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Is there anyway to get a picture of this?!
Assault Shaker
- Thread starter X-Head
- Start date
Sorry, I don't have any pics of mine yet but I can give you some info: It's around 5.5" OAL, roughly 2.25" BL, and 1/4" thick (3/8" would have been preferable for the purposes of this knife, IMO...see my comments below*). The knife is skeletonized; that is, the handle is very similar to the PR concept, with no slabs or handle material, just large holes, intended to lighten the knife, I guess. The blade is very much different from a PR blade shape, however. It is not a drop point or a clip point; the spine is straight--if anything, the spine may even curve upwards slightly toward the tip, if my eyes aren't deceiving me. The blade has a very nice contour; the amount of belly is just right for this type of knife, IMO. Mine came with the typical Busse hair-popping edge, except around the belly, where it is slightly duller. It will still shave marginally, but nothing like the standard Busse edge which almost SCARES hair off your arm when it gets close. Nevertheless, it's plenty sharp. The edge grind is symmetrical, and the primary grind is flat and goes all the way to the spine in typical Busse tradition. I noticed a few niggles--the crinkle coating didn't totally coat the inside of one of the holes, and the top of the handle was not ground exactly perpendicular to the sides, but none of that is a show stopper. Busse makes the best knives, period, and I will continue to buy new models from them. I only wish they would pay more attention to detail and hire someone in the QC department who is a total fanatic. That would ROCK. But even so, as they are now and if they never get any better with their QC, they still put out the best knives in the industry, far ahead of their competition.
The AS is a little heavy for a neck knife to me, but hey, it's INFI! I've never handled a PR, but from the pics I've seen, I would venture to guess that the AS is a bit lighter than the PR. I would also like to rave about the handle contours. This is a hard thing to please people on because of the parameters you must work within when designing a neck knife handle (i.e., it must be as short as possible, and this usually means you will have to sacrifice a full, comfortable grip to achieve maximum concealability), so taking that into consideration, Busse pulled off a minor design miracle. The handle is only long enough for 3 fingers, but man, what a solid, sure grip it offers those 3 fingers! The finger grooves are the perfect size and depth, at least for me, and I guess I have average sized hands for a guy. There is also a detent just aft of the blade spine, making a very comfortable thumb rest, which helps you improve your grip on this small knife tremendously.
All in all, I'd rate this knife very highly in design, and a super bargain also, particularly for those who want to experience the fantastic abilities of INFI that they've heard so much about, but have never been able to afford a Busse thus far. If you're looking for a BOMB PROOF neck knife that will serve you, your descendents, and that 25th century archeologist who finds it while digging up your remains without fail, this is what you've been looking for.
Kudos to Jerry and the Busse team. Another model to be proud of. Yes, I'd buy another (as soon as I have at least one of all the other models, though). Keep those new models coming, guys.
BTW, many thanks go out to Dave Roberson, who got this out to me fast, and for taking care of that minor problem for me. I think I shall have a drink in his honor tonight--and no cheap stuff, either!
*The only benefit of extra thickness is for prying, and almost ANYTHING lying around nearby would make a better improvised prybar than a 5.5" knife, and the extra weight of 1/4" is unnecessary and uncomfortable to wear around the neck...it IS meant to be a neck knife, after all, not a mini prybar on a necklace. Besides, aren't the LMS' more desirable to most of us than the regular 1/4" MS'? Anyway, just some opinionated ramblings from an armchair expert, and worth exactly what you paid for it.
[This message has been edited by X-Head (edited 04-20-2001).]
The AS is a little heavy for a neck knife to me, but hey, it's INFI! I've never handled a PR, but from the pics I've seen, I would venture to guess that the AS is a bit lighter than the PR. I would also like to rave about the handle contours. This is a hard thing to please people on because of the parameters you must work within when designing a neck knife handle (i.e., it must be as short as possible, and this usually means you will have to sacrifice a full, comfortable grip to achieve maximum concealability), so taking that into consideration, Busse pulled off a minor design miracle. The handle is only long enough for 3 fingers, but man, what a solid, sure grip it offers those 3 fingers! The finger grooves are the perfect size and depth, at least for me, and I guess I have average sized hands for a guy. There is also a detent just aft of the blade spine, making a very comfortable thumb rest, which helps you improve your grip on this small knife tremendously.
All in all, I'd rate this knife very highly in design, and a super bargain also, particularly for those who want to experience the fantastic abilities of INFI that they've heard so much about, but have never been able to afford a Busse thus far. If you're looking for a BOMB PROOF neck knife that will serve you, your descendents, and that 25th century archeologist who finds it while digging up your remains without fail, this is what you've been looking for.
Kudos to Jerry and the Busse team. Another model to be proud of. Yes, I'd buy another (as soon as I have at least one of all the other models, though). Keep those new models coming, guys.
BTW, many thanks go out to Dave Roberson, who got this out to me fast, and for taking care of that minor problem for me. I think I shall have a drink in his honor tonight--and no cheap stuff, either!
*The only benefit of extra thickness is for prying, and almost ANYTHING lying around nearby would make a better improvised prybar than a 5.5" knife, and the extra weight of 1/4" is unnecessary and uncomfortable to wear around the neck...it IS meant to be a neck knife, after all, not a mini prybar on a necklace. Besides, aren't the LMS' more desirable to most of us than the regular 1/4" MS'? Anyway, just some opinionated ramblings from an armchair expert, and worth exactly what you paid for it.
[This message has been edited by X-Head (edited 04-20-2001).]
Jerry Busse
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Here they are. Side and top view. Heavy Duty.
With quarters for a size comparison
Pass the pepper,
Jerry Busse
With quarters for a size comparison
Pass the pepper,
Jerry Busse
Jerry Busse
Moderator
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This is a cool little blade that is offered in .265 thickness. We have made this model for years for a particular government agency. We are now able to offer it to the public. This thickness is the size that was supplied to this aforementioned agency. These are an overrun of a rather large order and are limited in number. This is another offering from the custom shop. At only $97.00 . . . .they are becoming very popular.
It is important to note that the primary bevel geometry is not "ideal" for slicing due to its incredibly thick geometry. It is steep and it is meant to be. The primary purpose of this piece was for punching holes.
Note to X-Head, Great review. . . very thorough and well written as well as being well thought out. Many very good points were made and I'm glad you noted the three finger design as well as the subtle thumb rest. . .you didn't miss a detail . . .. Thank you.
I hope this background helps out,
Jerry Busse
[This message has been edited by Jerry Busse (edited 04-20-2001).]
It is important to note that the primary bevel geometry is not "ideal" for slicing due to its incredibly thick geometry. It is steep and it is meant to be. The primary purpose of this piece was for punching holes.
Note to X-Head, Great review. . . very thorough and well written as well as being well thought out. Many very good points were made and I'm glad you noted the three finger design as well as the subtle thumb rest. . .you didn't miss a detail . . .. Thank you.
I hope this background helps out,
Jerry Busse
[This message has been edited by Jerry Busse (edited 04-20-2001).]
A comment on the above pics: it should be noted that there is another small hole the same size as the choil hole, located at the bottom of the pommel behind the largest hole. I mention this because that hole did not show up in the pics because of the knife's thickness. This is significant as it follows through on the Busse tradition of having lanyard holes in both the choil and the pommel bottom. Again, very cool, and I was glad to see that they were able to fit that feature in a knife this small!
Jerry, your images are always very sharp (no pun intended). If you don't mind my asking, can you divulge to us what type of camera you use, and is it digital or do you use a film camera and have the images transferred into jpegs at the developers? When I use my 35mm camera and transfer the pics to digital, the resolution is higher than pics taken directly by my digital camera (Sony Mavica), but my 35mm has no zoom lens.
Jerry, your images are always very sharp (no pun intended). If you don't mind my asking, can you divulge to us what type of camera you use, and is it digital or do you use a film camera and have the images transferred into jpegs at the developers? When I use my 35mm camera and transfer the pics to digital, the resolution is higher than pics taken directly by my digital camera (Sony Mavica), but my 35mm has no zoom lens.
Jerry Busse
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X-Head,
We use a Sony digital as well. It has a zoom and it is set at the very lowest image size 640x480. The camera does great but most of it appears to be the way Jennifer does the lighting and adjusts the exposure thingy-ma-jig. I hate to get all technical like that. .. but when I learn a high tech term like "thingy-ma-jig". . . I like to throw it around as much as possible. . .
I can't recall the model number of the camera but I have posted it before. . . it's a 505 some kinda thingy-ma-jig. . .oops. . .there I go a again.
Yours in nuclear thingy-ma-jigs (someone stop me),
Jerry Busse
We use a Sony digital as well. It has a zoom and it is set at the very lowest image size 640x480. The camera does great but most of it appears to be the way Jennifer does the lighting and adjusts the exposure thingy-ma-jig. I hate to get all technical like that. .. but when I learn a high tech term like "thingy-ma-jig". . . I like to throw it around as much as possible. . .
I can't recall the model number of the camera but I have posted it before. . . it's a 505 some kinda thingy-ma-jig. . .oops. . .there I go a again.
Yours in nuclear thingy-ma-jigs (someone stop me),
Jerry Busse
- Joined
- Apr 5, 2001
- Messages
- 163
Thanks for the pic's and review!
Cliff Stamp
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In regards to the thickness, if you are using a knife to poke holes in hard materials and especially if you plan on hard torques to enlarge the holes you don't want 3/16" steel, unless the point is very abrupt, and if this is the case penetration will be lousy.
In regards to prying, the thin tip and edge of a solid knife allow a lot of prying work that cannot be done with a normal prybar because the geometry is too thick, which it has to be as prybars are made out of very soft and weak steels compared to most high end cutlery.
This looks like a very nice knife for someone who wants to be able to lean on it very hard and not worry about the results, and as a bonus get something that can cut decently well.
While I don't doubt that it won't have the cutting ability of a nice light utility knife, it looks like it could cut as well or better than some of the "tactical" knives with shallow sabre hollow grinds and *thick* edges. Depending of course on how much control and drive you can get with the grip.
Are these available on a semi-regular basis? I have most of my money tied up in other blades now, but I think this would be a near ideal gift for my brother who has a birthday coming up in a few months.
-Cliff
[This message has been edited by Cliff Stamp (edited 04-20-2001).]
In regards to prying, the thin tip and edge of a solid knife allow a lot of prying work that cannot be done with a normal prybar because the geometry is too thick, which it has to be as prybars are made out of very soft and weak steels compared to most high end cutlery.
This looks like a very nice knife for someone who wants to be able to lean on it very hard and not worry about the results, and as a bonus get something that can cut decently well.
While I don't doubt that it won't have the cutting ability of a nice light utility knife, it looks like it could cut as well or better than some of the "tactical" knives with shallow sabre hollow grinds and *thick* edges. Depending of course on how much control and drive you can get with the grip.
Are these available on a semi-regular basis? I have most of my money tied up in other blades now, but I think this would be a near ideal gift for my brother who has a birthday coming up in a few months.
-Cliff
[This message has been edited by Cliff Stamp (edited 04-20-2001).]
I can imagine US Border Inspectors needing something handy on them to punch into car seats, dash boards, perhaps even fuel tanks, etc., or Customs Agents or Coast Guard needing something for similar use, but I could be way off; I don't know. If I AM way off, I'm sure my speculations will be amusing.
Jerry Busse
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X-Head is on the money! I can't really get into other applications but you get the general idea from X-Head's post.
Thanks, I owe you one,
(beer that is, not knife)
Jerry Busse
Thanks, I owe you one,
(beer that is, not knife)
Jerry Busse
Jerry Busse
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You can call or email the shop. At (419) 923-6471. As for the used elementary statistics book. . .hmmmm .. . . I'm thinkin' that since I flunked it the first time. . . maybe . . . no, probably not. . but thanks for the offer.
Jerry Busse
Jerry Busse