One knife to rule them all, my grail has arrived.

[230grains]

Now she's ready to chop. The knife had some major staining on parts, and wood stuck to the spine, pretty much glued on there. Heavy scratching in parts too, this knife was a user when I bought it, but I want it to have my own scars so I wanted to start with a fresh blank and a new ghetto satin. The test team logo is gone now, I didn't take off all that much. I pretty much just did the same as Peter did with his, I think it's a slightly more favorable grind and hopefully it will bite a bit deeper now. My goal is a chop down to the spine, I think it's VERY possible with this knife.

She's sharp too... Not 10 degrees though, I learned my lesson. I'd say probably about a 20 degree convex edge.

This one I will not be selling in a few months, you'd have to pry it from my grave to get it.

 

[d762nato]

You sure got that KZ looking good now 230, can't wait to see some chopping vids/pictures with you swinging that beast. Your ice fishing buddys are going to freak out when you show up with that big as# blade. Great job Bro, take care and be safe. :thumbup:

 

[SonoftheNorth]

that looks really good

 

[Ankerson]

Now she's ready to chop. The knife had some major staining on parts, and wood stuck to the spine, pretty much glued on there. Heavy scratching in parts too, this knife was a user when I bought it, but I want it to have my own scars so I wanted to start with a fresh blank and a new ghetto satin. The test team logo is gone now, I didn't take off all that much. I pretty much just did the same as Peter did with his, I think it's a slightly more favorable grind and hopefully it will bite a bit deeper now. My goal is a chop down to the spine, I think it's VERY possible with this knife.

She's sharp too... Not 10 degrees though, I learned my lesson. I'd say probably about a 20 degree convex edge.


This one I will not be selling in a few months, you'd have to pry it from my grave to get it.

Really nice looking blade man. :thumbup:

We definitely need to see more photos and maybe a video of you using it.

 

[rpn]

Great! Best looking Busse in my eyes...

Weighing in at a mean 160 lb- don't think I can fling it around like you can!

 

[Coupchoux]

not entirely sure what the indian bus is supposed to imply in that post.

there is a huge difference in how people will respond to "junk steel" vs "salvaged steel". If you call a 1,200$ custom knife made by a current well known maker out of salvaged 5160 springs at blade show you'll get a lot of negative feedback. "technically" the word is correct, but it would be silly to be surprised by a negative response to it. "junk" has negative connotations for most people.

I've handled some absolutely amazing 5160 khukuri's that hold a better edge longer than infi because they are at a higher rc. Certainly not tougher, but they can be made superior to infi in certain area's of performance even though they are made from salvaged metal.

I'm totally agree with you : you have seen some super khuks. But the principal difference between (for exemple) Busse knives and quality khukuries made out of salvaged 5160 springs is that you can trust the quality (AND the regularity of this quality) of the Busse. You cannot with khuks because of the steel source, its origin. The lack of certainty of their steel provenance will be always the "Sword of Damocles" with khuks (that's what this indian bus is supposed to imply).
Even if khururies are wonderfull knives, even if there are "super mega top" quality khuks, even if I'm myself a khuk afficionado I'm able to recognize this deadly weakness. It's not complicate to understand.
If probability is a way of expressing knowledge or belief that an event will occur or has occurred, so the probability to break a blade, to get a soft blade, to receive a blade with a deflection is more important with khukuries. This is my experience with my 12 high quality khuks since 8 years of use into forests and mountains.


Excuse me 230grains, I stop with this subject into your post. Wonderfull leaf shaped blade man! Congratulations! Please give us your feedback about your aventures with your new sharp companion!

 

[Cpl Punishment]

Glad you like it.

BTW with the baldric rig properly adjusted, my belt and shoulder strap both take some of the weight, and it's quite comfortable to wear all day. Plus, I have a shorter knife mounted to the strap. Think of it, you KZ, and (re-furbished/replaced) BS on one rig that's easy to put on and wear. . . ."We don't need no stinkin backpack!"

 

[J. Oeser]

That looks sweet! One of these days I will get the courage to take my Busse's to the grinder. Nice Job.


.

 

[Last Visible Canary]

I'm totally agree with you : you have seen some super khuks. But the principal difference between (for exemple) Busse knives and quality khukuries made out of salvaged 5160 springs is that you can trust the quality (AND the regularity of this quality) of the Busse. You cannot with khuks because of the steel source, its origin. The lack of certainty of their steel provenance will be always the "Sword of Damocles" with khuks (that's what this indian bus is supposed to imply).
Even if khururies are wonderfull knives, even if there are "super mega top" quality khuks, even if I'm myself a khuk afficionado I'm able to recognize this deadly weakness. It's not complicate to understand.
If probability is a way of expressing knowledge or belief that an event will occur or has occurred, so the probability to break a blade, to get a soft blade, to receive a blade with a deflection is more important with khukuries. This is my experience with my 12 high quality khuks since 8 years of use into forests and mountains.


Excuse me 230grains, I stop with this subject into your post. Wonderfull leaf shaped blade man! Congratulations! Please give us your feedback about your aventures with your new sharp companion!

there we go, THAT I have absolutely no qualms about :thumbup:

in the last posts (including the bus photo's) it seemed liked the implication was that they were crap because they came from a trash heap and that india was an overcrowded (insert expletive description) where nothing of quality could be made. obviously thats not the case, but it seemed like it without the explanation. I've gotten a huge variety of heat treats including tiny 1.5" sweet spots that were super hard, half hardned (55rc) full ricasso to tip, and a very rare properly hard sweet spot with semi hard tip and recurve. out of the 40 or so I've owned about 5 of them I would call really high quality, properly heat treated blades. Thats actually the reason (and handle ergonomics) that I went through 40 of them o_0, looking for specific temper lines and handle sizes.


If I had the money I think I'd buy a moab, kz, and ruck kensai and actually keep all 3 of them. But as it is it's really hard for me to get past the 600$ nmfbm limit, that extra 200$ is a huge deterant for me, even though 600$ is already over twice the bluebook value of my car

someday.


I'm curious how these would do with the new gemini-7 handle with hand shaped mags...

 

[PeterPHWS]

Way to go 230 ! :thumbup: I am pretty sure you will achieve your goal of sinking that blade to the spine ....

Presenting the knife to the wood in a straight downward swing with the wood at 45 degrees works best .... I always tilt my logs to chop them .... and keep an eye "all the time" on my footwork/footplacement to avoid a swing through ... you don't get a bounce easily when the wood is angled and the chop goes straight down .... but angling the knife swing to a vertical or horizontal section of wood and you need to think "position...position"....just like doing "tameshigiri" :thumbup:

I personally think the power available in the KZ is similar to a Japanese Katana but it is shorter and you won't hit the ground .... so mistakes could cost limbs .... and I am careful .... " Hop a Long Pete" is not a nickname I relish ....:thumbup:

 

[230grains]

LVC, I saw in peters thread you asked if it's worth trading in an NMFBM for a killa z. My advice? Yes it is. The only stipulation is that you don't mind the weight trade off, this knife is HEFTY, but it's a truly dedicated chopper. I can also make some very nice feathersticks with it surprisingly. It can take care of most anything, but I wouldn't want to dress small game with it.

 

[230grains]

Way to go 230 ! :thumbup: I am pretty sure you will achieve your goal of sinking that blade to the spine ....

Presenting the knife to the wood in a straight downward swing with the wood at 45 degrees works best .... I always tilt my logs to chop them .... and keep an eye "all the time" on my footwork/footplacement to avoid a swing through ... you don't get a bounce easily when the wood is angled and the chop goes straight down .... but angling the knife swing to a vertical or horizontal section of wood and you need to think "position...position"....just like doing "tameshigiri" :thumbup:

I personally think the power available in the KZ is similar to a Japanese Katana but it is shorter and you won't hit the ground .... so mistakes could cost limbs .... and I am careful .... " Hop a Long Pete" is not a nickname I relish ....:thumbup:

Yeah, I'm pretty sure it should bite deep enough to almost hit the spine right now. I really didn't have to remove all that much, it was almost all cosmetic, removing staining/scratches. I'm looking forward to really putting a hurting on it this weekend.

 

[rutmi01]

That is awesome 230. I'm glad you found a busse blade that truly suits your needs and build. Enjoy taking down some lumber, and have pity on the trees with a legit future.

 

[PeterPHWS]

LVC, I saw in peters thread you asked if it's worth trading in an NMFBM for a killa z. My advice? Yes it is. The only stipulation is that you don't mind the weight trade off, this knife is HEFTY, but it's a truly dedicated chopper. I can also make some very nice feathersticks with it surprisingly. It can take care of most anything, but I wouldn't want to dress small game with it.

It is comforting to hear your take on this 230 .... and I agree if you want Infi in it's best package for chopping the KZ is hard to beat .... I think once the knife is the way the owner "likes it" there is great scope for actually lightening an overall package of tools you might otherwise carry ....

I think the KZ is starting to "take off" for the HOGS on the forum who want a dedicated "chopper" .... which is good because it is amazing at doing this :thumbup:

For me I could swap a GFB SFA and a light long knife like the Hossom or a Machete and go for the KZ for both duties .... working on my arms using the KZ over time and I think I will have no worries using the KZ for brush work .... I don't get that much of it .... the great thing I like is if carrying it in a baldric or shoulder holster style you don't have to stop and get your pack off to clear deadfall or if shooting deer in our Forestry Commission woodland and they bleed out in cover .... the KZ will be much more handy than swapping between an Axe and a long knife to clear a path to drag the carcass out.

The NMFBM though does do this pretty darn well .... but the KZ will beat it on chopping wood ...

No way can you drag a big Sika Stag or Red Stag out whilst on your hands and knees ... so path clearing will be a big plus ... I do a lot of deer work over here. There are hardly any hunters here compared to the US and we can shoot deer all year round .... you almost need to if you are under contract for "stalking rights" ... so the KZ is looking good for me ... even outside a military role ....

I think I will have a look at doing some bushcraft/fire preperation work with the KZ and do a post on it .... I also want to do more edge comparison work on cutting with asymetrical edges and convex and V grind .... so could combine both...

 

[Jerry Busse]

Nice score!!!

Congrats HOG!!!! :thumbup:

Jerry



.

 

[Lapp_Dance]

Nice score!!!

Congrats HOG!!!! :thumbup:

Jerry



.

bring on the CG KZ Jerry! my tax return is waiting for you!

 

[Ankerson]

I think a CG KZ with hand shaped MICARTA would be nice.

 

[Jason M D.]

You did a good job cleaning up the blade. It looks good without the logo too.
:thumbup:

Now she's ready to chop. The knife had some major staining on parts, and wood stuck to the spine, pretty much glued on there. Heavy scratching in parts too, this knife was a user when I bought it, but I want it to have my own scars so I wanted to start with a fresh blank and a new ghetto satin. The test team logo is gone now, I didn't take off all that much. I pretty much just did the same as Peter did with his, I think it's a slightly more favorable grind and hopefully it will bite a bit deeper now. My goal is a chop down to the spine, I think it's VERY possible with this knife.

She's sharp too... Not 10 degrees though, I learned my lesson. I'd say probably about a 20 degree convex edge.

This one I will not be selling in a few months, you'd have to pry it from my grave to get it.

 

[230grains]

Nice score!!!

Congrats HOG!!!! :thumbup:

Jerry



.

Thanks Jerry. I have NOTHING bad to say about this knife, I'm honestly super super impressed with it, the best knife I've ever handled and I LOVED my nmfbm. Now bring on the CG so I can get one too!

 

[Last Visible Canary]

does anyone know what the weights are for the nmfbm vs. the killa zilla? The comparison is killing me... I keep asking myself "do I really need another khukuri..."