HOG Mentor, Por Favor?

Father & Son Traditional Sharpening

Father & Son Traditional Sharpening

Knifemaker / Craftsman / Service Provider
Joined
Jun 11, 2012
Messages
6,973
So, as I'm no stranger to making requests (which sometimes become a 'thing' around here it seems... ;)) I have just one small 'FAVOR' I'd like to ask of the BOSS HOG.... if I may.

I really like the Mentor design, just simply awesome for a smaller EDC or hunting knife. That said, I feel it really begs for a bit more blade to really make good use of that full length handle.

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Something along the lines of the CABS LE or longer is what I feel would be great. Another thought would be similar to the Badger Attack III blade length/profile, maybe just a smidge longer blade than this model.

I had to 'borrow' a picture from the very talented Chad Pirtle here at BF, which illustrates my point nicely I believe. Picture is with a pair of BAIII w/ the Mentor. Anybody else here see what I'm getting at here??

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Is BIGGER sometimes BETTER??? :confused::confused::cool::cool::thumbsup::thumbsup:
 
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Very nice!
My Anorexic CABS LE "1 of 5" goes with me everywhere, & everyday.
You have good taste!
 
Mike Pierson said:
Very nice!
My Anorexic CABS LE "1 of 5" goes with me everywhere, & everyday.
You have good taste!
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As do you, sir! I must inform you that if you have CABS which is marked 1 of 5 and coated, these were not the limited editions actually. This was I believe a very limited run of certain color combos done for Blade Show many years ago, probably around the time the CABS LE was done or maybe a bit after. CABS LE typically are satin and marked 'Busse' & "# ---", with black paper micarta handles.

JACKMANDU said:
4 1/2 - 5” and thin. I’d be in!
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That sounds good, but it doesn't have to be thin for me. Actually, while I'd be OK with it being thinner this is one I'd actually like to see around 3/16" or so just to make it more HOG (HEAVY ORDNANCE GRADE)!
 
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Maggot Brain said:
As do you, sir! I must inform you that if you have CABS which is marked 1 of 5 and coated, these were not the limited editions actually. This was I believe a very limited run of certain color combos done for Blade Show many years ago, probably around the time the CABS LE was done or maybe a bit after. CABS LE typically are satin and marked 'Busse' & "# ---", with black paper micarta handles.



That sounds good, but it doesn't have to be thin for me. Actually, while I'd be OK with it being thinner this is one I'd actually like to see around 3/16" or so just to make it more HOG (HEAVY ORDNANCE GRADE)!
Click to expand...
Thank you Sir!
Here is mine-
 
I must respectfully disagree that the Mentor needs a longer blade. I have often wondered why it seemed to be axiomatic in the knife industry that a short blade must also have a dinky little handle. Now Busse, ever the innovator, has corrected that with the Mentor. It is to me an almost perfect field-dressing knife.
 
MikeH said:
I must respectfully disagree that the Mentor needs a longer blade. I have often wondered why it seemed to be axiomatic in the knife industry that a short blade must also have a dinky little handle. Now Busse, ever the innovator, has corrected that with the Mentor. It is to me an almost perfect field-dressing knife.
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Mike,

Thank you for your input, sir & much respect! The point I was making was not so much that it NEEDS a longer blade, but rather that I simply WANT a longer blade personally and feel the handle would lend itself to working well in this capacity also. It's been years since I've field-dressed anything, so my needs are strictly EDC and I like having the extra inch or so for various tasks one might find in this role. I take nothing away from your experience or the original design parameters of the Mentor as being tailor made for hunting, no disagreement whatsoever.

I do believe the reasoning for short handles on short blades is mostly for ease of carry/concealment purposes. Carried in a vertical sheath on the belt with high-ride setup, there's obviously more above the belt to poke you in the ribs by making the handle longer. That said, I find that if you can get some (maybe 10-15 degrees) of forward cant to the sheath and place it behind the hip, then it matters less how long the handle is as it tends to not poke me much.

To reiterate, for me this is simply a matter of WANTS rather than NEEDS. Either way I'm just happy to have this dialog about this, as it's been on my mind for a while now!
 
I'm going out on a limb here but I'd love to see a Mentor family of blades, ala the SAR series. The grip on the Mentor is genius, don't change it. I'd jump on a larger version AND a smaller version. A mentor with a 2.5 - 2.75" blade would be most excellent.
 
cpirtle said:
I'm going out on a limb here but I'd love to see a Mentor family of blades, ala the SAR series. The grip on the Mentor is genius, don't change it. I'd jump on a larger version AND a smaller version. A mentor with a 2.5 - 2.75" blade would be most excellent.
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Thanks for the input! Any more pics of your Mentor with some of your incredible leatherwork to share?
 
MikeH said:
I must respectfully disagree that the Mentor needs a longer blade. I have often wondered why it seemed to be axiomatic in the knife industry that a short blade must also have a dinky little handle. Now Busse, ever the innovator, has corrected that with the Mentor. It is to me an almost perfect field-dressing knife.
Click to expand...

The genius of the mentor is this precisely. It wouldnt be the same knife with a longer blade imho. I wouldn't mind seeing different blade shapes and grinds just for bacons sake.
 
LOL... you say tomato, I say tomato.. wait how the hell do you even type that so it makes sense..

Sorry, been pulling some long hours on orders and have a show next weekend, I'll need to beg for a pass on that one ;)
 
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