Busse Battle Mistress E
Combat Knife Review

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General - The newest generation Battle Mistress E, from Busse Combat Knives :) There are quite a few distinctive differences between the previous model Battle Mistress and this one. On This photo you can see them together. As you can see, the blade became narrower and the point has been changed from clip to drop point. This offers better penetration and improves the point strength, however I doubt someone had too many reasons (if any) to complain about the point strength in the original Battle Mistress knife either :).

Finish

 - The finish has been changed as well. Called "Crinkle" it reduces the glare more than the older finish, however have to mention that is much more difficult to clean. Can't say anything about its durability, though the word out there is that it's even more durable than the previous one. Also the coating has been improved in terms of overall coverage, i.e. the whole blade is benig coated now, no more open spaces on the handle. Obviously this provides more protection to the blade metal, though INFI is quite corrosion resistant itself.

Handle

 - One of the greatest improvements in the next generation Busse Combat Knives is the new E handle, where E stands for ergonomic. Well, now that I have more then one eHandled models for some time already, I can only confirm, yes it is ergonomic. Some say the new handle looks somewhat boxy :) Though as usual, the beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Personally, I like the older style, straight handles more on some Busse knives, new handle on others. For example Steel Heart II, the older one, looks better to me, though the BM Fighter Variant or Clip Point Bolo Variant IMHO look much better with the curved, eHandles. Well, that was all about the looks. The performance of the new handle, and the ease of its use is a separate topic. In short for heavy duty tasks eHandle is a clear winner. Especially for chopping, you don't have to move your wrist during the swing and the "recoil" felt is significantly lesser than with the older models, this all means you can work longer with your BM, do the job faster, reduce the load on your hands, since now the eHandle absorbs noticable portion of the shock. While being very well fitted for that sort of tasks, eHandle is kind of awkward for finer cutting tasks first time. For starters Busse Combat Knives have very little resemblance with the surgical scalpel, then the curve on the eHandles makes some differences. However in a few minutes you'll get used to it and it's just fine. One more thing is that the new eHandles might be more or less uncomfortable for those with rather small palms.

Sheath

 - And to be complete, the new generation knives have a new generation sheath as well :) That is Cordura sheath & the polymer liner. New sheath also has a pouch, which fits perfectly DMT folding sharpeners or medium folding knife, like 710 Axis or a multitool like Letherman.

Overall

 - Everything else remains unchanged. The same nuclear tough blade. Blade grind is the same, Busse asymmetrical (semi-convex) grind, as mentioned in other reviews non trivial to sharpen, to be more exact different, but not difficult, once you understand how and what are you supposed to do. For more information about sharpening Busse semi-convex knives on the www.bladeforums.com. Just do the search & you'll get all the information you need.

Specifications:

  • Model - Battle Mistress E;
  • Blade - 241.30mm(9.5")
  • Thickness - 6.35mm
  • OAL - 342.90mm(13.5")
  • Steel - INFI steel at 58-60HRC
  • Handle - Micarta
  • Acquired - 10/2000 Price - 347.00$
  • Warranty - Unconditional Lifetime;

Last updated - 05/19/19