A2 or INFI Which is ....

Tony G

Tony G

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A2 or INFI Which is it?

Ok now that you are here.....:D

I have an older Busse knife with the smooth micarta slabs like you would see on a SHBA and I'm trying to figure out if it is INFI.

It is blued on the spine between the slabs but the steel which would make me think it is INFI but is not magnetic like my Bark River A2s. :confused: :confused: The Bark River knives will pick up and hold a large safty pin.

What do you all have to say…. INFI or A2? I can’t post pics at the moment and I don’t know why they would help.

Thanks for your input.
 
A certain HOG with a large collection of A2 and INFI blades taught me to use a gun bluing pen, like those from Birchwood & Casey.

Blue just a small inconspicuous spot where you can polish it out. A2 will take a blue, and it takes considerable polishing (with something like Flitz metal polish and a cotton swab) to get it back to shiny. INFI, on the other hand, does not take a blue as easily, and you can wipe the bluing off without much effort.
 
We need pics!!! :D :D :D

no really... from what I know, INFI wont hole the bluing... and A2 will. So if the tang is blued, then it is most likely A2.


But... we still need pics!!! ;)
 
If the bare steel takes blueing then it is A2. INFI will not easily blue.

Ban
 
Tony G said:
A2 or INFI Which is it?

Ok now that you are here.....:D

I have an older Busse knife with the smooth micarta slabs like you would see on a SHBA and I'm trying to figure out if it is INFI.

It is blued on the spine between the slabs but the steel which would make me think it is INFI but is not magnetic like my Bark River A2s. :confused: :confused: The Bark River knives will pick up and hold a large safty pin.

What do you all have to say…. INFI or A2? I can’t post pics at the moment and I don’t know why they would help.

Thanks for your input.
Click to expand...

Blue = A2

INFI doesn't take cold blue very well, if at all. Looks like I was late to the party. :D At least you got your answer Tony.
 
Progunner said:
Blue = A2

INFI doesn't take cold blue very well, if at all. Looks like I was late to the party. :D At least you got your answer Tony.
Click to expand...


But what if teh knife just sat in a safe for years and not handled much... would the blue still be gone?

I'm thinking it is A2 but just want to be sure for no good reason.....
 
Most if not all of the smooth micarta MS with slotted or smooth fasteners are A2. I think that the MS have already gone to INFI by the time they used the flared rivets.

If it was blued and stored away for 10 plus years it would still come out blue. Unless of course that blue was replaced with rust ;)
 
Tony G said:
But what if the knife just sat in a safe for years and not handled much... would the blue still be gone?
Click to expand...

Same as with a blued gun, the blue would still be there, as long as the gun was kept dry and (perhaps) periodically oiled.

FYI, I mentioned Flitz in a previous post. If you *should* happen to experience any rust on a blued (or otherwise) blade, Flitz used judiciously is the best stuff out there for removal.
 
Mean Streets without hollow rivets are A2. If it has solid fasteners, slotted or smooth, it is A2. As far as I'm concerned, I flat out really like the A2 Mean Streets. They are very interesting. I've yet to see two that were alike. The micarta is usually the biggest difference. The shape, the pattern, the thickness, it's all different. The steel/blades are different if you look close enough. The best way to see this is at the talon hole. The grind marks are typically very different on each one. And my favorite part...is the thickness! I've seen some fatties that would make a HOGFSH blush! The best example of this was one I traded to Leatherman (got some badass leather for it). That Mean Street was screamin FAT! The steel was Fat and the Micarta was just as Fat! Made for a very small stout freakingawesome knife. Yeah, there's alot to be said about the A2 Busses....there's so much that can be done with them...blued, coated, DC, even satin is possible. Very cool part of Jerry's history! Good luck on your collection Tony, I'd liked to see the end result someday!
 
This one is kind of thin for the time about .23. I wish it was a user:o. But this one is by far the most mint I have ever seen.... If I didn't know it was an old knife I's say it was brand new.

I like A2 a whole bunch; but then because I had used Bark Rivers so much before I knew about Busse I have used A2 a lot more and know it better.

I really like to know my users. Even though I believe INFI is a better steel I just know my old knives so well that I have a hard time leaving them home when I go where know I'll need them. But that isn't about the steel it is about blade shape, design and size.

I have a very interesting MS on the way from a super cool:cool: hog that made it available to me:thumbup:. So if you ever are going to be near San Francisco let me know and I'll put all of them in the car and meet you. I often work just south of the airport.

I have some that I have agreed not to post pics of for a while or I'd post them.

Tony G


Solstice said:
Mean Streets without hollow rivets are A2. If it has solid fasteners, slotted or smooth, it is A2. As far as I'm concerned, I flat out really like the A2 Mean Streets. They are very interesting. I've yet to see two that were alike. The micarta is usually the biggest difference. The shape, the pattern, the thickness, it's all different. The steel/blades are different if you look close enough. The best way to see this is at the talon hole. The grind marks are typically very different on each one. And my favorite part...is the thickness! I've seen some fatties that would make a HOGFSH blush! The best example of this was one I traded to Leatherman (got some badass leather for it). That Mean Street was screamin FAT! The steel was Fat and the Micarta was just as Fat! Made for a very small stout freakingawesome knife. Yeah, there's alot to be said about the A2 Busses....there's so much that can be done with them...blued, coated, DC, even satin is possible. Very cool part of Jerry's history! Good luck on your collection Tony, I'd liked to see the end result someday!
Click to expand...
 
Tony G said:

So if you ever are going to be near San Francisco let me know and I'll put all of them in the car and meet you. I often work just south of the airport.


Tony G
Click to expand...


WOW, you already HOGGED so many that you can't carry the weight on your bike? :thumbup::cool:
 
If it has a blued back spine it will be A2.
 
Cobalt said:
no D2, only A2 and INFI. I take it, it is a smooth or slotted bolt knife??
Click to expand...


you still have not said if it is smooth bolt, slotted screw or hollow rivet? Smooth bolt most definitely A2, Slotted bolt most likely A2, hollow rivet=INFI
 
Prolly A2

For the Record how ever, INFI Mean Streets were first available Special order from at least the first week of 1999, the very first Busse knife made with the Hole type handle fasteners was sold at the Y2K preparedness show in Las Vegas 1999(That's where my older son purchased it, a Badger Attack)

I became a dealer for Busse knives early in 2000, all of the first few orders of Mean Streets were INFI and had Slotted Handle type fasteners, so the knives do exist in that particular configuration.
 
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