Please help--can't decide: GW or BAD?

T

ta1sho

Joined
Jul 15, 2010
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419
That's right, HOGS; I'm looking to EDC a Busse, so can ya help this little piglet decide? I've carried folders for the past 20 years--Emmersons, Striders, Hinderers--and am looking to move towards carrying a fixed blade, so it's gotta be a Busse. It will be performing any and all cutting tasks I need it to perform... I've held both, so I know how they feel in hand; and both feel great. Really love the ergonomics of both the GW and the BAD. Curious to see if either has a better edge retention, easier to sharpen, lighter/heavier, how they look to non-knifers or any LEO (should I happen to get pulled over--I'm in Ohio, btw where knife laws are ambiguous to say the least), etc. etc. I'll be getting a taco style kydex sheath for whichever model I choose; something that would fit easily in a pocket or IWB or on the belt. I've narrowed my search down to a .17" GW in tigerhide and a .13" BAD in black paper (both with satin blades). I know both are great knives, and will serve me well, but I want to hear why you chose your particular model, and how you use it and how it holds up. Thank you in advance for your thoughts, opinions, recommendations, and stories. I'll be working out of town most of the day today, so I won't be back to check back until this evening, but I'm looking forward to seeing your responses when I do.

Thanks again,
- D
 
I prefer the Active Duty over the Game Warden because its larger in size and fits better in my hand.

I prefer the blade shape also on the AD.
 
My fixed blade EDC is a .140" Game Warden . I have tried thicker Game Wardens , but find the thinner versions to be more versatile for most EDC tasks . The BAD is a great knife , super slicer and light weight to carry . My main problem with the BAD is the very thin blade tip , just not enough meat there to inspire much confidence .
 
I would lean to the BAD. Thinner and harder, what's not to like? As long as you dont try anything ridiculous, the thinner tip should not matter. The only potential downside is the longer handle, depending on how you carry. Then go with a skinny GW in 0.14".
 
I have both max warden and max duty that I carry. Love both. Can't go wrong with either one. I do like the elmax versions for edc due to the sliciness.
As banana clip said, the AD will fit your hand better and is very comfortable. The GW is the most blade in the smallest package you'll find in fixed blade. Which is a great plus for edc. So it just depends on what you want.
I would say get both then sell the one you liked least. Or do what I did and keep both!
I have a condos leather in-pocket sheath for both mine and can't recommend that enough for fixed blade edc.

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I have both those blades. I edc my cs tigerhide active duty with a clip grind over the nad now. My gw hack also tigerhide is my backup edc to it. Ive found that the handle on the ad is a bit better for heavy tasks. But the gw carries a bit better and is nice for fine work. My ad is .19 and the gw hack is .17 i believe. Ive not found the bad of mine to be any better for edc use with the thinner blade and higher rc and only carry the csad now as it fits my hand better being thicker. I believe the hand feel for edc is more important than having a slightly better slicer. Plus i never worry about the tip. I sharpen it about every 3-4 weeks or after some serious abuse. The bad i sharpened in the same time frames so i never saw the advantage other than slicing just a bit better. All my edc blades have a full convex edge and are carried in kydex scout or belt style. Hope that helps. This is my experience over the last 2 years of edc use with mine. I was only a folder guy before that. [emoji106]
Either way you ate good. If you can i would just get both. And one will just be on you more. That's the one to keep. [emoji109]


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I'm in Ohio as well and have been EDC'ing a fixed blade for close to 10 years. I wouldn't worry about the laws here unless you are the type of person who does things to draw the attention of police. The law is vague because it's all around intent of use of the knife. I'm not defending it but it is what it is. Get arrested for breaking and entry and rest assured it will be called a weapon. Get pulled over for speeding, cooperate and no worries. I got a ticket on my V-max a number of years ago and the office saw my Microtech Scarab on my front pocket and asked to see it. I'm thinking here we go.. so I handed it to him, he fired it a few times and said man I have always wanted one of these and handed it back to me.

When you said BAD I thought you meant Bad Warden.. slightly more obscure but definitely a low profile EDC-able blade as well.

Between the Active Duty and Game Warden I have somewhere around 15-16 of them. Since you seem to be looking at thinner blades I think the BAD is a better choice if the grip fits you better, and it probably will. The blade profile is more useful for EDC tasks IMO. I don't think anyone has mentioned it yet but the BAD is higher Rockwell so it'll keep an edge slightly better.

As far as carrying them goes I don't see a difference in either with the right rig.

Once you commit to a fixed blade every day you'll never go back. So much more convenient and frees a pocket. I started when I began pocket carrying my concealed carry pistol.

Don't overlook some of the other great Busse's for EDC. The AMS, MSE, MBC, LMS, Culti, TS, and many limited run or variants are all models you can look at once adjusted to carrying a fixed everyday.

Here are a few of my favorites for carry in addition to the AD and GW..

Fogo De Chao:

001a3954544dd08d6c392a9fde519308.jpg


Nuclear EDC:

14ecd7f4f9e0b79f19027a1daf54ccb6.jpg


Bad Warden:

ddf65d78b9bfa6a2049dc4c56bca6f56.jpg




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In case it makes a difference to you, I believe the BAD was hardened to 60-62 Rc, while pretty much all the other Busses from recent years, includeing the GW, have been 50-60 Rc. In case that makes a difference.

I have literally dozens of GW's and I'm a big GW fan, but in this case, for EDC, I'd go BAD.
 
cpirtle said:
I'm in Ohio as well and have been EDC'ing a fixed blade for close to 10 years. I wouldn't worry about the laws here unless you are the type of person who does things to draw the attention of police. The law is vague because it's all around intent of use of the knife. I'm not defending it but it is what it is. Get arrested for breaking and entry and rest assured it will be called a weapon. Get pulled over for speeding, cooperate and no worries. I got a ticket on my V-max a number of years ago and the office saw my Microtech Scarab on my front pocket and asked to see it. I'm thinking here we go.. so I handed it to him, he fired it a few times and said man I have always wanted one of these and handed it back to me.

When you said BAD I thought you meant Bad Warden.. slightly more obscure but definitely a low profile EDC-able blade as well.

Between the Active Duty and Game Warden I have somewhere around 15-16 of them. Since you seem to be looking at thinner blades I think the BAD is a better choice if the grip fits you better, and it probably will. The blade profile is more useful for EDC tasks IMO. I don't think anyone has mentioned it yet but the BAD is higher Rockwell so it'll keep an edge slightly better.

As far as carrying them goes I don't see a difference in either with the right rig.

Once you commit to a fixed blade every day you'll never go back. So much more convenient and frees a pocket. I started when I began pocket carrying my concealed carry pistol.

Don't overlook some of the other great Busse's for EDC. The AMS, MSE, MBC, LMS, Culti, TS, and many limited run or variants are all models you can look at once adjusted to carrying a fixed everyday.

Here are a few of my favorites for carry in addition to the AD and GW..

Fogo De Chao:

001a3954544dd08d6c392a9fde519308.jpg


Nuclear EDC:

14ecd7f4f9e0b79f19027a1daf54ccb6.jpg


Bad Warden:

ddf65d78b9bfa6a2049dc4c56bca6f56.jpg




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

Thanks for the input, neighbor!! Absolutely beautiful knives, btw!! 👍👍
 
Thank you, everyone for putting in your $.02 to help me out; I really love hearing everyone's stories& opinions!! Y'all are a great bunch of people!!! That being said, I think I'm gonna pull the trigger on both, and depending on how I feel about them, either sell the one that's left out or put it in the safe. Regardless, I'll let y'all know which sees the most use.
 
I carry a SAR-3. I have a MAD, a MGW, and a BGAD, all are good knives too. I just like the lines of the SAR-3 the best. Sorry no pics though, I'm lame.
 
Definitely not lame with that collection! I've held a SAR3 and am simply not a fan... love the SAR4 though!! I really like the ergonomics of the AD and the GW; they both can sit in the pocket of my palm in a more "blade forward" position.
 
I have EDC'd both GWs and ADs for years, and I find that I usually carry the GW in the weekday office environment where even the non-knife people don't see the GW as anything threatening, but usually switch to the AD on the weekends in the garden and on the trail.
 
I like the BAD due to the thinness of the blade (esp. the point) and the extra hardness of the steel. Here is the text from the Busse Company Store ad from years ago:

Here's a new take on the Active Duty. The Boney Active Duty featured here is a super thin slicer and dicer with a full flat grind at 1/8th inch!

The BAD's are mission specific designed to be wicked slicers!

We have bumped the hardness on these to 60-62 rc for better wear resistance when cutting softer materials and in order to better support the extra fine point and edge.

These by far are the thinnest ground EDC blades to ever leave the Busse Shop. The edge of the primary bevel is ground down to .012 - .015 prior to sharpening and the distal taper extends nearly the full length of the cutting edge!

The tips are VERY fine and are not designed for prying or heavy abuse... No worries though. If you find yourself in a precarious situation and need to abuse your BAD, you are still covered by our warranty..
 
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