Tops vs Busse which is better?

nelly1974

nelly1974

Joined
May 18, 2006
Messages
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Tops vs Busse which is better and why?

i own Tops knives but don't own any busses.
i believe (but may be wrong) that busses are way over hyped and overpriced. am i wrong? and if so, can you please explain. as far as tops is concerned i know they are tough as hell and are very well built for your hard earned coin. insights would be appreciated.
i expect a strong bias toward busses on this forum only beacause i don't see many tops fans posting here.
but who knows:)
 
I have no experience witheither, but I'm pretty sure that people will tell you the Tops can't even compete with Busse.
 
i expect to hear that but i want to know why. i hope i don't get a bunch of silly answers but instead someone who has handled both and can provide an intelligent response. no offense to the passionate hogs.:)
 
TOPs are great knives and the fit and finish is top knotch on everyone i have seen.:thumbup: If you can't afford a busse i would get a TOPs just because their knives have such a variety of designs and models.

I don't own a busse cause they are way out of my price range, but hopefully someday i will.
 
I've never owned a TOPS, but have Busse, so I can't make a legitimate comparison.

I will say that all this "hype" surrounding Busse knives and INFI has been backed up 100% by live demonstrations. I've seen numerous threads with picture proof of what these blades can do, which extend to cutting up car hoods and even cutting right through other knives with little to no damage to the blade whatsoever. I've put the one I had through some decent use, myself.
 
INFI and busse knives are superior for many reasons. I just posted a link in the Busse forums, so others will be by soon, but for a quick summary:
1) ALMOST uncondition lifetime guarantee. Transferable for the life of the knife
2) BETTER than carbon steel strength, but corrosion resistance of stainless.
3) The Busse forum is a LOT of fun. (JUST DON'T MENTION x-rated ADULT TOYS!)
4) It's actually pretty easy to sharpen, can you say that about A2 or even D2?
5) The handle grips are incredible, and the CNC technology that Busse uses allow carved handles that are impossible for most companies to produce.
 
thanks for the info so far guys. i am sure i will get more.
maybe i'll end up buying a damn busse.:D
 
nelly1974 said:
thanks for the info so far guys. i am sure i will get more.
maybe i'll end up buying a damn busse.:D
Click to expand...
I bought a Busse because I was looking for the strongest knife that exists. So far Busse remains champions. Now..... I have a bunch of Busses, and I couldn't be happier.
 
I would suggest that you take a look at Cliff Stamp's website and scroll down to Busse.

http://www.physics.mun.ca/~sstamp/knives/reviews.html

I don't own a Tops knife, but the steel they use (1095) is a fairly inexpensive plain carbon steel. There is nothing wrong with that. It makes a good knife, but it won't hold a candle to Busse knives. I know that it sounds like hype, but INFI steel's performance has been proven over and over in public demonstrations.

I would think that for the great majority of knife users Tops or any other quality knife maker would prove to be more then adequate, but there are others who feel that the extra margin of performance warrents the higher price of Busse and Swamp Rat knives.

By the way, saying the Busse knives are over-hyped and over-priced is fightin' words.;)
 
nelly1974 said:
thanks for the info so far guys. i am sure i will get more.
maybe i'll end up buying a damn busse.:D
Click to expand...

Save your money, it will leave more Busse knives for us.
 
I don't own a Busse now, but I got to own one for about a month when a friend sold me his Battle Mistress. He couldn't live without it and I let him buy it back.

It was everything everyone said it was. Sharp, tough, durable, mostly ergonomic, worth what was demanded IMO. However, it didn't float my boat enough to keep it in the face of my friend's regret.

Now I don't own a TOPS, and likely never will, but I found out one thing about living with the Busse--I like simple steels just fine, probably because I don't mind touching up a "lesser" blade as I work. I like field resharpenability to be somewhat less of a chore than I found INFI to make it.

I also found I liked buying available knives. The Busse BM wasn't a pattern I was lusting after, but I wanted to see about buying a smaller Busse. Fat chance. I don't like vaporware, remote ship dates, pre-sold runs, runs which occur when my funds are low etcetera.:D I always wanted a Steel Heart II INFI for instance, but the timing has never been right for me. That part of the "ownership experience," along with the fact that some Busse fans come off like the worst pro-Glock droolers, mar what is otherwise a great knife series for the money demanded.

On another level, if you need a knife that you can baton through a 420J chinese special, you can probably deal with the insanity of trying to get one. I moved out of my Busse phase rather easily.

Now? I just treat my knives with all due respect as tools rather than as potential carny acts and resharpen them as required.;)
 
Ranger knives? Haven't managed to pick one up yet but by all accounts Justin's a great guy and sells a mean blade for less than the price of many TOPS. Just food for thought.

Frank
 
Okay, I have never used any TOPs blades but let me say a Busse will never let you down. I have owned a few but I have sold most of mine because I need the money for other things. They also retain, and often increase in value, even if they are used. I have used them for prying, digging, chopping, slicing, everything. The only reason I am selling mine is I am not exactly a hardcore user. If I were heading into harms way I would take a Busse, no questions asked. However, since I only go camping and even then hardly use my knives that roughly, I do not need the power of INFI. My needs are more met by the Swamp Rat line of knives. ;)


The "hype" behind INFI has been well backed up by LIVE demonstrations by Jerry himself. They (and Swamp Rat) are the only company I know of that stands behind their blades 100%. Also, check out the extensive work that Cliff Stamp has done.

Another thing I like about INFI is that the company has so many options. You get to customize and make your own knife when you buy one. Pretty cool actually. :thumbup:

I would say only you can answer the question whether INFI is worth it to you. I know I will never push my INFI blades to the limit they were designed to break and surpass, but they are nice to have in case the SHTF. However, I doubt I will ever sell my Busse SFNO, it is my favourite knife.

I would say but a cheap one, you can get a good deal in the exchange from one of the friendly HOGs. Once you use it you will see what is so great about them. And more importantly, decide if they are worth it to you.

:thumbup:
 
I had a TOPS Tracker before I owned a Busse. I was impressed but it felt to specialized for me. To be honest I really didn't get test it to greatly.

As for Busse: I have never had a knife that was so easily maintained. I remember hacking through a limb on my neighbors tree as it was on my side and becomming an eye sore. On the final hack (unexpected) my knife hit our retaining wall. (I tried to pull back but...). When I examined the edge it had some slight rolling (what it's supposed to do) which was easily fixed with a few minutes and some sand paper/mouse pad.

The warranty is superb.

Here is a classic thread by LeatherHOG:
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=402868&highlight=sh-e
 
I was hacking some burdock with my Busse AK-47 sword, and *CLANG* I hit some steel that was in the bushes. I examined the blade and could find no sign of the impact.

Tough stuff.

Also, the warranty is simply the best, bar none.
 
I did a lot of research before buying my first Busse, a Special Forces Natural Outlaw (SFNO). SF is the handle design and NO is the blade design. I have purchased 8 more Busse's since then and just love them and the community they draw. I am into camping and am a member of a volunteer search and rescue team and use the knives for that, including survival training such as 24 hour search sustainment tests and such. In my research though things kept pointing back toward Busse. (I am also a HUGE fan of Swamp Rat knives as well as they are designed and built by the same brilliant people and machinery).

I have found in all my gear purchases that the most expensive piece of gear in my kit is the item which I bought the wrong version/brand of several times leading up the the right one. My SFNO is NOT that thing. I got it right, no doubt about it. Now backpacks...don't get me started on that :barf:

I have held a huge assortment of TOPS knives and I do like the feel and like the finish of them. They are worth what you pay I am sure but for that money I would buy Swamp Rat and be better off IMO. I have really beat the snot out of my Busse's and Rats.

Sorry to run long here but if you could ever have to rely on your knife in a jam... perhaps the once famous words from someone at Bell Helmets put it best... "If you have a $10 head, get a $10 helmet. :p
 
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