USMC blade advice needed

S

Strabs

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Feb 11, 2000
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One of the girls that works for us has a son that will soon be finishing up training in San Diego soon. I would like to provide the kid with a Busse that he can either cherish simply as a graduate gift or as something he can take with him in the field when he is sent over seas.

My initial thought was an Active Duty, being my favorite EDC style blade it can do a lot, conceal well, pretty inconspicuous, etc...

On the other hand, something like a SHe, NOe, SFNO, B7, SJTAC, or BATAC could do more IMHO, and may be better suited for the field:confused:

I understand there are regulations on what kind of blades are acceptible for these guys, and that there is a high tendancy for things to dissapear, especially in friendly environments.
...well, I'm at a loss. Any advice or help would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Kev
 
SJTAC or BATAC. Both would work well in the field and are still very reasonably priced.
 
maybe wait to see what his mos will be.

the hg55 is very cool, but i think he would get more use out of the ad.
 
From personal experience, I would recommend holding off on the Busse. Maybe wait and give it to him as a re-enlisting gift, or as a gift when he picks up Corporal. The first couple of years are pretty rough; especially in a war zone. Like you said, things come up missing; even in friendly environs.

Give the young man a Kabar fighter. EVERY MARINE NEEDS A KABAR!!! I promise he will appreciate it. A multi-tool like a Leatherman would be great too.

You could always give him a picture of the Busse SAR4 you plan on gifting him when he re-enlists. ;) :thumbup:
 
Idaho Jarhead said:
From personal experience, I would recommend holding off on the Busse. Maybe wait and give it to him as a re-enlisting gift, or as a gift when he picks up Corporal. The first couple of years are pretty rough; especially in a war zone. Like you said, things come up missing; even in friendly environs.

Give the young man a Kabar fighter. EVERY MARINE NEEDS A KABAR!!! I promise he will appreciate it. A multi-tool like a Leatherman would be great too.

You could always give him a picture of the Busse SAR4 you plan on gifting him when he re-enlists. ;) :thumbup:
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This seems like pretty sound advice. Or, maybe you can get him a Busse, and then help him ugly it up REAL well so that it's not so pretty anyone wants to steal it. I would DEFINITELY prefer a Busse over a Kabar...but what Jarhead said makes great sense.
 
A buddy of mine is heading to A-stan in about 2 weeks. My brother and I bought him a Swamp Rat M6 with a Spec Ops sheath to take with him. When it arrived, I liked it so much I really didn't want to give it up, so I just today sent money on another one (this one from the custom shop... was in the EE here).

This knife feels like an absolute tank in the hand. It's very solid. I am quite sure I could stab my way through a brick wall with it.
 
Instead of a ka-bar, how about a scrap yard or swamp rat knife? You could grab him a scrapper 5 from the SY store for a hundred bucks.
 
cg batac. anything with serrations is against the geneva convention rules of war. if caught by the enemy=warcrime.

lighter than big choppers. able to still baton. non reflective blade. tuff as nails, no tougher!:cool:

most of the time, it'll be used in the rear with the gear. most combat is with the good ol' m16, m249, m60:D

cheers, kimo
 
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That is a very nice gesture on your part. You've gotten some good advice so far, but I'll add mine in there for fun. I'd go no larger than the BATAC, an AD may even be better, but he probably wouldn't get as much use out of it. The SAR4 would be top of the list if it was available in a CG version (coated blade). I hate to say it, but for a fresh recruit a Scrapyard may be the better option. New guys get treated pretty poorly and anything that attracts attention will just get him more "attention". The idea of a simpler knife for now, with a Busse in the future (promotion or re-enlistment) is good.

To the best of my knowledge there is no serrated blade clause in the Geneva Convention.
 
I to would probably buy him a Scrapper 5 with sheath and a multi-tool of some sort. You can get all that for under $200 compared to gong for a Busse straight away.

Once he re-ups or has a couple of years under his belt and settle in a bit the Busse can follow.
 
Idaho Jarhead said:
From personal experience, I would recommend holding off on the Busse. Maybe wait and give it to him as a re-enlisting gift, or as a gift when he picks up Corporal. The first couple of years are pretty rough; especially in a war zone. Like you said, things come up missing; even in friendly environs.

Give the young man a Kabar fighter. EVERY MARINE NEEDS A KABAR!!! I promise he will appreciate it. A multi-tool like a Leatherman would be great too.

You could always give him a picture of the Busse SAR4 you plan on gifting him when he re-enlists. ;) :thumbup:
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What's up Devil! i'm a cali jar head or hollywood marine for other marines that get that. Like you said though he should wait till the kid makes corporal! i lost just about everything i owned at one point or another. i managed to keep track or stuff i owned after i stopped moving around as much (senior LCpl- new Cpl)

if you insist on getting the kid something as a graduation present you should consider a shadow box that can have stuff added to it (medals ribons ka-bar..etc)
 
Idaho Jarhead said:
From personal experience, I would recommend holding off on the Busse. Maybe wait and give it to him as a re-enlisting gift, or as a gift when he picks up Corporal. The first couple of years are pretty rough; especially in a war zone. Like you said, things come up missing; even in friendly environs.

Give the young man a Kabar fighter. EVERY MARINE NEEDS A KABAR!!! I promise he will appreciate it. A multi-tool like a Leatherman would be great too.

You could always give him a picture of the Busse SAR4 you plan on gifting him when he re-enlists. ;) :thumbup:
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Agree !!!! SEMPER FI !!!!!:thumbup:
 
Idaho Jarhead said:
From personal experience, I would recommend holding off on the Busse. Maybe wait and give it to him as a re-enlisting gift, or as a gift when he picks up Corporal. The first couple of years are pretty rough; especially in a war zone. Like you said, things come up missing; even in friendly environs.

Give the young man a Kabar fighter. EVERY MARINE NEEDS A KABAR!!! I promise he will appreciate it. A multi-tool like a Leatherman would be great too.

You could always give him a picture of the Busse SAR4 you plan on gifting him when he re-enlists. ;) :thumbup:
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Sage advice and I agree 100%. Get this young soldier a KABAR and the Leatherman is a very practical idea as well.
 
Wow, Marines must be very clumsy, I was in the Army and I didn't lose any of my gear.
Broke a Kabar twice, would have loved a Busse.
No more than a 6" knife tho.. I would say a 5 incher. (SAR 4, SAR 5, SJ, BA)

Not sure I understand...so his 1st 4 years in a combat zone he won't need a knife he can bet his life on, but after 4 years he'll need one?
That's the dumbest thing I've heard in a long time...?
 
1whobuys said:
Wow, Marines must be very clumsy, I was in the Army and I didn't lose any of my gear.
Broke a Kabar twice, would have loved a Busse.
No more than a 6" knife tho.. I would say a 5 incher. (SAR 4, SAR 5, SJ, BA)

Not sure I understand...so his 1st 4 years in a combat zone he won't need a knife he can bet his life on, but after 4 years he'll need one?
That's the dumbest thing I've heard in a long time...?
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not sure the last line was needed, but i kinda on the kabar comment. I know people love them and stand by the brand, but the standard kabars have never felt like combat knives to me. ultra low saber, stick tang, and honestly not that strong feeling even with the obtuse geometry.

if your worried about price because it might get stolen - go for scrap yard, you might even find a reasonably priced scrapper 4 (? whatever the infi one was).

I don't really trust many knife families outside of the busse family when it comes to "real combat" knives, the only one I could suggest off the top of my head would be a bark river bravo-1 in a2.

for stealable knives:
yard keeper:
yardkeeper_med.jpg

dumpster mutt (will need a rebevel to be usable as a "knife")
DumpsterMutt_med.jpg

scrapper 4 (infi)
StreetScrapper4_med.jpg

if it's available yet, the scrapper 5
S5SageBrn3.jpg




and holy crap yes to the leatherman charge (with bit kit). I know one knife for the end of the world generally ends up being some super overbuilt combat knife - but the leatherman charge will do more for your every day comfort then any standard knife could dream of.
 
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1kimo4u said:
cg batac. anything with serrations is against the geneva convention rules of war. if caught by the enemy=warcrime.

lighter than big choppers. able to still baton. non reflective blade. tuff as nails, no tougher!:cool:

most of the time, it'll be used in the rear with the gear. most combat is with the good ol' m16, m249, m60:D

cheers, kimo
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From what I recall, I thought the rule about serrations was actually about saw teeth, and it applied to saw teeth on the top edge of a bayonet. I've seen pilot survival knives with saw teeth and/or serrations... I think I remember a US Navy Seals knife (or so it was called, but supposedly an issued knife) with serrations as well?
 
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