Let me tell you just around a ad compingl the principing I know running a $50 million shop who never misses to haudio-videoe enough knowledge to snarl precisely second-rhad the creat theive product is: how it holds them bair conditionersk from landing heaudio-videoi format theer medicing care dat thea: postitionnumber one ingly so how ‘stlight beer’ his creat theive director is.best pocket knife. When required why he doesn’t replstar the creat theive director (or make some other changes): he definitely picks up: ‘You can’t get good people from then on. .ladder.

.the. even so well considering would renumber one ingly upset the dder.’.

@MumblinBerk I have ‘ @MumblinBerk I have already sold out my Recurve Fox River. It’s because I got to dislike its deep edge geometry and its thin and contoured handle. The shallow edge geometry of regular Fox River can go sharper surely and easily, and its non contoured handle is more preferable.

Huge knives can be found in any configuration sought after. There are the more typically shaped bowies like the Cold Steel Trailmaster and Recon Scout. Ka-bar’s Becker line is superb quality for for a lower value.

The Becker BK-9 and BK-7 are wonderful choices and the favorites of many outdoorsmen. The Ka Bar Bowie Knife and related knives aren’t really the significant chopper-type of knife, but they are still significant ample to do some chopping and splitting and have a excellent history. The Ka Bar Bowie Knife in equally its measurements has a excellent track record for an economical huge knife. Busse Knives, Ferhrman, and these firms are really very good quality, but you certainly spend for what you get. If you can afford them, however, there aren’t a lot of knives greater. Another selection for the significant knife class is a quick machete. A 10-12′, perhaps even 14′ machete from a excellent organization like Condor, Tramontina, or Ontario will do the task properly and for really minor money, specially the Tramontina.

@EasternGateGuardian If you mean wood working in the sense of carving, notching, planing etc’ this knife was not made for that use. Its size would prevent detailed handling for such tasks. Carving chisels are what you would want and they are not made of San Mai III as it is not necessary.

Theoretically, I don’t see any reason why San Mai III could not handle the task if used in a tool of proper form and shape for wood-working, but you will never see that as it would be unecessarily expensive.

Even though my Busse Knives collection is quite large, I still keep getting his knives here and there. Not because I feel an urge to have every single one of his models, which is fine and perfectly understandable for a knife collector, but I don’t collect like that, which is also fine. So, anyway, like I said, once in a while a new model pops up and I can’t deny myself the pleasure of having it.

As for the rest, the blade has very nice satin finish to it. Initial edge on the knife is 40 included, which is what Busse combat usually puts on their hard use knives and more often on their not so hard use knives too. Plus it is their recommended edge angle. Personally, I think 40 is too thick for many knives and cutting jobs, however that number is the makers recommendation and unless you feel you have enough experience with sharpening and INFI steel it’s better left alone, which doesn’t mean you have to abandon the blade maintenance It means leave the original edge angle alone and use it that way. Once you get the feel what the knife and INFI can do, and then experiment with it.

By the way, Jerry and crew are quite productive in producing wide variety of the different models. So, that happened with the Boss HG55 as well. The other day I saw the announcement on bladeforums.com Busse sub-forum and few days later when it became available I went for the LE(Limited Edition) HG55. By the way I got lucky that time, as usual it is quite some time between the announcement and the actual knife sales. As usual LE-s go for sale first, and at this time I was more interested in LE version, so I’ve forked out 397$, well, plus shipping , and the knife was mine, if I am not mistaken in a week or so. For the stats, my LE is #8.

Knives 101

The knife is probably the oldest and most used tool that has been invented and in some respects, the design has changed little over the millennium.  A blade and a handle are the basics of a knife.  Surgeons have actually performed surgery with excavated stone-age obsidian blades. The stone still had the razor sharpness of modern scalpels!  And, they could be re-sharpened by rescaling the flint or obsidian.

Modern knives vary by type, hunting, fishing, kitchen, survival, or pocketknife. Blade material, and handle materials vary, and the workmanship can vary from very poor to excellent depending on the materials used and the experience of the knife maker   as with most things, price usually determines the quality.  Don’t expect to get a great hunting knife for $1.50, but you don’t have to pay $150.00 to get a good quality knife either.

There are some basics you need to know about knives:

1 – What are you going to use the knife for? 

-          Is it for every day use such as cutting open boxes, cutting string, etc.?

-          Is it for hunting or fishing?  Maybe camping or climbing.

-          Is it for survival?

-          Or just for a little of all of the above.

2 – What type of knife and what features do you need?

-          Do you need a folding blade, a fixed blade, a lock blade, a saw blade, assisted opening blade?

-          How important is weight?

-          How well does the knife retain its sharpness?

3 – What is the knife made of?

-          What type material does the blade need to made of?

-          What material do you need or want for the handle?

Basically, a knife consists of a blade and a tang, or in the case of folding knives, base to mount the handles on.  For everyday carry, I would suggest a good-quality folding knife such as a Case, Buck or any other quality name brand knife.  There are literally dozens of good quality, name brand knives; Hen and Rooster, Puma, Schrade, Boker, Gerber, and the list goes on.  I would suggest that you choose a knife that is the size and weight you like, is made of good metal that will retain its edge, and is pleasantly appealing to you.  If weight is important several knifemakers offer knifes with aluminum bolsters to lighten the weight. 

Quality Knife Makers

All of the name brand, quality knife makers offer pocketknives, fishing, and hunting/survival knives.  For hunting, you may need a folding knife with a regular blade and a saw blade for cutting bone or wood for a campfire.  If you are hunting close to home and you will not need to field dress your game and cut it up to pack out, you will probably want a fixed blade. 

In either case, you will want to make sure that the knife has a good non-slip handle material and a good heavy-duty scabbard. I cannot stress the non-slip handle and scabbard enough.  You do not want your hand to slip and cut your self.  No doubt, your hunting knife will be very sharp and have a good sized, heavy blade.  Any accidental cut will probably be pretty serious. Also, you don’t want to stab your self in the leg because of a flimsy scabbard.  (I actually had a friend that was bow hunting.  He was carrying his bow down by his side with an arrow notched.  His foot slipped and he stabbed his self in the calf and cut an artery.  He just about bled out before his friends got him out of the woods and to the hospital.)   This very same thing could happen with a flimsy scabbard.

You will simply need to choose the correct knife for your need.  For fishing, I would suggest a folding fillet knife with a blade for scaling the fish.  For climbing, I would suggest a lock blade with assisted one-handed ability and a serrated blade.  This will come in handy if you need to cut yourself loose while holding on with the other hand and the serrated blade will help when cutting through rope.

Again, if weight is important, several knife makers offer knifes with aluminum components to lighten the weight. 

Taking Care of Your Knife.

To start with, you need to consider the area you live in.  If you live in an area of high humidity, you definitely want to consider a stainless knife.  On German knives, this will say Rostfrei.  In drier areas, I would consider a carbon steel blade.  In my experience the blade will be easier to sharpen and will retain its sharpness longer.  That being said, there is really very little upkeep to a knife.  The most important thing is to keep your knife clean and dry.  The cleaning of the knife should be done on a regular basis and after each use.  The cleaning can be accomplished with a little detergent and water, making sure to rinse and dry the knife really good.  Remember to clean the entire knife, not just the blade.  Keeping the handles clean will prevent deterioration of the handles.  After that, a small coating of a light lubricant will keep your knife in good shape.  Do not get oil on the handles as this could cause damage, but remember to oil all of the moving parts, the locking mechanism, and springs on your knife to retain that smooth opening and closing and to prevent rusting.

Storing your knife.

Regardless of the area you live in you should perform the cleaning and oiling, and store your knife in the original packaging if possible and store your knife in a dry cool place.  If you have any desiccant to place near your knife to help remove any moisture this would be a great help.  The coolness will help preserve your handle material.

Sharpening your Knife

First, never, ever sharpen your knife on a grinder or other powered device.  This can get the metal too hot and ruin the temper, or hardness, of your blade.

Most knives come from the factory with a good sharp edge and a very visible tapered edge.  This edge will most likely be around 15° and this is the approximate degree that you will want to adhere to.  You can buy a sharpening kit such as the Lanksy for around $35.00 that will guarantee the same edge every time.  These are very helpful if you kinda know how to sharpen a knife but want to get that expert sharpness.  These kits come with several grades of grit starting with a rough grit to get the edge down, to a really fine grit to get that true razor edge.

Other than the kits, there are a couple of other options.  You can purchase a diamond stone or a natural stone such as an Arkansas Oil Stone.  The diamond stone, as its name implies, has a coat of industrial grade diamond dust.  These sharpeners will sharpen a knife very quickly and can be used wet or dry.  If you choose to use the wet method, you can just use water, applying a light pressure.  Excessive pressure can cause excess wear on your blade and really isn’t necessary.   Make sure you rinse the stone off after you use it and clean and oil your knife.

Arkansas oil stones are a type of genuine silica indigenous to Arkansas.  They come in different coarseness and are exceptionally suited for knife sharpening.  These are best used “wet” and can be used with water or oil.