Battle Grade... Minus The Dress?!?!?!?!!!

Father & Son Traditional Sharpening

Father & Son Traditional Sharpening

Knifemaker / Craftsman / Service Provider
Joined
Jun 11, 2012
Messages
6,973
To Whom It May Concern, (cough.... Jerry... cough.... cough)

As much as I love Infi for the overall strength and toughness, I really love some SR-101 (not to mention the cost difference). While I know Infi is all the rage (for good reason) I do feel that most people would be hard pressed to really quantify the differences between SR-101 and Infi, putting aside the obvious differences in corrosion resistance. I really love how SR-101 responds to forced patinas (and naturally for that matter) and have been playing around a bit with this lately and have gotten some killer cool results from my efforts.

I also can't help but notice it is going on four years since the last Battle Grade Busse was offered here (Silent Knight, 11/08/17). Boy what an awesome blade that is, not to mention it was offered at only $367 factory direct! I would have had a real hard time passing up that deal had I been around here on the forums at that point in time!

image.jpeg


So I'm left wondering why we saw so many Battle Grade offerings from Busse in Operation Two Weeks, literally dozens of offerings in SR-101, yet fast forward to the last few years we've seen nothing. Would it be too much to ask for more offerings to be given the option of ordering them in Battle Grade dress? Would it be WAY TOO MUCH to ask for Battle Grade offerings to be had MINUS THE DRESS or, in other words, SR-101 steel that is Competition Finish or some type of Busse Industrial Grade Satin Finish?

I mean, heck, we've got Dumpster Dan offering SR-101 in Scrap Satin AND Stonewashed finishes now... both of which I NEVER thought I'd EVER see from Scrap Yard. We've also got Swamp Rat releasing SR-77 & SR-101 in both Swamp Comp (competion finish) AND Rat Satin, so it wouldn't be too far of a stretch in my mind to think we may someday be able to order something along the lines of Battle Grade SR-101 in Comp Finish or BIG Satin Finish.

I'll just go out on a limb here and say I'd wager there's quite a few of use here that would relish the opportunity to buy a G.P. Busse design machined out of some nekkid' SR-101!!!

PLEASE POST YOUR THOUGHTS ABOUT WHETHER OR NOT THIS IS SOMETHING THAT YOU'D LIKE TO SEE OFFERED AND MORE IMPORTANTLY, IS THIS SOMETHING YOU WOULD ACTUALLY BUY & USE???

EQUALLY IMPORTANT!!!! PLEASE POST AS MANY PICS AS YOU CAN HERE OF YOUR NAKED STRIPPER BATTLE GRADE BUSSE KNIVES!! BONUS POINTS FOR USERS!!
 
Last edited:
GiEc21o.jpg


Not technically a Battle Grade, but original differentially tempered SR101. Used for years on a trails crew, then several years next to the wood stove making kindeling. Now coffee darkened and with a new sheath.

7wagdCZ.jpg
 
Father & Son Traditional Sharpening said:
Nate,

Awesome set, those are three of my favorites from the Battle Grade offerings! Almost pulled the trigger on BG Son of Swat a few months ago and really kicking myself now for not bidding a bit higher for it.
Click to expand...

Man, for some reason I slept on the BG SOS initially, but corrected my error and nabbed that one off the Exchange a while back. It’s fantastic.

Regarding the OP, I’m a huge BG fan and bought a ton during Op 2 Weeks. Only problem with that is that my collection is so “mature” now that additional purchases are getting fewer and farther between. Even when I do pick up new stuff, a lot of them haven’t made the user cut despite being awesome and may be sold off eventually...

A couple that got away that I still think about from time to time are the BG Mean Street Ergo and BG Urban Grudge. One we didn’t see that I would buy instantly is a BG Leaner Meaner with ffg (or really any Leaner Meaner, the ones on the Exchange are generally priced beyond my willingness to pay).
 
Battle Grade Mean Street Ergo and Urban Grudge definitely look to be awesome knives, they've had my eye for a while but I don't see to come up often for sale. I take that to mean maybe they have been very well received and possibly many of them became users. I tend to find the more a knife costs (especially the satin and/or Custom Shop precious) the less likely I am to use it and I believe this likely holds true for many of us here too. I believe the thing about the Battle Grade is they were significantly cheaper so a lot of people picked them up specifically to be users.

The stonewashed finish (better $$ value than satin but less aesthetically pleasing perhaps) paired up with the SR-101 cost value would make a great way for the Battle Grades to come back in a highly 'usable' form. Again, I only mean here 'usable' in the sense that it's not going to be a significant enough expense at retail purchase that many who are on a budget may feel like they can use it and not end up taking a bath on the resale if they decide it's not really their cup of tea. To some this may seem like no big deal but for me it's definitely always a significant factor.

Someone here mentioned recently about the user pics people post here being better marketing material than almost anything else you could see or hear. I tend to agree with this statement, more user pics floating are here definitely can be a great thing for business. Especially considering the economy is trending in a very BAD direction with all the 'stimulus' money printing nonsense that's going to cause astronomical inflation that we're already seeing the beginnings of. This WILL make it harder for us 'Average Joe's' to remain consumers here so every bit would help there.

Ultimately, I fear that it would take the reinstatement of 'Operation Two Weeks' (Part 3) for us to ever see Battle Grade become a regular fixture again. I do miss the rapid fire release sales model though, it is always a great thing to have more options and that has always been the downfall to the current sales model. There's just always a very limited choice of what you might be able to purchase at any time, even with what few offerings there are always in the Busse store. Maybe if we keep at this thread we can convince the Janitor to shake things up a bit for a while!
 
duramax said:
Battle grade Boss Jack, full flat grind :) This might be the first one I try stripping coating off. Love this knife !!!!
Click to expand...

That’s a classic! Ordered one but sold it in a moment of weakness. Didn’t care for the green canvas scales (should have given them more time) and had a lot of other blades coming in. Still have my Jackmandu though, which also rocks.
 
inkynate said:
That’s a classic! Ordered one but sold it in a moment of weakness. Didn’t care for the green canvas scales (should have given them more time) and had a lot of other blades coming in. Still have my Jackmandu though, which also rocks.
Click to expand...

For canvas handles I’ve found Odie’s oil works great , brings out color and darkens. Food safe too.
 
Twoody said:
Busse canvas takes dark rit dye amazing for future issues inkynate inkynate
Click to expand...

👍 Actually just picked up red and black Rit dye at the store this week. The BG FSH may be my first attempt.

duramax said:
For canvas handles I’ve found Odie’s oil works great , brings out color and darkens. Food safe too.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I got into Busse and bought my first few kin off the Exchange just as Op2Wks started. Didn’t realize at the time just how much the fresh micarta would change with time, use, oils, etc. Was worried about the tan canvas on the BG HR when that came in, and now the color they have is outstanding, they fit right in with my maroons even though they aren’t.

Generally use mineral oil, as I already kept it on hand as a blade protectant. Started rubbing it into the handles as well early on. Will take a look at Odie’s.
 
inkynate said:
👍 Actually just picked up red and black Rit dye at the store this week. The BG FSH may be my first attempt.



Yeah, I got into Busse and bought my first few kin off the Exchange just as Op2Wks started. Didn’t realize at the time just how much the fresh micarta would change with time, use, oils, etc. Was worried about the tan canvas on the BG HR when that came in, and now the color they have is outstanding, they fit right in with my maroons even though they aren’t.

Generally use mineral oil, as I already kept it on hand as a blade protectant. Started rubbing it into the handles as well early on. Will take a look at Odie’s.
Click to expand...

Oh yeah I totally agree with you. Being a hobby leather maker, I use the leather conditioners on canvas also. Here’s some pics of the odies oil on green canvas. The darker has the oil on it. The Odies oil seems to last much longer so far. Also it’s not slippery at all. Dry to the touch 95B48859-DEC2-47F9-8977-EBDF1ED5F121.jpegD7BAD772-409E-4361-8E19-F91E824A75DC.jpegCAA99C35-05FE-44A3-B250-9B0108E272A6.jpegC5E1D0E1-9D0F-4CB5-91DA-897D196181C5.jpeg
inkynate said:
👍 Actually just picked up red and black Rit dye at the store this week. The BG FSH may be my first attempt.



Yeah, I got into Busse and bought my first few kin off the Exchange just as Op2Wks started. Didn’t realize at the time just how much the fresh micarta would change with time, use, oils, etc. Was worried about the tan canvas on the BG HR when that came in, and now the color they have is outstanding, they fit right in with my maroons even though they aren’t.

Generally use mineral oil, as I already kept it on hand as a blade protectant. Started rubbing it into the handles as well early on. Will take a look at Odie’s
Click to expand...
 
7315-D411-8063-4-C33-B559-A3-F7-EE12-B709.jpg


Not BG, but any nekkid SR101 counts, right? 👍

The Chopweiler was stripped when I got it, but still had decarb on the ricasso and around the tang. Cleaned it all up this morning (320grit sandpaper and abrasive buff dremel attachment). Looks like a new knafe!!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top