Opinions on the Assault Shaker?

M

mikemck

Joined
Sep 22, 2000
Messages
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I have been looking at the Busse Assault Shaker, and I'm hoping at least a few people here have and use these, so I can get some firsthand opinions.
 
I have one and it is the best 2" prybar I have ever owned:D but it is the least expensive way to join the Busse Army & it is made out of INFI:D.A low sodium assault shaker would be cooooool though Hi Jerry is you listening :confused: I DO NOT HAVE A BUSSE PROBLEM!!!!!!8 Busse's in 2 months no problem:D
 
Since I got my Assault Shaker a few months ago, it has been part of my EDC complement of knives. Although some have commented on its weight being heavy for a neck knife, a minute after putting it on I don't even notice that it's there. The only time I think about the weight is if I wear a second neck knife, usually my Livesay ExecNRGS, because then the cumulative weight DOES make an impression. IIRC some folks lace the rivets in the sheath with paracord for belt carry, which would preclude the weight being so much of an issue. In accordance with the old saw that "The best knife to use is the one you have with you", I find that the Shaker probably gets more usage time than most of my knives simply because it's always with me.

I find it a very handy replacement for a utility knife (i.e. Stanley retractible blade utility knives). It did a bang-up job cutting up an old living room carpet into strips for disposal. That's a nasty job for a blade, since the carpet backing is abrasive & there's usually grit and sand embedded in the carpet fibers. The total damage to the knife was the edge dulled from that job & a bit of the coating wore off the tip. But the edge came back readily with some time on the Spyderco Sharpmaker. The satiny steel at the tip is now considered part of the "character" of the knife.

It makes a great junkmail opener and is a good tool for cutting up cardboard boxes & other packaging. Despite the fact that I never seem to get the tip as sharp as the rest of the edge, the tip always seems to slice very cleanly & easily into plastic bags of chips or candy. It works WONDERFULLY for opening boxes with new goodies from Busse. :D As noted, it is a sturdy little prybar and I use it occasionally to open sticky cabinet doors/drawers or stubborn computer cases. In spite of the blade being short and fat (1/4" thick INFI), it cuts well, perhaps because so much of the cutting edge is belly.

I use it almost daily to slice and chunk up my "leftovers du jour" at lunchtime. Its short blade length makes it convenient for cutting operations in the confines of a plastic kitchen storage container. You learn to ignore the scratches it puts on the interior of the containers. ;) It also makes a very handy steak knife at home.

Just yesterday while helping Mrs RokJok with outside projects I used the Shaker to trim off some lengths of decorative vine (dead from a spell of dry weather) from the front of our house. I then used the Shaker's kydex sheath to alleviate finger pressure while screwing in an eye-hook for hanging a basket of fuscias for her. The mouth opening of the sheath is a good size for slipping over the eye of the screw and the kydex is stiff enough to spread out the pressure from turning in the screw, especially the last few turns. I could have gotten a plier from the toolbox to do the job but the Shaker sheath was handier, like right around my neck at the moment.

So my opinion of the Shaker is that it's a very handy, very versatile little blade that helps me in lots of my daily activites.
 
I use mine daily at work for prying open wooden crates that machine parts come in. I attached a Bladetech Tekloc to the sheath for belt carry,and I carry it with me all the time. It takes the abuse with no damage.
 
It's one tough little sucker, that's for sure. The unique combination of handiness and ruggedness is what makes this piece a champ of mine.

Besides, it doubles as my INFI challenge coin should I get called on it by a fellow nuclear knife knut. ;)
 
Oh yeah, that all sounds great. Now I really need one of these!

The Assault Shaker sounds like a really useful knife to have on hand...now I just need to find one at a great price.

Anyone want to trade one for a SERE 2000?
 
Mike,
I have to say that no Busse collection should be without an AS. I have 2, and one is with me all the time. Great knife, sell the SERE and put an AS on order. :D:D
 
Eric,

Yes, I guess selling the SERE is the way to go, as nobody wants to part with a Shaker.

It's funny really, how you just suddenly have to have a particular knife, and nothing will do but that you have one in hand ASAP.

BTW, how do these feel in the hand, with that crinkle coat finish on them? Are they pretty comfortable?
 
Originally posted by mikemck
BTW, how do these feel in the hand, with that crinkle coat finish on them? Are they pretty comfortable?
Click to expand...
They are surprisingly solid in hand for a 3-finger handle and I find mine quite comfortable. The thumb-ramp is a bit ahead of the index finger groove, so it has good control mechanics over the blade.

The crinkle coat isn't particularly noticable during use. I see that mine has worn smooth on the corners of the handle (the right-angle where the sides and top/bottom surfaces meet) and on the side flats at the butt of the handle (near the lanyard hole) from my fingers during usage & constant skin/fabric wear during EDC carrying under my shirt.

Gotta go - time for lunch. Guess which 3-fingered knife will be cutting the chicken today? ;)
 
I absolutely love the knife. I dont own one yet(soon), but I do have one question. Why does this little knife need to be made from 1/4" thick steel? For what this knife is designed for, and considering the almost indestructable steel it is made from, why not use steel stock a little thinner. I mean, even if you went down to 3/16" stock, this would still be indestructable.
 
I am a relative newcomer to the Busse scene compared to most on the site. I have a BM-E, a NO-E, and a ZT Satin jack. I would say I've been a Busse owner for about five-six months maybe. I'm sure people like Cliff, Eric, or others can answer your questions better, but my understanding is that thickness of the knives has to do with the INFI steel. INFI is such a tough steel, it requires more time and more equipement to process it. My understanding is that Busse gets the INFI stock at about the 1/4" thickness (I have heard that is the only way they can get the stock). To grind the INFI stock down to a thinner blade requires lots of time and it's harder on the equipment. This would translate into much higher costs than what is on the current blades.

In all honesty, there's not many duties that I perform that require a delicate (i.e., thinner) blade made of INFI. Don't get me wrong...It would be nice to get a Busse with a thinner profile, but I am hard on a knife and I find his models exceed my needs for durability in a knife when they are in that 1/4" range of thickness. I would imagine that making a knife with a thinner blade (even if it was a 3-4" version) would still put it in the BM or MR. Mojo price range, and I'm not sure that I need a thin blade enough to warrant that kind of price just to have it in INFI. I am more than happy to pay the money for the larger blades that I use for different chores while on my backpacking and other outdoor adventures.

If Jerry came out with a thin blade INFI design in the 3-4" range, I would be all over it if the price didn't go much above the current price for the Killer 'B'.

That's just my answer to your question.
 
I must be missing something, because I really like the blades at .25.
I don't feel like I'm going to snap a blade, or otherwise damage it, like I always have with other brands.
In fact, it's the .25 thickness of the Assault Shaker that puts it ahead of the other available neck knives, as far as I'm concerned...
I mean, besides the great steel, great look, and a great price.

Besides, I just want all the Busse's I can get now anyway.

I've only had my Basic #5 for 2 days now, but I'm really lovin' it!
This is a knife that really does just beg to be used, as I'm sure all of the other Busse's do also.

In other words, I guess I'm just not seeing the cons of the .25 thickness....
 
The Assault Shaker has no scales, so the thinner the stock the thinner your handle will be. This equals more pressure on your hand per grip force applied due to smaller bearing area, which translates to being more painful than the larger stock which has more bearing area. Imagine in an extreme case a skeleton handle in 1/32" stock. It'd cut your hand if you gripped it hard (which you'd have to with such a skinny handle material) and tried to work with it. So fatter stock is your friend for skeleton handles. This is IMHO anyway.

I read somewhere that the Shaker was originally built for LEO/military application and got opened up to us civilians due to over-runs. Or at least that was the info out of Rumor Control. So the thick fat little wedge of a blade may have come from that. Something in the lines of use on hardened targets, metal objects, or mess hall chow. :)
 
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