Okay, Maybe I didn't "get" it

[Frank Warren]

I must say that I STILL don't understand what the difference between combat and fighting is (save that the former may involve structured military action versus the latter being informal). Perhaps Andy, who is into all this, will enlighten us.

The Steel Heart, indeed the whole line, appears to be for different purposes than what I thought it was. It had NOT occurred to me to come here and post an obnoxious message until a member of this forum, who recommended the Busse line, heard me whine about it yesterday on an email list as to how it wasn't a great fighting knife. He pointed out this forum and said "You know, you should go to the Manufacturer's Forum over there and tell them what you think and ask for fixes for the problems." That's the last time I take HIS advice. Andy may never sell me another knife again after this!

I've since seen him online replying to me here (I won't give up who he is; I ain't a snitch) but let's just say that he's been yukking it up at everyone's expense from Andy's to mine to those of you who think it is all a troll. He COULD have told me what I have learned here on another forum as, being a participant here, he already knew the answers.

Andy, I enjoyed your Bear Story but if you REALLY want to shoot a bear, you must Load and Chamber and keep the hammer cocked! This is why when you pulled the trigger nothing happened

This is what allowed the bear to abuse your firearm and put you in grave peril of your life. I am glad to hear that it was only a small bear and you were able to survive with a "mere" Battle Mistress

With your permission, I will forward the accounts of your heroic bear adventures, with only a stick tang to your credit, to Lynn Thompson so he can use it in his ad literature.

In all seriousness, when Thompson first started his "Special Projects" catalog, not having a web site, I wrote him a letter about his unique products, like the Special Forces Shovel, and CAT Tanto, referring to them as "The Shovel Of Death" and "The Plastic Of Death." He was, as I recall, not at all pleased with my sense of humor.

Oh, well. You still talking to me, Andy?

Is it possible to get a variant with a straight tang and no choil cutout?

By the way, do you want to get in on my new Self Defense Company startup? As a good shooter, I keep getting asked as to what kind of gun to get for a bedridden octegenarian in case he, or she, is attacked by an outlaw biker gang.

My answer: a water pistol, hooked up to the bedpan, so said defender will not have to reload too often

 

[OwenM]

Ok, they say a picture is worth a thousand words, so let me try this:
So much for my picture, try this:
www.lameyknives.com/scorp2.jpg

That is a Matt Lamey Scorpion Fighter. It has a 7" blade, and should be similar in overall size to your Steel Heart. The blade is thinner (3/16"), fully flat ground to a very thin edge. It's recurved for better slicing (slashing) potential. Notice the tip. Very thin, very sharp, but not well supported. It would penetrate soft tissue like clothing or flesh with ease, but would probably snap off the first time you tried to pry with it. The knife should be very light, very quick (I say should be, because I have not handled one, just using the photo to demonstrate the differences). It's a FIGHTER. It can serve other purposes but by design it is intended to be an effective WEAPON.

When we refer to "combat" knives (regardless of Webster's definition), most of us probably envision a (infantry) soldier's knife. Because there are plenty of other weapons at a soldier's disposal, his knife is usually used for the everyday tasks that come his way. It needs to be tough enough to handle almost any job, as there is no way to predict what it will be used for from day to day. That might include chopping, prying, heavy-duty cutting jobs, etc. Since he is in the field IT MUST NOT FAIL. That is the number one priority. You can't go to the store and get a new knife when you're out in the middle of nowhere.

My view may not mirror that of everyone out there, but those are some differences between what many of us commonly perceive a "fighter" and a "combat" knife to be. Which one you would want your life to depend on would depend wholly on the situation and surroundings you find yourself in.

Something tells me that Lamey might have been more like what you were looking for, though what you have is an awesome knife suited to a much wider variety of tasks.
Hope that helped a little.


[This message has been edited by OwenM (edited 12-30-2000).]

 

[OwenM]

I forgot to mention the handles. The "E" handle pretty much limits you to a fore or saber grip. This is practical for heavy cutting and chopping. It isn't really suited to a reverse, "paintbrush", or edge-up grip, any of which might be called for in a fighter dependant upon your discipline/technique.

My .02

 

[Andy Prisco]

Frank...you and I are fine my man...this has all been OK with me. I will certainly sell you a Variant and we can talk about it off line.

As for Cold Steel's products...great knives for the price...however, the results have truly been in for some time now...there is no knife in the world that has even come close to the publically performed testing which Busse Combat has done, and continues to do every year.

And BTW, yes, the video clip I wanted you to see was not on the Busse site as I assumed...contact them to buy the full tape and you will be amazed. As previously indicated, there are a host of tests available here at BladeForums if you do a search.

I am locking this thread because this topic needs to be confined to the original for ease of reading, which is here http://www.bladeforums.com/ubb/Forum39/HTML/000877.html



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