BA3 question...and maybe a tasty pic or two as well ;-)

hookahhabib

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Feb 24, 2011
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This beautiful classic just came in today:






I was pleasantly surprised to see that it is full flat ground. Is that normal for the BAIII? For some reason I thought they were mostly saber ground all this time...it's a pretty nice grind! EDIT- Correction, it's a Tanker A not a BAIII - didn't catch that minor detail when I was buying it.

I like it...a lot :happydance:

You are a Wizard Bossman!
 
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Not a BAIII.

me thinks tanker A

No butt. Grind and profile are wrong.

Thank you for the correction!

I thought I saw pics of some BA3s with their butts cut off but maybe I'm remembering wrong...

Although you're right, the shape of the spine and the grind are different from the BA3 - I assumed it was a show variant...but it's Tanker A, huh? Well that's cool too! Thanks for the info :thumbsup:

Do you know what year these were made?
 
I’m not even sure if it’s a Tanker A. The profile is more fitting of that than BAIII.

Or a buttless Combat 4. Yeah, there were a few buttless badgers out there.

Early 2000s, 2001-2004 if I had to guess.

Based on that old Bladeforums thread and an ad on knifehunter's web store it seems like you're right. The length of the clipped point matches at least.

I suppose Jerry will maybe come along and set us straight?

It was sold to me as a BAIII and didn't consider the Tanker A as a possibility. An old PD I had years ago is the only exposure I've had to the old Satin Jack handle, so I don't really know much about them.
 
Found some info from an old thread which might help a bit, and included a photo of my BAIII and ABA.

*edit* - after seeing further comment, I'd agree on Tanker-A variant.
I'd say yours could be the clip point desert ABA (CPDABA). Beautiful piece, and that could be a linen micarta as well; much finer pattern than the black canvas on the BAIII.

BA III - Basic 3/16" Version of the third generation Badger Attack.

ABA III - A misnomer. No Anorexic Badgers were officially named this.

ABA LE- Anorexic Badger Attack
Thin stock (0.150") Offered in Satin/Snakeskin
First Anorexic Badger offered. .

DABA - Desert ABA.

CPDABA (Clip Point DABA)

JABA - Jungle Anorexic Badger Attack. Green coating, clip point. A brighter green than the olive drab currently in use.

ABA - Generic all-inclusive term for the thin stock knives. Anything with an A preceeding BA is thin stock

I can post pics of these tomorrow, unless a hog beats me to it.

v4FEnJj.jpg
 
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I’m not even sure if it’s a Tanker A. The profile is more fitting of that than BAIII.

Or a buttless Combat 4. Yeah, there were a few buttless badgers out there.

Early 2000s, 2001-2004 if I had to guess.
I think Gravelface is right. I tend to believe it is a Tanker A variant (variant due to the buttless configuration). One difference between the BAIII and Tanker A is the TA has a longer ricasso, but the definitive difference is the Tanker A is ~.25" thick, while the BAIII is either ~.19" or ~.15" (anorexic or ABA). Also, as you pointed out, I think all BAIIIs have a saber grind (although I'm not 100% sure of that). It is a great looking knife, and those grips are stunning (I'm virtually certain that is linen micarta, very cool)! :thumbsup::cool::thumbsup:
 
Man.....I make a motion to close this thread.

too much badassery in these blades condensed into 1 thread has me eyeing guns to sell to get one!!!!
:D

Here's some info from Jerry on the Tanker A:
https://www.bladeforums.com/threads...l-be-here-friday-night-10-10-30pm-est.276162/
https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/heres-the-tanker-a-offer-boys.276416/

I regret not buying a Tanker A, but I did get a couple BAIIIs. I like the BAIII size, and I have always liked the BAIII/SJ handle - very comfortable! :)
 
wolf put up a sales post some years ago. IMHO his asking prices were too high for the market at that time. He may have simple been gauging interest, or it was an opening gambit for later private negotiations. <shrug>
 
wolf put up a sales post some years ago. IMHO his asking prices were too high for the market at that time. He may have simple been gauging interest, or it was an opening gambit for later private negotiations. <shrug>
It's probably good that I did not see his sale. ;):D
 
That is GORGEOUS! I love that blade. Congrats!

Please write me into your will for that one. :thumbsup:
Thanks man! I'll keep that in mind :p

elof_alv elof_alv and P-Easy P-Easy - thanks for the info and for sharing your beautiful BA's! They really are amongst the best designs that Jerry released. I'd really love to get my hands on a BA or ABA sometime down the line.

gk4ever2 gk4ever2 and P-Easy, I think you're both right about the scales on mine being black linen - it is a much finer pattern than the usual black canvas. Thanks for those links as well gk4ever2 gk4ever2 ....old Jerry posts are some of my favorites to go back and read!

hahahaha Gravelface Gravelface - I know that feeling all too well! Such threads have definitely cost me a lot of money in the past :eek:

I'd love love love if @idahoskunk or redwolfhowling came back to share some of their stash! I remember that amazing pic of the BA/ABA assortment - one of my favorite pics I saved from my earlier days hanging out here.

This is unorthodox and mods I'll happily delete this part below if it's not allowed:

In a strange turn of events, I was just recently offered a borderline-unicorn Busse that I've been after for years. I can maybe even call it my holy-grail Busse (I don't use that term lightly, I usually don't use it at all) - it's a Busse that's been on my dream-knife list since 2011 and everything about this one is better than I ever could have hoped for. As much as I love this Tanker A, I may have to let it go so as to help catch my unicorn while I can. If any of you really like it, feel free to message me soon and I'd be happy to chat - was planning to put it on the exchange soon and am willing to give a nice price on it as well especially if any of you guys commenting here are interested.

Damn, that kinda hurts, but you guys know how it goes. Been working really hard to not have to sell knives I like to buy other knives and have been successful at it for the last 8 months; I guess the pace of incoming new stuff has been a bit higher than my finances can handle, so something has to compromise.

All that being said, even if it does end up going sooner than I hoped, I'm glad I was able to at least share some pictures of it with you guys here. Not nearly enough old school Busse pictures lately...
 
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