Choosing a blade.

[d0minar]

Hey everyone.

I've decided to buy myself a all purpose knife.
So I did a little research and found out that the toughest knives are done by Busse.
http://www.bussecombat.com/home/index.shtml
So naturally I'd love to get my hands on this blade.
Problem is that I can't find it anywhere in SA.
(maybe someone knows where I can get it in SA?)
Importing it will probably cost me double of what it really costs.
So then I found another blade I liked.
What do you guys think of Zero Tolerance 0100?
This one is available locally. Maybe I'll go for this one.

[marthinus]

Many people feel that Busse are overpriced, you can also look into Swamp Rat knives or Scrapyard knives. They are Busse's SISTER companies and they are highly regarded and sometimes prefered over Busse.

You wont find a Busse dealer in SA, their knives are limited in production and sold out on pre-order. Only place is either to be on one of the pre-order lists or buy from the secondary market from an international forum such as Bladeforums. You might get helped on SABlade from our local guys that can help you out with importing.

Another great company with a great warranty is ESEE. They do survival training and there are just as many fanatics about ESEE as there are Busse. ESEE are simpler, cheaper and they come with a sheath, Busse/Scrapyard etc do not. ESEE are also locally available and they have been put through the ringer in the survival training. http://www.ratcutlery.co.za/index.ph...&id=3&Itemid=5 (note the SA website is a bit out of date and products such as the Junglas are available, send an email to confirm stock)

IF you want to see some of ESEE knives in use go to their discussion forum. Google Randal Adventure training forum.

I would recommend a 4inch fixed blade for all purpose, even a 3 inch, to big and you lose control when doing fine work such as skinning sometimes.

[d0minar]

Thanks man.
I'll check it out.

[Craig]

d0minar, the Busse is a great choice, however as you and marthinus say, they difficult to get, and will you ever use it as you should?

The ZT 0100 is also not a bad choice, being S30V, its a premium stainless, although as marthinus has said, there are alternatives, which may be better for all purpose blades. The ESEE is a great choice, but check out the Fallkniven knives too. The Fallkniven is a laminated stainless, which is an advantage, in my opinion, over the carbon steel in terms of maintenance. I like them so much that we'll be bringing them into SA soon, and they'll be far less than the ZT and Busse and possibly less that the ESEE knives too. I posted a review, not done by myself, a couple days ago, here's the link: http://www.gunsite.co.za/forums/show...-Fallkniven-F1 and here's another link to an old post refering to knife destruction tests: http://www.gunsite.co.za/forums/show...knifetests.com The Fallkniven is very impressive in this test too.



The two that I would suggest for all purpose knives are the F1 and S1, but they have a great range, check out their site at: www.fallkniven.com

Here's a few pic's of my Busse BAD and Fallkniven F1.











Here's a borrowed pic showing some of the Fallkniven range.
From the Top: A2, A1, S1, H1, F1

[d0minar]

I've ordered my Busse Boss Jack 5 weeks ago. They surely take thair time making it. But its worth the wait. Also having custom sheath being made for it by Samper Paratus Tactical. Mean time I bought myself a Kershaw Lahar folder. Very sexy blade!

sent from iPad

[marthinus]

Congrats on the Busse! They do take their time, but they are a small company, nothing like Keshaw or Benchmade numbers of people employed so it will be forth the wait no doubt!*

Congrats on the Kahar as well!*