Want to buy my first Busse Blade

J

JTP1221

Joined
Jan 8, 2009
Messages
11
Hi everyone,

I want to buy my first Busse. I have been looking to get a good backpacking/hiking knife for short 3-4 day trips through the Blue Ridge Mountains. I have been checking out both the skinny ASH and the NMSFNO. Which of you think is better suited for what my needs? Is there a knife that has stopped production or coming out within the next couple months that would be better?

Let me know what you guys think. What medium size knives do you carry with you for these kinds of trips.

Thanks
 
Welcome to the forum!! The answer to your question depends a lot on you. Are you the kind of guy who will carry a heavier knife for chopping (NMSFNO), or keeping weight to a minimum but want a good knife for all-around and batoning (Skinny ASH)?
 
The NMSFNO is an amazing knife, and the ASH is spectacular, you can't go wrong with either choice.:thumbup:
 
If I'm honest I think its gotta be a more all around knife and chopping smaller logs duty. I think the reason I tend toward the NMSFNO is because of how sexy the blade design is, but I think its probably a little big to carry on me all day every day. But for trips where I've set up camp maybe its better to have a knife that can really chop wood for a fire?

From what I've been reading about the skinny, some people think that the thicker ASH or NMSFNO might be a better choice with batoning/chopping. Has anyone had any experience with the new skinny and how it stacks up with the regular ASH1?
 
Might want to consider a 3B2 also. A little less height in the blade than the ASH but still with the length.

Here's a picture of the 3B2 next to a regular SFNO.
Maybe someone else has comparison pictures of other blades your considering. The third picture top to bottom is a regular SFNO, 3B2 and an SHSJ.

I personally don't like "tall" blades unless it's a big chopper (FBM). I feel that a shorter height but still with length, allows you to do more work (baton/slice) with one knife. My all around favorite is a old school SHSJ. The 3B2 is a close second. I haven't handled any ASH knives but I have had a BATAC and SJTAC and didn't care for the tall blades at all.
 
Last edited:
I think the skinny ASH1 will do you nicely. I have the LE (not much difference to a skiny) and my HOGASH (a CG, thick blade).

While the heavier CG blade might be a little better for battoning, or for prying open safe doors, the LE or skinny is absolutely capable of any camp duties thrown at it. It's nicely balanced, quick in the hand and very comfortable. The CG is just too heavy really, unless you like massively thick blades.

I currently rate my ASH1LE as one of the best all-round knives I have.

My NMSFNO is great too, but for a general belt knife I would go for my ASH1LE any day. While the NMSFNO will definitely out-chop the ASH, the ASH will still do fine unless you are chopping chords of wood.

Skinny ASH - you'll love it!

If I was choosing, knowing what I know (at least, what works for me) I would buy a skinny ASH for my belt and a small ax for camp chopping. Unless you can afford/justify an ASH and a NMSFNO...
 
Last edited:
The NMSFNO has an 8" blade vs. the Skinny ASH with 6.5" blade. Those two are the only two blades being sold retail right now from bussecombat and bussecompanystore. All others are second hand. I'd go with the Skinny ASH vs hiking with the NMSFNO 8". The SFNO pictured above isn't the NMSFNO and is the same length as the ASH so that may be misleading. Picture the NMSFNO about 1.5" longer.

You can order a skinny ASH (3/16" thick) on www.bussecompanystore.com or you can find a ASH1 doublecut fatty on the exchange board for about msrp ($350-$400). There's all kinds of rumors about what's coming out next so I wouldn't wait.
 
Last edited:
dduangrat said:
The NMSFNO has an 8" blade vs. the ASH with 6.5" blade.

You can order a skinny ASH (3/16" thick) on www.bussecompanystore.com or you can find a ASH1 doublecut fatty on the exchange board for about msrp ($350-$400).
Click to expand...

Or better yet - the prices on the CG ASH1 fattys are around $300 - sometimes less :thumbup: A great price for a lot of INFI!!!
 
I would try and find someone in your area and feel both and go from there. There are a lot of hogs spread all over, im sure someone would meet up with you and let you feel both of them.
 
You could also look into a SARsquatch. There are quite a few in the exchange right now for slightly above retail ($300).
 
It doesnt matter what you buy because it wont be your last. So i would say go for the skinny ASH, it will make a better camp knife than the .320 CG. But really no matter what you end up buyin you will most likely be pleased with how it performs.

Oh yea, welcome to the forums and the best place on the web the Busse Combat Forums!!
 
dobywon said:
It doesnt matter what you buy because it wont be your last. So i would say go for the skinny ASH, it will make a better camp knife than the .320 CG. But really no matter what you end up buyin you will most likely be pleased with how it performs.

Oh yea, welcome to the forums and the best place on the web the Busse Combat Forums!!
Click to expand...

Well said!
 
dobywon said:
It doesnt matter what you buy because it wont be your last. So i would say go for the skinny ASH, it will make a better camp knife than the .320 CG. But really no matter what you end up buyin you will most likely be pleased with how it performs.

Oh yea, welcome to the forums and the best place on the web the Busse Combat Forums!!
Click to expand...

True, that!
 
JTP1221 said:
Hi everyone,

I want to buy my first Busse. I have been looking to get a good backpacking/hiking knife for short 3-4 day trips through the Blue Ridge Mountains. I have been checking out both the skinny ASH and the NMSFNO. Which of you think is better suited for what my needs? Is there a knife that has stopped production or coming out within the next couple months that would be better?

Let me know what you guys think. What medium size knives do you carry with you for these kinds of trips.

Thanks
Click to expand...


BTW, what part of the Blue Ridge Mtns are you talkin bout? I just happen to live in dem mountains too.
 
Hi JTP1221,

I just received my Skinny ASH in the mail this morning. I bought the Muddy with Tan scales.

The knife IMO is just about the perfect Bush/Hunting/Camping knife.

I can't wait to get mine out there in the scrub to try her out. ;):D
Ian.
 
My personal preference is for the sabre SFNO. Long enough to do some chopping, thick enough in the spine for batoning, just right for carry. They are pricier, but if you like the lines of the NMSFNO, you'll love the sabre SFNO: same lines, but with the sexy sabre-grind line, 7" blade length, and a very comfortable handle. Check into that.
 
welcome to the forum man. Buy what I just bought, the NMSFNO thats for sell on Busse's page as we speak.


Im ready for a thick piece of INFI from Busse Combat next!!!!! :)
 
JTP1221 said:
I want to buy my first Busse. I have been looking to get a good backpacking/hiking knife for short 3-4 day trips through the Blue Ridge Mountains. I have been checking out both the skinny ASH and the NMSFNO. Which of you think is better suited for what my needs? Is there a knife that has stopped production or coming out within the next couple months that would be better?

Let me know what you guys think. What medium size knives do you carry with you for these kinds of trips.
Click to expand...

It really depends on what you do on your backpacking trips. Do you chop for wood and such? If you expect to want to chop anything, then I would go with the NMSFNO. It's a much better chopper (and has the edge in batoning too by virtue of greater blade length), and doesn't kill your pinky finger during chopping like the ASH models do. If you want something lightweight, then... well, get a much smaller Busse than even a Skinny ASH. The ASH will do better than the NMSFNO in small tasks, since it's lighter and shorter, but I would bring a much smaller knife than either of these for the small tasks anyway, so... Basically, I would go with the NMSFNO. On the other hand, if you really want to go for belt carry, then perhaps the ASH would do better, depending on how tall you are. I'm short, and I find the NMSFNO too lengthy to comfortably carry on the belt - so I just strap it to my backpack and there we go, problem solved. :)

Nobody knows what's coming next, except Jerry and his crew, and they ain't telling. ;) Of the older models comparable in size to the ASH to NMSFNO range, I can't think of anything that would be so much better that it would be worth spending the extra time and money for. Basically, just go for the NMSFNO and bring along a much smaller knife to support it. A Mora or even a simple folder would do if you're so inclined. :)
 
i'll be agreeing with the skinny. the NMSFNO is a little heavy if you're going to be carrying it around a lot, and you can always baton with the skinny.
as for the skinny vs the CG ASH, the CG is heavier than the NMSFNO.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top