Lucky for us, unlucky for our budgets.

I try to keep all of my blades "Bussesharp" even the non Busse blades!

Stan by 'Bussesharp' do you mean ideal for hacking up concrete blocks and not much else?? Or do you mean sharp like you made them after many hours of hard work? <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" />

Sorry to concure and sorry to say I have never received a factory edge from Swamp Rat, Busse and Scrap Yard that was "impressively" sharp. And I have probably received around 35 or so over the years.

I have received a small handfull that were reasonably sharp. But, most I have received had very obtuse edges and with hacksaw edges that would honestly not slice cut paper let alone push cut.

The factory edge is honestly one of my issues I would like to see further improved.

In all fairness, in the last year or so worth of releases, I have seen "some" improvements. Not awesome edges yet, but better.

But, yes, the Busse family of knives "Can" be "made" sharp if you know how, have the sharpening tools and take your "own" time to do it.



I purchased two custom knives from a guy in New York once that I received and was dissappointed in how dull the edges were. They wouldn't slice cut paper - .... actually more of rip cutting type edge..... Very similar to most of the Busse family of knives I have received.

I had purchased the knives directly from the maker. So, I sent the maker an email to notify him I had received the knives and thanked him, but I mentioned I was a little dissappointed to receive custom knives at that price point that were not very sharp - actually fairly dull.

He actually responded with a somewhat annoyed tone in his email. I guess I offended him and stated something to the affect of:

He beleived when he sold knives to customers that he assumed his buyers would know how to sharpen knives and were capable of doing so. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/mad.gif" alt="" />

I get that as a knife "USER", I should know and need to know how to sharpen.

But, whether I use a knife or not, I expect it to be sharp from the maker.

And whether I pay $25 or $250 for a knife, I expect it to be sharp from the maker.

If I buy a used knife, I don't expect so much unless stated from the seller.

I do lots of home projects. Some things I expect to build or create as projects.
When I go buy a pile of lumber, screws and nails, I expect I will have to do something with it to make something out of it.

But, most of my purchases are not intended to be "finish it yourself" projects or kits! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/banghead.gif" alt="" />

If I am buying a "KIT" knife, I would have different expectations.

This concept should seem fairly self-explanatory to me. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/banghead.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/mad.gif" alt="" /> ... so I will refrain from thousands of examples I could give.


Knives are tools with ONE primary purpose!!! - Cutting stuff!!!


Sure... there are different levels of sharpness and people with different beliefs on what is sufficiently sharp.
Further, there many other factors about knives that we as consumers consider.

Toughness of steel is great... but, I am buying a knife, not a piece of steel that might make a good knife if and when I sharpen it into a knife!

I am SURE the "definition" of knife should include terms such as "sharp" and tool used for "cutting".

I would think knife makers would and should take pride in how well their products perform including how well their knives "CUT" when consumers recieve the knives in their hands from the factory.
Sure, I appreciate toughness and many other aspects of a knife, but as a standard, a knife should ship sharp from the maker - especially a HIGH dollar knife!


Sorry for the rant. This has been a touchy one for me for some time. I have mentioned it before at the Swamp.

Others have argued that they don't expect as much and they expect to have to sharpen a knife themselves. But, I mostly disagree.

It seems painfully obvious to me that most products should perform at or VERY near their fullest ability when brand new.

Edge profile is a little debatable. Different profiles have different benefits. A 10" bladed chopper "might" arguable be better suited with a more obtuse and thicker edge. Arguably, this would be a tougher edge for the blade and require less maintenance to fix it and less prone to damaging. I would still prefer an edge that is prone to efficient cutting. But, I concede this to be subject to situations and preferences.
I would likely strongly argue against 3.5" - 5" blades having the same obtuse edge profiles as a chopper. Again, I will say that I have seen some improvements, but the AD I received recently had a very obtuse and barely ground edge. I didn't measure it, but I wouldn't be surprised if it had a 30 degree bevel. - I sold it as I felt the knife would require a lot of work to be made as I wanted it to be (strip finish, remove lots of pits, remove Talon hole, lots of reprofiling and sharpening.... )and I had already paid around $240 for it. - ... But, it had GREAT potential. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" /> - I really wanted to like the knife. I really wished it had a satin blade, usable choil, and a good edge for what I paid. I would have kept it. I like the general design of the knife, blade, handle (not choil) and obviously - INFI! But,.... <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/banghead.gif" alt="" />

** For the record, I am not trying to bash the AD. I concede that there are obviously MANY people who like coated blades and don't have a problem with the Talon hole or Busse prices. I am just speaking for myself.

But, I don't really see how a basic level of sharpness is so debatable. And I don't really understand how a knife (let alone a HIGH dollar knife) is so accepted with a blade that won't at least smoothly slice cut paper.
These days, most "factory" knives easily slice cut paper (smoothly! - not jagged rips!) and often easily push cut paper. I tend to expect a reasonably smooth slice cut at a minimum and I tend to be thrilled when I receive a knife that will make a nice slick push cut from the factory.

I understand maintenance and I understand that many products are often tweeked by owners for slightly better performance. But, factory sharpness is a pretty basic standard to me.

Again, sorry for the rant.... just venting on my keyboard.

Feel free to move along.

.

Nice rant, Knifeguy! I feel your pain. I also expect a new knife to come very sharp. Buck does it. Cold Steel usually does. Some SOGs do, some don't. My Bark River came scary sharp, as did the Bayley. Now I know how to sharpen a knife, but I would expect a "high end" knife to come that way.

Knifeguy your rant is OK....


I agree that you should expect a basic level of sharpness out of the box. But everyone understands this...<img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/rolleyes.gif" alt="" />

The sharpest factory edge I have seen personally was my Emerson Commander.
My Lambert custom is also sharp enough to shave with. My SS4 took some work but now it is as sharp as the Warden in the link and with a great handle. That is why I was so disappointed with the first Mutt's. They were just to obtuse to have a good edge. To be fair Dan made it quite clear from the start. I sold some to a couple of cops to use as emergency entry tools and they love them.

S7 is not the best steel for that kind of edge anyway. I think it works better as a larger chopping knife. I am looking forward to putting a hell edge on the SwampWarden 3/16 that is coming out. Putting killer edges on Busse knives and especially scrappers would add a lot to the price and not suit everyone.
I actually like that they come with the potential because I think I can do as good a job as anyone on the polishing and sharpening and I am a cheap bastard and want to save a few bucks.

I ordered a Strider ED today and when it and the Wardens get here I am going to
put as good an edge on all 3 and have a INFI ,S30V and 52100 slice off.
Does anyone make a CPM10V knife with a small drop point blade?
Strider stainless versus the Busse kin


Here is my SS4 and friends.


The much anticipated and cheapest contender the Swamp Warden

Thanks for your support Knifeguy (we seem to share a lot of opinions!). I'm not a Dan basher, I love the yard, I love the knives, I can't wait to get my blunt as a dogs butt S7 and S9 (in tan).. They will be blunt, I will eventually get them sharp. My S6 and SS4 are VERY sharp my DF is good chopper sharp- though prone to micro chips from the edge in use(!) but ceramic rods soon sort that out..

I just think as Dan's are some of the best 'user' knives out there they should arrive sharp (= will take hair off your arm or do a nice smooth draw-cut on paper) and the guy who does quality control right now needs firing.. or re-training or chasing around the factory being hit on the head with a rolled up newspaper with 'only send out sharp ones' written on it. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/banghead.gif" alt="" />

It took a little work, but I got my Yard Keeper hair splitting sharp!

Paul,

I like the newspaper idea. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

I think we do share a lot of opinions.

I may have gotten carried away in my rant, but hopefully it is clear that I DO view Busse, Swamp Rat and Scrap Yard as some of the best knives in the world.

I am convinced the blade quality is second to none that I know of.

"But", if they shipped impressively sharp knives that cut from the factory better, they could remove the "BUT".

All other issues like coatings, choils and prices are just my own preferences and subject to debate. I acknowledge that others feel differently about coatings and choils than I do. I can accept this. And obviously, INFI sells very well at prices higher than I prefer to pay. I DON'T like this. But, such is the way the market works sometimes. I can't have a Ferrari either. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/banghead.gif" alt="" />

We can't always have what we want..... I don't honestly accept this so well... <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/banghead.gif" alt="" /> But, I do accept that it is my own personal problem and I have to deal with it. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/blush.gif" alt="" />

.

OH MAN Vic, That is GORGEOUS!!!! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/ooo.gif" alt="" />

I prefer a Satin blade over mirror, but I LOVE a Mirror polished edge!!! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbup.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbup.gif" alt="" />

That is SWEEEET!!! I wish all my knife edges looked like that! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbup.gif" alt="" />

that is a pretty even/symetric (whatever) edge..

nice work HD