Users vs non-users

[TommyGun56]

This pretty much sums it up for me-The rest are just fondlers-Cheers

I have far more safe queens than I do users, mostly because I could not use all the blades in own in a couple of life times. I WILL NOT however but a knife that I WOULD NOT use either. That is something so unique or pretty that use would diminish it nor do I want to fugg something over just because I can. So I have a whole bunch of great blades that I just have not gotten around to using, and that's OK as simply I LIKE KNIVES...

 

[hexenjager]

All users for me. A couple just haven't had the chance to be used yet.

 

[PeteyTwoPointOne]

...just can't bring myself to wail on the Custom Shop satin INFI's...I've NEVER used one of those past or present, and unless I change my ways, I won't use any satin INFi CS I buy in the future...there's just something about those...

And I have 4 CG with rare handles + paint that are put away like an investment that I have no intention of using just because I don't have a great desire to use them and they do have considerable value attached.

Short of those...I've beat, thrown, dug, batoned, used gently, played mumblypeg and every use in-between-- stripped, sharpened or otherwise modded all the others.

But, I'm not against using ALL expensive or rare Busse. Heck the MO HG55 I stripped, sharpened, and drilled out the tubes cost more than a lot of firearms. Tote it with me everytime I go hiking...don't even worry about it going MIA...I wanted to USE that one! So expensiveness is a factor to me, but that factor gets thrown aside if I REALLY want to give her a go! Good thread!

I don't wanna derail this excellent thread, but I'll say I think it'd be an interesting poll to see how many HOGs have ever beat on CS satin INFI models!

 

[TheMtnMan]

Im not sure how many Hogs beat on CS INFI Models, but I read that there are at least a few that plan to Beat on CS WTF, those are the Real Hogs in my book, not sure if I could beat on mine..... i guess We'll wait & See......
P.S.
I beat on Satin INFI all last weekend, but for me its easier to do it if I buy already little used, i didnt beat on any MINT Satin INFI yet

 

[Robdude]

I just cant have an awesome blade an not use it.. if you can an like it, more power to ya. but I invest my knife money in my own pleasure..
Im not a knife babysitter...

 

[TheMtnMan]

I love having 3-4 (well... ideally more) of the same blade with different combos, and using 1, no need to beat them all up at the same time lol IMHO the non user versions are usualy LE or CS variant of a plain jane user model.

 

[on_the_edge]

I have used an old school CS 1 of 1 ABA with a satin blade and snakeskin handles. That really brings out the grins. And of all my FBMs, the one I loved the most was the LE. I am not sure I could restrain myself if I had another that was unused.

 

[evltcat]

Almost every one I own is up for being used if need or I want to.

 

[MikeH]

If I plan to use a Busse I will buy two, or buy a Combat Grade for use and an LE for collecting. A few of my Busse LE's are used simply because in many cases the LE is thinner than the CG model and I like the thinner knives. I think I would be foolish to beat on many of my old school pristine Busses just for the sake of saying I use them all.

There is something deeply satisfying about using them. There is also something deeply satisfying about collecting them. I don't feel the need to define myself one way or the other.

 

[TommyGun56]

My sentiments exactly-Thank you sir!!

If I plan to use a Busse I will buy two, or buy a Combat Grade for use and an LE for collecting. A few of my Busse LE's are used simply because in many cases the LE is thinner than the CG model and I like the thinner knives. I think I would be foolish to beat on many of my old school pristine Busses just for the sake of saying I use them all.

There is something deeply satisfying about using them. There is also something deeply satisfying about collecting them. I don't feel the need to define myself one way or the other.

 

[Skrapmetal]

I put "most" as users because I do pick up spares as backups for my users in case I lose one.

 

[inkynate]

I put "most are users" as well. There are a few that I haven't decided whether to keep yet, mostly because they are redundant in some way.

 

[David Brown]

Almost all have been "used" to make sheaths with

 

[Dr. Lecter]

I got into Busse as part of a transition from a lot of knives, including some safe queens, to two or three knives only. While I've overshot that mark due to picking up a couple extras while three were at the CS for the better part of a year, all of my knives are users. And when I say user I mean 'only trail knives, EDC knives, and kitchen knives that I own' users.

The hard part has been choosing which 2-3 to keep now that my CS order has returned...may wind up being more like 4-5 for a while.

 

[JohnTheTexican]

How am I supposed to use a couple hundred knives?

 

[legaleagle]

one at a time

 

[StealthCaliber]

does it count if you buy 2 or more of each design and only use one of each ?

 

[Gaston444]

I just have to chime in here:

Many here have a large number of knives, and yet several typically say ALL their knives are users. Not one exception in a whole collection... I wish I had a dime for the number of posts I have seen claiming that... Many even ask: What is the point of paying so much and not use it?

I think it is the other way around:

What is the point of having a whole collection of knives if all are going to be cosmetically ruined by use?

The whole point of having many knives is that at least some are kept away from use, otherwise you would never need to have that large a number to begin with...

Having a large collection that is 100% users seems to me like it completely defeats the purpose of having a collection to begin with...: It is like deliberately spreading the damage to its maximum effect, so that the clutter of needlessly damaged junk is maximized instead of minimized...

Also:

When I see the number of pictures of pristine knives here, I have to wonder just where are all these hyper-hard users hiding...

Finally:

I'm sorry, but people who say use does not damage knives are just talking big (I don't care what resale value they claim to get out of this scratched-up junk): Use eats INFI for dinner just like any other steel, with similar burping sounds at the end... And just like any other knife, these knives get duller, thicker and harder to sharpen over time...

The only thing that really makes a knife more durable is a good hollow grind, which is a feature not unique to Busse: The reason a good hollow grind outlasts most other grinds is that it can wear upward without this thickening the edge for a good while, so such edges can be badly worn, and yet still exactly as sharp as when they were new...

Sure you can fully re-grind a Flat Grind thinner over time, but that requires at least a belt grinder, whereas the hollow grind can do the same with basic sharpening tools: Quite a difference...

Gaston

 

[ExtraBaconPlease]

I just have to chime in here:

Many here have a large number of knives, and yet several typically say ALL their knives are users. Not one exception in a whole collection... I wish I had a dime for the number of posts I have seen claiming that... Many even ask: What is the point of paying so much and not use it?

I think it is the other way around:

What is the point of having a whole collection of knives if all are going to be cosmetically ruined by use?

The whole point of having many knives is that at least some are kept away from use, otherwise you would never need to have that large a number to begin with...

Having a large collection that is 100% users seems to me like it completely defeats the purpose of having a collection to begin with...: It is like deliberately spreading the damage to its maximum effect, so that the clutter of needlessly damaged junk is maximized instead of minimized...

Also:

When I see the number of pictures of pristine knives here, I have to wonder just where are all these hyper-hard users hiding...

Finally:

I'm sorry, but people who say use does not damage knives are just talking big (I don't care what resale value they claim to get out of this scratched-up junk): Use eats INFI for dinner just like any other steel, with similar burping sounds at the end... And just like any other knife, these knives get duller, thicker and harder to sharpen over time...

The only thing that really makes a knife more durable is a good hollow grind, which is a feature not unique to Busse: The reason a good hollow grind outlasts most other grinds is that it can wear upward without this thickening the edge for a good while, so such edges can be badly worn, and yet still exactly as sharp as when they were new...

Sure you can fully re-grind a Flat Grind thinner over time, but that requires at least a belt grinder, whereas the hollow grind can do the same with basic sharpening tools: Quite a difference...

Gaston

Gaston, i have used every Busse knife i have bought except 2; A HG55 and a NMSFNO. I sold both within 1-2 weeks of buying them.

I feel they look better with use and some battle scars!! I completely disagree that they "are going to be cosmetically ruined by use"!!! Your opinion is that you like em nice and brand new, others like the battle scars and prefer to use what they buy instead of just look at them. If i was just going to look at a knife, i would just go on the internet and view some pics. I buy the knife so i can feel its handle, weight, balance and test it's chopping, splitting and cutting performance!! Buy something, use it. YMMV!

Here's some pics of my users! (All of the TGLB's are different knives)

I tried to get some more bendage on my NMFBM but just couldn't get the same bend with logs i had chopped in half. When i get some more wood i'll give it another shot. I know Ulf Krogstad wanted some pics of my claimed 15ish degree bend

 

[dogboye]

You make some very good points, Gaston. And I'll admit I have quite a few knives that have t been used… yet. They are spares of my favorites. Then there are the 'mandu models. I have 4… maybe 5… spares. But every one of them are there for backup. They might not get used ever, because the other 5 that I have used will probably never say die. Yes, I have a lot of 'mandus. They are probably the one model I almost collect. But I have a ton of other knives, all of which have been used or carried, to some extent. Or modified. Or at least sharpened to put a better edge on them to have them ready for use.

I think there is a semantical difference between users and used. I have many that aren't used yet. But all are users. Bought with the intention for use.