For the amount of time I spend talking about Bama Clay, you'd think I have a hundred knives in the color. Sadly, my hog-fu isn't very well honed, and so far I've only managed to acquire two blades in my favorite color... although I hope to add some more soon. Like a bushwhacker mistress, and if I'm lucky and they do CG on the SAR8, one of those would be awesome!!!! And if anyone has a Bama Clay SJTAC, I'll trade you even-up for a pristine one with sandstorm handles. And oh I should start looking for an EDC size blade in the color too.....

Wait, where was I??


Oh yea, I only have two Bama Clay knives so far, and I decided to take them out with me for a quick overnight camping trip this weekend. As always, their primary use was processing firewood to build a fire. I split a LOT of wood with these things.

On to the pictures...









I still suck at making fuzz sticks, but I had to give it a try. The factory edge was better than some I've gotten, but I will still probably thin it out a bit.




It wasn't all Bama Clay INFI - had to give the Scrap Yard some love too. The Muk is one of my favorite smallish belt knives. It's a very versatile blade and I LOVE the mudder handles.







And lastly, one of my favorite tricks when I've gotten a fire built. The main body of a Kleen Kanteen is made from simple stainless steel with no plastics or anything else that could be damaged from heat. Take the cap off and you can stick it right in the fire to boil up some water. Great for cooking stuff like dehydrated meals.



I've used the FSH a bit before, but this was my first time really pounding on it for a serious amount of time. I split quite a lot of logs down to wrist-sized pieces or smaller, as you can see from the pic of the roaring fire. I also used it to make everything down to pencil-lead sized kindling to get the fire burning.

The factory edge was decent, but I will still probably thin it out. It didn't bite very well when first pounding it in to baton through and split a log, but once it bit in, the full flat grind and thick blade were quite effective splitters.

This thing is a beast of a chopper for its length. Even with the factory edge, it chops a heck of a lot better than the NMSFNO. When I've got a nice convex edge on it, this sucker will FLY through some wood.

As for the handle, let's just say I prefer the hand shaped micarta on the NMSFNO WAY MORE than the machined micarta on the FSH. The machined pattern on this one, IMHO, sucks. It's one of the least comfortable handles I've ever used, and the Busse Pinky was present too. I will probably sand down the sharp edges on the ridges on the handle very soon, to make this thing a bit more comfortable. Especially in micarta, I see no need to be so aggressive with the handle texturing. But it's easy enough to fix, so no big whoop.




Thanks to the awesome proxy who helped me score the FSH from Blade West - this thing rocks hard, but I don't think I could have justified aftermarket prices on one. To snag one at the price I paid, it's a great knife, and a perfect big brother to the NMSFNO. I doubt I will carry it on many backpacking trips, but it's a dang nice knife for car camping or splitting wood for the BBQ. And it's BAMA CLAY... the best blade color Busse has EVER produced!!!

Not my favorite color, but those are some awesome knives, MM. I do like the OBAMA clay better than the VANNA White, though. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

That is sooo not the color I thought Bama Clay was. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/doh.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/sad.gif" alt="" />

Great pics MM. The more I see the Bama clay the more I like it. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> I REALLY want a NMSFNO but it'll have to wait a while I guess, cause i don't want to fork out the cash for secondary market prices. How does the NMSFNO handle chopping and other camp chores compared to a DF, Camp Tramp or an SOD? I have all three of these but still find myself wanting one(nmsfno). <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

It's the color of red clay. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

I never did enough chopping with the dogfather before selling it to make a good comparison - the NMSFNO definitely outchops the SoD though, and I've put convex edges on both so it was a pretty fair comparison.

More importantly, with hand-shaped micarta handles, the NMSFNO is one of the most comfortable handles I've ever used, without being made from something rubbery like res-c. It's a HECK of a lot more comfortable than the machined fusion handle on the FSH, that's for sure! If I had to pick one to keep, it would be no contest - the NMSFNO would beat the FSH hands-down. For hiking or carrying in the woods, though, the SoD can chop pretty dang well, and it's both more comfortable and lighter. Not a bad choice at all... if only they would release one with the right coating <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />


Honestly, Vic is the best guy to answer your question - his chopoff with the NMSFNO kicking the butts of most other knives he put it up against was the main reason I ended up buying one. Getting it at a discount for buying within the first two hours at BLADE helped make the decision easier though <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />

It's not pink. No one say it's PINK!

Doesn't it look a little pink? <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

I'm a huge fan of the FSH. How thick is the normal CG FSH? (oh no, it's starting, i'm getting that "i need a new knife twitch") <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Ummmm, pink...? No. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" /> Not what I think of as pink anyway...

The NMSFNO with a good convex edge is a joy to use. I can't think of any 8" knives that can stay with it. None of mine will. I think the original Dog Father would out chop it, but then that's a 10" blade, too.

The FSH is sold as an 8" knife, although it's got a bit more length than the NMSFNO. More importantly, it's a heavy, thick, beast of a knife. In terms of pure chopping power, even with the factory edge it has my NMSFNO with a convex edge pretty handily beat.


The NMSFNO doesn't give me Busse Pinky though, so it still wins <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />

Great pics. That wood never stood a chance. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />