Nice test Pit...those SAK's are a real blessing in the "knife world"...probably more hands on tasks are done with them than any other make of knife. For all round personal admin and even stepping up to some heavy use tasks they are amazingly good. The saw and file are both top notch and enable the knife to do some eye opening tasks for it's size. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbup.gif" alt="" />

How thick is the stock on your ML? It certainly looks well used.

I also like your thinking on whether thinner stock Bussekin blades would do as well at similar tasks as other knives...it needs to be apples to apples to tell properly...but arising from using my first Busse knife, a Skinny Ash, as a test bed for different edges and grinds and finally going for an inclusive convex on a thickness of .1085...this knife now seems to be at it's best on edge retention. It is a lot thinner than the stock in the handle...it might have a weak spot for future use if leveraging in the section near the handle...but in fairness I don't really use my knives as crow bars like this and the improvement in this knife for slicing, food prep, and general carving and carcass work is very noticeable compared to it's earlier specification.

It's the top knife in this photo...

Steel Fan,

That top knife looks fantastic! Obviously stripped with a mirror finish applied but did you also add a clip point or is it the angle of the picture?

Here is my replacement for the broken VP Bowie. Mike calls this one the Smoke Jumper. Steel is 50-100B. Handle is micarta. Blade is 6" x 1 1/8" x 3/16". It weighs about 7 oz. Balance point is at the finger guard. The handle is large and fits me well.

Well spotted Voxhog, yes I re-shaped the spine for a clip point. The knife now has the point more central to the grip for piercing...it works better on carcass cleaning and reaming tasks on wood. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbup.gif" alt="" />

I like that Barkie Vic! It has nice clean lines! Did it come with one of those nice leather bushcraft sheaths they do?

No, it has a standard style sheath. It is light and easy carrying. I like the knife a lot more than I thought I would. Good old "Carbon V" steel. Maybe not up to Busse-made standards of hard use toughness, but not a bad replacement for my broken bowie. It came very sharp.