Is the Crabshack taking Busse Combat to another level?

DamascusBowie

DamascusBowie

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As a relatively new Busse fan, I may be wrong about this, but it seems to me that I was right on time for the Crabshack era which seems to have brought a whole new level of custom, artisan knife production.

Looking back, the nicest Busse customs came with fairly simple micarta or g10 scales, intricate patterns like tigerhideand snakeskin were as exotic as it got, and lately we've been seeing unbelievable creations from the Shack of Crabs.

Id be interested to hear from senior hogs how much this Crab evolution theory holds water.
 
The crab shack customs are certainly beautiful. To me, it’s just another option as is very much dependent on what you find to be appealing.
 
Crabshack is just pure craftsmanship. Those guys are amazing imo.
But, it all comes back to the Bossman imo.
Heck, I never really cared for knives at all until I saw a Busse. Jerry is a freakin genius.
That man was born for greatness in the knife world.
 
There were some truly epic custm shop work being done before. You just haven't seen it. Personally i think the all satin finished knive were a more refined knife than some of the crabshack models that get "more attention to the flats". The current models are stunnig though.


Heres an old example:
AF633F42-AAE5-4830-868F-C6B39C2D5D27~2.jpeg
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Crabshack is Jerry's Nickname for the Custom Shop. Back in 2015 the Custom Shop was apparently Swamped with work and Jerry announced the closure for the foreseeable future. The Custom Shop was about creating One Off Commissioned Customs as well as Special offerings as seen in the Gladius photos and Special One Offs for Blade and Knob Creek. Scoring a Custom in a Gaaaanza or at the Trough was Like hitting the Lottery:cool::cool::cool:

The Crab Shack is doing Great work as always not sure if it's as nice or any better than some one off customs they produced in the past.
 
I think it's more about the accessibility. There is some gorgeous older stuff out there but most of it was commissioned and resides permanently in the collections of those who had them commissioned.

Now, due to the Busse Custom Shop being overwhelmed, they seem to make extras here and there and then release them in Ganzaas and Grab Bags so a lot of us end up with some pretty amazing stuff but they are the creations of the makers, not the buyer. In the earliest days, the custom shop was all about blade modifications ("variants") which we see less of these days. I would like to see that come back so I can get a Chuckette!
 
I'd love to go back to the days of one off customs. I was just a touch late to the game to get an order in before they closed. I've been fortunate to pick up some mighty fine customs but at huge premiums.

The Crab Shack blind grab bag stuff is certainly a rush when you open the boxes but at the prices of these knives and the time involved in making them I don't know why we can't pick our handles. Must be a material supply thing but I'd be willing to pay the shop a time and dollar premium to pick my own handles since I'm most likely going to have to get the one I want if/when it hits the exchange and pay 30-50% more for it anyway. Only got lucky once in four tries on the blind grab bag option. I will note that I've seen some AMAZING handles that I would never have thought of so there is certainly a place for these grab bags so the Crab Shack can showcase their skills.

Limit one per year or do a ganzaaa style coupon for one Crab Shack personalized order and I'd be all over that.

My style of knife collecting is to have two or three regular users, a couple I'll never use until the zombies come out, and the rest flawless works of art that are safe queens, so the shop being closed limits me a bit.
 
In my opinion a lot of the models that come out of the CS today are overvalued. Like with the CS HOG Badgers. They look amazing, don't get me wrong here. But the only difference between the satin production models and the Crab Shack models are the handles and logos, for over a 50% markup from Busse and what looks to be sometimes as much as 100% mark up in aftermarket!?! That's for the handles and logo only since its all satin INFI underneath! :cool::thumbsup::thumbsup:



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hydeinmind said:
In my opinion a lot of the models that come out of the CS today are overvalued. Like with the CS HOG Badgers. They look amazing, don't get me wrong here. But the only difference between the satin production models and the Crab Shack models are the handles and logos, for over a 50% markup from Busse and what looks to be sometimes as much as 100% mark up in aftermarket!?! That's for the handles and logo only since its all satin INFI underneath! :cool::thumbsup::thumbsup:



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Click to expand...
From Busse, it comes down to inputs (time and materials) + a profit margin (I'm going to guess 30-50%) = price. Now, since we don't know production numbers, we have to guess at how long it takes for the crab shack handles to be produced. Since some obviously take longer than others hence the higher price on the ones with the more "complex" (i.e. more materials like the g-rexed stuff) designs. Also, some of the raw materials that go into many of the "fancy" handles are very expensive. Just check out the "Knifemaking Materials" section on the exchange.

As for the secondary market, that all comes down to supply and demand i.e. subjective value. Something is worth what someone will pay for it.

For an exchange to take place, both parties must value what the other has more than what they are giving up. For example, I value the Satin Alpha Dog 6 over the $375 it's going to cost me so I will gladly part with that cash for that oh so slick new resi-c wrapped bacon. Dan Busse (sucker :p:D) values my $375 more than the Alpha Dog 6 so am exchange is gonna take place on Wednesday! I'm very excited for the Alpha Dog series.
 
I have owned some beautiful custom shop pieces over the years. The work has always been exceptional. The Crab shack knives being no exception. I don't have many custom shop models anymore as I ended up collecting the older models. I think I have one Nuked FBM that is exceptional. Also the NMFBM were some of the best knives I have ever seen come out of Busse. They were stunning.
 
hydeinmind said:
In my opinion a lot of the models that come out of the CS today are overvalued. Like with the CS HOG Badgers. They look amazing, don't get me wrong here. But the only difference between the satin production models and the Crab Shack models are the handles and logos, for over a 50% markup from Busse and what looks to be sometimes as much as 100% mark up in aftermarket!?! That's for the handles and logo only since its all satin INFI underneath! :cool::thumbsup::thumbsup:



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Click to expand...
On the other hand the crabshack fmv14 was only $25 more (with fmv8 $75 loyalty discount) and definitely worth it. Those things are super nice and priced right at 1/3 the cost of a cs gladius.
 
Murman said:
On the other hand the crabshack fmv14 was only $25 more (with fmv8 $75 loyalty discount) and definitely worth it. Those things are super nice and priced right at 1/3 the cost of a cs gladius.
Click to expand...


There's always an exception ;):thumbsup::thumbsup:


But the FMV8 was the same way for the CS model over production CF INFI. Big mark up for handles and logo and some flats work. So part of the discount for the CS FMV14 was already paid for in the fmv8 price! ;):thumbsup::thumbsup:

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I have owned a few CS blades with special handles, G-rexing and such, and they were certainly cool to look at. I ended up selling all of them though, because I prefer the feel and functionality of Busse micarta scales. Just my personal preference and really has nothing to do with the quality of the CS offerings, which are always top notch.
 
hydeinmind said:
There's always an exception ;):thumbsup::thumbsup:


But the FMV8 was the same way for the CS model over production CF INFI. Big mark up for handles and logo and some flats work. So part of the discount for the CS FMV14 was already paid for in the fmv8 price! ;):thumbsup::thumbsup:
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Wait, you gonna tell me this
20190505_164941 (2).jpg

ain't worth $200 more than this? :eek:
20181118_074551.jpg

Quick someone call a doctor, our friend has the Swine Flu! :D

Base CF w/ micarta was $467.
Nuked V8 was $667.
 
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