A question about Mean Streets

W

wabi

Joined
Sep 18, 1999
Messages
224
Aloha,
Stomper raised a question on the Busse site forum, and it struck a chord with me also. He wanted to know how many Infi MS were made that had slotted screws. I chimed in also, as I bought a MS from a guy about 2 months ago who claimed that it was made of Infi....and when it arrived it was a slotted screw model also. I have a slotted screw MS in A2. I think that I got it from Ryu a couple of years back. He had sent it back to Wauseon to have it bead blasted and reconditioned so it got to me in that state. The other slotted screw MS that is allegedly Infi has a smooth black finish on the blade, uncoated metal along the tang, and is smooth black coated along the butt. The Infi MS has a slightly thicker micarta slab to it with a forward angulation or cant to the micarta at the butt end of it rather than coming out at an almost right angle from the butt.
Among the Busse-philes that read this discussion, I hope that there is someway that a Infi versus A2 slot screwed MS can be identified short of sending it back home for its father to identify. Is there any other way to identify Infi versus A2 Mean Streets?
A big Mahalo to all in advance for pondering this...

wabi
 
My MS matches the description of the second one that wabi described. The previous owner said it had been verified that it was Infi. Still wondering, how many were made?

John
 
John,
Jeez, at least we can account for two of them, what ever they are. What is interesting is that the two slotted screw knives when put together...at first glance they look the same..but they are decidedly different......

Enquiring minds want to know..........

wabi
 
I don't know about you guys, but...

I bought my Mean Street at the Blade Show in 1999/2000 (can't exactly remember which). At that time, all blades should have been INFI.

My Mean Street is smooth handled micarta with slotted screws and a perpendicular angle to the micarta ends. Coating is smooth. tang at the micarta is exposed. Butt and blade spine is coated.

Any further info is appreciated.

Andre, any insight?
Andrew?
Eric?
1whobuys?

Ed
 
Well, I'm no MS expert. Of the 4 I have one has the Slotted Screws and when I bought it (secondary market) I was told it was A2. Mine sounds almost identical to the second one Wabi describes.

What kind of sheath do you guys have with them ?
 
Eric,
Thank you for the reply.
Both of my slotted MS are in kydex. Do you need more specific details?

wabi
 
Eric,

My sheath is a kydex clamshell with screwed on belt clip. I can send a pic Tuesday night when I get to work and have access to a digital camera, if it'll help.

Ed
 
Is there a performance difference between A2 and INFI?

What kind of use do they stand up to? Are they easy to sharpen? How long do they hold an edge? Can you tell what steel they are made of from using them? I don't know if I could tell the difference, but it sure would be a fun experiment!

I sure can't tell any performance difference between INFI and the M-INFI the basics are made from so I'm curious to hear if A2 Busses are in the same class performance wise.
 
Don't understand this description:

...with a forward angulation or cant to the micarta at the butt end of it rather than coming out at an almost right angle from the butt.

I have one slotted with the blade spine coated, and the rest (of the tang edge) satin buffed.

Is there a way to visually identify the INFI gems?

Can somebody with a verified piece post pics?

Is it time to go to bed yet??
 
It would be good to get the difinitive answer to this question---I, too, have a slotted screw handle MS that begs the question "A2 or INFI?" My guess is we have to send them back to determine the answer. Do tell me if there is some other way!
 
Thatmguy:
A picture is worth a thousand words, but I dont have one to compare and contrast my 2 slot screw MS's.
The micarta slabs are of different thicknesses and geometry. One the MS which is supposedly Infi, the micarta slab is thicker than the other one (presumably A2). On the Infi knife, the micarta is thicker and the micarta is cut at an angle. Instead of having a near 90 degree angle where the knife butt end meets the end of the micarta slab the end of the micarta is cut at a slant (the forward cant) making for a transition as the micarta goes to metal (vs micarta butt end just being sliced off.
i will just have to find a way to take and attach a picture, for I am not a technical writer.
i hope this shed a dim ray of light on describing the difference in the knives.

wabi
 
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