As many of you know, there has been a bit of a game going on in the forums lately, where a couple of folks are busting my chops trying to talk me into buying an NMSFNO. Now in all seriousness, I doubt I am going to drop that kind of cash to get one, BUT I do really want a knife in that class - something with a blade around 8 inches, that's beefy enough for some chopping but not huge like a battle mistress or dogfather.

So what Bussekin knives do you guys like in that category? How do they compare with the NMSFNO? What's your favorite all-around camp knife in the 8 inch size?

The Ratweiler and Chopweiler from the swamp are superb knives in that category, but you will be spending nearly as much as the NMSFNO costs to get one.

The SOD from the Yard would be the next choice IMHO..but still, the after market prices are up near 200 bucks.

For $330, it honestly is hard to beat the value of getting the NMSFNO. INFI is amazing stuff. Just my 2 cents.

There are other blades in this category as well, I'm sure.

If you want I will post a pic of my NMSFNO in hand to give you an Idea of size.

Who are you trying to kid? You know deep down you want a NMSFNO!! it is the perfect size!

With that said, I think the BR have roughly the same size blade. They go for a bit on the secondary market so it is not a whole lot more to get the NMSFNO. I have the BR I'll post a side to side comparison when I get the NMSFNO and you can see it for yourself.

My favorite all around do-it-all in one knife is the Camp Tramp. The BR to me is a bit too long to be carrying around all day. Don't get me wrong tho, if I'm car camping I bring all I can. But for long hike I only bring the CT.

The in-hand pic definitely couldn't hurt. I've considered the SOD for the more comfortable handle, and I dig differential temper so some of the swamp offerings are intriguing.

As far as I can tell, the SOD, Chopweiler, Ratweiler, and Camp Tramp are all 7.5 inch blades.

Good points about not saving all that much cash, though...

Hey Mustard, this is a GREAT comparison done by Horndog..

http://www.scrapyardknives.com/ubbthread...part=1&vc=1

I will get that in hand pic up in a few.

Im with P Easy here, for the most part... I would say the SOD would be the best bet for you in this situation. He is right - the CW is a GREAT knife! But I personally like the SOD better and think its the boss of knives that size! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbup.gif" alt="" />

well I am going to agree with P Easy as well, that said here is a pic of my 7-8 inch camp knives


The Fehrman First Strike is also an excellent option but for a coated one you are still paying 280.00, if cost is an issue might I suggest an Ontario Ranger RD7, you can buy one for under 100.00, 5160 is an excellent steel, it is a great value for your money. The Hudson Bay Camp knife is also a good value, you can pick one up for under 200.00 depending on handle choice and it is by far the sharpest of the group and the Bark River warenty and service is top notch.

I have a couple of non-bussekin knives in that class, and am looking to upgrade <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

The NMSFNO looks like a pretty good value, but I'm really leaning towards a CT or SOD at the moment, even with their second-hand markup...

I wonder if there will be any SOD's at BLADE???

I am fairly confident there will be. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

In hand pics are uploading.

I planned on skipping the NMSFNO, and did until they went to the Company Store. However, I did a bit of forum searching and didn't find anyone who had something bad to say about them, coupled with Jerry's comments about the Tanker gray being so cool and such limited in availability, he reeled me in for two tankers. When they arrived, I was impressed enough to order an additional two tanker NMSFNOs. Then, at Knob Creek, they had Bama Clay NMSFNOs with hand shaped tan Micarta, so I "had" to buy one of them (hand shaped Micarta feels noticeably better in my hand, but I'm not sure it was worth +$60 in price). Bottom line is that based on my disdain for the SFNO, I didn't expect to lile the NMSFNO, but I did -- enough so that I bought five.

Compared to the price of other recent Busse Combat releases, I consider NMSFNOs to be a good value, not that $327 plus S&H and/or sales tax isn't serious money, but it's a lot of INFI knife for the price. Personally, I'd grade it just below a FSH -- some people like it better than the FSH, but it's basically a knife in that class. I don't know that you'll regret not buying one, but I seriously doubt that you'll be disappointed if you do.

I like these <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Or