What's so special about the Busses?

I have both the Game Warden and Active Duty. Just a bit small for dressing deer for me. I have a Howling Rat and a Yard Keeper. Perfect. I also have a Badger Attack 3. That is also perfect but next to impossible to find and way too expensive to recommend to anyone in my opinion. Busse needs to make a Game Warden with about an extra inch of blade length-that would be the ideal hunting knife....
 
I have both the Game Warden and Active Duty. Just a bit small for dressing deer for me. I have a Howling Rat and a Yard Keeper. Perfect. I also have a Badger Attack 3. That is also perfect but next to impossible to find and way too expensive to recommend to anyone in my opinion. Busse needs to make a Game Warden with about an extra inch of blade length-that would be the ideal hunting knife....

Agreed, Agreed. As far as the expense and extending the GW.:thumbup:
I am going to try for a BAIII this next year, but not too hard since it will be a user.;)
 
I dressed three deer last week- one with the BAIII, one with the HR, and the last with the Yardkeeper. Noticed no difference between them except that the handles on the HR and YK were a bit more comfortable, easier to clean, and less slippery. No differences noticed in edge retention, cutting, etc. Any of the three would be great as hunting knives, though with price and availability factored in, I would recommend the HR or YK over the BAIII.
 
I have both the Game Warden and Active Duty. Just a bit small for dressing deer for me. I have a Howling Rat and a Yard Keeper. Perfect. I also have a Badger Attack 3. That is also perfect but next to impossible to find and way too expensive to recommend to anyone in my opinion. Busse needs to make a Game Warden with about an extra inch of blade length-that would be the ideal hunting knife....

Agreed, that would be ideal. But only if they left that pointless choil out of the knife. I like Busses, but sometimes the choils really irk me. They're just a hindrance on a knife of that size.
 
Agreed, that would be ideal. But only if they left that pointless choil out of the knife. I like Busses, but sometimes the choils really irk me. They're just a hindrance on a knife of that size.

Busse knives often have features I find pointless- goofy serrations, "skull crushers", etc. Wish they would just make some regular sized, simple, practical, hunting knives instead of all the other stuff.....
 
Agreed, that would be ideal. But only if they left that pointless choil out of the knife. I like Busses, but sometimes the choils really irk me. They're just a hindrance on a knife of that size.

On the larger designs it can be helpful, but I agree with you completely about their place on the smaller knives. It wouldn't stop me from doing anything my life depended on, but it can be something of a nuissance when it comes to some of the little everyday tasks.
 
First of all not my first posting, used to have a different screen name long ago, Ranger288. And was a regular poster on Bladeforums and Busse forum. But the email server I used at that time I have no more, so had to start a new user name a year ago. ANd have not had much time to post over the last year or two. Second, I would not consider it being a troll, when I am just pointing out some of my experiences on Busse knives and regarding to many other post about them. That is one thing I realized about Busse knives, while I stated they do have some uses and good designs, but the "Cult" of following Busse, gets to where many Busse collectors are so wrapped up in them, can not even discuss the merits or agree that they may not be the best. It is like a religion almost.

And as for working in Cambodia. Well, the US military is still very active in Cambodia. Special Forces ODAs and other military special operations units continue to travel to Cambodia to conduct training courses for the Cambodian military. There are also still MIA recovery operations going on, that are joint US/Cambodian. Als0 many joint US Military and US NGO ordnance/mine disposal operations. As for me, I worked in Cambodia for 9 months as a Project Manager for a Wildlife Conservation Law Enforcement Project and then also spent 3 months working in Cambodia on a US State Department Ordnance Disposal Project.

There are a lot better knives out there to get the Job done than Busse. If you want a crow bar buy a crow bar, or get a good axe, or Khuk if you want something to chop with. Busses are great for collecting, but IMHO not the best for actual field operations. And as for bringing up my military background, without being too specific, I brought that up to refute the argument I always see about how there are all these Military Spec Ops units using Busse knives or all these "Secret" units having them made for them. Lets see some documentation? I am just stating that in over 11 years of working with the US Military Sepcial Operations community, I have never seen any Busse knives and when I did have mine, no one else had even heard of Busse knives. Knives are not classified military equipement,and either are units that may have the knives. Specific missions are the only things that are classified. Now, there may be a few individuals within the Military who use Busse knives. And a good 5" blade may have some practical applications. (personally though what one needs is a good folding knife, a good multitool, and depending on the location a good small axe or machete or E-Tool type blade may come in handy. For a fixed blade, stick with issue Bayonet. And since you have that, why do you want an additional fixed blade? Just more crap to strap to your gear)

But hey, I must be a Troll for stepping on the Holy Busse Ground, and after having owned and used around 8 differnet Busses, realizing they are not the best for cutting, skinning, chopping etc. And besides, as one previous poster posted, who wants to buy a knife that does not even come with a Sheath? Runningboar, if you want a great skinning knive, check out some of the offerings from Dozier, Chris Reeve, Randall, Wilson Tactical, etc.. Some great designs and very sharp cutting without that nasty black textured coating that Busse uses. Or if you are are set on getting a Busse, get one with a 3/16th blade and no coating. And agree with Elen above, the Choil is pretty useless and does just get in the way, especially when cutting rope or skinning. Kuribo, I think a lot of the designs you mention are more for looks than practicality, and my guess is most of the cultish Busse owners are more for collecting (which is OK) than actually using them everyday out in the wilderness.
 
I have the "fat" battle mistress (BM) and the craftsmanship is very good.

What I like
Very well made. Sharp. The previous incarnation of BM faired very well during the Cliff Stamp test. The fact that it survived unlike most other knives that Cliff tested speaks volumes.

What I do not like.
Price and availability.
I do not like the artificial low supply -high prices marketing but it works so I can not blame Busse for being a savvy businessman.

Busse “cult” and jargon.
Considering the Busse forum there are some cultish acolytes lurking there that pollute the discussion but there are also people like Cobalt who are polite and actually bothered to answere my questions.

Thicker is better mantra.
I do not buy it. My BM is so thick and heavy that I have not used it for backpacking at all. I know that Busse is making some relatively thin knives but I have not seen any except during the ganzaas .

Sheath.
Not to beat the dead horse any more but really somebody must be a masochist to enjoy waiting for few more weeks or even months to get a quality sheath AFTER he has waited months to get his coveted Busse knife. The knifes come with no sheath so you have to spend more time and money for a new sheath. For that reason alone I skipped several Busse model that I otherwise liked.

As about the original question the INFI is supposed to be super steel. I am waiting for Noss4 review before passing judgment. It would be interesting to see how much more punishment it can withstand in comparison to the much cheaper Scrap Yard Scrapper 6, made from SR-77. I would also like to see comparison with Falkniven Thor as it has similar characteristics to the Mistress but comes with a sheath and is stainless unlike the BM.
 
Runningboar, if you want a great skinning knive, check out some of the offerings from Dozier, Chris Reeve, Randall, Wilson Tactical, etc.. Some great designs and very sharp cutting without that nasty black textured coating that Busse uses. Or if you are are set on getting a Busse, get one with a 3/16th blade and no coating. And agree with Elen above, the Choil is pretty useless and does just get in the way, especially when cutting rope or skinning. Kuribo, I think a lot of the designs you mention are more for looks than practicality, and my guess is most of the cultish Busse owners are more for collecting (which is OK) than actually using them everyday out in the wilderness.

Thanks leopard but I just can't pull the trigger, IMO I already own the perfect knife, for my purposes anyway. If I bought a busse it would sit in the drawer for a year or so and then I would sell it on ebay. I am fascinated by the hype and would like to try one and see what it's all about, I am just not willing to pay the prices they ask.:o Chris
 
It amuses me how many say "best" and "not the best" like their experience ordains it as law for all to adhere to. I love it when I'm told serrations and the extended pommels are useless. Then when I name the ways I use those exact design elements, those same people no longer have any comment. Its great if you like to limit yourself, don't push it on others. Different designs can serve different purposes.

This whole commentary of how the Busse forum is "cultish", "religious" and so on is so annoying. If you don't have a hobby your dedicated to and are really in to talking about, poor you!:jerkit: If you don't have friends, familiars, acquaintances and frenemies to discuss how much you like something and share the experience with, again, poor you!:jerkit: So you don't like people who get along and are very social, go join the rest of the teenage angst generation of wannabe misfits. Just because you feel uncomfortable with a group of people really feeling strong dedication to something doesn't make it cult. Welcome to Western Civilization.:rolleyes:
One last thing for this post. If Busse was just for collecting and not any good for actual field use, then how come there are so many of us using them? I've stated before, I have used Western, Cold Steel, SOG, Benchmade,Strider (just to name a few) effectively, but I now choose to use Busse. I didn't say my knives are better than anybody else's, so maybe it's just me, since I am completely capable of obtaining (I didn't say purchase), using and maintaining these blades that are just hype.:rolleyes:
 
I really want to see someone explain how a choil (an actual void for placing the finger) gets in the way. I understand the complaint of losing some edge, but actually getting in the way sounds kind of like user error.
 
I really want to see someone explain how a choil (an actual void for placing the finger) gets in the way. I understand the complaint of losing some edge, but actually getting in the way sounds kind of like user error.

When I am doing fine work and cutting back towards myself using a my thumb as a guide, if that makes sense, is almost impossible with a knife with a choil. The closer the edge is to your hand the more control you have, at least in my experience. If I am carving or whittling a knife with a choil is a serious handicap. Chris
 
When I am doing fine work and cutting back towards myself using a my thumb as a guide, if that makes sense, is almost impossible with a knife with a choil. The closer the edge is to your hand the more control you have, at least in my experience. If I am carving or whittling a knife with a choil is a serious handicap. Chris

AHA! Thanks Chris, now I understand. I carry and use a Superknife2 all the time, so that is what I pull out for that kind of work. But, now I see why others would prefer no choil.
 
I love choils, especially the ones the size of my index finger, and especially on a larger knife. The choil allows me to choke up on the knife.

It's all very simple, if someone doesn't like choils, then there are plenty of knives that don't have them. If someone wants knives under $100, there is a selection. If someone wants only to use their $9 Mora, then so be it (I have 3 or 4 of them).

Knives are like cars, there are many makes and models. Some want to drive a pick up, they may not even need one for work purposes, they just like pick ups. Some may drive a mini-Cooper. and yet others drive $50k+ luxury cars. Oh, and there are people who would never buy a new car, they just can't bring themselves to face the price on the sticker. So, just like cars, a person's knife selection is their personal choice.

I have $9 Moras, and I have Busse's, and also in-betweens. I have a few I made myself.

I like them all, and each one serves a purpose for me, despite what anyone may say otherwise.

I have owned knives that didn't serve my purpose, I sold them or gave them away.
They are probably knives that other people would swear up&down were their most favorite.

To each, his own.
 
Oh, and there are people who would never buy a new car, they just can't bring themselves to face the price on the sticker.

Nailed me dead, I haven't driven a new car since 1987, I am driving an 01 right now which is the newest I have had in some time. I do buy my wife new cars though. Chris
 
When I am doing fine work and cutting back towards myself using a my thumb as a guide, if that makes sense, is almost impossible with a knife with a choil. The closer the edge is to your hand the more control you have, at least in my experience. If I am carving or whittling a knife with a choil is a serious handicap. Chris

Chris, i didn't see your post.

When I put my index finger in the choil, and my thumb on the spine, then my hand is as close to the blade as possible. Only for a larger knife do I use this method. it's like a way to shrink the knife down.

From what I have read about knife making, choils also serve the purpose of relieving certain stress points inherant in some knives. I don't claim to be an expert in the knife making field, so I'll leave that technical stuff to someone else.
 
Chris, i didn't see your post.

When I put my index finger in the choil, and my thumb on the spine, then my hand is as close to the blade as possible. Only for a larger knife do I use this method. it's like a way to shrink the knife down.

That works ok as long as you are cutting away from you but turn the knife around in your hand and the choil is really in the way. I have no idea about relieving stress but I tend not to stress my knives too much, I am bad to baby all my gear.

Just played the Fulda Gap 3 day scenario, camped for 4 days and don't know when I have been as tired and had as much fun, watching the tank battles was worth the registration.:thumbup: Chris
 
It amuses me how many say "best" and "not the best" like their experience ordains it as law for all to adhere to. I love it when I'm told serrations and the extended pommels are useless. Then when I name the ways I use those exact design elements, those same people no longer have any comment. Its great if you like to limit yourself, don't push it on others. Different designs can serve different purposes.

This whole commentary of how the Busse forum is "cultish", "religious" and so on is so annoying. If you don't have a hobby your dedicated to and are really in to talking about, poor you!:jerkit: If you don't have friends, familiars, acquaintances and frenemies to discuss how much you like something and share the experience with, again, poor you!:jerkit: So you don't like people who get along and are very social, go join the rest of the teenage angst generation of wannabe misfits. Just because you feel uncomfortable with a group of people really feeling strong dedication to something doesn't make it cult. Welcome to Western Civilization.:rolleyes:
One last thing for this post. If Busse was just for collecting and not any good for actual field use, then how come there are so many of us using them? I've stated before, I have used Western, Cold Steel, SOG, Benchmade,Strider (just to name a few) effectively, but I now choose to use Busse. I didn't say my knives are better than anybody else's, so maybe it's just me, since I am completely capable of obtaining (I didn't say purchase), using and maintaining these blades that are just hype.:rolleyes:

its funny, ive seen guys post pics of closet fulls of cold steels, buck 110 collections, immaculate crk collections, etc.

but whenever someone brings up busse, one of the main complaints and gripes is that we dont use them (which is, in fact, quite untrue).

just because someone collects knives, why does that mean they have to use them anyway?

how many people buy emerson customs to edc? not many.

how many people buy mayos to edc? probably not many.
 
how many people buy emerson customs to edc? not many.

how many people buy mayos to edc? probably not many.

I do agree with what you said, but I have a custom CQC 10 and a Mayo in my EDC rotation. :D

I also like Busse & Strider knives a lot so Im use to all the haters that come with that. A lot of the hate comes from people that can not afford knives in the upper price ranges and feel the need to justify their brand of choice by putting down the higher priced ones.

I can see how the rarity of the Busse knives can be frustrating but we live in a world of supply and demand. These knives are in high demand and have a lower supply, hence higher prices.
 
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