Hi AnklePocket,
Re: knife shown on Busse temp webpage
Eyeballing the blade in the Busse logo at the top of the page and the blade to the right of the soldiers ear, I'd guess them to be the Steel Heart. That model has a 7-1/2" blade. So it'd be a quantum step up from the blade size & heft of the Basic 5.
Re: which Busse to get first
The important questions are going to be, "What do you intend to do with it? What are the jobs it is going to have to fulfill? What is the minimum Gotta Have & Gotta Do it will need to possess to achieve its work?"
You ask if there is something "nicer" in the Busse stable. It will depend on what you mean by the term. If you mean stronger absolute performance parameters, the Combat line models will be slightly more bombproof than the Basics. If you mean comfort, you may (or may not) find the ergo handles of the Combat line more facilitating to your hand size & grip style than the Basic handles. If you mean value, the Basics have about a $100 per blade cheaper sticker on them compared to their Combat line roughly equivalent counterparts.
Given that you like the size of the Basic 5 (which is a very handy blade in its own right) and would like to look at other blades approximately that size, you may want to consider the new 6" model. It costs about $225. You might also look at the Natural Outlaw (6" blade) or perhaps the Badger Attack (4-1/2" blade). The NO and BA come close to the Basic 5 blade length but have the beefier appearance of the other typical Busse Combat line models vis-a-vis the somewhat slimmer edge to spine dimension of the Basic line. The new 6" blade is also somewhat slimmer edge to spine than the other Combat models.
Bottom Line:
My recommendation is to:
1. Go to a show where the Busse team will have the blades available for seeing and handling.
2. **EXTENSIVELY** handle all the models in both the Combat and Basic lines to really imprint the feel of each one in your hand, keeping in mind the questions posed above. (Even if the blade feels really sweet in your hand, a 2" blade won't make much of a chopper and a 13" Bowie won't be handy for fine delicate work.)
3. Then decide which one to get based on your needs and which one feels best to *your* hand.
A Not Serious Suggestion
When you go to the show to check out the knives, you could bring along some items to test the blades against: a few spools of 1" manila rope because Busse blades laugh at this stuff, an airline carrier for a very large dog, a pallet of cardboard, set of four steel-belted all-weather radial tires, 50 ea 8 ft long 2x4's, several hundred sheets of handmade Japanese washi paper, 6" diameter weather-hardened white oak branch, radiator hose & valve seats from a '72 Chevy Impala V8 engine, 50 cal ammo cans (take out ammo first), 3 yds of handspun black silk from the 16th century, an armored vehicle from the local National Guard armory, the Ab-device you got from a TV infomercial that's never been used & is now under the bed, an envelope telling you that you may already be a winner in the Publishers Clearinghouse Sweepstakes, a pair of size 9 brown Gucci loafers, and a six-pack of Black Label beer in case Jerry is at the show & looking thirsty. Busse blades should pretty much take care of all of them. Except for the beer. But they'll have a great time with the empties.
Yours in nuclear blade appreciation,
Greg
[This message has been edited by RokJok (edited 05-28-2001).]
