"Adam,
Unfortunately, we can not replace the Rat Daddy. We will give you a shop credit for the original price of the Rat Daddy. Your shop credit is $248.95.
Thank you"
So, to update you all, I got my answer from Swamp Rat. I can't say I'm particularly pleased with the response, or the solution. I did manage to work out a scenario that puts a big 10"+ chopper in my hands, for about 1/3 of It's current price, using my credit. While I'm not displeased with Swamp Rat as a company, or the product they offer, I am definitely disappointed in their warranty. Apparently shop credit has become the norm for out of production knives, but that is NOT what the Busse website claims, if you click on "Our Guarantee". It clearly states the following:
"Busse Knife Group is proud to have the toughest warranty in the industry.All Busse Knife Group blades are guaranteed for life against any and all unintentional MAJOR damage. Your knife will either be repaired or replaced at our discretion. Please note that aftermarket modifications done to your knife outside of our shop that cause your knife to fail may void your warranty. Busse Knife Group encourages extreme usage of our blades as they are without question "The Toughest Knives in the World". We have no rivals. You can use a Busse Knife Group blade as hard as you like and our warranty has you covered."
They did not repair my knife. They did not replace my knife. I did use my blade as hard as I liked, and their warranty does not have me covered. They wont even send my broken knife back to me, to do with what I please. If not for the random release of the Battle Saw, two days ago, they literally have nothing to cover my broken blade. I'm sorry, but $248 doesn't get you to where it did 10 years ago. To be fair, I will mention that SR "added $50" to my credit for my "inconvenience". It would have been nice to speak to an actual person on the phone as I had requested, once my knife was inspected. But no. Here's your $300, have a nice day...
So that's where I stand. I used a $300 shop credit to buy a $480 Battle Saw. $180 out of my pocket, to get another big Busse in my hands. Its the knife, I'm concerned with, as I said all along. Ultimately I'm happy to have a big chopper again. I still love the company I've sunk thousands into, and I love their product. But I feel their guarantee is a little misleading, certainly not as "tough" as Busse would like you to believe. The biggest issue of all, is that bit of doubt I now have about using my Bussekin blades as hard as I'd like.
Something needs to change, in order to strengthen their guarantee with respect to older blades. Not even mentioning inflation, simply giving me shop credit, with nothing comparable to spend it on, is not very tough. Even Trojan's guarantee on broken condoms has you better covered...