the
Busse instructions for many hours. The 'stick' used was
an EdgePro ceramic 800. The 'strop' used was a woodmakers
tool strop with ultrafine chromium oxide on the coarse
leather and nothing on the fine leather. I have used
this combination with great success on other blades.
3) I am not unfamiliar with sharpening. My Benchmade
710 is far sharper than when I bought it new. All
my Wusthof kitchen knives are far sharper than when
I bought them new. All this was done with patience
and the excellent Apex EdgePro sharpener (plus the
aforementioned stick and strop).
4) I suspect that just like any other manufacturer,
Busse sometimes releases a substandard. There are Porsches
which die in the first hundred miles. There are Nikons
which die in the first hundred pictures. These are very
rare. I suspect the same is true for dull Busses. Probably
fewer than one out of a (hundred? thousand? other big number?)
Busses leave the factory with a substandard edge. This one did.
 
To those of you who posted 'troll alert'
1) I first did search both here and on Bussecombat for
sharpening info. I read both many times before taking
any action.
2) I really did try the techniques in the video on the
Busse site. The instructions made sense assuming
the blade was already in the ballpark. I think the
one I bought was not. I tried (very gently) the
Busse instructions for many hours. The 'stick' used was
an EdgePro ceramic 800. The 'strop' used was a woodmakers
tool strop with ultrafine chromium oxide on the coarse
leather and nothing on the fine leather. I have used
this combination with great success on other blades.
3) I am not unfamiliar with sharpening. My Benchmade
710 is far sharper than when I bought it new. All
my Wusthof kitchen knives are far sharper than when
I bought them new. All this was done with patience
and the excellent Apex EdgePro sharpener (plus the
aforementioned stick and strop).
4) I suspect that just like any other manufacturer,
Busse sometimes releases a substandard. There are Porsches
which die in the first hundred miles. There are Nikons
which die in the first hundred pictures. These are very
rare. I suspect the same is true for dull Busses. Probably
fewer than one out of a (hundred? thousand? other big number?)
Busses leave the factory with a substandard edge. This one did.
 
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