Revised - again: Busse Dirt Dart Steel Heart **Warning: Lots o’ Pics**

[scdub]

Hello Knife People!

A couple of days ago I received a new design from Busse Combat called the “Dirt Dart Steel Heart”, and I just got to try it out.

Note that these are just my first impressions and not a full review - I’ll update again after I’ve had more time using the knife.

**Revised 12/31/23***
There’s a review now - post #13. Happy New Year!

At 15 oz, I consider it a large field knife or smaller survival knife.

It came shaving sharp and with very good fit/finish.

I had my first opportunity to take it out for a field trip today. It was raining but I didn’t let that stop me - that’s what blade coatings are there for right?


I gave the DD it’s first taste of wood next to this little creek.


I found a rough skinned newt and a banana slug eating a mushroom…



And got a picture with this “goose pen” redwood - a nice spot to dry off.


Unfortunately I didn’t find anything blocking the trail to chop up, but I did find a nice branch to make into a walking stick.

I left the stick on the trail for the next hiker.


The DD chopped well. The blade is pretty thin for a Bussekin but I’ll still thin the edge a bit when it’s due for a sharpening.

The handle shape does cause a bit of “pinky bite” when chopping, but it also feels extremely secure in hand. I was able to minimize pinky bite by using a lighter/looser chopping style, and I’m looking forward to trying a lanyard on the forward talon hole to hopefully eliminate it completely for longer chopping sessions.

Naturally when I was done with my hike it stopped raining.


And now the Dirt Dart is clean and oily again.


I’m very happy with this knife overall. It’s my absolute favorite Busse design, and I hope Jerry makes this a regular offering…

 

[MattinLA]

Great review! The last several Bussekin I've received have had really nice grinds as well.
Cool pics.
Ps Banana Slugs FTW

 

[MacLaren1]

Yessir, nice job indeed!
Complete w/video and all.
I would concur with Matt about the grinds.
There's just no better steel than INFI imo & just no better designs than a Busse.
They are the undisputed King of Fixed Blade Knives.

 

[scdub]

Ps Banana Slugs FTW

 

[Alberta Ed]

Formidable.

 

[Knife-smuggler]

Hello Knife People!

A couple of days ago I received a new design from Busse Combat called the “Dirt Dart Steel Heart”, and I just got to try it out.

Note that these are just my first impressions and not a full review - I’ll update again after I’ve had more time using the knife.

At 15 oz, I consider it a large field knife or smaller survival knife.

It came shaving sharp and with very good fit/finish.

I had my first opportunity to take it out for a field trip today. It was raining but I didn’t let that stop me - that’s what blade coatings are there for right?
View attachment 2416038

I gave the DD it’s first taste of wood next to this little creek.
View attachment 2416024

I found a rough skinned newt and a banana slug eating a mushroom…
View attachment 2416037
View attachment 2416039View attachment 2416035

And got a picture with this “goose pen” redwood - a nice spot to dry off.
View attachment 2416025

Unfortunately I didn’t find anything blocking the trail to chop up, but I did find a nice branch to make into a walking stick.
View attachment 2416022

I left the stick on the trail for the next hiker.
View attachment 2416021

The DD chopped well. The blade is pretty thin for a Bussekin but I’ll still thin the edge a bit when it’s due for a sharpening.

The handle shape does cause a bit of “pinky bite” when chopping, but it also feels extremely secure in hand. I was able to minimize pinky bite by using a lighter/looser chopping style, and I’m looking forward to trying a lanyard on the forward talon hole to hopefully eliminate it completely for longer chopping sessions.

Naturally when I was done with my hike it stopped raining.
View attachment 2416020

And now the Dirt Dart is clean and oily again.
View attachment 2416019

I’m very happy with this knife overall. It’s my absolute favorite Busse design, and I hope Jerry makes this a regular offering…

Nicely done

 

[Cobalt]

awesome. I like the design. might be one of the best designs yet in a small knife.

 

[scdub]

The Dirt Dart Steel Heart has all the elements of a superior field and fighting blade.

This is a magnificent knife that simply floats in your hand. . .

Agreed!

 

[scdub]

I’ve had the knife out for a couple more hikes.

I tried using a lanyard through the front talon hole and it worked great to defeat pinky bite. I don’t expect I’ll use it often but it’s nice to know it’s an option.

might be one of the best designs yet in a small knife.

Combine this with the aggressive long clip point of an Urgent Fury and you have created a lightweight blade that is ready for war.

It’s funny to me that this is considered a “small” “lightweight” knife for a Busse.

Most folks in the States have probably never even HELD such a substantial knife!

 

[Cobalt]

Looks like a good all arounder

 

[scdub]

Just a little update on “pinky bite”.

Today I found a particular way to use paracord and the Busse talon hole to allow for very easy, loose chopping with zero pinky bite and even more security than standard thumb or wrist lanyard wrap systems imo.

It may take a few tries to get it adjusted and slung correctly, but when done properly it should hold the knife in place with an open hand.

 

[Fumetsu]

Looks like another great offering from Busse. I wish I could play with more of these, looks incredibly satisfying. Beautiful pictures!!!

 

[scdub]

I got back out yesterday.



And happily found a few branches and a small tree blocking the trail.


I didn’t use paracord while dealing with the other branches, but when I found this tree I rigged up my suspension system again and tried it out.


I’m pleased to say that it worked just as well in the field as it did on my deck.


Because this system essentially binds the knife to your hand, you can chop with full power but with a light grip.

In fact I was kinda “throwing” the knife into the wood for much of the chopping. This seemed to produce more power but did negatively impact my precision a bit.

Because of this setup, the DDSH can chop well above its weight class/size/balance. The trunk took about 8 minutes.


I’ve had two INFI blades to try out now.


The SYKCO came with a relatively thick primary grind and initially didn’t chop wood as efficiently as I would like, so I sent it to David Mary for a regrind. I haven’t measured, but now the DD and the AD6 have approximately the same edge profiles. The DD is a v-grind, but will eventually match the convex of the AD6 through hand sharpening.

Eventually. It might be YEARS in this case because the edge retention of INFI in wood chopping is better than any other steels I’ve experienced.

I don’t have any choppers in “super steels”, but I’ve used lots of SR101, SR77 and 5160 among other carbon steels. All of them perform well on wood and are easily resharpened with natural rocks/stones which is my preference.

All of these steels will inevitably take tiny microscopic chips/rolls when used to chop wood - especially through bark/dirty wood. These aren’t deformations that you can see, but that you will detect using a fingernail or paper cut.

So far I’m extremely impressed that unlike with my other field knives/choppers, neither of my INFI knives have developed any microchipping of this kind. They also seem to dull at a slower rate than other carbon steels through wood - which is what I use my large fixed blades on. I’ve put a few hours chopping on the AD6 and probably 30 minutes on the DD.

So far my Dirt Dart has only seen a strop and will still cleanly slice paper and scrape arm hair on the most used section.

Great job Busse!

 

[Riz!]

I’ve had the knife out for a couple more hikes.

I tried using a lanyard through the front talon hole and it worked great to defeat pinky bite. I don’t expect I’ll use it often but it’s nice to know it’s an option.




It’s funny to me that this is considered a “small” “lightweight” knife for a Busse.

Most folks in the States have probably never even HELD such a substantial knife!

View attachment 2426370View attachment 2426368View attachment 2426369View attachment 2426367View attachment 2426362View attachment 2426363View attachment 2426365View attachment 2426364View attachment 2426366

Still rocking an X26? Time to get your agency to upgrade to a T10

I love your review and pics.

 

[scdub]

Time to get your agency to upgrade to a T10

I recently became an official Taser instructor and that’s what I’ve been telling ppl too. With 10 shots it almost seems like cheating.

 

[Cobalt]

I got back out yesterday.
View attachment 2440573
View attachment 2440600

And happily found a few branches and a small tree blocking the trail.
View attachment 2440602

I didn’t use paracord while dealing with the other branches, but when I found this tree I rigged up my suspension system again and tried it out.
View attachment 2440560

I’m pleased to say that it worked just as well in the field as it did on my deck.
View attachment 2440603

Because this system essentially binds the knife to your hand, you can chop with full power but with a light grip.

In fact I was kinda “throwing” the knife into the wood for much of the chopping. This seemed to produce more power but did negatively impact my precision a bit.

Because of this setup, the DDSH can chop well above its weight class/size/balance. The trunk took about 8 minutes.
View attachment 2440601

I’ve had two INFI blades to try out now.
View attachment 2440611

The SYKCO came with a relatively thick primary grind and initially didn’t chop wood as efficiently as I would like, so I sent it to David Mary for a regrind. I haven’t measured, but now the DD and the AD6 have approximately the same edge profiles. The DD is a v-grind, but will eventually match the convex of the AD6 through hand sharpening.

Eventually. It might be YEARS in this case because the edge retention of INFI in wood chopping is better than any other steels I’ve experienced.

I don’t have any choppers in “super steels”, but I’ve used lots of SR101, SR77 and 5160 among other carbon steels. All of them perform well on wood and are easily resharpened with natural rocks/stones which is my preference.

All of these steels will inevitably take tiny microscopic chips/rolls when used to chop wood - especially through bark/dirty wood. These aren’t deformations that you can see, but that you will detect using a fingernail or paper cut.

So far I’m extremely impressed that unlike with my other field knives/choppers, neither of my INFI knives have developed any microchipping of this kind. They also seem to dull at a slower rate than other carbon steels through wood - which is what I use my large fixed blades on. I’ve put a few hours chopping on the AD6 and probably 30 minutes on the DD.

So far my Dirt Dart has only seen a strop and will still cleanly slice paper and scrape arm hair on the most used section.

Great job Busse!

Excellent review. The blade is small for a chopper but if u have to it seems like it can do a good job. Very good design.

 

[scdub]

A little update.

Since my last post I have reduced the edge angle to around 18-20 dps, and with this geometry the knife is really cutting beautifully now.

I used a new stone for the reprofile. It’s the Shapton 1000 grit orange ceramic water stone and it worked very well for this job along with my Lego angle guide. I finished the edge with my Spyderco ultra-fine ceramic, an even finer home made chert sharpening rock and a home made leather strop loaded with diamond.


With such a sharp edge and the lanyard trick it’s also now one of my favorite crafting knives. I used it exclusively to rough-out a pair of workout clubs, or “meels”.

I also made a Bolatron sheath which turned out pretty sweet imho.

This knife is still a favorite and is my most carried woods fixed-blade at the moment. Highly recommended.