The bottom line is, nobody's tough knives are tougher than Busse's. But Busse's not-so-tough knives may not be better than anybody else's not-so-tough knives. In manufacturing tough knives, Busse stands alone. In manufacturing not-so-tough knives, Busse is just one player among many.
I guess I'd have to agree with this. It's the reason that I cancelled my order for the HC several weeks ago (pre-Vic's snapoff). I came to the conclusion that the steel, no matter how well heat treated would still be brittle. As I see it, my various folders (and fixed blades of similar size and design as the HC) are likely to fail in a similar fashion if put to a task beyond their design limits. Knowing that all knife designs (and steels) have thier limits, I simply decided to keep my folders and several Dozier fixed blades pulling duty in this catagory. I reserve these blades for more refined or lighter duty purposes such as slicing, dicing and the occasional dressing of game etc.
All tools have a niche in which they are designed to perform and my Doziers handle the above tasks fine as I'm sure the HC would. If I need to step up a notch or two in toughness I go to RatManDu or Dumpster Mutt LE. Beyond that I grab the Ratweiler or Chopper.
I have not the least doubt that the Hairy Carry is a fine knife in it's proper niche. It's just not a DM, RMD et al.
