My Busse FFBM review

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Here is a pic of the one inbound ,it is Razor Sharp.....will have it in hand in a few days to post better pics.
 
privateisland said:
Tyrkon, When I first started with Busse, they seemed to be made for soldiers etc. I'm just wondering if they are a different company, selling to a different crowd? I think that's why some people are going towards the Fehrman blades. I know first hand that they are being used in the Spec Ops community.
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PI,

I haven't been around Busse knives for long, but here's what I see: Jerry Busse began by creating great knife designs geared toward the combat/operator sector, but as his knives grew in popularity among other sectors Jerry smartly altered his marketing strategy to accommodate new demands. Now he makes knives for all sorts of uses and users. I would venture to say that besides Randall, no other knife company garners the sort of fervor that Busse Combat does. There's no question; Jerry Busse is a marketing genius. He also happens to make good knives, which in some instances can certainly be a bit overbuilt...but hey, people are buying what he sells because they're great products AND they're aesthetically appealing. I, myself, love having knives that I don't question even a bit. There's no doubt that some of these knives just don't have any real justification, but thanks to the crazy variety there's something out there for everyone.

As for Fehrman knives, I owned a Last Chance for a little while and will say that it was in no way an inferior product. They are no-nonsense tools. I like to compare them to Glocks. They aren't as beautiful as a Busse (or 1911), but they will do exactly what they are asked to do every time with no problems. The fact that Cliff Stamp got some questionable results from his Extreme Judgement doesn't really bother me at all. I don't know anyone who uses his/her knives in the manner that Cliff did when he beat the hell out of that EJ. If I were an operator, I'd be VERY comfortable with a Fehrman for way less money than a comparable Busse. They're great knives, with fantastic ergos and a warranty which sounds as good as Busse's. With CPM3V and a good heat treat (which Eric Fehrman happens to have a great reputation for) a Fehrman knife is a great alternative to Busse Combat.

Which leads me to this:
Grimspoon said:
If people are buying other knives, mabe it's a design they like or they just can't afford infi - either way they aren't getting the same quality that they get from Busse.
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I hate to hafta disagree with you here, Grim, but I would venture to say (and I'd get some support from fellow hogs on this) that Fehrman quality stands up to Busse. Believe me when I say that they are great knives. Hell, last I spoke to him, Brian_T on this forum avidly called his Last Chance his favorite knife, and he owns MANY different makers'/manufacturer's knives. If you go over to the HoodsWoods site/forum you'll find that renowned woodsman Ron Hood swears by Fehrman knives...to the point that he even designed a pair of knives and had Eric and Ron Fehrman make them for him. Needless to say the backorder on the Hood Hunter stays around 12 weeks.

I don't say any of this to attack you at all, but simply to let you know that while Busse knives are beautiful, functional, super-tough tools made out of a great steel, there are other options out there with different design philosophies which are as good (and I've said it before...I've never held a Busse with as ergonomically well-designed of a grip as those of Fehrman's knives). Yes, some of these knives are less expensive, and sometimes that IS a consideration, but other times it's just that the non-Busse knife just floats a boat that the Busse knife sinks.

Btw...here is Fehrman's guarantee:
"Fehrman Knives are Guaranteed not to fail… for life. (If you unintentionally damage your knife, we will recondition or replace it.)"

That's pretty much what Busse's warranty says. Ranger knives has a very similar guarantee, and they are even less expensive than Fehrmans. TexasTony will also verify that RAT Cutlery has a great warranty, too. For the money, you can't beat RAT. Man it's great to see some American knife makers who will stand so unflinchingly behind their work. Makes me proud. :thumbup:
 
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Hey Tony, that sheath looks awesome. Tell us who made it, and give us a little review when you get your mistress.;)

Btw...maybe I never noticed it before, but you look good in Platinum. :thumbup:
 
privateisland said:
Well,

Overall I think this FFBM was an overkill. Yes it does chop, but is not very practical to carry. I cannot see any realistic use for it. My friend came over (6'4") and even in his hands he felt the same way.

I like Busse, but think this knife should be sold as a intimidating looking- novelty chopper.

Just my two cents.
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I would sign under every word. I bought BM almost a year ago and it still sits in the cellar and collects dust as I still cannot find a reason to bring it with me during hiking.

Any knife that thick will be almost impossible to destroy under a normal use (cutting and chopping). After all INFI should be superior to the other steels, thus I would hope to see a variation of BM with no more than 7 mm (0.28 inches) blade.

Considering the handle, mine is with magnum scales and does not feel comfortable at all in my small to medium hands. The reason for the existence of the “tennis ball” in the middle still puzzles me.

Overall, the fatty mistress is probably fine if you like cars like the Hummer or if you go hiking in your backyard. But for multi day trip that involves a lot of trail running it is simply IMO an excessive weight.

I wonder if anybody can share actual experience with the FFBM in the field. Please, only mention experience that involved outdoors use for at least 3 days.
 
Congrats on the platnum. I've seen the sheathmaker's work before but I'm not letting the cat out of the bag. Good worth. Good rigs. I've also been curious about Fehrman but I have yet to put this fellow through its paces. If I didn't have some stuff in Ban's hands I'd send him an FBM or I can just drop hints in threads like these to Jerry.
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vvk said:
After all INFI should be superior to the other steels, thus I would hope to see a variation of BM with no more than 7 mm (0.28 inches) blade.
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According to www.bussecollector.com, the CG FMB is .25" thick. That should be perfect for you. I'm sure someone on here would LOVE to trade you his/her CG FBM with standard handles for your FFBM with mags. Put it up in the trade section and it shouldn't be too long. :thumbup:
 
PML knives. Paul's a good guy and worked the 3v pretty damn well I'd say. I'm taking the big one out this weekend. So far I've done light stuff with it but it handles amazingly well. I was more than surprised. I've had my stuff at Ban's for..... oh say about a few weeks maybe a month. However, he has a long list getting longer with every new thread he starts;)
 
I own both the CG BM and the FFBM and tried them out side by side about a month ago I think (there's a thread here somewhere). I spent 2 days solidly chopping back bush, scrub and small trees and after that my conclusion was that the CG was the better knife overall. It was lighter but didn't loose any chopping power, felt better in my hand which gave me more control and was less fatiguing to use.

I spent some time in the shed convexing the FFBM and it now bites a lot more than when it had it's factory edge. The handles i'm still working on but they are getting slimmed down in the middle to give a better fit to my hand.

I'll be trying out the new edge and handles this summer and will be sure to post a thread reviewing the performance.

As regards overkill in the design of the FFBM I think there might be a little room to agree with that. However having a blade this thick does allow the owner to strip coatings off and then fully convex the blade without fear of making the blade too thin.

If I had to choose only one BM I would go with a FFBM purely because I know i'm never breaking it. The extra weight to me is a comfort and while it takes time to get a decent rig to let the blade ride in once you get used to it you don't even notice it. I carried it for 6 days straight on a hiking trip last year and by day 6 didn't even notice it's weight anymore.
 
I'mGatMan! said:
Hey Tony, that sheath looks awesome. Tell us who made it, and give us a little review when you get your mistress.;)

Btw...maybe I never noticed it before, but you look good in Platinum. :thumbup:
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Thanks Gat......Same guy that made my Chopweiler rig & DM rig...Mike Billman... Yea I just went Plat before my Gold was going to expire on 6/1 so,I bumped it up being this is my fav forum...:thumbup:
 
I agree that the FFBM is a beast of a knife. But that's why I like it. There are lots of knives out there that are about the same size, but not many that are that crazy thick and heavy.

I think of the FFBM (and the LE) as the bastard child of the drunken coupling of a straight razor and a sledge hammer. It's gonzo, it's over the top- that's what so awesome about it. Busse makes plenty more "sensible" knives, the FFBM is the "sharpened prybar" concept taken to a slightly ridiculous extreme. It's not for everyone- but can be appreciated for what it is. A one-chop (tree) limb severer!

I don't think there are many who would argue that the FFBM is the ideal long-distance hiking/ camping blade. But for an around the house or in-camp chopper, it's tough to beat.
It is just about perfect for motorcycle trail maintenance. Strap that thing to your bike and you can handle pretty much anything that doesn't require a chainsaw, and even some jobs that do.
 
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I'm curious here, isn't the F at the beginning of FFBM for Fat? Like that was the point of the FFBM was it was hella fatter than a CG FBM right? I didn't really pay attention to the reissue on the BM because I was so happy with the wife's BM-E.
 
Like others have said, get a CG. The fatty is used to make the mall ninjas pee their panties. The CG is for actual work.
 
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