Trip to South America- now with follow up pics

mayfly-1970

mayfly-1970

Joined
Apr 26, 2005
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I have a question to pose in order to help think through a decision with the Busse crowd. I am going on a 4 day hammock camping and fishing trip on the Essequibo river (a tributary to the Amazon) in Guyana, South America. I am still uncommitted on one of the knives I will be taking, so let's here your opinions- name your pick of the bunch and back up your rationale. I have a solution I am leaning toward, but I am also open-minded.

The remaining knife decision is for a small fixed blade multiple purpose light to mid-duty knife to keep with me as an EDC. Each model can attach to my tactical sling pack/tackle box/bag, but will primarily be carried horizontal on belt. I will be using it to cut line, rope, and basic camps chores. I have a couple others I will be taking for other tasks listed below.

It is between a 1) Busse Infi Whiskey Warden 2) Esee Izula 2 with upgraded scales 3) Scrap Yard Scrapivoire

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Each has its plus and minuses, but I will tell you where I stand at the moment.

1) WW is virgin and expensive- hate to lose it in the jungle and the trip's use will devalue the blade. I am willing to make it a user, but have reservations about the "softness" of infi steel. I need this to hold an edge and be prepared for minor to moderate cutting tasks. Edge retention is primary need for this knife in the line up and I am just not certain this is the blade for the job. I don't know how easy it is to sharpen, because not sure I want to keep it and don't want to devalue it.

2) Esee- good reputation and warranty. Easy to sharpen and is currently shaving sharp by a Spyderco Sharp Maker. Should hold an edge well and get me through a week of camp chores. Orange handle is nice to locate after a potential drop. If I loose it I won't cry since it is easy to replace. Downside: it is not made by Busse or kin.

3) Scrapivoire- A great Busse-kin knife that is easily the lightest of the bunch. Has a shaving sharp blade made on the Ken Onion Work Sharp. I trust the company and the steel. Not the most comfortable in hand, but don't plan on doing major chores with it either. If I lose it I will cry because it will be hard to replace, but not overly expensive.

I added the Hairy Carry in the pics for my own reference. It may be my favorite of the bunch- as far as hand feel, but in a moment of dad weakness I gave it to my daughter for her 18th birthday wanting to give her a "forever" gift and knowing how much she liked it when I brought it back from Blade. Well now it is firmly hers and I have tried to buy it back and/or trade with much $ added to the pot, but she will not hear of it. "You gave it to me and I want to keep it" is what I alway get...

To much writing, needs pics...


Here are the other traveling knives:

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The Infi Ratmandu is a virgin, but I can not think of a better hard working knife for this trip, and it is time I broke it in and got over the "newness" of the knife and start appreciating its "usefulness". This will take care of my fire starting and chopping needs. I have a standard Ratmandu, Ratweiler, Camp Tramp, and Battle Rat, but I can't see any reason to take any of these over the Infi Ratmandu.

The SYKCO Elmax 360 is for food prep only. I have developed a very sharp 20-degree edge on it with the Ken Onion Work Sharp. The Elmax has performed well around camp and house, I have no doubt in its abilities to be a great knife on this trip.

So, what are your thoughts for the third knife? Which one would you take for the All-day-carry on the river? Do you have any feedback on the other two choices?
 
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I’d say ESEE to, for the same reasons as above. If it weren’t for airports , airplanes , etc to get there maybe I’d chose different.
Maybe those who travel more will chime in :-)
Have a great trip !!! Take lots of pics and enjoy :-)
 
If loosing your knife wasn’t an issue. I would choose the whiskey warden over the others for its corrosion resistance. I mean it is the amazon:confused:
 
INFI is easy to sharpen. You touch it up with ceramic or a strop, no need to grind away at it with a stone. INFI will lose shaving sharpness faster than elmax, sr101 etc., but it will maintain 'basic' sharpness far longer than most steels under abusive tasks because the edge will resist micro-damage better due to its extreme toughness.

INFI's stainlessness puts it before sr101 and 1095, but behind elmax.

If you don't mind the weight and the risk of losing it, for toughness and ergonomics, INFI ratmandu all the way.
 
Thanks for the feedback so far. I was/am leaning toward the Esee for the same reasons as above and "gifting" is certainly within the realm of possibilities. I am already taking two extra hammocks with integrated bug nets to give to Guyanese friends who are setting this trip up for me. There obviously is no wrong answer, as any of these knives will handle my tasks and stay sharp long enough. Currawong, I am taking the Infidu strapped on my tactical-tackle box for the heavy work, and the SYKCO Elmax for fish cleaning and other food prep.

Here is the Infidu ready to go.

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I am looking for something small-ish to keep on me around camp and on the water. I also have a nice Spyderco in M390 which is my EDC at home and office and several other folder options including a Spyderco Salt II which is a great choice for water activities. However, in the bush I like the idea of having a sturdy fixed blade on me at all times- as everything down there wants to eat you...
 
Okay, I’ll play contrarian.:D

The WW may be devalued by the use it would receive on the trip in terms of resale price, but this should be a trip that will live vividly in your memory for the rest of your life. And I guarantee that the knife’s value to you, personally, will be enhanced by the memories it will inspire later when you see it and remember the time you spent carrying and using it in the Amazon.

Holds a great edge for a long time, highly rust resistant, and easy to sharpen if need be. The performance is unquestionable. Might you lose it? Sure. But it will likely make the trip without incident and be ready for your next adventure—and the next chance to add to the legacy of your life.:cool:
 
Is the infi issue of it being "tougher" than "harder" and a bit more malleable one that I am overthinking? I have no real world experience with an infi blade in a small "stay-sharp" use situation. I would like to hear the experience of others. I am convinced Infi is great for hard working choppers, but my understanding that a "harder" blade would result in noticeably better edge retention, no? I am interested in real experiences and advice. Not more results from the charts and stats, which have only served to confuse me more.
 
Depends what you are cutting. INFI excels at toughness, so cutting anything very abusive (hardwood, bone, metal, rock) it will keep a working edge for longer and/or be easier to repair the damage. If you're cutting something softer (food, packaging, fur) elmax will be best out of the steels you have followed by sr101.
 
On the Busse website Jerry wrote:

Edge Retention

Many so-called knife experts have heralded the "wear resistance" of a steel as the key to edge retention. This may very well be true if a knife is designed and intended for the cutting of soft materials ONLY. However, we have never inspected a dull knife and found the edge to be perfectly smoothed away, like a ball bearing. Instead what we find are microscopic chips where the edge has broken or chipped away like glass after having impacted against bone, gravel, or other hard surfaces. This micro chipping dictates that the edge be reground during the resharpening process, which will ultimately lead to a thicker edge and a radical change in overall blade shape. Steels with high wear resistance normally score fairly low in shock resistance, lateral strength, and overall toughness. INFI scores very high in ALL of these categories.
 
I am gathering my gear and heading out tomorrow for my trip down south. Thanks for the feedback, the discussion impacted my final choice on what to take.

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Like I said above, I was already committed to the Infidu and SYKCO in Elmax- the rust issue factored into my decision a bit, but what really pushed me over the edge were Will York's statements above. This trip will be forever memorable and breaking in two virgin knives in the bush will add to the fun. I have yet to bring myself to use one of my Infi steel knives but now is the time. I am sure I will find many extra things to hack up and cut up around camp just because. In ten years when I pull one of these knives out it will be a nice reminder of this trip and the "first time"...

I also can agree with how easy the Infi is to sharpen. I used the mouse pad and sandpaper method in 600, 1000, 2000. I did not get either Infis hair popping sharp, but got them phone book shredding sharp, which should be good enough. The SYKCO I spent some more time with and due to its thinner profile it is shaving sharp and ready to clean some fish.

On another topic, but maybe helpful to some like minded folks. I looked at every sporting goods store in my area: Bass Pro Shop, Cabela's, Academy, Dicks's, Gander Mountain, Field & Stream, and online- and could not find a "tackle box" that I liked that was easy to carry, lot's of compartments, tough, and practical. Well I changed direction and tried a tactical sling-bag pack from Amazon measuring 14x11.5x6.5. A 4007 tackle box fits perfect in the main compartment and smaller boxes and items fit nicely in other areas. The MOLLE system is also nice for attaching stuff. When worn the WW lies across my heart for an easy right hand draw. The bag can also be slung to the front where the Infidu meets me ready to deploy.

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Wish me luck with the weather- looks like the rainforest may live up to its name.
 
I hope you have a great trip !!!

That’s a great choice group of knives !!! I’m sure they will serve you well and provide a lifetime of memories :-)
 
Well I made it back to the USA and had a wonderful time fishing and exploring the rainforest of Guyana, South America. I appreciate the input above and wanted to report back on my knife "trifecta". They did not see any heavy duty with bashing things up, but they each came in handy for the purpose we went there for- hunting and fishing. The Scrapyard in Elmax will always be know to me as "dat sharp knife", after cutting up three Powis birds our first night. From then on the Guyanese guys I was with frequently asked "hey, you have dat sharp knife?"

Sorry for blurry image, hard to photo well at night. Second photo he is cutting open the gizzard in hopes to find a diamond as they are known for picking up "shiny" objects.
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The Whiskey Warden and Infidu took care of their respectable tasks as well. Here they are being used to prepare our Labba, Arawana fish, and Piranha. The guys just loved lopping off heads and "cleaving" through bones with the Infidu. Only regret is that I was not there to try it on the 6-foot gator they harvested and prepared while I was on the water.

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A week of being used in this manner and the Infidu being on the water with me, and WW on my belt all day every day, there was not one thing I could complain about. Zero rust, or any other discoloration, stayed bragging-rights sharp the entire time. The other two guys who live in the US who went with me and are the owners of that Columbia knife in the pics and another with a Smith and Wesson POS were ready to give their knives to the locals and buy a Busse/kin back in the USA.
 
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