No one's mentioned the SAR-8 (sorry, I somehow skipped page 2). Why not -it's a great, well-balanced, wicked-fast knife!
To quote Master Skunk (or was it The Janitor Himself?): The SAR-8 is a confluence of key features and attributes that make for the ultimate Search & Rescue Knife. Although very Busse Old School in initial appearance, the SAR-8 has a number of design features that set it far apart from it's ancestors.
We pushed the blade length on this model out to 8 1/2" long. We went with a full-height convex grind and a thickness of .220 in order to give it a very effective cutting geometry and added strength for it's anticipated mission. Over all length of the SAR 8 is 14 1/2". The robust handle balances perfectly with the 8 1/2" blade, making the SAR 8 a formidable chopping machine! The ample finger choil allows for choking up on the blade for finer cutting and carving chores. We melted down the exterior edges on this model in order to assist in chisel cutting and spine whacking. The rounded edges will not tear up the branch or stick that you are pounding with like a more traditional squared-off style corner. The thumb notches greatly assist in blade control while the "belly free" handle design make this model flow easily in the hand when chopping.
'Nuff said.