What's so special about the Busses?

Guyon said:
I've seen Jerry Busse replace knives he probably shoudn't have.
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Yeah, you can say that again. I recall Jerry replacing a Game Warden that had a broken tip - because the owner had first pried the knife so far it got bent, and then tried to get the blade straight again by hammering it from the side with a, yes, you guessed it, hammer. If that doesn't constitute intentional damage then I don't know what does, but Jerry replaced it no questions asked, even though the guy had told exactly what he did to the Warden.

The Game Warden, I think, is one of Busse's most "tragic" models. Tragic because it's great, but it could be perfect - and isn't. I don't know why Busse, and so many other American makers, seem so strangely infatuated with putting choils on even the smallest of knives. Without the choil that accomplishes absolutely nothing except wasting the knife's best and most precise cutting area and creating a nice little hole for things to get stuck in while cutting, the Game Warden would be perfect, completely and utterly flawless. Now, it's "only" great. :(
 
Yes, I agree. But the Howling Rat is even worse! That's a choil and a half....

From what I understand, a choil is only there to stop juices from running onto your hand when you're cutting fruit or skinning deer, right?

I can be a few mm's wide and still do its job.
 
I love the choil it allows much more dexterity with the blade. It also sets it apart from feeling like kitchen knives.

Skam
 
Buffalohump said:
From what I understand, a choil is only there to stop juices from running onto your hand when you're cutting fruit or skinning deer, right?

I can be a few mm's wide and still do its job.
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That task would be better achieved by a simple finger guard, I would think...

Generally, choils seem to have two purposes: being a "sharpening notch" that makes sharpening easier for some folks, and allowing "choking up" on the blade.

skammer said:
I love the choil it allows much more dexterity with the blade. It also sets it apart from feeling like kitchen knives.
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You know, I can somewhat agree that a choil can be useful on a large, very blade heavy knife, 7" and upwards, since with that kind of knife choking up your grip on the choil allows you to get control nearer to the blade's balance point and therefore increase the accuracy of your cuts, increase force, and decrease hand fatigue. But on small to medium size knives, a choil not only does not increase dexterity, but actually decreases it. The best control and force on a precise cut is always with the part of the cutting edge right next to your hand's grip and with a handle as ergonomical as possible. If you put a choil on a small knife, you lose this precision, and if you try to regain it by choking up on the choil, you lose the ergonomics of the handle. The handle is for holding the knife by, the blade for cutting stuff. I can't fathom why people would want to mix those two in small to medium size knives. But again, people have different tastes. Perhaps some people don't like being able to make cuts as precise as possible with good handle ergonomics. :D
 
On a bigger blade, sure, but the one on the Game Warden just gets in my way. I tried to use it once (I have small hands) but I ended up nicking my finger. I quite like my kitchen knives. More than once I've considered getting a sheath made for my chef's knife so I can take it camping. If I could find a carbon steel chef's knife I'd probably be even more tempted.
 
Guyon said:
Depends on what you're looking for. If it's porn you want, try Google. :D
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I won't even comment on that. I can find porn all day long, but I can't get current production models from the Busse website.

Guyon said:
I've sold quite a few Busses to first-time owners lately. As for trades, well yeah, that's a different story. Often it's because someone is offering a $50 Cold Steel for a $200 Busse because "Cold Steels are just as good."
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You have confirmed my point, selling is one thing trading is another. If you go back a re-read my post, I'm not necessarily speaking only "Busse" but I have a blade valued at about $230 and I'm pretty sure I can't get a bigger swamp rat (w/ Sheath) for it. I may be able to get a game warden for it, but that is to small for my liking.

Guyon said:
They used to come with sheaths. I think Busse got tired of people complaining that they wanted different sheaths, so the company simply started recommending a variety of kydex benders and leather stitchers.
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They should come with a basic sheath no matter what, if the buyer wants an after market sheath then that is their choice. Why would I buy a knife and then wait a few more weeks to get a sheath for it, thats plain dumb.

Guyon said:
No more weird than the HI forum or even here. NWA? WSK?
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Those are 3 letter acronyms, fairly reasonable. I have seen Busse's with 5 or 6 letter acronyms and that is kind of lengthy don't you think?

Guyon said:
This actually is a nice feature. If you buy a knife, use it, and don't like it, you'll get your money out of it. Try that with a Spyderco or Benchmade.
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Not much I can say about that one. I would like that feature too.

Guyon said:
If so many things irritate you about Busses, I do wonder why you still "would like one." Still, I encourage you to try a smaller, thin blade from Busse or a big chopper if that sort of thing floats your boat. Busse excels at making both. The knives are excellent hard-use blades that hold an edge well. The warranty is as good as any out there.
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If you notice my original post I said absolutely nothing negative regarding their steel, ergonomics, blade shape, fit and finish, etc. and all of my irritations were pretty self explanatory.
 
IH8U said:
I won't even comment on that. I can find porn all day long, but I can't get current production models from the Busse website.
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Well, do you complain when you can't get a custom blade right this instant? As I point out above, Busses are basically semi-custom knives. They're made in batches similar to some custom blades. Again, you're not dealing with Spyderco or Benchmade here. Different company, different methods.

IH8U said:
You have confirmed my point, selling is one thing trading is another. If you go back a re-read my post, I'm not necessarily speaking only "Busse" but I have a blade valued at about $230 and I'm pretty sure I can't get a bigger swamp rat (w/ Sheath) for it. I may be able to get a game warden for it, but that is to small for my liking.
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You're on the mark here. Most Busse owners are looking for a different Busse fix when it comes to trading.

IH8U said:
They should come with a basic sheath no matter what, if the buyer wants an after market sheath then that is their choice. Why would I buy a knife and then wait a few more weeks to get a sheath for it, thats plain dumb.
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Most folks have strong preferences when it comes to housing their Busses. I'd personally rather not pay extra for a sheath I don't want. Now, there were some past Busse sheaths that were great (eg. the drop-leg kydex sheaths on some of the older models). If Busse brought those back, I'd gladly pay for the sheath.

IH8U said:
Those are 3 letter acronyms, fairly reasonable. I have seen Busse's with 5 or 6 letter acronyms and that is kind of lengthy don't you think?
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Head over to the HI forum and look around for a Sgt. Khadka Chiruwa Ang Khola, also known as a Khadka CAK. Or look for any other knife over there. The Busse nomenclature is a system just like any other. http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=330784

A lot of times, what you're seeing with the longer acronyms is not just the knife, but also the coating or finish (DT for Desert Tan, or OD for Olive Drab, or DC for double cut) as well as the handles (SS for Snakeskin, GL for Green Linen). Those abbreviations come more from the Busse crowd than the Busse company.

IH8U said:
If you notice my original post I said absolutely nothing negative regarding their steel, ergonomics, blade shape, fit and finish, etc. and all of my irritations were pretty self explanatory.
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I'm not trying to get into a pissing match here. But I am trying to show that you're putting certain expectations on Busse Combat based on companies with a different production schedule or with a different emphasis on product (eg. always supplying a sheath with a knife, even if it's a crappy sheath). Apples and oranges.
 
These type of threads always turn out the same. Nobody is going to sway someone to the other side, and there is no need to. Busse fans will remain strong, and detractors will not budge either. And it doesn't matter! There are far too many knives and choices to worry about it either way.
 
Wrong how? This forum is not here to force an opinion on anyone. The battle lines always seem pre-drawn, and stay that way. There can only be so much "discussion" then things get heated, insults thrown, threads locked. We all know the hot buttons, Busse, Strider, Cliff Stamp to name a few...
 
Actually, I've been very impressed with the tone in this thread. Really has been a pretty good discussion.
 
2dogs said:
tknife I hope you are wrong. If you're right then this forum is pretty worthless.
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Wrong, that's why this forum is great. If the only purpose of this forum was to convince people of the "right" choice, I wouldn't bother coming.
 
Wow this threads still going? Might as well toss in my two cents. I like their no BS lifetime warranty with great customer service. Several people have said other companies have similar warranties. But from what I've seen the Busse lifetime warranty is the only one you can depend on to be honored everytime.
 
I think the thread is fine. I'm pretty thick skinned, but I'm not keen on lumping all Busse owners into one big group of safe-queen elitists. I use most all my Busses, and if I don't use them, they're usually put on the sale block. I've sold Busses for a markup when the market justified it, but I've also passed along just as many Busses at my cost so that someone could try a Busse for the first time. There are so many Busse owners like me who are about the knives, not about the buck. That's why thatmguy was trying to shift the focus in this thread to the knives themselves.

And Busses aren't the only knives that float my boat. I love Victorinox SAKs, stockman slipjoints, Becker knives, fillet knives of all stripes, and hunting knives from a lot of different makers. As someone else said, there are too many choices out there to bog down with just one maker. I'm really excited about getting my hands one of the NWA knives (May for me :( ) and one of Dan Koster's bushcraft blades.

For some reason, Busse owners sometimes get pegged as fervent zealots of one brand, but if you actually visit the Busse forum, you'll see that these guys like a lot of different blades. And they really enjoy using the Busse knives rather than keeping them pristine in a safe somewhere.
 
I've seen enough pics of your collection Guyon to know you're not focused on any 1 brand. Them'r pics I look forward to.
 
tknife said:
Wrong how? This forum is not here to force an opinion on anyone. The battle lines always seem pre-drawn, and stay that way. There can only be so much "discussion" then things get heated, insults thrown, threads locked. We all know the hot buttons, Busse, Strider, Cliff Stamp to name a few...
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I agree wholeheartedly with this point.

It seems to me that the original question was answered some 3 pages back, if you want to spend the money on a Busse (its a knife, not excalibur for gods sake) its worth the money to alot of those who have. I'll stick with my not mithral metal Beckers and Rangers then spend the other 200 dollars on gas to get the hell out of dodge for a nice time in the mountains. ;)
 
The Chef said:
I agree wholeheartedly with this point.

It seems to me that the original question was answered some 3 pages back, if you want to spend the money on a Busse (its a knife, not excalibur for gods sake) its worth the money to alot of those who have. I'll stick with my not mithral metal Beckers and Rangers then spend the other 200 dollars on gas to get the hell out of dodge for a nice time in the mountains. ;)
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You agree with the point but then you slide in an underhanded slight by noting your knives are "not mithral metal" but adequate to the task.

The Busse users I know don't think there's anything "mithralic" or magical about the knives. For most, they're just a good combination of a lot of factors and worth the money when you get right down to it.
 
And they look cool in the woods... :cool:

Hike6.jpg


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Hike8.jpg


Hike5.jpg
 
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