SR101 Question

M

Mike-The-Knife

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Dec 6, 2011
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Before I even start here I want to make it clear that I am neither praising or knocking Busse's new idea of introducing many models in SR101 .

I'm more interested in what this could mean and what everyone thinks of it . I understand that it allows people to buy into the Busse family at a much easier price to afford . And that that can lead to them buying into the INFI line I guess .

But does it diminish the Busse mystique ? I mean Busse always meant INFI and INFI always meant Busse .

How will this affect Swamp Rat ? Because Busse and Swamp Rat have always been build the same way , with full tangs and micarta or G10 handle scales affixed with the tubes . With the difference being the models and INFI steel . Now the only difference between a Swamp Rat and a Busse is the model .


Again , I'm not running this business model down , nor am I trying to start a riot . Just wondering what the feeling is about it all .

I myself have an SR101 BG ASH 1 on it's way to me that I just bought . It has always been sort of a "grail" of mine , but was pretty much out of reach price wise . So now I'll have one . But I can't help wonder if getting my grail will feel hollow if it's not INFI .
 
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I can see both sides of the arguement but to me the SR101 offerings can have an advantage on some blades. Take the BossJack for example. It's not a blade that I am going to beat on enough to warrant the extra toughness of INFI but the slight advantage it has in holding an edge during more "regular" camp knife duties is a plus for me. The SOB is another that I wouldn't mind seeing a BG version of.
 
I like them introducing SR101 blades.
I'd like to see an SR101 Butaniku, that'll probably
be way more affordable than INFI. And seeing how
the SY Scrapizashi performed on their YouTube videos,
I'd buy an SR101 Butaniku in a heartbeat.

I don't believe it deminishes the Busse name in the slightest. There are obvious design differences in the handle/blade shape that makes ScrapYard and SwampRat much different than Busse.
I haven't seen Busse come out with a handle that looks like the one on the Rodent 9, and I haven't seen a Swamp Rat with a fusion handle.

As long as they stay separate (design wise) I don't see any issues. Heck, I'd like to see a Rodent 9 in INFI
 
I understand what you mean. I bought a BGFSH 5/16" model and catch myself at times thinking, dang....I wish I could have bought this new from busse with INFI steel. The sr101 is really great though. I live in ALASKA so deal with a lot of moisture. The corrosion resistance is one of my main appeals tot the INFI. I love both steels for the amazing edge they take and hold. If I had the choice, I would always choose INFI, however. If I am at home it's NP to clean blades up at night and let the sheaths dry out and such. When I'm at moose/bear/sheep/goat camp with other people, real estate runs out fast and I don't always have what I need to maintain blades the way I like to. I have not had issues with non-INFI other than light surface rust which a few passes on the strop usually takes care of.

As mentioned above SW and Busse have different trademark looks to them so I don't feel that it necessarily diminishes the mystique of INFI Busse...not with the magical heat treat loving both steels get.
 
I don't want to start a new thread about this, so I think I'll just post it here; [sorry Mike]

The only thing I don't understand about Busse is why very small blades cost so much. I've heard it goes by inches, but that still kinda doesn't explain why a Game Warden will almost run the same price as a NMFSH (secondary)

If the Game Warden was originally sold at $180, I still don't see how that would corelate to the NMFSH being $450 when there is sooo much more steel involved.

And the secondary market is absolutely preposterous. I mean, I know there is a collectability/limited production part to the equation which drives up the price ...but for a Game Warden to run $450 on the secondary market just seems like people are blatantly ripping people off. Goes beyond collectability, just my opinion. But I guess the same could be said for someone paying $100,000 for a comic book that originally cost 10cents. If 'ya got the money, spend it.

I know ..I know, if you don't like the price, don't buy it. People are free to sell it for whatever they feel they can get out of it.
I'm still left perplexed as to how sellers justify it in their own head.
It's just a moral question in my head. Everytime I've sold my Busses on the secondary market, I try to get what I paid for it (plus shipping) but I don't try to gouge people on purpose.
And yes, I know many other models triple in value ...It just seems to be rampant with the smaller Busses.

This is why I'll probably never own a small Busse.

Almost seems like a better idea to buy a NMFBM, cut a chunk of it off and shape my own small INFI, and reshape the NMFBM into something else ...heck you could probably get 3 knives out of one of the bigger Busses lol


Absolutely love Busse, they are my favorite knives, just wish the price matched the amount of steel involved (to an extent)
 
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No problem Daft Slice , and I get what you are saying . Game Wardens and SAR 3's seem to command a price beyond their size . But I think it might be the "supply and demand" thing . Unless I'm mistaken , neither one has been in production for years , making them harder to come by .

As for the SR101 thing , I totally agree with what was said about SR101 being a great steel the way Busse does their heat treat . Another sort of "grail" knife to me has always been the Swamp Rat Ratweiler and just recently I also snagged one of the 3/16" BG ones on the Exchange . That one has already arrived and I have to say that it is quite literally shaving sharp as my now half bare arm can contest to lol .

Now that I think about it , Scrapyard is using SR101 now and you don't see SR77 any more ( or is that incorrect ? ) .

Anyway , as I said earlier , this is not a complaint . These changes just got me thinking and I wondered what others thought about it .
 
I am a fan of tough steels which are not too hard to sharpen and hold their edge, usually I don't care much about corrosion resistance.
But still... If I had the money, I'd buy each model I own in INFI in SR101 and vice versa.
Why? I just cannot decide which steel I like better.
 
Daft Slice 1986 said:
Almost seems like a better idea to buy a NMFBM, cut a chunk of it off and shape my own small INFI, and reshape the NMFBM into something else ...heck you could probably get 3 knives out of one of the bigger Busses lol
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.... I at times struggle with the same thing however you also need to consider the quantity of raw materials consumed in the production of the knife is only one part of the cost of manufacturing. Just because it is small does not diminish proportionally the amount of time someone has to work on it to finished it, handling up a MOAB probably takes the same time as a Game Warden for example, any hand grinding done *MAY* (I'm no expert on this at all) actually take longer on the little blade as it is actually more "fiddly", the staff costs involved in processing an order for a GW are EXACTLY the same as those for a MOAB, the advertising bill is the same, the time taken to design it is probably close to the same, the electric lights operating in the workshop burn at the same consumption rate no matter the blade being produced on the day, etc etc etc. I guess it is why knives are not sold by weight if that makes sense to you at all.
 
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I am really not a fan of SR101, I buy it when I cannot afford the Infi versions or it only comes in SR101. As far as diminishing the expierence goes, I do believe it does at least for me.
 
im a big INFI fan, just got my first sr101, a Mean Street ergo, only had it a few days but i really like it so far. On the hunt for a MSE in infi though as its my one true steel love.
 
Andy the Aussie said:
.... I at times struggle with the same thing however you also need to consider the quantity of raw materials consumed in the production of the knife is only one part of the cost of manufacturing. Just because it is small does not diminish proportionally the amount of time someone has to work on it to finished it, handling up a MOAB probably takes the same time as a Game Warden for example, any hand grinding done *MAY* (I'm no expert on this at all) actually take longer on the little blade as it is actually more "fiddly", the staff costs involved in processing an order for a GW are EXACTLY the same as those for a MOAB, the advertising bill is the same, the time taken to design it is probably close to the same, the electric lights operating in the workshop burn at the same consumption rate no matter the blade being produced on the day, etc etc etc. I guess it is why knives are not sold by weight if that makes sense to you at all.
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I see the same reasoning behind a Lamborghini Countach...It's small not unlike a Toyota Prius...So why the price difference??? Then there is availability which makes sense from the collector side on a Countach. Materials and HAND Built construction and attention to detail all the Quality attributes of a Busse Blade.
 
I personally love both steels, but have different uses for each. Although it could, I wouldn't cut a car in half with my BB13.....I'd use my KDSH. I see no need for an INFI KDSH since a car can be chopped in half with SR101. My Ratmandu was one of the easiest knives for me to sharpen (SR101)...But my HG55 is my edc....why...INFI performs better for me in that blade size. I'm probably just rambling, but it's a crap shoot for me....in the end, both with slay zombies all day long. And as for that SR101 Butaniku.....that would be Super Yowza Awesome! BRING IT PLEASE BOSS!
 
Daft Slice 1986 said:
...
I don't believe it diminishes the Busse name in the slightest. There are obvious design differences in the handle/blade shape that makes ScrapYard and SwampRat much different than Busse.
...
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I pretty much agree with this. I do like the extra rust resistance that INFI has. Any of the most recent steels used by the Busse family, INFI, SR-101 or SR-77 are all capable of enduring rough use.

By the way, the Scrapizashi was made with SR-77 steel.
 
Daft Slice 1986 said:
If the Game Warden was originally sold at $180, I still don't see how that would corelate to the NMFSH being $450 when there is sooo much more steel involved.
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IIRC, the Company Store GWs cost more than $180. Maybe $287? And that was almost 10 years ago. The INFI steel may cost more from the mill now.
 
Many folks do 52100 these days. SwampRat and now Busse's new BattleGrade lineups do it very very well.

I don't really have *too* much interest in Busse's SR; I have (and enjoy) pretty much the entire SwampRat lineup barring a couple I missed. An idea would be to revitalize SwampRat with a bunch of new SR models--I would definitely go for that!

BUT

*Only* Busse does INFI:D and that is what makes it special! It may cost more than 52100/SR101 but think about what you're getting. (The man, the legend, the mystique and capabilities of Infi!)

That's my take on it. I consider Busse and SwampRat to be in my top 5 favorite fixed blade manufacturers and that won't change no matter which steel we see more of. I see more of *both* in my future.
 
Ratman79 said:
Many folks do 52100 these days. SwampRat and now Busse's new BattleGrade lineups do it very very well....

BUT

*Only* Busse does INFI:D and that is what makes it special! It may cost more than 52100/SR101 but think about what you're getting. (The man, the legend, the mystique and capabilities of Infi!)
Click to expand...

You could just as easily say only Busse does SR-101, and that's what makes SR-101 special!
Other folks may do 52100, but SR-101 is not the same; in fact, it utilizes Busse's proprietary multi-step tempering protocol and deep cryo treatment:

http://www.swampratknifeworks.com/about-our-steel-sr-101/

Ratman79 said:
That's my take on it. I consider Busse and SwampRat to be in my top 5 favorite fixed blade manufacturers and that won't change no matter which steel we see more of. I see more of *both* in my future.
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Absolutely, I feel the same way! :thumbup:
 
I prefer INFI, for me it means I have to be more careful when I pull the trigger , a lot of the stuff I associate with only INFI is no more ..
Personally I would have preferred more swamp rat models being offered in INFI ..
INFI chopweiler .. yum
 
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