Any other steel even come close to INFI?

SkagSig40

SkagSig40

Joined
Feb 1, 2001
Messages
2,671
I own a SHII in A-2 and I don't think I've seen any knives close to that in terms of edge holding.I still don't own an INFI blade but Pondering a NO or a BM-E. So what about INFI? Has any of you guys seen or used any other steel that can compeet with INFI in any catagory...edge holding, toughness, impact resistance,etc. I have used several knives in 5160 that don't hold an edge as long but are extreamly tough. What about L-6 I hear that is an extream steel. Any stainless...S30V?
What is everyones tried an true favorites?

From what I have heard and read on INFI it is the best period!!! I have read a few posts and I won't say where to avoid some folks getting mad but they compair INFI to ATS-34 and some say ATS-34 has an edge on INFI.:confused: :D From what I know about INFI this can't be realistic.

So what do you guys think and like with all catgories on the table!:)

P.S. When I got my steelheartII in 1996 I could have gotten an American Kensi(sp)at the same time. I didn't think I could afford at the time...what a mistake!!!:( Ohwell!!:)
 
So much of what gives a high-performance steel its edge-holding and extreme toughness capabilities is the heat treating process.

I'm not sure what the heat treating process is for INFI, as that just appears to be an unusual steel in all respects. But there is a certain company out there that heat treats their ATS-34 to the point that it gets 101% of the full potential from the steel. They are not typical ATS-34 blades, in other words.
 
Komondor is correct.

There are ways to heat treat steel, and there are ways to heat treat steel! ...

There are those known (and that I have read about) that are excellent at this and could make ATS34 or any steel outdo anything else! It's finding the right balance that is the trick.

I will let you know my thoughts on Infi when I abuse my incoming NO! Down-Under style...;)
 
Originally posted by SkagSig40
I have read a few posts and I won't say where to avoid some folks getting mad but they compair INFI to ATS-34 and some say ATS-34 has an edge on INFI.:confused: :D From what I know about INFI this can't be realistic.
Click to expand...
Some folks have vivid imaginations. Some are just ignorant. I like Striders, and would like to buy another one, but I'm waiting to see if they switch over to S30V, which I'd like to try, and to see what Busse replaces the Badger with (guess I'll get to handle both at Blade Show).
The one Strider I've owned was in ATS-34...it was strong. Striders are alot like Busses in that you get this incredible feeling of confidence just holding either one. I didn't hesitate to beat on it, pry with it, etc. I loved the knife, but have no illusions about it being some super version of ATS-34.
It chipped where INFI would have rolled (knocked it off a shelf 6' high onto a concrete floor and chipped out an inch or so of edge, for instance), and didn't hold an edge any better than Benchmade's ATS-34 (I was disappointed in this respect). No surprises, ATS-34 is good steel, but it doesn't compare to INFI.

As far as other steels competing with INFI... I bet both of my 420V folders are more stainless and will hold an edge longer:p Sure wouldn't want to chop with those knives/steels, though. They might be better in certain categories, but I don't know of anything that is a better all-around steel than INFI. It's resistance to damage, and ease of repairing that damage, along with it's other qualities make an impressive package.

Unfortunately, most knives aren't available in INFI, and Busse's current lineup leaves me hanging, since the E handles don't fit me well:(

I do want to try out 3V and S30V, and will hopefully get a medium fixed blade in S30V, and a big one in 3V (since I don't see getting a Strider MT or a Rinaldi Armageddon in INFI:().
 
LOL..

I have some Kryptonite in the back shed (never did like that superman dude anyhoo). When my busse's arrive, I will see how the 'infi' fairs against it.:D
 
Owen, If I remember right didn't INFI cut something like 1,200 cuts in 1 inch manella rope and still shave? 420V can do that?
 
2771 before they ran out of rope.


"How many cuts did we get?
2,771!
And we only stopped there because we ran out of rope!

After the 2,000th cut I was still able to shave my arm! At the 2,500 mark it lost the ability to shave but still sliced through paper really well."
 
Oh my gosh!!!! 2,700 plus cuts!!!!:eek: I don't think anything will ever beat that! What does the ABS think of this?

As soon as my tax refund get's here I'm getting that BM-E!!!:)
 
That was an awesome demonstration of INFI. I still remember people posting like mad about it the night after it occured. If memory serves me I think it was at one of the Blade shows?

To be honest I don't know of any steels that can compare to INFI. Not only is it more durable than anything I've ever seen, but it is EXTREMELY user servicable...and if I can do it ANYONE can do it :) Usually you'll never find a balance of those two qualities. It nice to finally be able to truly service my blaes without sending them back to the factory.
 
So far....
No Contenders for the Championship Spot; it is Still Secured by INFI Steel by Busse Combat Knife Company.
The new CPM Steels by Crucible ARE good Steels.
The High Carbon Tool Steels ARE good Steels.
Comparing just those two categories is difficult, for they perform differently in potential Strength (resistance to bending), Toughness (resistance to breakage), wear Resistance, correlated to edge holding; hardness (resistance to indentation), corrosion resistance, impact toughness, lateral strength, & more.
CPMs may be more corrosion resistant than INFI, on paper, but practically, i can't prove it. Edge holding, demonstrated by MODIFIED INFI (only a carefully marked-out section of only TWO INCHES upon a Busse Basic Niner blade) proved 2771 cuts thru manila rope, full inch diameter; the only reason they stopped? Go ahead & ask...
'Cuz they ran out of rope! There's only so much on a spool, y'know! :D
For everything we wish a blade to do, in all categories, INFI does more than "hold its own," it generally surpasses its competitors.
Perhaps in a category or two, such as corrosion resistance, Talonite, Stellite, Boye Dendritic Cobalt will surpass INFI: but look at the tradeoffs: Talonite will chip or roll if used to open boxes! (Staples=ouch!) Not so, with INFI.
Supracor Steel with leave ALL others behind in edge holding, bar none! 87% of tungsten carbide hardness, yet don't drop it! it's not so tough. Same (lack of toughness) with CPM-420V mentioned earlier: not so tough; don't pry with it, don't stress it laterally!
So as Owen points out, no better all-around has come around...
INFI has THE Best Blend of qualities i have personally seen; been around knife-blades for 30+ years, pretty intensely. Doesn't mean i've seen it all, nor done it all, just means i can't find anything "better" nor even approaching INFI capabilities.
Jerry Busse himself has stated that if something comes out that out-performs INFI, he would use that; very wise man. Yet he is in a bit of a quandry, now isn't he? He HAS the BEST steel; he makes the claims far UNDER what the stuff can do; yet SO MUCH HYPE is "out there" that pretends to be able to "outperform all others" (Cold Steel comes to mind; & i don't feel in any way bashful about pointing them out, since they unashamedly print their hype in their CURRENT catalogs, STILL!!! After having been proved wrong... Tsk, tsk. Camillus makes their knives, anyway, what whattup wit dat? :confused: ...) that he merely appears to be "one of the others" to some, who don't take the time to try them for themselves.
So Jerry's quandry? He's got the Best, he sells it, & b'cuz the hype-artists say almost what he does, people cannot tell the dif~ without experiential knowledge of Busse products. (Or a good course in LOGIC would help see thru others' bull! Ha, Ha! )
Other folks sell knives, too; and that's great. There's plenty of market among all of us, that's for sure. But to sell them, do they have to say: Ours is the BEST steel? (When its not?)
i just have a problem with that...

As for heat treat: Busse does OVER EIGHTY HOURS of heat treat on each blade! :eek: This includes DEEP Cryogenic to -312^F for about 68 of those hours, if you count the lowering & raising times of ten hours each: slow rates. not a "quick dip" as some... then it's triple tempering beyond the cryo~
Any takers on that? i don't think so....
Others MAY do cryo, but they do overnight stuff, with sudden plunges into negative temps, not 2 plus days of it, slowly molding the martensitic structure, easing it into a chillin' placement...

Also, Busse guarantees their product.
That's standing behind what they provide.
That's sound business, & trusting to the product's capability, so the customer can feel they are really getting what they paid for.
It's integrity, & honesty, not bravado & mush...

Sorry for the rambling, but it's worthy rambling! imho ;)
Nuclear Powered,
Climber Clif

PS Oh, one more rambling note: i read an owner of a competitor to a Busse knife, used his to anchor a "climbing hold" by hammering it into a rock face-crack. That's nice. :)
But it doesn't prove Jack Squat. Why? Well....
Do you know what we USUALLY use for those functions? Hmmm?
Soft Steel, or hard ALUMINUM climbing gear; to conform to the rock, & take the jolt of a falling body. That is one expensive piton to use a $300+ knife for that, when a $5 Hexentric Nut Stopper would do fine... Would i trust a Busse knife to "do" that? Uh,,, well of course it would do it... it isn't a big thing. Bragging about it, tho, now THAT'S big :rolleyes:
Whoo-boy.
OK, i'm done now.
 
1WB - Ha, Ha!
I wrote too much apparently: you beat me to the punch! (2771) When i started my monologue, ya hadn't posted yet!
Ha!
 
Good point on the edge-holding. My Busses have never been used for extensive cutting on "normal" materials, so I don't know firsthand. I perform less edge maintenance on my every day 420V folder than I have on the Busse blades I've owned, but the Busse blades have seen use that is far more damaging...stuff I would never dare use a 420V blade for, so it wasn't really a fair comparison. Come to think of it, my perception of the Strider's edgeholding mentioned above may have been off for the same reason, since it received the same kind of treatment.
 
As Cliff Stamp has said, INFI's true greatness comes from having wonderful performance in many fields. There are steels that surpass its performance in certain fields, but nothing that really comes close overall. Plus, while it is outperformed in certain fields, it is usually not by much. INFI rules!
 
Much of this really depends on what you intend to use the knife for and what your criteria for performance is. Withthat said, Busse's INFI really is the steel to beat. Wen you look at the variety of things we call upon our larger fixed blades to do, INFI is about it; there in nothing close.

ATS-34/CPM-154 are good steels and I, for one, really like A-2, but they just do not hold a candle to INFI overall. There are new wonder steels coming out, but I'll stick with INFI until convinced otherwise.
 
This reminds me of something Jerry told me a couple of weeks ago.

He said Busse Combat switched from ATS-34 in 1992. So if ATS-34 is so good(and easily cheaper than INFI) then why did Busse Combat stop using it 10 years ago. :D (Ok, I'll answer my own question, they stopped using it because it was...dare I say...Inferior)

I'm sure Jerry would love to use ATS-34 or some steel that is Cheaper than INFI but he doesn't. No other steel can meet the standards that Busse Combat sets for its knives.

Period end of Story...
 
I just typed a big, long reply about how I own lots of knives and use them all HARD, and still nothing can compare to my Busses... Then my computer took a big dump and screwed up the reply!!! :mad:

Anyway, here's the summary: For performance, edge holding, sharpenability, toughness, and sharpness INFI CAN NOT BE BEAT. period.

No other steel I have used (and I have used MANY others) can even come close to it.

INFI ROCKS!!!!! :D
 
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