[QKShooter]

What comes close is the extensive and truly unique heat treat process that Jerry Busse developed years ago for INFI Steel.
BTW....BUSSE INFI Steel is exclusive to BUSSE Combat Knife Co.
Lately I have really been into TOPS Knives as being super ergonomic and great hard working knives.

I think though that my knife-heart will always belong to BUSSE and INFI as being my favorite knife and Steel.

I actually bought my first one after watching a Noss intentional literally "beat knives to death until they fail" testing of a BUSSE knife.

I think the Noss Videos may actually be back up again on the web after they were gone for quite some time.

Knife gurus may find it interesting that during the 1999 Blade Show....Jerry Busse made 2,771 cuts through a 1" diameter hemp rope using only 1" of actual blade length.

The test ended when Jerry ran out of rope.

Many blade Steels give up shock and lateral strength resistance as blade hardness increases.

I think INFI has some unique Steel properties in that it retains its shock resistance and its resistance to edge chipping at a very high hardness level.

I know the arguments that many folks put forth that there things that they just never do to a knife so....the fact that any knife can handle a ton of hard use and (if necessary) abuse without failing just does not factor into what makes for a great survival type knife.

I really don't intentionally try to destroy any of my knives either.

What really prompted me to post this is that yesterday I had a lengthy and involved discussion locally about what exactly "makes" a "best" survival type knife and his thought was that Busse knives were overpriced.

Which was fine with me and I just stated that my personal preference would be a Busse knife.

It was a friendly and non-argumentative discussion.

And I did agree that there are a few truly remarkable blade Steels being formulated these days and INFI would probably be considered to be a dinosaur in this age of amazing knives....in general.

Well, anyway....talk about anything knife related in this thread.

Just keep it knife related and try hard to keep it friendly.

Jerry B. never believed in bashing other knife makers or manufacturers though that never stopped him from tooting his own horn.....just not at the expense of other makers or manufacturers.

Feel free to chime in.

Especially you new members who may have registered but, not posted yet.

If you like knives....jump right in.

Trust me....folks will stay civil in this thread....we have a phenomenal seasoned member base here.

And (believe it or not) some of them know one heck of a lot about knives and blade steel than I do. :yup:

 

[QKShooter]

This article goes WAY BACK. Pretty much details the rather extensive Busse Heat and Cryo Treat process.

 

[Phaedrus]

I've had three Busses and they're good knives. A little too chunky for most purposes for which I use a knife but very solid. INFI doesn't seem to take quite as keen an edge as some steels but edge stability seems superb.

 

[G26Raven]

Which was fine with me and I just stated that my personal preference would be a Busse knife.

If so, then why having you been buying Tops Knives????

 

[ghost tracker]

If so, then why having you been buying Tops Knives????

Because Cold Steel knives feature far too much...Lynn Thompson. :biggrin2:

 

[AzQkr]

Great thread QK,

I'm with you on the infi steel and the heat treat, some rather stout characteristics that made it stand out in hard use testing. I prefer tool steels to s/s in all my blades.

 

[ghost tracker]

Great thread QK... I prefer tool steels to s/s in all my blades.

Yep! Agree AzQ. IMHO, the only reasons to have a SS knife blade is low production/purchase cost. Usually related to never having experienced the TRUE performance of ideally heat-treated tool steel. :image035:

 

[QKShooter]

Visit the Busse Combat Web Site.
Everything is SOLD OUT.
All you will see is....NO LONGER AVAILABLE....NO LONGER AVAILABLE....NO LONGER AVAILABLE etc etc.

And some eBay type sellers have overly steep asking prices.

I think TOPS KNIVES are great knives. In addition to that I am working out sheath designs for a couple of them.
I am also doing a Safe-Queen number on a couple of them since I believe they will escalate in value within the next 5 to ? years.

I do already have about 6 Busse knives. 2 of them see quite a bit of use and will get (hopefully) much more use when the weather warms up.

2 are Safe Queens - One of those intended for my Nephew after I croak (again hopefully) not too soon! :rofl:

One is a Safe Queen because in Pennsylvania...I can own it but, not use/carry it because it would be classed as a Prohibited Offensive Weapon due to the fact that it has Knucks and a double edge which would make it a bludgeoning instrument
as well as a Dagger.

I guess also....I just really like knives in general and have a particular knife by another great maker on my RADAR screen for next month.

I am coming right close to being spent out already this month on the knife budget.

Really as far as Busse is concerned...I need to get my new e-mail address to them real soon since that seems to be the only way that you can get one at their suggested retail these days.

I am looking forward to some new release that I just can't live without.

One of their knives that I use a lot is the Tank Buster and my "go to" bug out knife would be the NMSFNO.

Nuclear Meltdown Special Forces Natural Outlaw. Ridiculous name but, as silly as the name is...is as great as the knife is. :biggrin2:

I enjoyed answering your question. In short....I think TOPS are also great knives. If I only had a TOPS Knife in a true survival scenario....I wouldn't shed a single tear over not having a great available knife.
..

If so, then why having you been buying Tops Knives????

 

[QKShooter]

TOOL STEEL

I have a Du-Star ARAD which is crafted in D-2 with an ideal heat treatment.

Super tough knife and comparatively light weight for its size.

There is a photo of a Steel ammo can having been beat/cut in half by one.

Folks should take a serious look at that knife for around 200 Smacks. The ergonomics and the balance of that knife are darn close to perfection.

It is an Israeli manufactured knife. Super nice.

 

[G26Raven]

Visit the Busse Combat Web Site.
Everything is SOLD OUT.

I enjoyed answering your question. In short....I think TOPS are also great knives. If I only had a TOPS Knife in a true survival scenario....I wouldn't shed a single tear over not having a great available knife.
..

I did visit their site before posting my question, and I kind of figured your answer might be along those lines. Being a knife luddite, I appreciate you taking the time to explain it to me. Signed, the Humble Grasshopper

 

[rocky]

I'm a fan of esse knives , mostly because they are avalible locally to handle before laying down some $$$. I do carry a small diamond sharpener with me in the woods and camping to re sharpen edges of my knives. I'm sure busse and tops are good blades as well.

 

[Phaedrus]

Visit the Busse Combat Web Site.
Everything is SOLD OUT.
All you will see is....NO LONGER AVAILABLE....NO LONGER AVAILABLE....NO LONGER AVAILABLE etc etc.

And some eBay type sellers have overly steep asking prices.

This is my biggest complaint about Busse, and to some extent all the other knives in the family (ie Scrap Yard & Junk Yard). It seems like they're obsessed with marketing collectibles as opposed to putting working knives in the hands of working folks. Presumably they create scarcity by limiting the supply to drive up the secondary market with the intent of building 'cache' for their brand. It's a free country so more power to him but it makes it hard to actually buy and use the knives. I suspect that 60% of Busses never cut anything but paper which is a danged shame for such tough knives. Busses aren't built to be safe queens but that's what most of them wind up.

 

[QKShooter]

Busse (fairly recently) started making some knives in SR101...also an excellent knife steel and they are priced less than INFI.

I am not really into the Busse groupie thing. I do agree that there is an almost cult like Busse following.

Which is fine I guess. Not really much different than the serious Colt collectors that snap up every vintage slab-sides that will never have another projectile travel through the barrel.

No way for me to be sure how much Busse intentionally creates shortages in production as they still are a comparatively small operation.

They certainly don't seem to mind having more of a demand than they are able to produce.

And they always did have good marketing sense.

They do a lot good things also like providing free unbranded knives to active military.

And also their lifetime guarantee is a guarantee on the actual knives as long as they exist as a company.

So....no matter if a person is the original owner or the 10th....you break their knife...ever....you either get it replaced with the same knife or one of equal original retail value.

Jerry B. has never faltered to honor that lifetime guarantee even when some knives were intentionally abuse tested.

Naturally I want the one reserved for Nephew to be a pristine knife.

The sheath that I have made for it has his name already on it. So...there can be no doubt who that one is intended for.

I have no idea as to if he will ever use it or not. My strong suspicion is that he will.:yup:

But, getting back to Busse Combat Knife Company in general there is no doubt that some of the Busse crowd snap then up in a huge hurry just to resell them for a profit.

The American Way I guess. Often the waiting time before you get a Busse runs into many months so....some folks don't mind coughing up the extra $$$$ because they can buy one aftermarket...like on eBay and get the knife they want without the wait.

So...they can get the knife they ultimately want in a few days rather than in 6 months.

But, if you don't mind waiting at least they don't charge your card until they (finally!) are ready to ship.

For me personally I DO try to guess what sorts of items in general will escalate in value over time.

Sometimes I best guess correctly but, not always.

But, way back when I told members to start buying the full set of 1 OZ .999 Silver Zombucks....back when you could buy them for 17 or 18 dollars each with free shipping.
As they were released one at a time.

Take a look on eBay what the full set of 10 are selling for now.

I hit the Beanie Babies dead on the money when I sold them. Look what they are worth now. Zilch.

But, I sure have messed up a few times also...AKA Getting It Wrong. :biggrin2:

Sometimes you get the elevator and sometimes you just get the shaft.

My point being.....that things are moving forward so quickly in metallurgy that there may be some nano-Super Steel hiding right around the corner.

And some of those guys sitting on multiple 10s of thousands of dollars worth of Mint Condition Busse Knives....might just end up sitting on the Busse equivalent of worthless Beanie Babies.

Such is life. Lessons get learned the hard way sometimes.

 

[Phaedrus]

Busse-kin knives have used SR101 for many years. I hadn't seen any sold under the Busse imprimatur. But I'll be checking now and again to see if they're actually selling any knives!:wink: Bummer...I really wanted to get one of the BOSS Street but I dinked around til they were all gone.

 

[QKShooter]

BTW: ALL Busse knives cut paper at least once because they get shipped out with a "Swine Shaving Sharp" sheet of paper.

That is the sharpness test sheet furnished with each knife.

I never got into the "hog" "Swine" whatever :blink: Busse fan thing. Never understood it honestly.

Whatever floats the boat I guess?

 

[QKShooter]

Going on to Esee. I recently put away a couple of IZULA in Venom Green.
Just keeping those two "MINT CONDITION" for a few years sealed in the bag with the decal etc...to see what happens in a few years.

Maybe I can make a few bucks in profit....maybe not.

The worst than can happen is that I'll end up with 2 fantastic little Slime Green knives. :rofl:

 

[QKShooter]

Busse....yep. Combat Grade and Battle Grade.
Less expensive. Bear the BUSSE name but, they can be told apart from the INFI versions.

Addition: No doubt that some eBay sellers made a killing on the Team Gemini "TGLB" AKA The Busse used by Darell (sp?) in The Walking Dead.

I was not one of those folks. I do own one. I stripped the coating off of mine....polished the blade and I actually have used mine.

Busse (like it or not) is one of those knives that you can buy....use...and then eventually sell it "used" for more than you paid....if you bought it and waited and waited and waited until you got it directly from Busse Combat Knife Co.

But, I am keeping mine. Not For Sale! It's an amazing knife. Really. :yup:

 

[Phaedrus]

I really like ESEEs a lot. Right now I have a few RAT 3s (and a RAT 7 that's actually old enough to have been from Ontario, not ESEE) and a few Izulas. Plus one Izula II which I like a little more than the original. Great blades! 1095 is no "supersteel" but their Rowan heat treat is exceptional- they wring out all the performance 1095 is capable of I reckon. As much as I like the big knives, for most stuff the smaller knives are handier. It's easy to always have a knife on you if it's a smaller one...hard to carry a Battle Mistress at all times!:danceban:

 

[Rock and Glock]

Are Swamp Rat and Scrap Yard just brand extensions with the Bussee imprimatur and different steel? Are there other differences? Is it just the INFI? Bussee states the only way to get INFI is via a Bussee Combat knife, and it appears all of the Swamp Rat and Scrap Yard blades are SR 101?

I guess I should be happy with my ESEE's, eh? Not that they are shabby. :gah:

 

[QKShooter]

Family operations I believe. Swamp Rat and Scrap Yard.

I think Scrap Yard is strictly SR101 but Scrap Yard has been known to use other specialty Steel at times.

I think Busse did a food prep type steak knife in Elmax as a limited run.

I have an Ontario R.A.T. Randall's Adventure Training in D-2 and I would love it but, not crazy about the blade serrations.

The seller shipped me the wrong one and I just decided to keep it.

The very first ones in D-2 were a bit on the brittle side but, they rectified that (I Think) on the second D-2 production run.

Anyway the ones in D-2 Tool Steel are decently scarce but, do pop up on eBay once in a while mostly R.A.T. 3.