What do you cheat on your Busse with?

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Does this count?

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Technically it's not a "busse".
 
Tough subject for me, because there are lots. In fixed blades I like Hossom, Carothers, Krein, and really enjoy bushcraft patterns which I have many examples from a variety of makers.

I am a huge fan of Integrals and got hooked on Zu Bladeworx knives out of Australia and I have almost everything they've ever made except a few older patterns. I am currently waiting on the new MadKat to get here which is a 21" beast. Whenever I take them to shows as examples of my sheaths they are the one most picked up, partly because they are so unique and partly because they have a fairly small following here and are not represented at US shows.

For a long time I was into high end production folders and customs but now that I am home full time working for myself I have gravitated to lighter more efficient cutters and have re-found my enjoyment of Spyderco's. Specifically the Manix 2 (reg & LW), PM2 & PM3. They're amazingly efficient cutters and playing around with a huge variety of steels for relatively low cost has been a lot of fun. I have WAY too many Manix's right now but they are what's in my pocket most of the time.

I'm also a fan of Demko & Curtiss customs and still have my favorites, but most everything else in folders is queued up to be sold as time allows.

Here's a few of my Zu's, many of them are in a different area with my EDC fixed blades that I carry frequently. Check out the Nephilim in the last picture, I put it next to a Trough Raider for perspective, shot alone it looks like an 8" belt knife.

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cpirtle said:
Tough subject for me, because there are lots. In fixed blades I like Hossom, Carothers, Krein, and really enjoy bushcraft patterns which I have many examples from a variety of makers.

I am a huge fan of Integrals and got hooked on Zu Bladeworx knives out of Australia and I have almost everything they've ever made except a few older patterns. I am currently waiting on the new MadKat to get here which is a 21" beast. Whenever I take them to shows as examples of my sheaths they are the one most picked up, partly because they are so unique and partly because they have a fairly small following here and are not represented at US shows.

For a long time I was into high end production folders and customs but now that I am home full time working for myself I have gravitated to lighter more efficient cutters and have re-found my enjoyment of Spyderco's. Specifically the Manix 2 (reg & LW), PM2 & PM3. They're amazingly efficient cutters and playing around with a huge variety of steels for relatively low cost has been a lot of fun. I have WAY too many Manix's right now but they are what's in my pocket most of the time.

I'm also a fan of Demko & Curtiss customs and still have my favorites, but most everything else in folders is queued up to be sold as time allows.

Here's a few of my Zu's, many of them are in a different area with my EDC fixed blades that I carry frequently. Check out the Nephilim in the last picture, I put it next to a Trough Raider for perspective, shot alone it looks like an 8" belt knife.

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ZU Bladeworx makes some fantastic looking stuff! I’ve never had the opportunity to see one in person though. I’ve been debating grabbing a Madkat in M2, but just don’t know enough. What types of steel are your ZU knives? They worth it?
 
sixplymaple said:
ZU Bladeworx makes some fantastic looking stuff! I’ve never had the opportunity to see one in person though. I’ve been debating grabbing a Madkat in M2, but just don’t know enough. What types of steel are your ZU knives? They worth it?
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Zu is a lot like Busse, unapologetic and hardcore. They have done a lot of contracts for the Australian Government and aside from a few cases are made in Australia with Australian Cryodur A2. Most of their blades are 99% milled then hand sharpened, they are not as refined as Busse and in the full integral models usually have some milling marks in the blades, but nothing terrible, kind of along the lines of Guardian Tactical's blades if you are familiar with them. As their newer models have been released their finishing gets better every time. The newest generation of scaled models are much better with very few signs of milling. They are also offering different steels in the newer models, the Madkat is offered in 1084 & M2. The Nephilim I showed above is in 1084 as well.

I have tested and used the Cryodur pretty extensively and it's tough stuff, I have limited time with their other steels to see how they hold up but have no reason to think they would not perform to the expectations of the steel.

The Madkat is a pretty deep plunge to see if you like them. I can let you know my impressions once mine comes which may be this week. If you want to dip your toe in there's a Shrapnel Dagger on the exchange now for a good price, I believe they were about $125 more from Empire when they landed. It's a cool little piece and very in line with Zu's roots.

Matt is a great guy and has a very loyal following with an active Facebook site. It's private but you can request access. I buy direct from him and usually save quite a bit with the exchange rate, plus we've gotten to know each other quite well over the years.

Good luck, they are addictive.
 
cpirtle said:
Zu is a lot like Busse, unapologetic and hardcore. They have done a lot of contracts for the Australian Government and aside from a few cases are made in Australia with Australian Cryodur A2. Most of their blades are 99% milled then hand sharpened, they are not as refined as Busse and in the full integral models usually have some milling marks in the blades, but nothing terrible, kind of along the lines of Guardian Tactical's blades if you are familiar with them. As their newer models have been released their finishing gets better every time. The newest generation of scaled models are much better with very few signs of milling. They are also offering different steels in the newer models, the Madkat is offered in 1084 & M2. The Nephilim I showed above is in 1084 as well.

I have tested and used the Cryodur pretty extensively and it's tough stuff, I have limited time with their other steels to see how they hold up but have no reason to think they would not perform to the expectations of the steel.

The Madkat is a pretty deep plunge to see if you like them. I can let you know my impressions once mine comes which may be this week. If you want to dip your toe in there's a Shrapnel Dagger on the exchange now for a good price, I believe they were about $125 more from Empire when they landed. It's a cool little piece and very in line with Zu's roots.

Matt is a great guy and has a very loyal following with an active Facebook site. It's private but you can request access. I buy direct from him and usually save quite a bit with the exchange rate, plus we've gotten to know each other quite well over the years.

Good luck, they are addictive.
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I value your opinion so thanks for taking some time to explain. Is the Cryodur2363 just a different name for A2 sold/produced by a different company? Or is it like a special A2 heat treat protocol? Like Delta 3V for Carother’s/Survive?

Which steel did you order your Madkat in?

Also, thanks for the heads up about adding Matt and possibly ordering from him direct. Between Empire reselling them and their site in AUD, it’s hard to tell what a good price on one is lol.
 
Thanks, glad to help!

They call it "Australian A2" but I have never gotten into the protocols of HT with Matt and have not seen them discussed to the extent of Nathan with his D3V protocol (which some people still seem to think is the steel itself). Matt contracts all but the final finishing and CeraKote options out but I am sure has inout on the metallurgy side as well. In my experience it is slightly more durable than Domestic A2 and much more rust resistant. I did some cleanup on one of mine early on and tried to Oxpho-Blue the finish and I could not get it to take a patina, which is similar to my experience trying to use it on Infi and D2.

I bought 1084 for the MadKat, mainly because he launched the purchase in Australia and by the time I got online to order it was sold out in M2. I emailed him and he added me to the 1084 buy-in manually because he had a few spots left.

I did the math on my MadKat and ended up saving about $70 after taxes over buying it from Empire. It varies depending on the piece and current exchange rate obviously. That said, I would have had the option for M2 and gotten it quicker had I waited for them. The best price is going to be if you can find one aftermarket because they don't have a real strong resale here in the US due to less people following them. On the AUS FB site the past models almost always sell at a premium, very Busse-esq ;) It's pretty much impossible to ship a knife to Australia now so selling them back there is all but impossible.
 
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