Sword comparisons? HI,Busse,Paul Chen

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Grappler1911

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Hate buying sight unseen any weapon.
Anyone who owns and knows how to use any of these swords and would like to comment?

Compare: Ergonomics,sharpness,toughness,weight and grip.
Which would you take into battle?
Thanks.

Ivydev2@hotmail.com
 
NOTE: I am not a swordsman. At all!

Now, that said, my martial artist daughter is becoming a swordswoman.

What would she say? That the makers you've listed are for fun only...not 'serious' swords from her perspective. The designs don't meet her standards.

But then, she is getting heavily 'into' the eastern sword arts. This means every element of the design must be both functional (for tameshigiri or cutting plus certain aspects of kendo) and traditional (hard to tell which of these elements are arbitrary and which are practical, but buried behind layers of myth over many generations).

In the absence of very serious bucks (over $10K), she prefers swords from makers such as Last Legend or Bugei (production side) or serious Japanese-style smiths such as Howard Clarke (but he's WAY over-extended, not taking orders), Michael Bell (a true artist), or the amazing Ric Barrett.

But, for you and me, these all sound like fun. Please note that only the higher-end Paul Chen swords are really safe for cuttin' and choppin'. My daughter has told me several first-hand tales of metal failure from Mr. Chen's low-end efforts...apparently, there are real quality control issues.

ADD: For those with more eclectic tastes, check out the astounding work of John Lundemo (Odinswords). That man makes amazing blades.
 
I have trained live blade for over 15 years. Mostly Filipino style blades like the Bolo, Kris, Parang, Barong, etc... Most were good for flesh but when used as a "tool" I found most blades would start to blow chunks. Now I know people say you need to use the blade for what it was designed for. But for me, I like my sword (or any blade) to be able to fend off a horde of Huns, build a shelter, dig a trench, chop wood for the fire, pry open a few doors, and still be able to shave with it after a few minutes w/ a strop. ;)

So... with that being said I guess I am saving my $$$ for a Ruck or AK, or the next Busse sword to pop up. I'm more into functionality than tradition. So the Busse gets my vote for the price tag.
 
From most of the swords I've owned and handled over the years the Busse Wins hands down for overall robustness and all out balls to the wall destruction device!
 
I myself am NO swordsman... I DO however carry my AK in my ATV and occasionally have chopped logs up to 10in in diameter out of a trail. It made pretty easy work. Although I do believe something like the FBM with its weight would do much better hacking through big chunks of... well whatever.
 
There is a Criswell Wak on the Exchange right now that has been tempting me, but I can't bring myself to pull the trigger until I have my Ruck in hand. A2 sounds like an excellent steel for this application, but I am no expert. Weren't the original AKs made of this?

Rick
 
I've had a bunch short swords by various makers....some of my faviorits are Busse AK, Bark River Northwind (very tough and came very sharp), Chriswell Wak (great blade, and very sharp and tough when I got it), Martin Prudente Bolo, Bark River Golok, MMHW Long Knife.

All of these have been great for wood cutting, pumpkin smashing, can gutting and what not.

Patrick
 
Amy... where are the January Rucks.. I'm starting to shake and twitch.. and this thread is not helping...
 
Grappler1911 said:
Hate buying sight unseen any weapon.
Anyone who owns and knows how to use any of these swords and would like to comment?

Compare: Ergonomics,sharpness,toughness,weight and grip.
Which would you take into battle?
Thanks.

Ivydev2@hotmail.com
Click to expand...

Grappler,

I've just spent the last few months shopping for my first sword. I asked lots of questions and read a bunch on a few sword forums. I even emailed and spoke with a few of the prominant swordsmiths. I wanted a good live blade short sword that is durable and can indure some abuse. I wasn't looking for perfect replica of any particular eastern or western design. I wanted a good compact blade that would be easy to pack and handle the abuse of back-country hiking. Plus I wanted a good defensive weapon for national parks where firearms aren't allowed. Here's a run down of the swords I looked into:

1) Criswell: Fairly traditional eastern size & profile (except for the cord wrapped tang). Great reputation for cutting ability and durability.

2) Angus Trim: AKA "Atrim": Gus is in the process of making a line of "tactical swords". Google Angus Trim for his site. These are great live blades with EXCELLENT balance. Gus is great to talk to and responds to e-mails quickly. Gus primarily makes western blade profiles.

3) MMHW: Ted makes a great looking "tactical" wakizashi. It's 1/4" steel, so it's heavy and built for abuse. He also applies parkerizing to minimize rust.

4) Paul Chen (Be aware there are two Paul Chen's in the sword world: The Hanwei company - imported by CAS Iberia and Cheness from California) Hanwei's are farily authentic reproductions of eastern (and a few western) profiles. Hanwei's practical Katana is held as being the best "starter" katana for the eastern practicioner. Cheness is another traditional eastern sword maker. The guys at Sword Forum seem to hold Cheness on a slightly higher pedistal than Hanwei. Again these are good blades for someone practicing eastern swordsmanship.

4) Busse: The AK has an amazing reputation for cutting and durability.

In the end, I decided buy the Busse. My main decision was based on the steel. For my needs, I just couldn't beat INFI's properties. Price was relatively similar. Most of the blades above are in the $350 to $600 range. I felt like I was getting the most for my money by getting an INFI sword.

This will be my first Busse. I placed my order last week with the Busse Company Store. I'll post a review once it's gets here.
 
Since I only have one dog in this fight...my money is on Busse!!! I have the AK, but have looked at other "practical" sword and you get into the thousands of dollars range very quickly. To get an actual performance blade for 600 is unheard of.....not to mention the warranty that comes with it......who out there is going to spend 6k on a sword the throw it into a tree?!
 
Gravelface said:
Since I only have one dog in this fight...my money is on Busse!!! I have the AK, but have looked at other "practical" sword and you get into the thousands of dollars range very quickly. To get an actual performance blade for 600 is unheard of.....not to mention the warranty that comes with it......who out there is going to spend 6k on a sword the throw it into a tree?!
Click to expand...

True.

I practice Kenjutsu. Our dojo is very traditional, so I use a traditional style katana for class and instruction. I have no option here, and that's ok with me. The time for me to carry a sword is long past, but the aikijutsu that comes with the ken travels very well, indeed.

I would choose a Busse if I could carry a sword... nothing less. No other blade gives the performance per dollar of Busse, in my not so humble opinion.


.
 
I have a paul chen hanwei bamboo, and bark river northwind, with ruck kensei on the way. All of them are nice, but different. decide what you will do the most with it(safe queen/wallhanger/couch fondler, cutting, general fun & abuse, etc...) and choose accordingly. but you cant go wrong with an AK, Ruck, or Northwind. If you do not like any of those, you can get your money back and maybe more....
 
Form follows function.

Decide what you want to do with the Sword, to fight other people with Swords get a Foil, or a Rapier.

For Swords you want in the general style mentioned that you want to use to fight other people with Swords, A-2 might just cut other swords in Half.

I currently lack the will to use live INFI against Live A-2 to see how they compare in real use, I stay with Foam covered to avoid the Broken Bones and Terrible Bruising I got learning with Split Bamboo and Wooden Boken.

Full speed and Full strength Practice even with Foam covered you can get hurt.

Early Rob Criswell and Early Busse swords were pretty much Sharp Clubs, Vastly Strong but slow.

Current Rob Criswell swords are much Faster and Very usable.

Current Busse swords are very usable, about the Same weight, length and Balance as those Whiffle Ball Bats covered with 6"X6" Foam rubber and covered with Nylon cloth sold as Boxing gear, cept of course the Busse is way Faster due to less air drag.

Give thought to the size and weight you are looking to use.

I taught my kids to fight with either Single blades, or one in each hand, I also worked with them using a Single blade and a shield.

We worked with every thing from Stanley Razor type Box Cutters to Claymores and Bastard Swords, as well as improvised, cutting and impact weapons.

The Busse Sword is very durable, and fun to practice Dual Weapons skills while actually striking things like Wood posts, to get the feel of resistance and Shock to your hand,wrist arm and Shoulder, as are The Rob Criswell Swords, The Criswell's are available in many different sizes and Shapes as well, each Sword Differing a bit in curve and weight.

The Busse is very Consistent and Varies from Sword to sword.

If What you want to cut is Mat, then get a Sword designed to cut mat.

I have over the last 36 years paid for and used alot of swords and now tend to stay with practical, usable, durable Swords as opposed to traditional Swords.

Criswell's are showing up in more Dojos as time wears on.

I have Bought more Criswells and Busses as Practical swords than any others.

Six Larger Criswell Swords and 3 smaller.

Ten Busse Swords, one Custom and nine current AK's

Most of these have been given away or sold.
 
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