Tactical Knife

M

MarshJr

Joined
Feb 10, 2005
Messages
59
I am sure this has probably been discussed ad nauseum, but with the search button only working for paid memberships i am at a loss to find a recent thread on this.

I am a swat police officer looking for a good "tactical" (whatever that means) knife for pretty tough use. It will need to fit on my vest so it can't be huge, but i need a good solid cutting tool that is capable of handling some pretty tough abuse.

I currently have a strider EB-T knife which i like for the most part. What i dont like is thats its not very corrosive resistant (i work in the south and sometimes spend all day in the humidity and rain), and i am not a huge fan of the tanto style blade. I need a blade shape that is a little more utilitarian in nature. I work with explosives as a breacher and find myself cutting lots of stuff big and small, thick and thin, etc... and the tanto blade just doesn't always work well.

My strider started rusting and strider, to their credit, told me to send it back and they would bead blast it again. That was very nice of them, but i really dont want to have to worry about weather my knife is rusting when i am trying to work.

All that being said, i like the busse line and with the plethora of models available i am sure there is something out there "just for me." I was checking out the batac and ash models. Do you guys have any input on these two for my needs or another model i should be checking out?

I am not wealthy so spending lots of cash on a pretty knife that has features i dont need is not something i am interested in doing. However, i understand a good knife is not cheap and i am willing to pay what it costs as long as i can count on it for the forseeable future.

Any tips or suggestions??
 
The batac and ash are pretty large knives. The Ash is on the order of 2" in width and 6.5" long, that seems like it would be very large for how you want to carry your knife. The badger is better but still may be on the largish size for vest carry. The HG-55 is currently on sale and would likely fit the bill a bit better. You might want to check it out. http://bussecombat.com/home/index.shtml
There is also the SAR4 out right now.
 
The batac in my opinion is a bit unbalanced. You get more overall useable blade length and more compact overall package with the SAR5. It may be what you are looking for. It also seems that it may fit better on your vest. Here is a pic of the two...bear in mind I am no photographer. ;)
IMG_1813.jpg


All Busse's carry a lifetime warranty, so you can rest assured that you can use it without worrying about damaging the knife. Good luck in your choice, but I doubt it will be your last Busse. They are fairly contagious.
 
MarshJr said:
I am a swat police officer looking for a good "tactical" (whatever that means) knife for pretty tough use. It will need to fit on my vest so it can't be huge, but i need a good solid cutting tool that is capable of handling some pretty tough abuse.
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iamtoast said:
The HG-55 is currently on sale and would likely fit the bill a bit better. You might want to check it out. http://bussecombat.com/home/index.shtml
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Considering what happened to the last HG-55 that was used to pry a car door open, it might not be the best choice for "pretty tough abuse" ;)

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=645806
 
They mention in that thread that the SAR4 was designed more for that mission being overbuilt the way it is.
 
What about a Tali Whacker.

I reckon the length is reasonable and I would choose it over a SAR5 for my go to knife in a tactical situation. Also the RES-C handles may be a bit more grippy for use when you're sweating or wearing gloves etc.

Check out this site for Busse blades. It will quickly let you narrow the field of your search:
LINK
 
IN all actuality ,,,,,, the HG-55 did break,,,,,,,, but it did , also pry the car door open,,,,,,, How many other blades can boast of this as an accomplishment ???????? Very Very few,,,,,,, if Any, at all !!!!!!! I own 3 of them,,,,Mil-Overrun , an LE and a CG . Excellent hard duty knife . At 11" overall length might be a bit long for vest carry.... but definetely up to woteva tasks the owner puts them to !!
 
RoNNiE said:
IN all actuality ,,,,,, the HG-55 did break,,,,,,,, but it did , also pry the car door open,,,,,,, How many other blades can boast of this as an accomplishment ???????? Very Very few,,,,,,, if Any, at all !!!!!!! I own 3 of them,,,,Mil-Overrun , an LE and a CG . Excellent hard duty knife . At 11" overall length might be a bit long for vest carry.... but definetely up to woteva tasks the owner puts them to !!
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+1 to that. Should you ever have to pry open a car door, you can. If the blade snaps... Jerry and the gang will happily replace your knife. It is a win-win situation. Although non-scientific, you may want to check www.knifetests.com to see the abuse that Busse's can handle. It is pretty amazing.
 
RoNNiE said:
IN all actuality ,,,,,, the HG-55 did break,,,,,,,, but it did , also pry the car door open,,,,,,, How many other blades can boast of this as an accomplishment ???????? Very Very few,,,,,,, if Any, at all !!!!!!! I own 3 of them,,,,Mil-Overrun , an LE and a CG . Excellent hard duty knife . At 11" overall length might be a bit long for vest carry.... but definetely up to woteva tasks the owner puts them to !!
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+2 the HG 55 is strong no doubt! and the HG 55 LE is gorgeous
 
This combo should handle most chores. Busse SAR4 and Spyderco Military. (Also available in black.)

 
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Hey Marsh, where are you located? There's a lot of hogs around that would probably be willing to show you their setup so you could get a feel for some of the different handle styles, blade lengths, weights, etc. For cost reasons, purchasing a new blade from BusseCombat or BusseCompanyStore is a good route, but if you look out for good deals on some used blades, they are there too on the For Sale area.

It would be helpful to know two things - What blade length are you looking for? And, what type of handle are you looking for? Maybe just measuring where you want to wear the knife, or measuring some blades you already own and like could help answer that.

Be aware that if you are like most people here, you'll have 5 blades within a month anyway... ;)
 
i love my sar4, but strapped to a tac vest it may be a bit awkward. it is handle heavy with a relatively short but wide blade.

i am not a fan of essential gear strapped/molled to a tac vest. it makes going prone and crawling difficult. but if i were to attach a knife, i would want to go as light as possible.

the hg55 would make a nice unobtrusive blade, as would the current scrapyard offering (the name escapes me). if one can be found, a basic 5 or 7 would also do nicely.

better yet, a meaner or leaner street would be just about right. and there are plenty to be had at reasonable prices on the exchange.
 
kdstrick said:
+1 to that. Should you ever have to pry open a car door, you can. If the blade snaps... Jerry and the gang will happily replace your knife. It is a win-win situation. Although non-scientific, you may want to check www.knifetests.com to see the abuse that Busse's can handle. It is pretty amazing.
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Or use a knife better suited to the job and have a lot less chance of failure. I somehow doubt a Camp Tramp, Dumpster Mutt, or Sar 4 would have failed as badly as the HG55 did in that situation.

The HG55 has all the design features of a fighter, not a beat-the-crap-out-of-it knife. Yes, the amazing warranty here will get it replaced for you if you use it hard and break it, and yes, the HG55 is likely a lot tougher than most fighters out there, but I'd rather use the correct tool for the job.
 
MustardMan said:
Or use a knife better suited to the job and have a lot less chance of failure. I somehow doubt a Camp Tramp, Dumpster Mutt, or Sar 4 would have failed as badly as the HG55 did in that situation.

The HG55 has all the design features of a fighter, not a beat-the-crap-out-of-it knife. Yes, the amazing warranty here will get it replaced for you if you use it hard and break it, and yes, the HG55 is likely a lot tougher than most fighters out there, but I'd rather use the correct tool for the job.
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well, if you know you are going to a car wreck and are going to have to pry a door open, then sure, have the proper tool handy. the only prybar like tool i have in my car is for changing tires. and its in the trunk with the spare tire, not exactly readily available.

he used what he had, exigency dictated his reaction time.
 
MustardMan said:
Or use a knife better suited to the job and have a lot less chance of failure. I somehow doubt a Camp Tramp, Dumpster Mutt, or Sar 4 would have failed as badly as the HG55 did in that situation.

The HG55 has all the design features of a fighter, not a beat-the-crap-out-of-it knife. Yes, the amazing warranty here will get it replaced for you if you use it hard and break it, and yes, the HG55 is likely a lot tougher than most fighters out there, but I'd rather use the correct tool for the job.
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Do you have an HG-55 ? i guess these are stronger than you








just kidding :p
 
MustardMan said:
Or use a knife better suited to the job and have a lot less chance of failure. I somehow doubt a Camp Tramp, Dumpster Mutt, or Sar 4 would have failed as badly as the HG55 did in that situation.

The HG55 has all the design features of a fighter, not a beat-the-crap-out-of-it knife. Yes, the amazing warranty here will get it replaced for you if you use it hard and break it, and yes, the HG55 is likely a lot tougher than most fighters out there, but I'd rather use the correct tool for the job.
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The HG55 is .25" INFI steel! Many Busse's are not that thick but are still incredibly tough and durable. You are fairly new around here and may not realize that such blade failures are extremely uncommon with INFI. I truly hope that doesn't sound condescending.. but if you do some searching you will find that broken busse's are not seen often, despite the abuse thrown at them.

The SAR4 mic's out thinner than the HG55 at .22, so you may want to rethink your statement. I don't know how .22 is stronger than .25 stock INFI. I'm not too sure about the camptramp and DM... but I'd like to see that comparison with regard to lateral strength in the different steels. Both are fine knives and good suggestions. I just don't know if any of them would be "better" choices for the OP.

I guess an ASH1 that mic's out to around .32+" would be preferable if I knew I'd be prying doors open. ;) But you sacrifice some slicing ability with the thicker stock blade, not to mention the weight of the blade on a daily basis... It's as heavy as an UZI!!! :eek: :D Everything is a compromise.

I'd still go with the SAR5. :thumbup: Some of the other guys have recommended a BATAC LE... It is a tank! It may be what the OP needs for his field of work. :) Still, there are no 'wrong' choices here... only personal preferences. ;)
 
MORIMOTOM said:
well, if you know you are going to a car wreck and are going to have to pry a door open, then sure, have the proper tool handy. the only prybar like tool i have in my car is for changing tires. and its in the trunk with the spare tire, not exactly readily available.

he used what he had, exigency dictated his reaction time.
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Not blaming the dude for using his HG55 in that situation - in fact I think it was awesome of him to do so. He also probably didn't buy the blade with the intention of using it to pry open a car door. ;)

I'm just using that particular situation as an example of why a fighter-style blade might not be the absolute best choice for a hard-use knife.
 
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