opinions re the best 8-9" all-arounder?

If your going to just leave it in your truck kit, I would go with the NMSFNO a very tough and moderately priced Busse.
If moneys no object then the HH of some type. There are quite a few Busse's that will fill the bill these days though. ;)
 
With all arounder being the key word I would take the Sar 8. It will do everything the others do for chopping etc, but will be much better @ game/food prep and intricate task.

Its also gauranteed to be satin which is definitely a plus with game and food.

FOr the money.....DSF stripped. Were else can you get 8" INFI wearing micarta for the price?
 
Of those listed, if I were going to pick just one, I'd probably go with the NMFSNO. I agree that the handshaped scales are worth the extra money & effort to find. I haven't tried a TM yet, but I'm hoping to pick one up soon, however I don't think it'll be as good a chopper as the NMFSFNO. I wasn't crazy about the double guard on the TG, when I handled it a blade, but it might come in handy if you decided to make a spear out of it. As for the SAR 8, I prefer a wider blade in that lenght. I've had a couple of FSH's and they all made me want a BM, instead:D I'm not a big fan of one midsized blade. It's a compromise, and if it's going to be riding in a BOB bag, I'd consider a BWM & a Boss Streets, Meaner, AD, or GW.

GregB
 
knife hunter said:
With all arounder being the key word I would take the Sar 8. It will do everything the others do for chopping etc, but will be much better @ game/food prep and intricate task.

Its also gauranteed to be satin which is definitely a plus with game and food.

FOr the money.....DSF stripped. Were else can you get 8" INFI wearing micarta for the price?
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Pretty much my thoughts.

Had a NMSFNO but it doesn't chop as well as the bigger boys or handle the smaller tasks as well as the small buys so I hardly used it. I'd just carry a BM and a folder.

Got a SAR8 and it for me was, for a time, the best mid-sizer going. Recently got a DSF and now it holds that spot. Light, fast, tough and adaptable to many tasks.

I guess you have to match the knife to your own expectations. I have learned to be more reasonable with the tasks I set a knife in this size bracket.
 
another vote for NMSFNO.

Dont own a TG, but I would think that the guard on the top side of the blade could be annoying and uncomfortable when choking up to take advantage of the choil...
 
knife hunter said:
FOr the money.....DSF stripped. Were else can you get 8" INFI wearing micarta for the price?
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You got a pic of a DSF stripped?

Anyway, another vote for the NMSFNO because:

1) Price is still around 327 if you can find one at a gun show (that's what mine cost from Mike)

2) Once you get used to it, it's easy to use, and the supper sharp "stabby" tip is nice.

However, if I had the choice of going back in time, I'd choose the NMSFNO with the shapped scales. The grooves make a lot of heat spots and are somewhat uncomfortable while chopping. I've sanded mine down a lot.

The NMSFNO would make a better chopper though with a fusion handle, but the handle it has now works fine.

They make good throwers, great batoners (I've beat the piss out of mine); they're just a good all round knife, I love my FFBM, but the size with a leather sheath gets kind of awkward carrying around.
 
I have the NMSFNO, SAR8 and HHFSH ... of those, I'd say the SAR8 gives you the greatest capability relative to its weight. If I were taking one out in the woods, it'd be that one. It's forward weighted enough to chop aggressively, and it's got a nice long, sharp convex edge for smaller camp slicing tasks.
 
I just traded a NMSFNO with handshaped Grips

It was the most comfortable Busse Chopper I ever used.

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If you have money to throw around then the FSH or similar, if money is something that is does not just grow on trees then the NMSFNO is going to be hard to beat. If you can find a B9 it might be even better. Although I prefer the looks and feel of the NMSFNO to the B9, the B9 with Res-C is really going to be hard to top in terms of price, weight, capability and long term comfort in use.
 
NMSFNO here!
All of the reasons have been listed by others. It should be stressed that the hand shaped mags are worth the price imho.
 
No Offense Bro - but I have to ask why you think an 8 or 9 incher is necessary?

A SHSJ, Camp Tramp, SOD, etc IMO will serve you well and allow you to carry a more compact BOB

Now if there is a chick involved, stay with the 8-9 hunt :D

BTW my 8-9 vote goes to the NMSFNO LE:thumbup:
 
RedbeAR15 said:
No Offense Bro - but I have to ask why you think an 8 or 9 incher is necessary?

A SHSJ
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:thumbup:SHSJ: mobile, quick, efficient, low profile (short enough) to IWB if you leave the mobile. Very sharp "pry bar" in the perfect sized package.

Budget, No SHSJ: Dogfather
No Object, No SHSJ: SAR8 (Chop, Slice, Pound, Smack, Pry, Prep, Thrust, Quick for 8"er)
 
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what about SHSHs? There are INFI ones, right? how rare and expensive are they?

who uses a SHSH regularly?
 
DowntownDM said:
what about SHSHs? There are INFI ones, right? how rare and expensive are they?

who uses a SHSH regularly?
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they go depending on the condition from $750-$1k+, and usually closer to $900. People love em, and there are some heavy user ones. There is a m8 here who is in SAR, and he has a real beat up one, but that thing got so much character its like chuck noris of knives.
 
+1 vote for NMSFNO.
SAR 8 is too unbalanced to compete NMSFNO & not all the NMSFNO out there, have a coating:yawn:
 
As cruelraoul said, there are many excellent contenders which will all do the tasks you outline. It gets to be some pretty fine "slice 'n dice" of properties & characteristics of the knives to pick just one.

I concur with the advocates of a Big 'Un & Little 'Un pair of knives -- a large chopper in the pack and a small light quick slicer in pocket or on the belt. My particular triumvirate for outdoors adds a lightweight folding pruning saw from Tashiro Hardware in Seattle for sectioning out rounds to split. You could as easily use folding pruning saws from Corona or Silky (or other mfrs) that are more widely available. Here in the NW USA sectioning and splitting are perhaps more needed than elsewhere due to winter wood being soaked from weeks (months) of steady rain.

PeterPHWS said:
Next is the Basic 9 .... you don't have a category for belt carry and weight. It wins this hands down.
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+1 vote for the Basic 9 as a "do it all" knife. As Peter noted, the long thin (spine to edge) blade is facile & quick in hand, yet has enough mass & length to chop acceptably well. The Res-C adds nice insulation in cold weather and a little traction to grip your hand back in use.

In spite of its lesser ability to fulfill your shelter chopping mandate, my "only get ONE knife" champ is still the Basic 7. It seems to do so much passably well (while not shining at any one thing exceptionally) and carries more readily on the belt than the larger Niner or heavier choppers like various flavor BM's, Killa Zilla, NMSFNO, or SARsquatch. When I head out afield, I want my knife (plus firemaking kit) attached to my body in case things go bad and I lose my pack, so the Seven wins out over its larger siblings through the higher probability of actually having it on my belt when needed.

That said, I did like a lot a NMSFNO that I tested out before selling it. It chopped well in my uses and was plenty sharp for food. I think it could be pressed into service to perform most knife functions fairly well without being a "no holds barred" champion at any one of them (like the Basic 7). The NMSFNO suffered the nemesis of all 1/4" thick blades in the kitchen -- crunchy veggies like carrots and daikon radishes -- which it tended to break chunks off more than slice off due to their rigidity. Note that I have a bias for Japanese kitchen knives that often are 1/16" or less at the spine -- no kind of choppers, but they slice 'n cut like crazy.

Budget Knives would be either a Swamp Rat Camp Tramp (CT) if you can find one or a ScrapYard Son Of Dogfather (SOD), with the preference going to the CT for its differential heat treat and the utility of the original cordura/kydex sheath with outer pocket for your Firesteel & tinder (fatwood or firestraws).

Money No Object knife: Steel Heart of your choice. My fave was a SH II that I had the matching BM to make the pair.
 
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I appreciate the responses.

As was said - it's simply varying degrees of awesome no matter the choice.

I just committed to buy a Desert Storm Fighter Terror Monkey.

I think it'll pull all-arounder duty just fine, and be fairly unique.

I see Satin, Convex, and Blaze Orange handles in its future.

I'll post before and after pics.
 
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