Thinking about buying Busse Team Gemini Light Brigade

LuckyD2 said:
I've fallen in love with this knife and I want to hear any opinions or thought that any owners have about it. What sheath do you use with it? Any positive or negative reviews? Is there anything it can't do? How does the warranty hold up?
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What do you plan to do with the knife?
 
leatherman said:
One thing to consider, though it does add to the cost, is hand shaped scales.

The smooth micarta and the thinner profile of the handles both go so well with this knife. I've had both now and much prefer the smooth scales.
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The G10 looked smooth to me, but pictures can be hard to tell. Which handles do you recommend for hard use? I've noticed that Micarta tends to give me hot spots.
 
Starting reading your thread Lucky. Now, thanks in part to you, I just ordered a TGLB Tanker Grey with Tan Canvas handles. Can't offer you any help as this is my first Busse but this knife is just beautiful.
 
LuckyD2 said:
Camping, hiking, hunting, general purpose outdoors knife. I figure if I pair this with my mora than I can do everything.
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Then a TGLB would definitely be a good fit. It's not favorite chopper but it's good for just about everything. When I first held a TGLB I didn't think it was for me. Then a few months later I realized I was expecting it to be like a HHFSH and it isn't. Eventually my friend got one and I got to beat on it a bit. I quickly decided I needed to get one. Now I have two TGLB and a TG. At $387 it's a no brainer. The only other knives close to that size and at that price or lower that I would recommend are the Scrapyard 911 and 1111.
 
The TGLB is a knife that can do everything. Are there better choppers? Yeah. Are there better skinners? Yes. But is there a better knife that can do both in a pinch? Not that I have found. It will do it all and no matter how hard you use it, she will keep coming back and asking for more.

Garth
 
jd4320t said:
Then a TGLB would definitely be a good fit. It's not favorite chopper but it's good for just about everything. When I first held a TGLB I didn't think it was for me. Then a few months later I realized I was expecting it to be like a HHFSH and it isn't. Eventually my friend got one and I got to beat on it a bit. I quickly decided I needed to get one. Now I have two TGLB and a TG. At $387 it's a no brainer. The only other knives close to that size and at that price or lower that I would recommend are the Scrapyard 911 and 1111.
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I would much rather have an all around great knife than a strictly one purpose knife. Is there a big difference between the TG and the TGLB besides the weight and concave/vex shaped blade?
 
Garth Reckner said:
The TGLB is a knife that can do everything. Are there better choppers? Yeah. Are there better skinners? Yes. But is there a better knife that can do both in a pinch? Not that I have found. It will do it all and no matter how hard you use it, she will keep coming back and asking for more.

Garth
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I have a deep love for knives that can take a lot of abuse. There's just something about great work and durability that makes me love things that last a lifetime.
 
LuckyD2 said:
The G10 looked smooth to me, but pictures can be hard to tell. Which handles do you recommend for hard use? I've noticed that Micarta tends to give me hot spots.
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The handles come machined from the factory with grooves. Not easy to see, but they show up pretty good here. These ridges cause me some issues when chopping as I use a two finger wrist snap style and the handles will rub the palm


The smooth scales I have are black micarta, they dont rub nearly as bad and have the added benefit of not getting slick when wet. G10 does not absorb water but gets slick when wet. The machining is a bit more important on G10. I've handled a few smooth handled knives with G10 and they felt ok, I could not do a water test as I dont like to dunk knives that arent mine. ;)
 
leatherman said:
The handles come machined from the factory with grooves. Not easy to see, but they show up pretty good here. These ridges cause me some issues when chopping as I use a two finger wrist snap style and the handles will rub the palm


The smooth scales I have are black micarta, they dont rub nearly as bad and have the added benefit of not getting slick when wet. G10 does not absorb water but gets slick when wet. The machining is a bit more important on G10. I've handled a few smooth handled knives with G10 and they felt ok, I could not do a water test as I dont like to dunk knives that arent mine. ;)
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Another decision to make. I'm assuming you kept the G10 handles too? Would you ever make a switch back or is the Micarta miles ahead in your experience?
 
Garth Reckner said:
The TGLB is a knife that can do everything. Are there better choppers? Yeah. Are there better skinners? Yes. But is there a better knife that can do both in a pinch? Not that I have found. It will do it all and no matter how hard you use it, she will keep coming back and asking for more.

Garth
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Pay close attention to what this guy says! The above quote is coming from the guy that might be making your knife..... Hey Garth! Good post, and couldn't agree more.
 
This thread needs more TGLB PORN! :D
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Hand shaped handles are my favorite. I like it on both G10 and on Micarta.
My next TGLB is going to have hand shaped Tigerhide Micarta on it. :thumbup:
 
LuckyD2 said:
Another decision to make. I'm assuming you kept the G10 handles too? Would you ever make a switch back or is the Micarta miles ahead in your experience?
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Neither of those are G10, they're both black canvas micarta. A very good example of G10 is above, I do like the way it looks when machined and/or hand finished. Its very dramatic.

But I dont tend to go for looks over function, I much prefer micarta for heavy use. It feels "softer" in the hand to me. G10 feels heavy and plastic in my hands. But others have the opposing view of mine so I'm of the opinion that its a personal preference.

I used a couple of G10 handled knives in deer camp a while back and didn't like the slickness they had when wet, micarta did not do this and I dont even pretend to know why. :) And no, micarta doesnt soak up blood permanently, all of them came clean with soap and water and a little scrub brush.
 
leatherman said:
Neither of those are G10, they're both black canvas micarta. A very good example of G10 is above, I do like the way it looks when machined and/or hand finished. Its very dramatic.

But I dont tend to go for looks over function, I much prefer micarta for heavy use. It feels "softer" in the hand to me. G10 feels heavy and plastic in my hands. But others have the opposing view of mine so I'm of the opinion that its a personal preference.

I used a couple of G10 handled knives in deer camp a while back and didn't like the slickness they had when wet, micarta did not do this and I dont even pretend to know why. :) And no, micarta doesnt soak up blood permanently, all of them came clean with soap and water and a little scrub brush.
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Where is a good place to get Micarta handles for it? The Busse site doesn't offer it.
 
LuckyD2 said:
Where is a good place to get Micarta handles for it? The Busse site doesn't offer it.
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Send them an email. They offer it.

The scales are pinned on with flared metal tubes. Unless you have the knowhow, and the equipment to get that done, I'd just order them from Busse that way.

Dude, just pick your finishes/colors/materials and order one. You will be happy with it. No need to go custom shop just to get "hand sanded scales" or whatever. Nothing wrong with the knife in the stock configurations at all.
 
I love the tglb...but I love the tg much better. I have pics of the one I used on a recent quadding trip in the foot hills of the rockies. Search my name and have a look. The tg is a touch longer, no blood groove, swedge tip, and of course heavier due to no lightening of the full tang. If I am wrong or theres more im sure someone will chime in.
 
LuckyD2 said:
Where is a good place to get Micarta handles for it? The Busse site doesn't offer it.
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Yea, they are there, the pulldown menu labeled "choose a handle option" has three different micartas offered, Black Canvas, Tan Canvas and Black Paper. There are a lot more G10 options though,wow! You do have to request smoothed handle scales though.
 
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