May i ask for advice pleas ? Buse or anything else ?

S

simonfellows

Joined
May 29, 2004
Messages
12
Am a Brit who's just finished doing humanitarian work in Africa for just shy of 3 years. Afore that i worked with the homeless in America and Britain.
I'm new to this forum, posting, although i did look at it a few times about 4 years ago when in America.
I'm basically wanting advice on the best alround hard wearing,almost unbreakable knife available but not a custom; i'm basically down to a few hundred dollars equiv when i arrive back in the UK. Am in France at present (don't get me started on what i think of the French ) as came through Moroco and Spain and need to get back to the Uk to get some funds together. I kinda beleive that humanitarian work should be done for very little aside from food and shelter. Doesn't make you that different from the people you work with and thus seems one can be more effective in imparting whatever message/project versus one swanning around in huge landcruiser pontificating to the impoverished.There's huge amounts of this in Africa.

Anyways i was, from what i can see inclining towards a Natural Outlaw, then i saw the flying Mojo and then the Swamprat knife that looks life a steel heart and now am thoroughly confused ! So if any of you lads out there could give me a bit of your expertise i'd be very appreciative.

It'd be used for cutting, opening can and bottle, slashing a fair bit, cutting rope and chord, unblocking things etc etc . Also don't want anything with a Battle Mistress type length blade

Sincerely,
Simon Fellows
 
Sounds to me like you are looking for a Swamp Rat Camp Tramp. Just decide on a color. If you've got the bucks you can't go wrong with the others.
 
Hey Simon

Answered more in GKD, but Flying Mojo is NOT what you need. LOL!!! New Fusion NO or Camp Tramp will fill the bill.

Rob
 
I am with these guys. :D The NO or CT will do whatever you are going to need. The CT is the more affordable of the two if you are running on a very strict budget.
 
I would shorten the list to Camp Tramp and Natural Outlaw because you can buy them now from the factory. Other knives you should look for and it might take a long time to find them. Then I would go for Camp Trap because it is cheaper, if you lose it, you won’t worry so much as you would about Busse Natural Outlaw. But are you sure you need this kind of knife? I grew up in not a rich country, so I know that the laws are funny in developing countries, so your knife might be confiscated on the customs. I am not talking about that you might be killed for sake of your knife. Why don’t you select cheaper and a few knives? It might be more comfortable.
Another point: One real trouble I had while I was travelling was having a knife with very hard blade that I could not find a proper sharpener for it. If I had to travel again to developing countries to stay there for a long time, I would pay more attention on what sharpener I could bring and based on this what steel my knives should have and then select the knife. If you do not have an appropriate knife sharpener, your knives will be always dull. I did not sharpen my Busse, therefore I cannot comment on this.
By the way, I live in Europe, so I know knife prices in the UK. It is better to order knives from the USA and ask them to ship by slowest postage possible, the Customs does not usually check slow postages. Fast delivery may cause you pay extra as Taxes, and it might be substantial sum, particularly on expensive items. Knives from Germany are cheap, but not Busse or Swamp Rat.

Regards,
 
Go with the Camp Tramp. If you somehow stumble across a pot of gold, you could look for a steel heart (about the same size, from Busse) on the secondary market but they are for the moment out of production and pricier.
I have Busse, Swamp Rat and an old battered basic 9 I intend to give another workout as soon as I finish my coffee. I don't think you will be dissappointed with Swamp Rat quality.
Pair it up with a SAK or pliers multi-tool (You can use that of course for opening the cans and bottle and much else.) Then you will have an excellent, versatile minimalist kit. Good luck. Ed
 
First off, thank you for your work! People like you make civilization work.

I don't know exactly what your needs are, but do you need a NO or CT-sized knife? I was thinking something along the size of a Swamp Rat houling rat or the Busse Badger Attack (not currently made, though plenty on the market).
Whatever you choose, you can't go wrong with anything Busse or Swamp Rat IMHO.

BTW, what's the security situation like in Africa? I have been wanting to travel or maybe even go to uni for a while in Africa and am wondering how safre it is.
 
Simon, Here's my $0.02 of opinion and worth what you pay to get it. ;) :D

If money is a limiting factor for you, I line up with Mr Ricketts and say go with the Swamp Rat Camp Tramp ($128 USD) paired with a multi-tool. That way you have a decent beefy chopper with lots of backbone, coupled with a smaller more agile blade for small jobs (and offering pliers & screwdrivers too).

If money isn't going to be an issue, then I say go with whichever Busse best fits your hand (think ergonomics, it's a bigger issue than most folks will ever admit) and your projected tasks. I've got small mitts and like the fit of the Resiprene-C handles on the Swamp Rats and the old Busse Basic series. YMMV. If you match the size to your tasks, any of the Busse blades should leave you pleasantly dazed at their performance abilities.

Another possibility is to wait until they are released sometime this summer (theoretically) for the upcoming Swamp Rat Satin Rat at $139 USD. It is the small blade in the picture at this link: http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=301423

Below are some non-Busse/Swamp Rat knives that I usually recommend, in ascending order of approximate price. Note that most of these are nowhere near any of the Busse or Swamp Rat blades in durability but IMHO offer decent value (within their individual limitations) for the price of buying them. Note that a Busse or Swamp Rat blade easily trump these blades as my recommendation for a blade that will see any abusive usage. I offer these only for when a Busse or Rat is completely out of your reach.
- Mora and puukko knives from Smokey Mountain Knife Works, Kellam Knives, or Ragweed Forge ($8-$75 approx), pure cutters at mostly budget prices (links below), specifically the stainless steel Swedish Army Knife by Frost at Smokey Mtn, Ericksson models at Ragweed, and Kellam's S-Line.
- Cold Steel Bushman and Mini-Bushman ($18), tougher than its price would indicate, although it took me some work to get the edge decently sharp initially
- Becker BK7, BK9, BK10 ($40-$65), good bang for the buck, be sure to check the handle fit for your hand (some love 'em, others :barf: ), these are beefier than the blades above but still not a Busse/Rat in durability, I found their geometry make them good cutters, although the BK7 proved too light for serious chopping
- Cold Steel SRK factory seconds ($50 from CS Special Projects catalog), CarbonV hi-carbon non-stainless 6-inch clip-point blade with a square-stick Kraton handle (very uncomfortable ergos to me), quite sturdy & IME sharp from the factory
- Spyderco Moran Featherweights either one ($65) or Gerber Yari (discontinued, but about the same bucks), more durable cutters than the Moras and puukos listed above, the Spydie has a funny-looking handle I find quite comfy & I like its VG10 stainless steel choice
- get a custom made knife by a knifemaker in your locale (look in the $50-$200 range, although they can go to thousands of dollars in price), in some ways this is the best option because then you can coordinate with the maker to have your own needs/desires considered in the design of the knife

Kellam Knives: http://www.kellamknives.com/cart/shop.cgi/SID=PUT_SID_HERE/page=index3.html
Ragweed Forge: http://www.ragweedforge.com/
Smokey Mountain Knifeworks: http://eknifeworks.com/webapp/eCommerce/main_front.jsp

HTH
 
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