My new wilderness knife

[Les]

You can strop on cardboard, a belt, your jeans and other things. Flitz or other metal polishes work fine. All the high dollar gear is not necessary to maintain a convex edge.

 

[hollowdweller]

I sanded the handle down on mine with some wet/dry sandpaper. I think it helped. A convex edge would also really aid in the performance of the knife.

Great knife. I really like mine.

Wonder why most Busse's come with such a lackluster edge??

I mean I get that with a big chopping blade you don't want a fine edge that will mess up when you slam it into some oak or something.

On the other hand stuff like the Game Warden, or the BAD or that SAR, those sizes are really using knives.

The BAD is about the same overall size as the Fallkniven F1, maybe a bit smaller. The SAR is about the size of the Fallkniven S1 correct? Both of those are significantly cheaper but about 10 times the effort at the factory seems to have gone into the edge on them

I have a Game Warden and it's around the size of a Bark River Mini North Star but while the Mini North Star has a really great edge it took me hours of work to put a decent edge on my Game Warden which cost twice the price??

 

[Fallbrook Forge]

that's a grat score on a great knife, very handydesign.

Steel-Junky, you don't need alot to maintain a convex edge, just a simple piece of leather or sandpaper, you don't need the compounds to maintain the edge, heck a piece of heavy cardboard will do the trick

 

[hollowdweller]

that's a grat score on a great knife, very handydesign.

Steel-Junky, you don't need alot to maintain a convex edge, just a simple piece of leather or sandpaper, you don't need the compounds to maintain the edge, heck a piece of heavy cardboard will do the trick

Very true. I have to pay way more attention to angle sharpening a v grind or scandi than a convex.

A film container or ziplock with a few strips of 600 grit sandpaper and then just lay them on your knife sheath or any semi soft surface and strop and that is all you need for field sharpening.

 

[tonym]

The coating will come off... I've never been a big fan of convex edges though. I like something I can sharpen with just my ceramic sticks in the field. If I'm not mistaken you gotta strop a convex edge with varying grits of media. Too much gear to drag around.

I have seen stripped busses before, I think....really not sure.

Once you get the edge convexed and sharp, you only need 1 grit to maintain it. I like to strop my knives with 2000 grit after every use. I never let my knives get dull to the point I need more than that.

 

[Steel-Junky]

You can strop on cardboard, a belt, your jeans and other things. Flitz or other metal polishes work fine. All the high dollar gear is not necessary to maintain a convex edge.

That's only to maintain the edge... a very dull or even deformed convex edge must be stropped with grits as low as 100. That means taking 5 to 10 different grits with you to address any possible edge damage that might occur in the field... My two little Spyderco Pro-Files can fix and maintain just about anything that can happen to a regular V-Grind.

 

[KuRUpTD]

Looks good to me ... and since you're not looking to do any woodcarving bushcraft type things it should be fine for all other outdoor uses. Let us know how she performs.

 

[Steel-Junky]

Wonder why most Busse's come with such a lackluster edge??

I mean I get that with a big chopping blade you don't want a fine edge that will mess up when you slam it into some oak or something.

On the other hand stuff like the Game Warden, or the BAD or that SAR, those sizes are really using knives.

The BAD is about the same overall size as the Fallkniven F1, maybe a bit smaller. The SAR is about the size of the Fallkniven S1 correct? Both of those are significantly cheaper but about 10 times the effort at the factory seems to have gone into the edge on them

I have a Game Warden and it's around the size of a Bark River Mini North Star but while the Mini North Star has a really great edge it took me hours of work to put a decent edge on my Game Warden which cost twice the price??

You get the thick unbreakable Busse Edge when you buy the knife. They are working edges and come razor sharp... now if you want to customize it for a specific type of work that's on the user. But Jerry believes in selling you a knife with a super duty edge. I've never had a Busse that didn't come razor sharp... however I have had a few I needed to thin out becuase the factory edge was not ideal for the tasks I was putting the knife toward. I'd much rather have to remove some steel than add it.

People mistaken think that a thick blade cannot cut efficiently. I think some of this is ignorance on the users part. Geometry is a great deal of it. On a Busse there is a lot of material right behind the edge... that's one thing that makes them so tough... but the edge angle is easily laid down if that's what you need done... I don't think I've ever seen someone need to increas the angle on a Busse LOL.

 

[Steel-Junky]

I have seen stripped busses before, I think....really not sure.

Once you get the edge convexed and sharp, you only need 1 grit to maintain it. I like to strop my knives with 2000 grit after every use. I never let my knives get dull to the point I need more than that.

That's my problem with convex... if your knife does get very dull (which can happen in a survival situaion) then it takes more tools and time to repair it. A nice V grind is userfriendly in the repair department. If you say... nick your edge on a rock or something in the woods... 1 piece of flitz loaded leather ain't gonna cut it. Neither is one piece of 600 grit sand paper. With a V grind... I can usually steel out any nicks, dings, or chips with my DMT Diafold coarse paddle. Can't do that with sand paper... a good enough ding will shread the paper.

 

[hollowdweller]

People mistaken think that a thick blade cannot cut efficiently. I think some of this is ignorance on the users part. Geometry is a great deal of it. On a Busse there is a lot of material right behind the edge....

Right. That causes a drag for me when I'm cutting something just like coating does.:thumbdn:

 

[Steel-Junky]

Very true. I have to pay way more attention to angle sharpening a v grind or scandi than a convex.

A film container or ziplock with a few strips of 600 grit sandpaper and then just lay them on your knife sheath or any semi soft surface and strop and that is all you need for field sharpening.

That's only true if you're maintaining an already usable edge... if it gets dinged up or chipped or heavily roled... 600 grit is gonna take a month to work any major damage out of a blade. Unless your blade is made of Bondo.

 

[Steel-Junky]

Right. That causes a drag for me when I'm cutting something just like coating does.:thumbdn:

You can always lay it down a little. I'm not trying to sell ya on Busse LOL... if you've found the tool that does it for ya then that's great. But it sounds like your implying that a Busse doesn't work... and well... that's just wrong. It may not work for you. But it works just fine for me.

 

[j williams]

Differant strokes for differant folks.

I prefer a convex edge, and in all my years of using them, Ive never needed more then 600 grit to fix any issues, unless im redoing a v grind into a convex. Regular use, and I stress regular use, not batoning bricks or prying car doors will leave an edge just fine, and easily maintainable in the field. If you are chopping or batoning and hit a rock and nick the blade, which I have done a few times, I have never screwed one up bad enough that I couldnt strop it out with 600 grit fairly quickly. Just my opinion of course. Some prefer scandi, which I am not a fan of, and som prefer V, and some prefer convex. I prefer convex, because I can maintain em well with a few strips of sandpaper, and a small square of mouse pad, which takes up little to no space...I like my Busses, just for me, with a convex edge. The V grind on the ones I have used have came good, sharp, and wel ground, just a little thick for the delicate work. My .140 SMOG warden does just fine with the V, I havent convexed it yet....Yet.

 

[featherstone45]

That seems to have an accidental similarity to the below offering from Tops. I wonder which came first.

I care for neither company but I'll admit I did think the Busse below looked like a practical handful. Vivi thinned it out and convexed it. As depicted it is the most useful looking knife I've seen from that stable.

Im pretty sure the TOPS knife was first, and yeah thay look ALOT alike...

 

[Steel-Junky]

If you are chopping or batoning and hit a rock and nick the blade, which I have done a few times, I have never screwed one up bad enough that I couldnt strop it out with 600 grit fairly quickly.

cool, I will say that I don't have years of experience with convex edges. I would figure that in a serious edge deformation it would be hard to strop out. I know the convex edge is VERY strong... I've just never been confident that it was easy to repair under a serious deformation. I'll look into it a little further... maybe get me a fallkniven or something to test it out... don't wanna convex a Busse until I'm sure I can deal with it in bad sitautions easily.

 

[Steel-Junky]

That seems to have an accidental similarity to the below offering from Tops. I wonder which came first.

Wow they do look alike. I can attest that Busse makes a superior product to TOPS though. I've owned a few TOPS and wasn't impressed... seems like you pay a lot and get very little.

Edited to say that statement was true years ago... I have no idea about the quality of TOPS current product.

 

[udtjim]

I bought my last knife of that type about forty knives ago. If find yourself in the wilderness just bout any decent knife will make a great wilderness knife. That ones looks suitable to me.

 

[Steel-Junky]

I have seen stripped busses before, I think....really not sure.

Once you get the edge convexed and sharp, you only need 1 grit to maintain it. I like to strop my knives with 2000 grit after every use. I never let my knives get dull to the point I need more than that.

Here is a picture of my FBM stripped... it's got a Bead Blast finish underneath... which i'm slowing buffing into a hand rubbed finish.

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[j williams]

cool, I will say that I don't have years of experience with convex edges. I would figure that in a serious edge deformation it would be hard to strop out. I know the convex edge is VERY strong... I've just never been confident that it was easy to repair under a serious deformation. I'll look into it a little further... maybe get me a fallkniven or something to test it out... don't wanna convex a Busse until I'm sure I can deal with it in bad sitautions easily.

With very serious edge damage, im sure a convex would take a bit to fix by hand. However, I have found it to be an extremely durable edge, that takes regular use, and some not so regular very well, so well, that I havent had a problem as of yet. Plus Busses heat treat is insanely awesome, and makes for a very tough convex edge.

Heres some pics of my BATAC I stripped, scotchbrited, and convexed. It took a long time to convex, but I did it all by hand, no power tools used on it at all. I also squared the spine up nice by hand so it strikes a ferro rod very well. :thumbup: I started with 180 on the edge and spine and moved up to 220, 600, 1000, and finished up with 2000.

 

[Steel-Junky]

With very serious edge damage, im sure a convex would take a bit to fix by hand. However, I have found it to be an extremely durable edge, that takes regular use, and some not so regular very well, so well, that I havent had a problem as of yet. Plus Busses heat treat is insanely awesome, and makes for a very tough convex edge.

Heres some pics of my BATAC I stripped, scotchbrited, and convexed. It took a long time to convex, but I did it all by hand, no power tools used on it at all. I also squared the spine up nice by hand so it strikes a ferro rod very well. :thumbup: I started with 180 on the edge and spine and moved up to 220, 600, 1000, and finished up with 2000.

That's hot... I love the Badger. Maybe one of the greatest knives on the planet.