What Busse(s) does the military use??

don't get to use it in my boring job (usaf cyber ops), but i've got a few....
usually carry my rat trap for its light weight and slim profile

i only know a few knife nuts in various branches, and none of them had ever heard of busse/swamprat/scrapyard before i mentioned them, but i may have gotten a couple of them addicted
 
I know of one new LE 4 that's going to Afghanistan this weekend. Probably never come out of the sheath, but that's probably a good thing-- all things considered.
 
The small but deadly Shiva Rex I seem to remember being a military overrun, I could be wrong though.

Jerry said it was a remake of a custom blade designed in 1996 for an unspecified "very discreet group."

I don't think the group was ever identified, but I suspect it was Clinton's Bimbo Eruption Squad.
 
Here are a couple pictures of the Sage and tan canvas EH3 Mini Mojo (the lower knife), which was an unusual Military overrun in that I think it is one of the ONLY ones Busse or kin have ever offered for public sale WITH the unit's logo still on the blades:

(click for slightly larger)




It is one bada$$ blade!!! It is like my RMD Bowie on a massive steroid binge! :D
 
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When a new Joe is issued a piece that he doesn't particularly like, his CO will more often than not have no problem with him/her buying something more suited to their taste and/or use. Alot of "contract" talk is kept quiet for more reasons than one.
 
I would venture a guess that some soldiers use them, yet the vast majority of troops that I have questioned have never even heard of the Busse brand. Most of the guys in the sandbox said they had multi-tools from Gerber, some CS offerings and other cheaper, somewhat off the wall brands. A few had TOPS, SOG and Ontario products.

When I started in the .mil I always said I would buy the best tool I could AFFORD. Back in the 70's that was Gerber and Ka- Bar or Randall. In the late 90's I settled on Busse. I still enjoy some of the other brands but I will only bet my life on a Busse. I retired in '03. My SHBM had gone to many countries with me. Since then I have taken 2 other Busses to Iraq on 3 different occasions as a contractor. Did I see a lot of other brands while in Iraq? Yep. Does that mean that there aren't a lot of troops, that I never saw, that carried brands other than CS, Gerber, Leatherman, TOPS etc. ? Yep. When I ended up talking about blades with guys they all admired my Busses and inquired how to get one. Busse has improved the opportunites to own a quality knife with the addition of SwampRat and ScrapYard.
My point is that there are probably more Bussekin blades in the hands of our .mil that we'll ever know but I really take exception to the people that call BS on something they may not have full knowledge of.
 
Being retired USAF and working in the Contracting arena I'm familiar with the difficulties of supporting the Troops. Last night surfing I located the following posting on Bad MOJO site thats linked to the Busse Company Store. It doesn't specifically name knives but it does document Busse's involvement in supporting the US Troops. Check it out for it has a wealth of photos and history. I hope this adds to whats previously been shared.
 
I leave for AF BMT on march 5th. I'll be going in as loadmaster, and though it isn't a combat related job, there is a very small chance that I could see some(plane getting shot down). I'll be attempting to acquire a Busse for my survival class training, and it will be my go to knife on trips.
 
Garnto....best of luck at basic. As an AF vet, aim high!! I have a Busse HG55 military overrun and I know if my plane was shot out from underneath me, it's the blade I'd look to.
 
I had a Rodent 6 modified, I had it thinned down and the top gaurd taken off, it came out great, I'm thinking of having the same thing done with the Team Gemini, I bet that will look sweet.
 
I know that the original ATS 34 Steel Heart was evaluated by at least one unit, as I have one of the original five or so knives produced for evaluation, which was instead sold to a customer who wanted a Steel Heart and this one was an extra on hand at the time.

It has abbreviated handle slabs to provide clearance for a d-guard/wire cutter arrangement, according to Jerry. I sure wish I had the attachment as well.
 
Cut off handguard on TGLB? Blasphemy I say! But to each his own I guess. That double handguard is why I choose the Team Gemini line added leverage for twisting it if need be. Just my 2 cents.
 
The reason may be that when a specific U.S. or U.S. allied military unit places the order that model may be specifically designed by or for that unit based. Also, these specific knives either have the unit's logo on them or are sterile and so they may not recognizable by anyone not familiar with Busse(kin) knives.

Certain knives (or standard models in certain combos) sold to us as military overruns would be:

Ruck
Terror Monkey line (?)
SRKW Rat Mini Mojo and M6 recurve Uncle Rat Mojo (EH3) (corrected knife model)
Dumpster Mutt serrated
Modifed ASH-1 (3B2)
Meaner Street & Active Duty
SOUL 1/ SOUL 2
ST-56
Tank Buster trailing point
Sus Scrofa
Air Rescue knife (ARK)
Nuclear Air Rescue knife (NARK)(?)
BATAC

...and probably many more I can't think of at the moment. It is rare that we get any hint as to what units in what U.S. or U.S. allied Nations' militaries that these were created for, or even for what purpose, but they are out there serving with the men & women who bravely serve their countries.

Speaking of unit logo..... How about unit name (?)..... The Anniversary Mean Street Military Overrun has 14 STF written on the blade, below BUSSE. I remember searching the net for that inscription. I did find something that I posted on a AMSMO thread. It could refer to an Allied country unit.
 
SMOG Game Warden?

At one time I heard Candian troops had a contact with Swamp Rat.

For me......I would take a TGLB.
 
I remember one of the late nights at Blade several years ago Jerry told me that he started selling some of his knives at Fayetteville, NC, home of Fort Bragg for those that do not know. This was in the A2, D2, ATS 34, days. Late seventies, early 80's. He told me that he had to call Wauseon and get another van on the way with knives, because he was selling out!! Just a little more history there to back up Eric and Jaxx and Jimmy!
Jerry is very supportive of our Military and Public Safety!!
 
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