Looking to buy a good field knife

C

chicagousmc

Joined
Dec 29, 2005
Messages
27
Hello Everyone,

I'm new to Busse knives and I don't know alot about them, I'm looking for an over all good camping, hiking knife. I have not been able to find a store in my area that sell Busse knives so I have not been able to play with them. I went on there web site and I saw the Skinny Ash, and the Active Duty. I liked the look of the Skinny Ash and I thought that the Active Duty would be a good back up. How does the Busse knives compare to the Chris Reeve field, combat knives. Any help would be greatly appricatied. Thank you, Semper FI
 
welcome to the busse forum!

right now you can go to http://www.bussecombat.com/ and order a couple different kinds of steel hearts. they are one of the best field blade you can get imho.
i never leave home with out a couple of busse's :thumbup:

chris reeve makes a fine blade too.

.
 
If you want Comparison data between those two knives, check out Noss's website:
Knifetests.com

As for buying... You can only buy from Busse Direct, The Busse Company Store, or the Exchange here on Bladeforums.com.

An finally, here's a little about INFI that was stolen from Busse's website (full credit to them)
"INFI is a proprietary steel and heat-treat protocol developed by Busse Combat Knife Co. It is ONLY available through Busse Combat.

Some facts and info about INFI.


Hardness
Although hardened INFI knives are 58-60 Rc we have yet been able to chip an edge. The edge can be dented or misaligned but its high level of malleability at such high hardness has never been duplicated by any other steel that we are aware of or have tested.

Flexibility
In one of our performance tests, we bend a Battle Mistress 35 degrees in a vise and it springs back to true. Why would we do this? What does it prove? What is the benefit to the customer? Not only does this test demonstrate the enormous toughness and lateral strength of an INFI blade but, because our hardness is homogenous and not differential, it demonstrates the amount of lateral strength and "spring" of INFI all the way to the edge. That means that edge of the blade will possess this same toughness. INFI is the only knife steel ever tested that has achieved such high levels of lateral strength with a homogenous hardness of 58 - 60 Rc. No other steel has even neared this performance level.

Edge Retention
Many so-called knife experts have heralded the "wear resistance" of a steel as the key to edge retention. This may very well be true if a knife is designed and intended for the cutting of soft materials ONLY. However, we have never inspected a dull knife and found the edge to be perfectly smoothed away, like a ball bearing. Instead what we find are microscopic chips where the edge has broken or chipped away like glass after having impacted against bone, gravel, or other hard surfaces. This micro chipping dictates that the edge be reground during the resharpening process, which will ultimately lead to a thicker edge and a radical change in overall blade shape. Steels with high wear resistance normally score fairly low in shock resistance, lateral strength, and overall toughness. INFI scores very high in ALL of these categories.

Sharpening
INFI's high level of chip resistance also makes it the easiest steel to resharpen by hand that we have ever encountered. I personally fall into the category of "hand sharpening challenged". I've heard tales of those who can sharpen ball peen hammers to a razor's edge on an Arkansas stone in less than 5 seconds flat. My experiences have always been to the contrary. The spine of the knife is usually sharper than the edge when I'm finished applying my magic stone sharpening technique. One of the great features of INFI is that simply stropping away from the edge (the way a barber strops a straight edged razor) on a ceramic stick is basically all that is required to resharpen INFI. Since you're not chipping steel off the edge there is no need to grind any steel away. This feature of INFI will, likewise, allow you to keep the same overall profile of the knife for a much greater period of time.

How does INFI compare to other steels?
Simple question, complex answer. INFI represents what I have always dreamed of in a knife steel. Tougher, by an enormous margin, than any other steel I've ever tested. Unparalleled edge holding under high impact and in cutting tests. Shock resistance that begs you to "bring it on". An ease of re-sharpening that you have to see to believe and higher levels of lateral strength at high hardness than have ever been achieved by any other steel. We have published our test results and our testing methodology. We have video taped all of these tests and play the video at the knife shows we attend. More importantly, we have duplicated these performance tests in "LIVE" demonstrations at many trade shows throughout the United States. We encourage all manufacturers to put their products through our tests and to publish their results. If you want to know how another maker's knife will compare to a Busse Combat knife, ask the other maker to duplicate our tests in a "live" demo.

Is INFI stainless?
Not supposed to be. However, INFI has demonstrated very high levels of stain resistance in many different climates. Uncoated blades have been tested for years in Alaska and have made their way into the wilds of British Columbia, the High Sierras and tropical rain forests. No rust in Alaska or British Columbia! No rust in the High Sierras, even when exposed to great quantities of blood and left in the wet grass overnight. The tropical rain forest, which has been known to rust plastic (just kidding), did offer the toughest of the environmental exposures and a light speckling of surface oxidation did occur but was easily removed in the field with a hand rubbing of sand and water. No deep pitting was reported. When compared to other cutlery steels in salt spray tests, INFI faired better than ATS-34 and D-2. Although all three grades exhibited surface oxidation, the INFI was not deeply pitted as was common in these other two grades. So, although INFI is not technically a stainless steel, it is certainly not a rust aggressive steel. Couple this with a minimal amount of care and you've got a fairly maintenance free knife.

With a steel like INFI it's easy to understand why we offer the toughest guarantee in the business. We guarantee against any and all unintentional MAJOR damage forever.

Jerry Busse"


Hope this helps!!
 
Welcome mate!

I like the ASH as on overall field knife - the best I have come across. It is perfect in every way for me. The standard offering comes in .320" thick, but, it does not feel overly heavy IMO. If you are worried about the thickness, get a skinny ASH and you will love it.

I have also had many CRK's and they are an excellent knife! I prefer the overall design of the ASH however as it has more 'beef' for some of the heavier duties and helps keep that all important peice of mind when you have a grip and weight behind it. Fantastic ergos in the handle.

Good luck!
 
chicagousmc said:
How does the Busse knives compare to the Chris Reeve field, combat knives.
Click to expand...

This photo shows a Heavy Ordnance Fusion Steel Heart with a CRK Shadow I (ignore the big one between them):

pigsticker2.jpg


As you can see, the HOFSH makes the Shadow look small. If I were going to trust my life to a CRK, I would opt for one of the integrals (there have been a few Nkonkas in 3V that look sweet) rather than the so-called "combat" types. I trust A2 more than S30V.

I trust INFI even more than that, but CRKs are easier to find and generally less dear to boot.
 
chicagousmc said:
Hello Everyone,

I'm new to Busse knives and I don't know alot about them, I'm looking for an over all good camping, hiking knife. I have not been able to find a store in my area that sell Busse knives so I have not been able to play with them. I went on there web site and I saw the Skinny Ash, and the Active Duty. I liked the look of the Skinny Ash and I thought that the Active Duty would be a good back up. How does the Busse knives compare to the Chris Reeve field, combat knives. Any help would be greatly appriciated. Thank you, Semper FI
Click to expand...

A Skinny ASH-1 and an Active Duty would make a fine pair in the field. I could sit here and think up many more pairs that would be similar and work as well but for a first guess you did pretty well. Now all you have to do is find them (Skinny ASH-1 shouldn't be too hard) and chose a color scheme! Have fun and BEAT THE CRAP OUT OF THEM...they really like it and you will too. :thumbup:
 
Seems like the new Sarsquatch might be perfect for you. Would be great in this combo:

The black/black here:
Sarsquatch3.jpg

SARsquatch Specs:
Blade = 7"
Blade width = 1 7/8"
Overall Length: 12 5/8"
Thickness = 3/16"

with a new SwampRat HairyCarry:
HairyCarry.jpg

Specs for the LE
Limited Edition = $138.95
Steel = 154CM
Thickness = .170"
Blade Length = 3 1/2"
OAL = 8.25"
Handles on LE = Black G10
Blade Finish = Satin

Probably wouldn't cost you more than 500$ for both, either. All you'd need after that would be a sheath for each and you'd be done. Shouldn't be too long before multiple sheathmakers have theirs either. Good luck
 
If you are looking for something about the same weight as a Kabar get one of the Chris Reeve knives. If you want something heavier, Busse ASH1. It is a handfull and may be a bit more knife than you will want to hump. For a knife that is a bit smaller than the Kabar, take a look at the Bark River Bravo-1.

Semper Fi.
 
What's with all this Chris Reeve talk? Next thing you know, they'll be letting Rats and Dogs in here. :grumpy:



:p
 
Since no one has mentioned the Hell Razor, I will.

For me it's right in that not too big, not too small zone, it's pretty light weight and practically indestructible.

If there are any in the next 'ganzaa, you could possibly get one for less than $300.00.

I don't know about Chris Reeves, but I'm pretty sure you won't be disappointed with a Hell Razor.

For a pairing, if you want something very compact, I would suggest a Skeleton Warden or Swamp Rat's version. You could also wait for the Anorexic Assault Shaker. For a knife with handle scales, there are more options, the Active Duty would be near the top of my list and I know several are available on the exchange right now.
 
SAR5 looks pretty good to me. The SAR4 looks better still, but not yet available...
 
the test on S30V made me sell it all:(

INFI is king!~

D-2 or A-2 if you have too:thumbup:
 
I would go with the ASH1 over the Hellrazor for a general camp/hiking knife. The steep swedge on the Hellrazor makes it less suitable for batoning.

If I can only have one knife I like it to be in the 5-7" range. But what I really want is a small 3-4" knife paired with a 8-10" knife for chopping and baton work. If you have the room, take all three along with a pocket saw like the Silky 170 and your favorite multi-tool. :cool:
 
knife hunter said:
the test on S30V made me sell it all:(

INFI is king!~

D-2 or A-2 if you have too:thumbup:
Click to expand...

Woah! Pretty big statement there :D

Although I completely agree with you about INFI, you can't judge CPM-S30V on only one knife tested! I think CPM-S30V works pretty good on small knives (numerous Spydercos, Sebenza, Benchmade, SRKW Rat Trap, many others I can't name at this time). If I had to buy a chopper, though, it wouldn't be in S30V...
 
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Fat ASH, Skinny ASH... but either way, +1 on the ASH, ASH, ASH, ASH! :D

A few basics...

CG ASH - .320" thick with a full height grind
ASH LE - .220" thick with a full height grind :thumbup:
Skinny ASH - .195" thick with full convex grind :thumbup: :thumbup:
The custom shop pieces are mostly .220" thick.

Some pics for you to enjoy...

CG's and Customs
01ASH-1220320.jpg

.320" & .220"
02ASH-1220320.jpg


The LE... :cool:
ASH-1no8630951.jpg


ASH-1no8630952.jpg
 
Hello Everyone,

Thank you very much for the advise, I loved the pictures I will be ordering the Skinny Ash on payday. I will also be ordering one of those custom sheths. I know that if something comes up while I'm camping I will have a great knives to help me out. I think that this will be the first of many more to come. I will have to waite till next month to get the smaller one. Thank you again for all your help. Semper Fi.
 
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