Whats the deal with Busse??

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forty0unces

Joined
May 18, 2002
Messages
115
alright, im thinking of getting a nice fixed blade for camping.,.the biggest i have is a Crawford Kasper Companion, and i need bigger.

I have started looking into Busse knives a little, and i was wondering why they cost so much?? what kind of steel do they use and whats the deal with it?? can the price be easily justified? how much abuse can you really give a busse knife?? also, what knives should be looked the most closely at??

i was going to put this on the Busse forum, but then the answers would probably be biased...please feel free to write a reply with the bad as well as the good...thanks everyone

~Ben
 
Have you taken a look at the Busse web site? If not check it out Busse.

The steel used on these knives is Infi and it is a darn good steel. It is very stain resistant and tough.

These knives are not inexpensive, but they are not overpriced either. In fact I think they offer great value. They are built incredibly well, use great steel, have excellent heat treat and very ergonomic, comfortable handles. They also have as good a warranty as you are going to find.

I am not sure how big a knife you think you need. If a mid sized knife will do the job, look at the Steel Heart E. It has a 7.5" drop point blade and is a great all around knife for your camping chores. If you need something that will handle chopping chores better then the Battle Mistress is the knife to look at. This knife has a 9.5" drop point blade and you can cut through concrete with it if you have to.

Either of these knives would make an excellent choice.
 
Being military, I have to say that Busse is the best! Then there are Striders that are really good, too.

I've had a Busse Steel Heart for years and depend on it with my life. I can't say that for any other blade out there. Sturdy, Robust, and darn near unbreakable.

If the cost of the Busse line is too much to bear, check out www.swampratknives.com and look into the Battle Rat and Camp Tramp.

These are an offshoot of Busse run by his wife. The steel is a modified 52100 tool steel, they call SR101. Specially heat treated to take advantage of the steel's excellent properties. Look at the forum and read about how they demonstrated the blade chopping a concrete block with no damage to the blade. Excellent stuff. I'm hoping my Camp Tramp will come in the BTOJ this week.

For under $150, these will be hot sellers. Great for the budget minded who want an excellent blade, with a great warranty, and can depend on to do whatever task you set it to.

I'll likely get one (or more) of each. Inexpensive quality. Great!


Ed
 
thanks a lot...anyone else have an opionion??? can i hear some comparisons in the performance of the Battle Rat and Camp Tramp to a real Busse???
 
Yes, Busses are expensive. They are also worth the price. I was skeptical at first too. I thought "yeah right, these things are so great that they should cost THAT much?!?!" Well, I finally bit the bullet and tried one out, and never looked back. Now I have a few. The performance they offer is unbelievable. They are very tough, hold an edge a very long time, and are also easy to sharpen.

There are lots of great knives out there that would fit the bill. Just look around and see wht works for YOU.
 
can someone also tell me exactly how much abuse i could put a Busse throught without chipping or breaking it??
 
To chip one, I think you'd have to forcefully hit something very hard like a rock or a piece of very hard metal, etc. To chip it, you'd have to hit something VERY hard! I have beat the absolute hell out of mine (chopped down trees, shoved it though lots of old car doors, hoods, etc, cut up an old refrigerator, pried apart furniture, chopped through bones, and lots of other stuff I can't even remember) and all I've ever been able to do is scuff the coating off and roll the edge slightly or dull it through lots of hard use. They are really easy to sharpen, and they hold an edge a very long time so I don't worry about dulling 'em.

To break one, I think you would really have to do something intentionally destructive to it. I honestly don't think you could break a Busse on accident. (I could be wrong, but I doubt it!) To break one, you'd have to do something like put it in a vise and pull it over with a pipe stuck over the handle for leverage. I hear they will bend really far before they break, so it would be hard to break one even on purpose. If I was trying to break one, I'd be wearing a kevlar cup too, if you catch my drift! If a piece of it went flying, you could be hurt in a BIG way.

Seriously, unless you plan on chopping up anvils or chunks of marble or something, I really don't see anything to be worried about. As a fixed blade for camping, they would do an excellent job. As long as you don't just straight out try to break your knives, you should be fine. You DON'T have to be careful with 'em!

Besides, even if you are a real sasquatch and wind up breaking one, they are fully covered for any and all major damage - for life!

:D :D :D
 
40ounces, I was sceptical about the Busse reputation, so purchased one, then two, then three and now more. They live up to their hype. They are heavy though but personally I like that.

My favourite is the Steel Heart-E. Awesome, awesome, awesome!
 
what do you guys think about the Combat Basic #5?? should i spend more and get a better busse, or will this do fine for camping??
 
Originally posted by forty0unces
can someone also tell me exactly how much abuse i could put a Busse throught without chipping or breaking it??
Click to expand...

Exactly?
Well...
Any given Busse will be able to be driven into concrete exactly 57 times. If you go for 58, however, the knife will explode.
Any given Busse can support exactly 382 pounds at the tip. But if you weigh a single ounce more and you try and hang on your Busse from a rock face, it will crumble into dust and probably cause the rock face to collapse on you.
Any given Busse will chop through exactly 962 cars, 2056 elk, and 289 bank vaults. Don't get greedy, however, as one too many will alter the time-space continuum and possibly bring about the Apocalypse.

Sorry. I couldn't resist.
You can't really describe "abuse" in exact terms. That's like saying, "At exactly what speeed would I die in a car crash?" Who knows whether the 30 mph crash will do you in from neck trauma or whether the 60 mph crash might just scratch you up. There are so many factors involved.

But to really destroy a Busse, you'd have to want to.
 
the Basic 5s are modified INFI. Good steel just the same, but not quite as good as full INFI which is in the regular Busse production line. The Basics have been discontinued - which brings up another point.

That point is that Busses tend to hold their value better than most and some even appreciate in value. That is even true after they have been used !!
 
Originally posted by King Grinch
They are good but for the price I would go custom like a Rinaldi Armagedden.
Click to expand...

KG,

Do you have a link to this knife...or pictures and specs you could post?
 
Personally, I'd look into the Becker Knife and Tool BK5, 7, or 9. Fine blades in their own right and may well suit your needs handily.

Mike
 
I have a Steel Heart II, pre-INFI, and that was just as absurdly expensive as the current E model. The warrenty (unconditional) is still the same however. This knife is certainly the high-end for over-all indestructability. Besides this, it is well designed, nice handle, well placed (and very useful) choil, and thanks to its wide flat grind, a decent edge profile for such a thick (0.25") knife. In other words, if you want the best in over-built heavy field knives, Busse would certainly be a good choice.

The question is, what are you going to do, and where are you really going to go with this knife (or any camp knife for that matter)? Unless you are one of the world's elite soldiers, mercenaries, or other rare adventurers, I wouldn't think you'd really <i>need</i> a Busse... Any more than I do...
 
The Basic 5 has a smallish handle. If you have average to large hands, you might like the fit of the Basic 7 better (I do).

I had an extra Basic 9 that went to fellow Forumite OwenM. He accidentally split a brick with it, with no damage. Later struck a rock that put a small ding in the edge. If you search the Busse Forum for OwenM's post (probably a few months ago), you can see actual pictures of what the edge looked like after this hard use. If you can't locate the thread, I'm sure he would be willing to help if you e-mail him.
 
I am still loving that knife, and it stays in my truck so it will be handy for "targets of opportunity".
Here's the thread, DWK was talking about: http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=193656
Searching my username (go back 6 months) is a good way to see not just how much beating these things can take, but what kind of man there is behind the warranty. Jerry replaced my twice-modified Basic 5 which had its heat treat ruined, even after I said that I didn't think it was necessary-"You're covered!". One of the modifications (and probably the culprit behind the knife being "brittle") was done prior to purchase, and the other by me. I put "brittle" in quotes, because that's pretty relative. The amount of abuse the knife stood up to was just incredible.
Had it not been for the HT being screwed, I have no doubt I would still be abusing that knife at will, without a worry in the world.

You know all that talk about how tough they are?
It's true.

Read this thread, too http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=195828 and check out Andrew Lynch's SteelHeart with it's beautiful finish:D
 
Busse knives are well worth their price. To cut a long story short, one of the highest performance steels (and heat treat) in the world, high-performance designs, ergonomic handles, EXTREME durability, and a great warranty to back it up.

Busse designs are not flashy; they are function over form all the way. They are very utalitarian, and won't let you down by being damaged in the field.

Obviously, the price/performance ratio is not linear. If you went by that ratio, a $1 Pakistani POS kitchen knife would be very difficult to beat.

For a general utility camp blade, I suggest you check out the 3/16" Satin Jack. It won't chop wonderfully, but is great for just about everything else. For a chopper, I would check out either the Steel Heart or Battle Mistress.

I welcome you to come over to the Busse forum and see more of why many of us are Busse fans :D
 
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