Busse's New Bushwacker

Horn Dog

Horn Dog

Joined
Sep 9, 2005
Messages
4,363
We won't call it a machete. But this new Bushwacker Battle Mistress from Busse Combat is pretty close to a short machete. It is much like the Ontario RTAK and RTAK II in purpose and size. It has a 10.25" long, 2" wide, 3/16" thick convex ground blade of the famous INFI steel.
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It is amazingly close to the RTAK II. Both weigh about 23 oz. Both are 3/16" thick. Both have micarta handles. But they feel different.
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Before comparing them, I gave the Busse a sharp convex edge. The flat ground RTAK II already had a thinned out edge. Being convex ground already on the primary grind, I blended the final edge to that grind on the Busse, for a near full convex zero edge. It tested out fine on hard wood and palmettos.
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The Busse was heavier in the hand than the RTAK, having a more blade heavy feel. This made the RTAK easier for machete slashing, but both did it well enough. Both knives chopped well, but the flat ground RTAK would stick in the wood on occasion, like a machete. The rounded convex grind of the Busse made it the easier chopper to use.
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Here I indicated the balance points of the knives.
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After considerable "Bushwacking" with both knives, I checked the edges. Both were ok, but there were some small chips in the 1095 steel of the RTAK. Nothing major and easily repaired with a steel. The thinned out Busse edge showed no visible damage.
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As its name indicates, the new Bushwacker Battle Mistess is a big knife designed to be used as a chopper and short machete. It is thinner and lighter than previous Mistresses. The newly designed handle eliminates the "Busse Pinky Burn" that the previous Fusion Battle Mistress was known for. The scales are contoured well and I experienced no hot spots. For all-around use, it compares to the well-known RTAK II. For those who want a near indestructable steel and are willing to pay the premium, the BWM is the one to get. For normal use, most will be perfectly happy with the less expensive Ontario. I did some baton work with both knives. The rounded spine on the Busse is a nice touch, being easier on my baton than the flat spine of the RTAK II. I have another Bushwacker on order. When the new Junglas machete from RAT Cutlery comes out, I will compare them both with factory edges. Since my RTAK II already had a very sharp convex edge on its flat ground blade, I gave the Busse a comparable edge for comparison. Their performance in chopping and slashing was very close.
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All these new big choppers coming out is a delight for me. Here is a final shot of the Bushwacker in its natural habitat.
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I really dig those. If I had the coin Id have one.

Thanks for the review HD, good comparison with the Ontario.
 
Great pics as usual Vic, man you have a nice collection of steel now !!!!!!;):thumbup:
 
This is the thread i've been waiting on. A friend of mine was looking for a knife in this size range and was strongly favoring the RTAK but I kind of pushed him into getting the Bushwacker. Reasoning he would buy the RTAK use it for a while then think 'I wonder what the Bushwacker would've been like?' then he'd buy it and have to sell his RTAK. Simpler to just cut the middle man out I reckoned.

Great review mate, might have to start saving harder to buy one of these sooner than I thought.
 
I'm still waiting for my bank account to be pinged. . .


BTW, anyone who wants one, order as soon as you can. They've been up on the Busse sight for at least a month now, and will probably be taken down fairly soon, and then you'll be left paying secondary market prices for it.
 
Great review and a splendid idea to do it side by side with the RTAK. I have a couple of mistresses myself and i know people like to argue why not use a saw and axe, but using a large knife is a very pleasant sensation IMO and fun. mick
 
watersculptor said:
How does the chopping ability/steel/comfort of the BW compare to the Dogfather LE ?? I have the DF LE and was wondering if the Bushwacker would be much of an improvement.

Wanted to thank you for the recommendation a while ago on the DF LE. I got one and love it. What a superb chopper:thumbup:!!!I would be very interested to hear your thoughts on this Vic.
All the very best for the New year.

Markus
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I have yet to do a side by side comparison, but with equal edges that DFLE might just chop as well. It would out slash it for sure. The 17 oz DFLE is much faster in the hand. The Res C handle let's you chop harder and longer, too. Did I mention that the DFLE is my favorite chopper? :D
 
Thanks, kgd. It looked pretty funky with that high grind on the painted blade, so I stripped it today. Pretty rough underneath. I still have some work to do on it.

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That looks really nice already, can't wait so see what it looks like when your completely finished with it.
 
Horn Dog said:
Thanks, kgd. It looked pretty funky with that high grind on the painted blade, so I stripped it today. Pretty rough underneath. I still have some work to do on it.

Ghetto016.jpg
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Nice Review:) Did you stripped inside the handle also? If is so can you tell me how:confused: I'm trying to do my NMSFNO :o
 
Vic is from the 60's he uses chemicals :p

nice review and job buddy, somebodies in chopper heaven!
 
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