My Bushwhackers arrived this morning; the postman woke me up and I was practically running through the house to throw on my robe and get to the door before he left. I unwrapped one (it turned out to be the sage/tan Micarta). My sleepy impression is that it's very nice, but that the BWM won't be my favorite Busse.

I like the longitudinal grooves -- they make the handles feel almost like they're hand-shaped. Also, balance is good, although like many of the larger Busse Combat handles, the ideal hand size would be a little larger than mine (I'm confident that Vic will love them). They're not outrageously oversize and it's quite possible that a pair of work gloves would make enough difference (or that I'm overly picky right after I wake up). Unlike MM, I didn't buy mine as users, and even if I had, I wear leather work gloves whenever I chop (to avoid blisters and splinters), so it's not a critical issue. I'm just saying that my initial impression is that, as nice as the Bushwhacker Mistress is, I find hand-shaped NMSFNO handles more comfortable. I should note however, that the hand-shaped option added $60 to the price of a NMSFNO, making it cost $40 more than a BWM, and it's pretty obvious from MMs picture that the BWM is significantly more knife.