Busse, Chris Reeve or Randall

Hello, everybody,
I am thinking to buy a very good fixed blade knife for the price $150-$300. So far I learnt that Busse, Chris Reeve and Randall are in that range. But, unfortunately, I cannot find any comparisons between these knives. Therefore it is difficult to decide which one to get. I do not know which models I should consider, but the main criterias for me are that the blade be around 4", comfortable handle, robust and convenience (easy to sharpen and that the edge stays sharp for a long time).
Could you advise me about your experince with these kniives to find out which one suits me the best.
Regards,
Omega

no experians with those blade's. i got a fallkniven S1 and F1. They are both very strong, good knife's which holds a good edge, but because of the thickniss it doesn't cut certain things aswell ( and is much harder to sharpen ). These 2 blade used to be mine favortie, now days i prefer the cheap and scary sharp mora knife's. Not nearly as strong as those fallkniven, but they slice/cut much beter due to there thinner and single beavel blade. I got a folding saw to complement them.

I have heard great things about Chris reeves fixed blades as well as Randall. The Randall blades seem to be the best value for money. You can get them for a lot less than $150. However I have heard bad things about the cutting performance of Busse knifes and have experienced first hand the terrible attitude that the designer has towards other blades and their users.

This is just my opinion though <img src="images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" />

www.knifeforums.com has information and personal feedback on all these knives and countless others. Knife selection is very personal. $150-$300 is a chunk of change for anybody. You can get a superb knife from many makers for far less. If your assembling a basic kit, that premium sleeping bag will be far more critical than a high end knife. Of the three, my choice would be the Chris Reeve. The handle is round and steel, not the best for some grips or handling in hot or cold temperatures. This has a cheap fix by slipping on an innertube section. I too, carry an F1 Fallkniven and several backup Moras. If you are relatively new to knives buy a few Moras. They're cheap, excellent to learn basic sharpening and teach expensive blades what sharp should be. You must also give consideration to the sheath. The best knife is a lost knife if the sheath is junk.

You might take a look at the swamp rat line of knives they have some selections that may fit your need. BTW you don't mention any specifics for the intended task of these knives. It would be a big help to know what you plan on using your knife for.

http://www.swampratknifeworks.com

Here is a knife, although a lot more then you wanted to spend <img src="images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />.
Pete

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2223501469&category=43325

I had a randall model 15 airman ( 5,5 in blade )and really liked it with the exception of the handle material and design. ( it was a black plastic type material, and had finger notches in it..) It held a good edge, and the sheath was pretty sturdy. it also had a hole for a lanyard in the handle, something I personally consider a must for any survival/hunting/camping knife I carry. I personally dont care for finger "grooves" or "notches" as I find them limiting in the use of the knife. But as far as the cutting design and quality was concerned I was happy with it.

As far as Reeve knives go: I have no personal experience with them. After looking at his webite I would personally go for the 5.5 in "green beret" with the nylon sheath ( leather takes way too long to dry for me..)as the blade style would be perfect for survival/hunting or camping needs. the handle apprears to be high quality, minimally contoured to the fingers/hand,and has a lanyard hole. The only drawbacks I see is that its "subdued" : the blade is black, the handle is grey and the nylon sheath OD green. I understand why, as this blade is designed for Special Forces, but as a survival blade could be very easy to lose "in the green" if taken out of the sheath ( which has a nice secure handle snap collar ) and not attached to your body or equipment 24 hrs a day.

The next Reeve blade I would suggest would be the Mountaneer 1. 4.00 in blade length ( 185.00 according to the website) nice practical blade design , lanyard hole in the handle. The biggest drawback is that the knife and sheath are both black and that the sheath appears to be a "slip sheath" - no positive way to secure the blade with provided snap collar or thong unless you use rawhide or a bootlace and do it yourself thru the eyelet at the top of the sheath ( high risk of loss at night if dropped or layed down ).

Just my 2 cents..

Right now I carry a Puma "hunters friend" (circa 65 I believe ) that was handed down to me by my late grandfather. Granted it's a working family heirloom but the knife is a dream to handle, holds a wicked edge, and has skinned many a deer. Today I couldnt recommend a modern Puma as they have eliminated the lanyard hole in the handle and the quality seems to have slipped a bit.

hope this helps

Matt

Pete--

<Incredulous tone on> Where can you get Randalls for a lot less that $150?!? (Aside for a model or two, that is...) You'll have people queueing up outside the door in no time flat!
<incredulous tone off> :-)

David

Interesting question, interestingly framed, and you've already gotten some excellent responses, I see.

I have owned a few Randalls, and one of my best friends that I camped with at the time owned Chris Reeve knives, so we had a chance to do some side-by-side comparisons and tests.

Before I go further, let me say this... I own a lot of knives, and have owned a lot more in the past, all of which "seemed like a good idea at the time", and at least 80 percent of them have turned out to be "drawer queens" rather than users. All three of the makers you mention are known for relatively heavy knives. I have no idea what your circumstances are, but if you're going on serious adventuring, in the active military, a bush pilot or something- if you KNOW you're going in harm's way, they may be just the thing. However, if not, I'd advise doing some serious soul searching. No knife you own will ever do you a bit of good unless it's on your person when you actually need it, and you may be amazed how easy and tempting it becomes, after "the honeymoon is over", to leave a heavy knife behind. As I've gotten older (and hopefully at little wiser) I've come to think that the real question isn't what's the best tool for the job, it's what's the best tool that you're willing to carry every single day, all day, for years at a time in which you may never really need it, so that it IS with you when the need arises. If that turns out to be a heavy knife, you'll be a very unusual person. The man with a 2-inch Victorinox Classic in his pocket is a hundred times better equipped to survive than the proud owner of a dozen first-class survival knives that he doesn't happen to have with him.

Ok, that having been said, I was far more impressed with the steel, edge holding, workmanship, and durability in the Reeve knives my friend had, than I was with the performance of my own Randalls. The problem back then was that I didn't care for his designs (this was before his folders, and they are an exception- I still don't care much for his fixed-blade designs). Now there is a solution, there is a fixed-blade Reeve knive that was designed by Bill Harsey, who designed both of the folders that I choose between to carry every day... that's the "Green Beret" or "Yarborough". Excellent design, excellent maker.

I'm not a fan of blackened blades for other reasons, but I don't share bat69's concern about it being "subdued". First off, I would VERY STRONGLY advise that you get in the habit of NEVER laying your knife down. It's admittedly difficult (more so with some carries than others), but if you don't get in that habit it will likely disappear eventually, and, depending on timing, you may too. Secondly, it's my opinion that you only need one bright item of equipment to make yourself visible to rescuers, but if a LOT of your equipment is bright, it becomes very difficult or impossible to make yourself quickly invisible if the need arises- and it does. Man is still by far the most dangerous animal on this planet, and there are occasiouns when you just don't want to stand out like a neon sign.

So, of the selection you name, there are Randalls that would do, and other Reeve knives that would do, but I would run, not walk, to the Harsey-designed Reeve-built knife. Consider that the third vote, by my count, for Reeve and the second for this particular knife, if for an entirely different set of reasons.

Hello, everybody,
Thank you all for replies. They all were useful. There was a question what I intend to use the knife for. Well, the most common thing I will do with the knife is the knife will accompany me during my travels, including abroad. I will mainly use the knife for cooking, but I do not want a cooking knife because I want to take the same knife for camping, hunting, fishing and shooting my bow or crossbow. When I shoot from bow and crossbow, I need some strong knife that I could take arrows out from trees. Folding knives are more convenient, I agree, but I feel my Spyderco may break down when I try to get arrows out of trees. And I hate washing folders after cuting meat, fixed blades are much better.
I also travel to very unpopular places like mountains of Kyrgyzstan, deserts of Kazahstan or countryside of Brazil. Often, in order to be polite, I will have to give my knife to local people (as already happened) who often misuse them (like choping bones and splitting logs) but it is loo late to ask them not to so (this way I lost two knives, my father mor than six!). I get attached to my knives and don't want them to be broken. Knife should be of a high quality because I myself also break things easily, even Spydercos and Victorinoxes (broke both in less than 3 years I bought them). The blade length, as I already mentioned, preferably not longer than 5 ", may be even 5" is too long. Longer blades are not convenient.
I looked at Scandinavian knives and I do like them. They are very good in hand, beatiful, reasonably priced and easy to resharpen. But I think I may break the knife, therefore I want a knife with a very long guarantee. And I did not know any Scandinavian firm that gives guarantee longer than 5 years.
Regards,

Omega,

There was recently mention of the requirement to dig out arrows in one of the other forums. Apparently bowhunters have taken to carrying the Gransfors Bruks "Mini" hatchet on their quivers for this. I own one (and it's larger but still small brother, the "Wildlife" hatchet), and can readily see why- it's a very tiny hatchet at about 10.5 inches and 11oz, but will out-chop many much heavier and more expensive knives. It's hard to imagine a better tool for removing arrows from trees, and removing that requirement would free up your choice of knives. Gransfors Bruks hatchets and axes have made quite an impact on the knife community because of their high quality, and how well they work.

http://www.cutsforthknives.com/item-detail.cfm?id=410&storeid=1

Also, the combination of a more modest knife and a hatchet IMHO tends to work better in hardwood forests, and it raises far fewer eybrows and issues where there are knife laws, or where the police just don't like large knives. Not that, in a pinch, a man with a smaller knife in one hand and a hatchet in the other is exactly unarmed...

Local custom may require you to loan out a knife for such abuse, but I find it hard to believe that it requires you to loan out your ONLY knife. If nothing else, that has the potential to leave you helpless. Faced with such a necessity, I'd be strongly tempted to carry an Ontario or a Scandinavian knife as a "beater" for loaning out, and keep my own knife on my belt. Certainly, if there's a potential for abuse or "loss", I'd much rather see that happen to a $15-55 dollar knife than a $150-300 one, regardless of warranty. Many knife warranties exclude obvious abuse, in any case.

Your mention of this custom reminds me of my high school days- there was one obnoxious bully who used to zero in on anyone he saw that had a knife. He'd come up and say "Hey, that's a really neat knife, can I see it?". If you handed him the knife, he'd say "that's really nice- do you have any other knives on you?" , and if you said "No", he'd say "That's too bad- I guess you're unarmed now, and I have a knife, huh?", and he'd walk off with it.

Courtesy needs to have limits.

It seems we may be getting too romantic with our equipment needs. One of the best tools for removing errant arrows from wood is the three edged machinists deburring tool.

It has been sold as a "spike knife, CIA knife, covert weapon", and any number of descriptions I can no longer remember. They are cheap in price, robust in construction, high quality carbon steel, easy to sharpen, and available with blade lengths up to 6" long. Not romantic or macho in nature, but very light and sturdy, and if you don't want to call it a machinists deburring tool, you can always lie and say it is a leftover piece of equipment from your previous work for the "Company".

Bountyhunter

Bountyhunter,

I defer to your knowledge of such things; I'm not a bowhunter, never dug an arrow out of a tree, just passing on what I've read. Also, since I'm not a machinist (or one of our Farm-trained brethren from Langley) I have only the vaguest notion of what it is you're describing. I seem to remember something that looked like a section of an SKS folding bayonet... not sure how that would work.

In any case, though, I sort of suppose that a small hatchet would be a lot handier around camp, and take over more of the roles of a large knife- but it's just supposition.

I think you should buy some mora's as previously suggested. Give them out as loaner's. They are light and cheap and if you loose them or break them it's not a big deal. Also they are great knives.

If you want to wade through some knife review take a look at this website:
http://www.physics.mun.ca/~sstamp/knives/reviews.html

PS I still stand by my swamp rat recommendation they have a user enforced quarantee (you tell them if you want the knife replaced not them) they also have a penetrator tip which I think would help you in digging out arrows. <img src="images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Thank you, guys,
It seems to me that carrying a small axe with myself for arrow shooting is a bit too much <img src="images/graemlins/blush.gif" alt="" />
However, we carry axes when we go to wilderness. Therefore I was thinking about not so heavy knife wirth not very long blade.
I found interesting thread on Bladeforum about Sebenzas
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showth...threadid=291091
I know they talk about Sebenzas, but how about other Chris Reeve knives, can they be sharpened to razor conditions on sharpeners like Spyderco Tri-angle? If I cannot get extremely sharp edge, well, then probably, it is not for me. I want to have really scary sharp blade in case I need to cut sheep.
Regards,

After reading what you want to do with the knife, may I suggest a couple of makers you didn't mention? Newt Livesay & Ray Ennis. I have knives by both (& others, including Randall). The knives from these gentlemen are "first among equals" in my collection.

Here's the web page for Newt's "Wicked Knife Company." My favorite is the Air Assault. Check out his Bow Hunt'n Buddy--it may be what you're looking for.

And this is the web page for Ray's Entrek Knives. I'm currently carrying a Javalina in my pack in the truck.

I'd grab either of these before my Randall--though I wouldn't be unhappy with it in the bush, either.

Good luck.

David

"very unpopular places" indeed!!

Obviously, If you are going to potentially be in harms way ( from indigenous peoples, military, natives or otherwise ) I understand the need for non-reflective, military type equipment. I have different sets of equipment and clothing for different situations myself.

I still recommend using lanyards/tethers on all vital equipment while in the field ( knives, compasses, wallets - if carried ). While in the military on a field training exercise my whole team and I spent well over 45 minutes combing a 50ft by 50ft area for a wallet ( covered in woodland camo pattern fabric ) that one of the team had set down right next to him and forgotten to pick up. We found it , but were quite miffed at having to waste the time looking the wallet rather than humping to the next objective when all he had to do was teather it to his belt with 550 cord as all of us had done.

However, when It comes to domestic ( used in safe areas of the world ) survival/camping equipment, I want it chrome plated, with blaze orange trim, 1000lb tensile strength leashes on it, strobe lights imbedded in it, along with a screaming electronic voice that yells, " hey, I'm over here!!!!"

Matt

Presumed Lost:

You are right about overall usefulness about a small axe or hatchet in a general outdoor environment.

I on the other hand would feel awfully silly digging out an arrow with an axe, and when you consider design aspects, an axe would be a real pain for the purpose of arrow removal (after all, it's bad enough I missed the target.).

The design example vis-a-vie the triangular bayonet is correct except that the deburring tool usually has a wooden handle and the most popular blade size is about 4".

If I have to chose between spending $12.00 versus $77.00 and the primary purpose is to retreive arrowheads because of my poor aim, I would opt for the $12.00 expenditure.

It has been a long time since I have had to dig an arrow out of a tree, and it was back in 1972 that I got out of the machinists trade because the pay was going downhill.

Bountyhunter

Bountyhunter,

Like I said, I'm not a bowhunter, and have never dug an arrow out of a tree, but I'm just passing along what I ran across on another forum.

Here's the quote:

"Some of my archery friends have made sheaths for their mini's that attach to their leather quivers. They seem to be happy with that arrangement since the mini weighs very little. The mini is used to chop out arrows (in front of the point) stuck in old stumps when "stump shooting" for field practice. "

And here's the link:

GB Mini Thread

They have quite a bit more to say about the Mini in that thread.

>>...silly digging out an arrow with an axe, and when you consider design aspects, an axe would be a real pain for the purpose of arrow removal...<<

I guess I'm not getting it. The GB Mini is hardly an axe, the bit is about 2.5 inches long, the whole thing is 10.5 inches long- it- the whole thing- fits in a front trousers pocket if they're loose enough.

So, why would a small object that's efficient and excellent for chopping wood be "a real pain for the purpose of arrow removal", and why would what's essentially a spike with a handle be better?

Mabye it's a rhetorical question. I was trying to offer a helpful suggestion, not challenge anyone's belief system.

Presumed Lost:

To set things in prespective, please understand that back then the point of a broadhead was slightly thicker than a razor blade. We did not have broadheads with hard leading points that entered before the thin blades as you find on many broadhead arrows today..

When I was still able to bow hunt (damn knees won't cooperate any more.), I never had a small axe available and back then, they were not as small as the mini. With broadheads (I preferred the two-bladed Bear with the removable inserts for 4-bladed cutting.), any arrow that did end up in a tree was removed with my old Craftsman carbon steel hunting knife. The inserts sat farther back on the arrowheads and thus did not ever come into contact with the wood which made digging the arrows out much easier. Most of my time bow hunting involved never even getting a shot off because even with sights and constant practice, I never felt comfortable shooting anything more than fifty feet away.

The machinist deburring tool came into play during practice shooting where trees and other wooden objects were purposely shot at. The people I learned to shoot with did most of thier practicing with what are known as field points which could be purchased in various weights to match the weight of the broadhead you preferred. Just before the hunting season started, we would take our broadheads to archery ranges that had straw bales for final tuning of the sights and snap shooting. The reason for this was that even though the practice field tipped arrows and the broadhead arrows weighed the same, the flight characteristics were a little different because of the shape of the arrowhead.

We would never ever target shoot at wood targets with broadheads as back in those days (leading tips, slightly thicker than razor blades.) they were too fragile for repeated impacts in wood and too expensive for that. The machinists deburring tool had about a 5" handle and with a 4" blade, there was no bulk and minimal weight and I already owned it.

Bountyhunter