They both just weren't very sharp from the factory. All I did was sharpen them - the zilla I just polished and thinned slightly, while the NMSFNO I put a convex on (it had an obnoxiously obtuse V ground edge from the factory).

They just didn't cut well - didn't bite deep when chopping, were tough to get started batoning, pushed brush out of the way rather than slicing through it. Just poor edge performance all around. Now, with a properly sharpened edge, both can make fuzz sticks and, if freshly stropped, shave arm hair.


Just have to sharpen them up, but that's true of almost every Busse I've bought. My Scrap Yard and Swamp Rat knives have actually had much more consistently sharp edges on them.