Jeff :
[Busse Combat, scope of work]
.... what about the newcomers to the business that don't understand the difference in PERFORMANCE relative to design, edge thickness, etc.
If someone doesn't get the performance they want they simply phone Busse and make him aware of the problem so a solution can be found. Or drop him an email, or make a post in one of three active Internet forums. The real concern is when the user is not aware that the performance can in fact be any better, basically because they don't compare it to anything else. This is why I have always pushed for performance to be described in a relative manner. It forces a completely different mind set and cuts down on one of the main sources of promotional hype.
Maybe some info about the knife's designed intent would be nice ...
There is far too little of this in general I agree. Just pop around custom sites and see how many have detailed descriptions of scope of work on their blades. However with multiple active forums and a functioning email and active phone lines, you can't really complain about not being able to find out about blade choice for class of use for Busse, just ask. But yes, I would still like to see more detailed information on the website, though they are at least average in this respect, and better than a lot. HI is quite excellent for this with well known descriptions of all the khukuris and which one you should buy for which class of use.
... maybe a disclaimer saying "sure, it will cut weeds and brush but not as efficiently as a machete type blade
Jeff I said the exact same thing to you about some of your knife comments quite some time ago on the forum and you openly stated that you intentionally don't describe various weak points in your blades. Yet now you are asking this from Busse Combat. Busse in fact does it a lot more than is common as there are frequent links on the Busse forum to reviews in which the Busse blades are not presented as 100% dominant in every aspect, unlike a lot of other companies.
Yes there are those of the mind set that every knife should be a Busse, but everyone else isn't ignored. And as well Jeff, you don't do this as well on the knives you sell. In your page on the Ontario RTAK there is no mention about the fact that it doesn't cut light vegetation as well as a well sharpened light machete, nor does it chop heavy wood as well as something like a Busse BM, both of which you have commented on in the forums. You are asking for behaviour from others which you won't do yourself.
... if Busse built a production machete / kitchen knife /thin woods knife, then it would be probably one of the best.
Quite frankly I would not get excited over a Busse machete for light vegetation, a kitchen knife, or a light wood working knife, assuming the steel is INFI and the cost similar to the combat line now. As the work loads change and induce alterations in blade geometry, the same force drives different selection rules for materials properties and thus the rating system will change for the steels. What is stand out for one purpose, is sub average for another.
L6 makes a wonderful hard wood chopper. You can get it very hard so it doesn't dent or bend, and it is still tough enough not to chip and break. However it is a poor saltwater fillet knife because the edge corrodes literally in seconds, same thing in the kitchen on many types of acidic foods. S90V at ~63 RC makes an excellent fillet knife (and kitchen knife but is really overdoing it), and M2 at 64-66 RC make a great utility knife for abrasive cutting, but both would make a pretty poor machete unless you wanted it to behave like a fragmentation grenade.
In regards to a light utility knife mainly used for wood working, what is the benefit of having a very high impact toughness, corrosion resistance or wear resistance. Practically nothing, which is why the ABS guys just use simple steels like 1084 and no one is complaining about the performance. Ask Busse to make a better knife out of INFI and quite frankly you will be putting him in a spot where all his strengths don't have much functional advantages. The warranty, one of the biggest selling points is of little value when you are using the knife very lightly. It a lot of cases he could make as good a knife, but the cost would be much more and you would be doing a lot of work for little gain.
What I would like to see is a longer blade in the Swamp Rat line. Some kind of bolo/golok/parang class knife for brush cutting with a 16" blade. The Battle Mistress class blades are fine for chopping in regard to power and general cutting ability, but the reach is a real problem, too much stooping and bending, plus just repeating strokes. I have customs that will do this, but there is not a lot in the production market.
Buzzbait :
I'll bet that the Busse grind is quite a bit thicker overall.
When comparing different geometries you have to look at both the positive and negative aspects. Do you give up a functional loss in durability to gain the cutting ability advantage. If not, you have a directly superior blade. If so, you just traded performance in one area for another. Describe both the gain and the loss and let the reader decide if it was worth it.
Looking at the PDF file linked to in the above, assuming the bars are linear in the quantities they represent, V4 as compared to M2 at 64-66 RC, is roughly twice as tough. Calling it durable because of this would be like claiming to be an excellent sprinter because you can out run a one legged blind fat man with asthma.
-Cliff
