Newbie help!!!!

[Kougera]

Hey all, a new member to the forum hailing from down under. Been doing some research over the past couple of months for a good fixed knife for the military, and have reached the decision to buy a Busse. A couple of quick questions

1) How hard is it to find a good Battle mistress? Possibly a later model one too

2) Is it possible to order a Tank Buster with bare steel? Not really interested in the coating, will be cleaning my knives probably every other day alongside firearms

3) Any recommendations??

1) It shouldnt be too hard to find an FFBM on the exchange. When I decided to get one(my first Busse) I found one I wanted in 5 minutes The newer BM's(BM-E and FFBM) are actually "cheaper" than the old ones. (SHBM) I say "cheaper" because they're not really cheap, but worth the money.

2) As other have stated, you can order them with a double cut(beadblasted twice with different media. Someone more schooled than me can surely tell you how) or a satin. If you dont want it to be shiny, Double Cut is the way to go.

3) GET AN FFBM! Havent tried a CGFBM, but I've heard they're awesome.

 

[Lil' Foo]

Everybody NEEDS a Mistress.

 

[resinguy]

Are you sure? It was my understanding that grinding out the INFI dimples on the belt sander voided it, no?

My understanding is that if you use power tools on the edge, then the edge may not be covered by the warranty. But the scales still will be. Even if you hand thin/convex the edge and take off a lot of metal, it may not be covered if you then roll or damage that edge. None of this is absolute, and all warranty claims are decided on an individual basis by Jerry. Having said that, Busse still has the best, most generous warranty in the business. :thumbup:

Once you strip off the coating, is it necessary to continue treating it with sandpaper or other polishing compounds? I guess what I'm getting at is would there be a decarb layer like on the competition finished blades (not exactly sure what a decarb layer is)? Or would continued treatment be for pure aesthetics?

After stripping, the bare INFI has a dull gray look (see my links above). That looks different then the Competition finish from Blade last year. Most folk do a little something to pretty it up, either sanding or Scotch Brite.

Decarb happens in Heat Treat, under an oxidizing atmoshere, as some carbon can be lost from the surface layer of the steel.