A shot of a Badger Attack 3 from Busse Combat from the BAD MOJO webpage on the BA3 :
This Badger Attack 3 is on loan from Luke Freeouf. It is made from 3/16" INFI. It is 260 g with a high flat grind, 2.5 cm wide, on a blade that is 3.3 cm high. The handle is contoured with a decent handle texture. The rear talon slopes back, so there is no discomfort there which is a very good thing. The edge had been significantly reground by Luke to 0.032"/11 degrees. The edge has some damage from chops into a railroad rail. Using a belt sander the edge was ground to a final profile of 0.059"/10:0.078"/8 degrees.
With a quick sharpening which put the edge at 150-190 g push cutting light thread, it took taking from 18-21 pounds to make a push cut on 3/8" hemp. However the true ability of the reground profile was shown whittling on one inch hardwood dowels where it took on average 2.5 (2) slices to make a point.
The Badger Attack would cut soft foods like meats, and most fruits and vegetables well as this only demands a high sharpness. However on thicker foods which cause binding the Badger Attack took between 4.75 - 5.25 lbs to make a 1/8" slice on a fresh raw carrot that was one inch thick at the base while a Japanese utility kitchen knife took a reduced 3.25 to 3.75 lbs. Cutting through a two inch new white potato the Badger took 2.75 to 3.25 lbs and the Japanese knife 1.75 to 2.25 lbs. While thicker, the potato was softer and thus bound less than the carrot and was easier to cut. Note while outperformed by the Japanese utility kitchen knife the increase in effort required is still relatively low and far ahead of many other knives even with slimmer blade stock showing the critical dependance of the edge profile. The main drawback to the thicker blade on the Badger Attack is that it can't cut as thin a slice as the truely optomized kitchen knives.
The blade has a solid heft for its size so wrist snaps can generate decent chopping power with a grip around the end of the handle to remove small limbs however felling saplings requires batoning to be efficient. however the short length makes multiple relief cuts necessary and similar splitting even medium sized piece of wood means multiple splits and use of wedges.
No damage was seen even on very hard knots in dense and seasoned wood but a significant amount of care was used around on the harder knots because of the acute edge profile. Specifically minimize twisting and chisel straight through and knots. To take advantage of the strength of the Badger while batoning the knife can be pounded in very deep and then leaned on to break the wood out, or as a splitter it can be heavily twisted in thick wood to break it apart.
Cutting a variety of light materials like bubble wrap, plastics, paper and fabrics, the Badger did as well as any sharp blade as these materials are too flimsy to exert any wedging on a knife. It is truly excellent on all woodworking chores but does fall behind thinner blades on binding materials such as 1/4" thick cardboard where an Olfa heavy duty knife not only cut much more narrow strips but would leave the strips straight whereas the Badger would cause the strips to fold up.
In general the steel in the Badger, INFI, was strong enough to prevent deformation, tough enough to resist fracture, and saw little corrosion or wear. Thus the edge sharpened easily as little metal was lost or damage in use and generally only required fine abrasives to sharpen.
The edge retention was very high on the wood cutting and overall during use the blade stayed sharp for very long. Cutting 3/8" hemp, 2" draw cuts with the blade having a 22 degree 600 grit DMT micro bevel (0.05 to 0.1 mm wide). The Badger showed a significant increase in edge holding compared a Twistmaster in Carbon V. This was verified by the comparison of the cutting ability throughout the cutting, as well as checking the edge under magnification. The wear on the edge of the Badger was much slower.
In general the handle was comfortable and secure, reducing four feet of 3/4" basswood dowel to a pile of shavings the Badger quickly ate up the dowel and produced a nice pile of kindling. No discomfort was experienced during the cutting. The index finger contour is secure and allows torquing without being too constraining and thus hand size specific. The blade still shaved after the dowel cutting. The only grip drawback was that with a soaped up grip, heavy stabs were not possible, a more significant guard would be needed for this level of security.
This overall profile is similar to a Boye drop point hunter with a much more rugged steel. On wood working it approached the performance of an Opinel. The handle is also well shaped to fill out the hand and offer a very secure grip both of which significantly increase the power which could be provided to the cut. The thicker blade stock compared to something like a Deerhunter does induce a loss of cutting ability on deep cuts through materials which are dense and/or and elastic . However the thicker stock also allows heavier work such as prying and digging in woods.
Comments can be sent to : cliffstamp[REMOVE]@cutleryscience.com or by posting in the following thread :
More information can be obtain at the Busse Combat website, which also includes a discussion board.
| Last updated : | 01 : 25 : 2006 |
| Originally written: | 10 : 02 : 2002 |