If you get a Busse you will also pay the price for one (usually.) My understanding is the Busse line (infi steel) goes through quite a bit of attention to heat treat and other which takes longer, requires more work, and raises the price considerably.
No correct me if I am wrong but for a larger blade isn't it more time consuming and costly (quality control, skills used, amount of rejects etc..) to manufacture a blade that has the properties of toughness, resistance to breakage, and edge retention (hardness) properly balanced (perhaps even differential heat treatment.) I am under the impression this requires quite a bit of attention during manufacture.
I don't know what kind of steel this fusion line is made of but I remember some of the older SOG knives were made of AUS6A which if someone can correct me if I am wrong had less edge retention but was tougher. I would rather give up some edge retention for a tougher, stronger outdoor knife that you could baton with.
Don't get me wrong I don't think this was abuse and I don't think that kind of a knife should be marketed as military knife by a reputable company. I would rather they market a knife that sacrifices edge retention (hardness) using low cost manufacturing (for stainless you don't get the best of both unless you pay for it) so that the knife can take more abuse than try to satisfy the masses by cheaply mass producing a knife that has good edge retention at the cost of toughness (a hard brittle knife) and is full of nasty surprises.
I think part of the problem is the demand that every knife have a fantastic edge holding capability but nobody wants to pay full price. Cutting corners by sacrificing toughness for edge retention might work well in little knives that are not expected to be subjected to much stress (cutting only) but the big blades that are supposed to be tougher will hold a great edge but snap like glass at the slightest amount stress (chopping, batoning, prying, dropping, etc..)
Of course with carbon steel all of this would be moot. Why don't they (SOG) use good old cheap carbon steel which is known to be easy and economical to get right, is tough as nails, and holds an edge well. I don't know I guess everyone wants stainless ?
I don't find a problem with the cheaper steel if is used in a knife (perhaps a small knife) where it is not an issue.
No correct me if I am wrong but for a larger blade isn't it more time consuming and costly (quality control, skills used, amount of rejects etc..) to manufacture a blade that has the properties of toughness, resistance to breakage, and edge retention (hardness) properly balanced (perhaps even differential heat treatment.) I am under the impression this requires quite a bit of attention during manufacture.
I don't know what kind of steel this fusion line is made of but I remember some of the older SOG knives were made of AUS6A which if someone can correct me if I am wrong had less edge retention but was tougher. I would rather give up some edge retention for a tougher, stronger outdoor knife that you could baton with.
Don't get me wrong I don't think this was abuse and I don't think that kind of a knife should be marketed as military knife by a reputable company. I would rather they market a knife that sacrifices edge retention (hardness) using low cost manufacturing (for stainless you don't get the best of both unless you pay for it) so that the knife can take more abuse than try to satisfy the masses by cheaply mass producing a knife that has good edge retention at the cost of toughness (a hard brittle knife) and is full of nasty surprises.
I think part of the problem is the demand that every knife have a fantastic edge holding capability but nobody wants to pay full price. Cutting corners by sacrificing toughness for edge retention might work well in little knives that are not expected to be subjected to much stress (cutting only) but the big blades that are supposed to be tougher will hold a great edge but snap like glass at the slightest amount stress (chopping, batoning, prying, dropping, etc..)
Of course with carbon steel all of this would be moot. Why don't they (SOG) use good old cheap carbon steel which is known to be easy and economical to get right, is tough as nails, and holds an edge well. I don't know I guess everyone wants stainless ?
I don't find a problem with the cheaper steel if is used in a knife (perhaps a small knife) where it is not an issue.