- Joined
- Sep 2, 2006
- Messages
- 16,703
I'm one of the lucky few recipients of OTE's NO-E pass-around. Even better, I got to keep the knife an extra 5 days (because the next member of the pass-around just seemed to ... pass right out of the picture [nobody can find him]). The knife is already on its way to the next lucky fellow.
However....
That's what it looked like when it arrived. Clean, but definitely well used for many years. The edge was no longer shaving sharp and was rolled in a few small spots (no longer!) and had a few nicks, mostly toward the tip. Otherwise, you can see that the coating is smudged and rubbed in many places...but is all still there. It's obviously tough, as a knife MUST be to be a Busse!
The is the first E or Ergo handle I've held. I like it better than I thought I would. It fits my medium-sized hands quite well with a nice palm swell. It also gets a bit larger toward the butt, which helps the knife stay stable in the hand. The micarta is cut in a diamond quilt pattern, but without enormous relief -- by which I mean the cuts aren't deep and therefore the diamond pattern does not cut into your bare hand. It can definitely be used bare handed or with gloves.
Well, I knew I couldn't smash it with a sledgehammer or throw it around as if I were a Lawson. For one thing, I'm not Scandinavian. For another, this is NOT my knife -- it must be treated with respect despite its nuclear toughness. So I documented its condition with pictures (OTE has a few of them) and then I got down to business...when my crazy, unpredictable work-life gave me an opening!
After fondling the knife for a few days, I realized I wanted it to be a camp knife. Despite the fact that it's large for such a role. Let's see ... what does a camp knife do? Everything.
Can it chop?
No problem getting it into a fallen limb on my property. I found one that's two inches inches thick, still fairly green, and free to flop around when it's being chopped. So that's what I did ... chop.
That's a mere 20 chops. And they were medium-light with a bare hand. I could do that all day.
That was 50 chops. Not difficult at all, easy swings from my old, gray arm...while I let the limb bounce and flop.
Finally, 90 chops arrived and the limb was almost done. Not tired at all, and no attempt to strike at the opposite side of the limb. I think I'm about done.
Yes, that's it. Just short of 100 blows, all with very reasonable effort. The limb came apart cleanly. I could have done it with maybe 3/4 of the number of blows if I'd put more effort into it. My hand isn't cramped at all, my arm is not tired. I will say that my little finger is chafed a bit -- eventually, my hand began to slip down the handle and the curved end pushed against the finger. This is a good feature, as I might have lost my grip if it were a straight handle.
So, it can't chop as well as an FBM or FSH. My CGFBM does this chore, with similar effort, in about 50 chops -- and in only 30 - 35 chops with some real gusto. The FSH does almost as well, but I'm talking about an HHFSH. The chore is even easier than that with an FFBM.
Here's how far the blade penetrates on a good, solid swing (bare hand again).
Very nice for a knife this size. I'd hesitate to build a survival shelter with it, but it's fine for getting firewood, for cutting a walking stick, for making fuzz-sticks, and similar outback chores.
What about kitchen duties? That's a pretty thick blade...and the edge won't do any shaving at the moment.
Surprisingly...it does very well. Despite its size, once you choke up on the handle and place your index finger on the back edge, it's just fine with these chores. Here's your typical potato-cutting exercise:
Yes...my wife and kids love Mickey Mouse!!
It chopped that potato with real authority. Thick slices or thin, no trouble. In fact:
I made slices even thinner than that, ones I could see through. But who really wants breakfast potatos THAT thin?? I did tomatos, too, but those pics just did not turn out (camera problems!).
Was it as good as a thin kitchen knife or maybe an Ivan Campos or Bob Dozier purpose-built slicer (0.14" or less)? No. But it was very useable -- and it would have done even better if I'd had time to strop the edge properly and make it really sharp. That said, I won't be filleting any fish with an NO-E any time soon.
These are just a few pics I took of the abuse I gave the knife. I put about 1800 medium to hard blows on the edge, although I refused to strike anything harder than dried wood. It spent a fair amount of time wet with the juices of many slaughtered veggies -- potato, cucumber, tomato, leek, onion, turnip. And here's what it looked like at the end.
The edge:
The coating:
A couple of minutes with a plastic brush, warm water, and dish soap and I had this:
Pretty pitiful, I know. All that effort, and I don't think I even managed to roll the edge. Certainly, no new nicks in the edge.
Well, by this point I had run out of time. It's on its way to the next lucky participant in the pass-around. I hope he will have more time than I did and can do a better job of stressing this knife. Frankly, the NO-E just sneered at me...
This is one excellent all-around camp knife -- not the best at any one task, but a good, maybe even optimal, compromise. I like it!
However....
That's what it looked like when it arrived. Clean, but definitely well used for many years. The edge was no longer shaving sharp and was rolled in a few small spots (no longer!) and had a few nicks, mostly toward the tip. Otherwise, you can see that the coating is smudged and rubbed in many places...but is all still there. It's obviously tough, as a knife MUST be to be a Busse!
The is the first E or Ergo handle I've held. I like it better than I thought I would. It fits my medium-sized hands quite well with a nice palm swell. It also gets a bit larger toward the butt, which helps the knife stay stable in the hand. The micarta is cut in a diamond quilt pattern, but without enormous relief -- by which I mean the cuts aren't deep and therefore the diamond pattern does not cut into your bare hand. It can definitely be used bare handed or with gloves.
Well, I knew I couldn't smash it with a sledgehammer or throw it around as if I were a Lawson. For one thing, I'm not Scandinavian. For another, this is NOT my knife -- it must be treated with respect despite its nuclear toughness. So I documented its condition with pictures (OTE has a few of them) and then I got down to business...when my crazy, unpredictable work-life gave me an opening!
After fondling the knife for a few days, I realized I wanted it to be a camp knife. Despite the fact that it's large for such a role. Let's see ... what does a camp knife do? Everything.
Can it chop?
No problem getting it into a fallen limb on my property. I found one that's two inches inches thick, still fairly green, and free to flop around when it's being chopped. So that's what I did ... chop.
That's a mere 20 chops. And they were medium-light with a bare hand. I could do that all day.
That was 50 chops. Not difficult at all, easy swings from my old, gray arm...while I let the limb bounce and flop.
Finally, 90 chops arrived and the limb was almost done. Not tired at all, and no attempt to strike at the opposite side of the limb. I think I'm about done.
Yes, that's it. Just short of 100 blows, all with very reasonable effort. The limb came apart cleanly. I could have done it with maybe 3/4 of the number of blows if I'd put more effort into it. My hand isn't cramped at all, my arm is not tired. I will say that my little finger is chafed a bit -- eventually, my hand began to slip down the handle and the curved end pushed against the finger. This is a good feature, as I might have lost my grip if it were a straight handle.
So, it can't chop as well as an FBM or FSH. My CGFBM does this chore, with similar effort, in about 50 chops -- and in only 30 - 35 chops with some real gusto. The FSH does almost as well, but I'm talking about an HHFSH. The chore is even easier than that with an FFBM.
Here's how far the blade penetrates on a good, solid swing (bare hand again).
Very nice for a knife this size. I'd hesitate to build a survival shelter with it, but it's fine for getting firewood, for cutting a walking stick, for making fuzz-sticks, and similar outback chores.
What about kitchen duties? That's a pretty thick blade...and the edge won't do any shaving at the moment.
Surprisingly...it does very well. Despite its size, once you choke up on the handle and place your index finger on the back edge, it's just fine with these chores. Here's your typical potato-cutting exercise:
Yes...my wife and kids love Mickey Mouse!!
It chopped that potato with real authority. Thick slices or thin, no trouble. In fact:
I made slices even thinner than that, ones I could see through. But who really wants breakfast potatos THAT thin?? I did tomatos, too, but those pics just did not turn out (camera problems!).
Was it as good as a thin kitchen knife or maybe an Ivan Campos or Bob Dozier purpose-built slicer (0.14" or less)? No. But it was very useable -- and it would have done even better if I'd had time to strop the edge properly and make it really sharp. That said, I won't be filleting any fish with an NO-E any time soon.
These are just a few pics I took of the abuse I gave the knife. I put about 1800 medium to hard blows on the edge, although I refused to strike anything harder than dried wood. It spent a fair amount of time wet with the juices of many slaughtered veggies -- potato, cucumber, tomato, leek, onion, turnip. And here's what it looked like at the end.
The edge:
The coating:
A couple of minutes with a plastic brush, warm water, and dish soap and I had this:
Pretty pitiful, I know. All that effort, and I don't think I even managed to roll the edge. Certainly, no new nicks in the edge.
Well, by this point I had run out of time. It's on its way to the next lucky participant in the pass-around. I hope he will have more time than I did and can do a better job of stressing this knife. Frankly, the NO-E just sneered at me...
This is one excellent all-around camp knife -- not the best at any one task, but a good, maybe even optimal, compromise. I like it!
:thumbup:
