Better all around steel? INFI vs. 1095

can u elaborate on that? please? i have been trying to find balance opinions and most seem to think that the infi trumps the 1095. i would like to know more
 
d.weglarz13 said:
can u elaborate on that? please? i have been trying to find balance opinions and most seem to think that the infi trumps the 1095. i would like to know more
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Two factors play into sharpness 1) grain size of the steel, the finer the grain the sharper the edge. 2) You
 
infi can outperform 1095 in most situations . there are at least 2 sources that tweak 1095 to 66 rr.i have no idea how they do it , supposedly its not brittle at that high hardness. one of the companys is sniper blades, this folder has a hamon which usually indicates a forged blade. i read the cutting tests & was really impressed. there was a thread posted awhile back with a pic awhile back. phillip [Cotdt] knows something of the process but may not care to devulge this info.if a company could process 1095 in mass this way & not too expensive we could all have a super blade at a reasonable price.
 
flatgrinder said:
IMHO, for the same knife with the same edge geometry, properly heat treated 1095 is sharper.
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I disagree, totally. My Busse blades are just as sharp as my RC blades, my Busse blades are also tougher and hold an edge better.

INFI is the best steel i've ever used for a hard use knife, the edge holds wonderfully, I've yet to rust any and it's the toughest stuff i've ever used. I've done some crazy things with INFI and it keeps coming back for more.

1095 is good steel too, and the way RC HTs it makes it great. It holds an edge well, takes a pretty keen edge as well. BUT a bare blade rusts if i'm looking at it (I really don't care at all) and it's simply not as strong as INFI. My 1095 knives don't hold an edge quite as long as INFI and I have damaged 1095 pretty badly doing stupid things with it, while the worst i've done to INFI (even ground to a keen edge) is put a roll or two in it that come out easily against a screwdriver.
 
d.weglarz13 said:
Opinions/feelings? What can take a sharper edge? Pros,cons? thanks
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I think overall, INFI's better. The problem with comparing the 2 steels is that you have one done a certain way (INFI), which I believe is a combination of a specific heat treat along with components that are in the steel vs a steel (1095) that varies from maker to maker (Production, semi-custom, or custom).

I'd imagine 1095 at the higher end of its hardness scale may hold its edge better than INFI, but will then probably give up its toughness. INFI seems to be the best combination of edge holding & toughness than any other steel. I say seems, because M4 seems to be excellent, too, but we're talking knives in INFI vs 1095.

So, the easy answer would be...INFI. However, for the $, you can probably get 2-3 different knives in 1095 that could cover a wider array of needs (ie: Becker chopper & a couple RCs or something along those lines) for the price of a med. INFI blade.
 
flatgrinder said:
IMHO, for the same knife with the same edge geometry, properly heat treated 1095 is sharper.
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Not so sure what would properly heat treated constitutes here. For large knives it's lower HRC, and for small knives as it was mentioned here few times it can go to 66HRC.

Anyway, it takes very serious sharpening skills and very high grit abrasives to get to the level when the steel composition will matter.
 
My tops 1095 holds a working edge longer than a friend of
mines busse does. Mine will cut your flesh real nice without really feeling it at first yet his seems stupid sharp some times, mind you he's using some $100 dollar gadget n stones and spends the whole weekends out worrying. I use a 20 dollar flexxx strop that was used before I aquired it. Either one will most likely be able to outwork the user so in the end it comes down to.... You wanna spend 100-200 or 600-1000. Hmmmm. :P just my 2 cents.
 
Sharp_Canadian said:
My tops 1095 holds a working edge longer than a friend of
mines busse does. Mine will cut your flesh real nice without really feeling it at first yet his seems stupid sharp some times, mind you he's using some $100 dollar gadget n stones and spends the whole weekends out worrying. I use a 20 dollar flexxx strop that was used before I aquired it. Either one will most likely be able to outwork the user so in the end it comes down to.... You wanna spend 100-200 or 600-1000. Hmmmm. :P just my 2 cents.
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I don't know how you came to experience that!!?? I TOTALLY disagree.. when I got into knives it was Tops all the way..had 6 tops at that point and 2 esee blades in 1095.. when I went out on a limb an got a sr101 swamp rat I was blown away how much tougher the sr101 was..I mean it was obvious..since then I've acquired 5 INFI blades.. they are like the sr101 but stain resistant.. I still have 3 tops knives and the heavy beatings I give my Busse's dent and chip the hell out of the 1095.. so no, I don't feel it's simply a matter of spending 200 or 500.. anyone, go get a tops and a Busse and beat the hell out of them..and see what you see..
 
and also, your friend having all that sharpening equipment with him is pretty unnecessary.. one thing I love most about infi.. in the field, a simple strop motion on a smooth steel like a screw driver or anything..and its back to sharp.when my 1095 chips out I gotta go home and remove material on a stone to bring it back..
 
The last post before you rob was a few years ago.
 
Robdude, you are responding to a post from 3 years ago, on a 7 year old thread?
 
Depending on the application... large knife for chopping? Perhaps a slightly lower rc of 58 or 57 is beneficial. Small skinner where impacts are less an issue... up the rc.
jdm61 said:
Arguably SHOULD be taken to 60+
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Both are good steel and has it own advantage and disadvantage.

1095 will hold an edge better than INFI but will rust if you look at it wrong.

INFI is a much much tougher steel with some rust resistance but it also has a weak point as Jerry Busse has stated that it not very suit for thin cross section. You won't see any INFI blade with thin geometry like their Elmax or SR101 coming out from Busse-kin.

1095 is another story. While it doesn't has the ultra-toughness of INFI neither any corrosion resistance but it one of the steel that will hold up a very acute geometry like most low alloy high carbon steel.

Keep in mind that 1095 is very shallow hardening steel which require very fast quench and production company will have a hard time getting good performance out of this kind of steel unlike an air hardening type one.

Proper HT 1095 has as-quenched hardness of 65+HRC, tempered it down to 60HRC and it still plenty tough for even a chopper.
 
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shqxk said:
Both are good steel and has it own advantage and disadvantage.

1095 will hold an edge better than INFI but will rust if you look at it wrong.

INFI is a much much tougher steel with some rust resistance but it also has a weak point as Jerry Busse has stated that it not very suit for thin cross section. You won't see any INFI blade with thin geometry like their Elmax or SR101 coming out from Busse-kin.

1095 is another story. While it doesn't has the ultra-toughness of INFI neither any corrosion resistance but it one of the steel that will hold up a very acute geometry like most low alloy high carbon steel.

Keep in mind that 1095 is very shallow hardening steel which require very fast quench and production company will have a hard time getting good performance out of this kind of steel unlike an air hardening type one.

Proper HT 1095 has as-quenched hardness of 65+HRC, tempered it down to 60HRC and it still plenty tough for even a chopper.
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really, I'm just not seeing it.. years of beating the blades I mentioned and I have never seen 1095 hold a candle to my infi beater.., that said the use I put blades through is impact stress in knarly wood...not "slice cardboard" stress..
 
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