So can we talk about the knife?!? It seems that this thread has just turned into pic requests.
Do you think it will be a good chopper considering the clip point and possible weight reduction near the end of the blade? I really like the LB treatment. I'm curious to see how it compares to other versions of the Mistress.
To me this looks like a CGFBM with CBT that has been extended by adding 2 inches of clip point to the end of it. The extra length will add a bit of weight but not too much because of the shape. It has fewer CBT than a CGFBM so the flat of the blade is larger by proportion and that will add weight also. I'm guessing that the CG will be about as heavy as a NMFBM fatty, and the light brigade / nuclear version might be more like a .25 NMFBM.
So weight-wise it will hit like a NMFBM which is one of the best Busse choppers. The extra length means it will feel a bit more forward-heavy than a NMFBM, so a bit more fatigue to chop with (?) but also the tip will move a lot faster. Maybe it will perform (slightly) better than a NMFBM for chopping light springy vegetation because of the faster tip?
I wonder about vibration in the blade when chopping on hardwood, because my CGFBM vibrates a bit but my NMFBM fatty doesn't at all. The NMFBM has that extremely solid and satisfying thunking feeling when you hit, whereas the CGFBM sends a bit of a shock up your arm on the hardest hits on very hard wood. Not sure what the extra length will do to this, but I think the larger flat will help, I have no evidence for that it's just an assumption.
Not sure if the swedge is sharpened or not but based on other Busse models I'd say it's not. It should still be pretty stabby but of course, what would you stab? I might have a go at a few watermelons just because it looks like a lot of fun.
For me the utility of this knife will come down to the balance and how it feels in hand. But just to look at it and compare to other BMs I have, I'm sure it will be exceptional.