Photos Small collection. A dream come true + ID help needed

D

DPC

Joined
Dec 28, 2013
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A while ago I managed to own what I could only dream about when I started collecting. At first it was to "have a Busse", then it was to have "the most practical and utilitarian Busses for every situation". Yes, it was a materialistic dream, but a dream nonetheless. That has become a reality.

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Today I can confidently say this chapter is closed and all further Busse acquisitions will be pure overindulging... Not Swamp Rat or Scrap Yard though... of course!

No safe queens, all users. One of them just hasnt had the chance yet.
 
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As much as I love them all, and I do have a lot of knives, I actually know very little about some of them. Perhaps less than any other knife I own.

I'd like to ask if someone could please tell me what model the small Duty knife is. I've looked up on Bussecollector, doesnt fit any of the matches exactly in weight, size, thickness. Is it an Active Duty? A Heavy Duty? when was it produced?. It has black crinkle coating and what I would identify as INFI for the performance and past experiences, and the pitting beneath the coating.

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I've also surprisingly been unable to identify the micarta, it's a weird and beautiful one, with tones of maroon/red, black and what I'd identify as brown or mud brown on the surface. Here are some pics for reference:

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The last big question I have is who made this sheath.

It is by far without exaggeration THE BEST made sheath of any knife I own. It's thick Kydex(?) put into a mold. Its super rugged, light, fits like a glove. It looks bomb proof and the design is beyond anything I've seen to date. True talent was put at work here. My vague guess is it's somewhat old and probably belongs to one of the makers so well loved here in the forums. I've seen Okuden sheaths on Spartan Blades knives and the thickness and texture (and quality) match, he just doesnt make them like that anymore. I could be wrong of course. No markings on the sheath whatsoever.

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It doesnt have the modern adaptability into a bajillion sheath accessories, but the expert loop makes up for it perfectly. It's still very easy to wear or adapt to any way of carry.

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This sheath is very well made and has me intrigued.
 
Nice size range in your collection. Now if you overindulge on Busse’s, I’m sure you’ll be the only one - on planet earth - to do so.
 
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JACKMANDU said:
The Basic 11 is an awesome blade! They are all great choices in there size ranges. But that B11 is a winner:thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:
Click to expand...

The Boss Jack is cool and the Duty a handy little favourite, but I was indeed blown away by the basics. Busses feel a bit on the heavy side to me, but not the basics. The B-5 is an assymetrical do all compact, but I consider the B-11 one of the best knives ever made period that I know of. So thick, so comfortable, so tough... and so incredibly light. It's around 14 oz (!). Just look how much other similar knives weight for that size and thickness. Truly incredible. It's the knife I'd take to star in Naked and Afraid, for sure !
 
DPC said:
The Boss Jack is cool and the Duty a handy little favourite, but I was indeed blown away by the basics. Busses feel a bit on the heavy side to me, but not the basics. The B-5 is an assymetrical do all compact, but I consider the B-11 one of the best knives ever made period that I know of. So thick, so comfortable, so tough... and so incredibly light. It's around 14 oz (!). Just look how much other similar knives weight for that size and thickness. Truly incredible. It's the knife I'd take to star in Naked and Afraid, for sure !
Click to expand...
The B11 starred in a Dual Survival episode. :D:thumbsup:
(Hippo Island)
If the AD is approx .19" thick at the spine AND those are Tigerhide micarta handles, it is a 'black tiger" AD, a variation from the military overrun thickness active duty's. These versions were sold to us in this, & other blade/handle combinations exclusive to a now long gone Busse (Company) Store website where we used to get our "quick fix", lol; knives sold through BCS were ready to ship immediately.
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The AD in it's original CS form is my favorite Busse of all time. If I had to divest myself of all except one, the AD would be that one. Excellent choice for one of your first.
 
Nice collection! :cool:
I think your AD might have tan canvas micarta that has been well used. The old tan canvas micarta would tend to look maroon the more it was handled/used.
 
Thank you all for the replies.

I gave the Duty a washing and this is what the color looks like:
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Perhaps tigerhide - I used to have a black-coated AD with tigerhide slabs that looked similar after a lot of use.
There are several ways to tell a Heavy Duty (.195 to .21) from the later coated "Miliganza" Active Duty models (.185 to .20): The HD talon holes are visibly smaller, the HD micarta slabs have a bit more pointy "texture", and the HD grind line is higher up on the side of the blade. I'll see if I can find my old comparison photo I had here at one time.
Bottom line, they're all great EDCs - the HD, the AD, and the BAD. The Off-Duty is near-impossible to find, but I was lucky recently to pick up a .22 safety orange and satin AD that is my full time EDC now.
 
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An old post:
NOTE OF DISCOSURE: While this knife was originally purchased on the Exchange as an Active Duty, I've been told by well-reputed Busse hogs here on BF that this is actually a Heavy Duty - the ways to tell it's an HD is (1) the smaller talon hole compared to a regular Active Duty, (2) the saber grind is higher up on the blade than the regular Active Duty, and (3) a more aggressive texturing on the Heavy Duty's micarta scales. The blade length is the same for both the HD and AD - 3.5 inches. As for blade thickness, it looks to be around .20 compared to my .195 Leprachaun Active Duty, but I don't have calipers for an exact measurement. You can search the forums for additional information on the HD, including this one. Thanks for looking!

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