Elmax vs. INFI?

clampdaddy

clampdaddy

Joined
Aug 31, 2013
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Well, since I have scored my first piece of Busse Elmax I'm curious. How does its edge retention compare to INFI? I'm not talking chopping up cinder blocks or anything. I'm thinking more along the lines of regular hunting knife type use.
 
As I understand it, elmax makes a great choice for such work.

Ymmv, I too just scored my first elmax, so I have no first hand experience. Numerous others have said it makes good slicers, so I'm only guessing based on that
 
Couple hunting seasons back the boys from Wauseon bagged a few deer and as I recall they were prototyping the Elmax Steak Knife. Garth was on the 10th or 12th deer and claiming the edge was still razor sharp. I believe the Elmax slicers (I have a couple like 'em alot) will fit the bill for hunting purposes...:thumbup:
 
Based on my experience with ZT and Spyderco folders, Elmax should be great as a hunting/skinning knife, keeps a great edge and I never had trouble with it rusting in the PNW
 
Elmax is similar to s30v. It has better edge retention, but less toughness than Infi. Obviously, as a stainless steel, it is more corrosion resistant.
 
i have a couple elmax blades-- one zt0560 and a bark river. the edge retention seems great for them as compared to say s30v. i don't have any INFI yet as the SHe was just ordered recently.

from what i know about elmax and what i have heard about INFI from well-informed folks here, i would venture a guess and say that elmax may win in edge holding, and INFI would easily win for toughness and strength. Also, elmax can be considered stainless while INFI does not meet the accepted chromium quota to be considered stainless. it is semi-stainless though in the sense that it won't rust away like unprotected 1095 for example.
 
I never really jumped on the Elmax train. The first time having it was on a ZT 551 and I could not get that knife to take an edge.
 
Is there any reason why elmax blades are thin? The company that makes the steel seems to claim that at 59HRC its pretty tough steel so it should do quite well as a non-slicer too.
 
I have a max warden and a steak knife in elmax. We use both almost daily for cooking. I got a 17 dps on the warden and it has held it for weeks. I have used a strop or sharpening rod but that's it. I probably sharpen them once every other Month with a diamond stone. The steel seems to take a few hours even with a coarse stone. My elmax Busse's are some tough blades!
 
Elmax
Edge holding: ★★★★
Toughness: ★★★
Corrosion resistance: ★★★★★
Ease of sharpening: ★★★

INFI
Edge holding: ★★★
Toughness: ★★★★★++
Corrosion resistance: ★★★
Ease of sharpening: ★★★★★
 
That seems about right Shqxk,,
I've always been amazed at how easily INFI will take an edge and keep it as well.
 
I've got several ZT knives in ELMAX. The first one, a ... 560(?) ... The big one with bearing axis... Didn't seem, to me, to hold an edge very well. Would get SHARP, but not keep it well. The next one I got (reluctantly) because the steel was acceptable, but the design was great. That one impressed the heck out of me with its ability to take a razor edge and keep it well through quite aggressive cutting media. Since that second one, I e bought a few more, all of which take and hold a stellar edge. I would no longer hesitate to buy ELMAX. I won't say it's my favorite (that goes to M390 for folders), but it is easily in second or third place. It is good stuff.
 
The Elmax steak knife has become my go to knife for everything, except chopping. Honestly, the only small Busse knives I will be purchasing in the future must be made out of Elmax, the steel just stays sharp.

I secretly believe the Busse folder will be Elmax.
 
rockspyder said:
I've got several ZT knives in ELMAX. The first one, a ... 560(?) ... The big one with bearing axis... Didn't seem, to me, to hold an edge very well. Would get SHARP, but not keep it well. The next one I got (reluctantly) because the steel was acceptable, but the design was great. That one impressed the heck out of me with its ability to take a razor edge and keep it well through quite aggressive cutting media. Since that second one, I e bought a few more, all of which take and hold a stellar edge. I would no longer hesitate to buy ELMAX. I won't say it's my favorite (that goes to M390 for folders), but it is easily in second or third place. It is good stuff.
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it could be, depending when you got the 0560, it was an issue of a flawed heat-treat. I remember that zt had a problem with that for some of their earlier production runs. It seems to be resolved because I have one bought about a year ago and it holds its edge nicely. just food for thought
 
Ratman79 said:
it could be, depending when you got the 0560, it was an issue of a flawed heat-treat. I remember that zt had a problem with that for some of their earlier production runs... ...just food for thought
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I think that is exactly the case, Ratman. I just don't know how to go about sending it back and saying, "Hey, I think you screwed up the heat treat of this blade. Can I get a different one?"

And now that they shuttered their bboard on here, I can't just casually ask about heat treat problems and if my SerNo falls in that range. Although, maybe I could search archives and find out if a SerNo range has ever been posted and see if mine falls in that range...
 
The Busse Elmax blades are all thin--around .09 or so. What would happen if Busse made an Elmax blade at, say, .15 (like some other makers)? Has a thicker Busse Elmax blade ever been discussed? Or are thicker blades solely the realm of INFI and there would be no need for an Elmax blade that thick in the line-up? Just wondering...
 
knifewing said:
The Busse Elmax blades are all thin--around .09 or so. What would happen if Busse made an Elmax blade at, say, .15 (like some other makers)? Has a thicker Busse Elmax blade ever been discussed? Or are thicker blades solely the realm of INFI and there would be no need for an Elmax blade that thick in the line-up? Just wondering...
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I reckon a fatter or even a fat elmax blade would be cool, but it would be rather brittle.
 
RobStanley said:
I reckon a fatter or even a fat elmax blade would be cool, but it would be rather brittle.
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Yeah, take away the thinnes and you loose the flex and then you go SNAP!

Lets face it is not tough. This is a good descriptor except for toughness. Stainless steels with lots of carbon are very low in toughness. The lower carbon stainless steels are tougher than the high carbon stainless steels. Busse HT may make it tougher than other Elmax but with 1.7$ Carbon and 18% Chrome it will be far from tough. 440A/B and D2 will be tougher and they are not tough. So I dropped it to two stars.

shqxk said:
Elmax
Edge holding: ★★★★
Toughness: ★★
Corrosion resistance: ★★★★★
Ease of sharpening: ★★★

INFI
Edge holding: ★★★
Toughness: ★★★★★++
Corrosion resistance: ★★★
Ease of sharpening: ★★★★★
Click to expand...
 
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