What about the Battle Guard

jgkelly

jgkelly

Joined
Aug 13, 2006
Messages
816
I can't find much said about the battle guard. Were many made? Was it very popular? Does anyone lust after one? I got one off of evilbay a while back (black with tan respirene) with a Semper Paratus sheath and I'm looking to find out more about the knife.
 
Thanks for the heads up biz. It looks like a special run done once in Jan '06. It also looks like it got mixed reviews. I like the knife, although I don't have a battle rat to compare it with. As a user, I would probably gravitate to the Chopweiler, which has a thicker blade and is heavier overall, even though it's shorter. What's the general consensus on this knife?
 
There are a bunch of things to consider here. Here are my thoughts.

First of all the Battle Gruard will be rather difficult to come by and you'll only find them on the secondary market. I never quite understood the point of the hand guard on the hilt. Really serves not practical purpose IMO. I think it's more of a hinderance than an asset for several reasons:

1) The guard will make sheathing difficult. If you want leather I think it will make extracting the knife rather tough as it would likely tend to catch on any snap loop on the sheath. You could get a pin lock from Armoralleather or Kenny Rowe, but you may have to wait a LOOONG time.

If you want to go with kydex I think the guard will limit you to blade retention kydex which personally I don't like. I much prefer kydex that the hilt clicks into like those form Okuden. On a big knife like this I don't think that blade retention is the way to go.

2) The guard completely eliminates your ability to choke up on this blade by using the choil. It's a big blade so if you want to do some for lack of a better term "fine" work you're screwed with the guard.

3) The guard has weight to it which will throw the balance of the blade towards the handle when you'd be better off having it more weight forward toward the tip for chopping.

4) It just looks out of place to me.

There are probably more reasons, but these cover the most important to me (except #4 of course:D).

Considering all of this I have both a standard Battle Rat and the Chopweiler. You can get Battle Rats and if you want the comfort of the Res-C handle than that's the route to take. You can find them on the secondary market, but you will likely pay more for a user than you will for a NEW Chopweiler. I guess if you want Res-C (which is great) and a little more length this is the way to go.

Or you could go to the Rat Store and pick up a Chopweiler which is one helluva sweet blade in a more compact package. It's a little shorter so you don't get as much reach, but it is easier to carry on the hip sheathed. It'll be cheaper than secondary market BRs and you can get it without the wait (unless Eric is out of them). You can also get the color combo that you want, which is cool. And the micarta handle is very comfortable and virtually indestructible.

There are a lot of things to consider, but I think when you weigh out all the options the Chopweiler is the best thing for you. Get one now. You won't be sorry.

Good luck
 
Hatin' on the Battle Guard... tsk, tsk, tsk! :p

Actually, I have both the Battle Guard and a ChopWeiler. I picked them both up for nearly the exact same price (within $1). In hand, the BG feels lighter and faster, even though it is actually the slightly heavier of the two knives. IMO, the blade is large enough that if you're going to choke up on it, you'll be holding the spine of the blade just forward of the handle anyway, so the guard is not a hindrance in that respect. I personally think it is the better chopper of the two due to it's full flat grind. I just received an Armoralleather sheath for it (sooo sweet), and haven't noticed any issues with the blade catching on the snap loop any worse than any other knife. You're hand somewhat "blocks" the snap loop as you extract the knife from the sheath.

Finally, the distinctive guard is what makes the BG look like a big, bada$$ Bowie knife!!! :D How many other Busse family knives can claim that? I'm not aware of any.
 
I have a Battle Guard and love it. The guard part is a little gimmicky, but the full flat grind is outstanding. It feels so much better in the hand than a regular Battle Rat. The only other full flat Battle Rat was the Satin Battle Rat.

I just got my Scrapyard Dogfather LE in the mail today, also with a full flat grind. Again, feels way better in my hand than my CG Dogfather.

I don't know why these guys don't do more full flat grinds. I know it's more labor intensive than a saber grind, but man is it worth it.
 
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