How good is sr-101, really?

N

NuclearSwine

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Jun 12, 2015
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I love Busse knives and own 4, with a custom bun in the oven, I am wondering how well sr-101 stacks up to INFI before I go in on one or both of these new BG knives? Thanks y'all!
 
SR-101 frankly is a fantastic steel!!! It holds an edge beautifully cut like a razor and is a great steel all the way around not to mention the Busse company HT. Bro IMHO you will be far ahead of most of the competition that is out there. I love my INFI but the SR-101 is gnawing at it's heels. One of the other major factors is the simple fact of $$$. Steel function vs price /#, SR-101 is the best bang for the buck...
 
^What Russ said. It's hard to beat as a knife steel with anything but INFI.
 
I have literally had hundreds of Busse knives pass through my hands over the past 10 years. I currently only have two that are my keepers, but have twice that many Swamp Rats that are keepers. Considering that there have been many more models in INFI to come out over the past 10 years than SR-101 models, I think that says something awesome and telling about Swamp Rat knives. YMMV though.
 
Im sure this is covered somewhere, i cant search archives. I apologize.
Any thoughts how SR-101 vs S-30V or S35VN ?
Tougness ?
Edge holding ?
Sharpening ?
I know SR-101 isnt stainless.
I was all about those steels, before i got hooked on Busse's.... now if i could only
bring my self to beat on some of them....
 
I've got a few customs in s35vn and like it a lot, i've also got knives in sr101 and Infi. Toughness i'm sure that Infi is the toughest, Sr101 takes a finer edge but a very little, S35vn takes a edge like Sr101. I've beat the living crap out of all 3 and haven't had any issues at all, S35vn can chip a little easier, missed a swing and whacked a rock once. I like all 3 steels and all are far better than a lot of less expensive popular steels cough 1095 cough. Where Infi really shines is its ability to be tough, take a good edge and hold it and its very stain resistant. Sr101 will not fare as well. Other than that its kind of a toss up.

Price is where Sr101 gets my vote though, same busse warranty, fantastic ergo's, fit and finish, and outstanding designs. I can wipe it down with a bit of oil forever for the price difference.
 
Probably a stupid Question....
On a SR-101 coated blade, do you still wipe the very edge down with oil ?
 
No not often. Unless i've gotten it wet I pretty much just stick it back in the sheath and go on.
 
I've done a terrible job of cleaning and oiling my car knives, 1111, Mudd Mutt and KDSH. I inspected them yesterday and no rust. All three were taken on a canoeing trip in September and I forgot to clean them up. SR101 is good to go for sure.
 
TheMtnMan said:
Probably a stupid Question....
On a SR-101 coated blade, do you still wipe the very edge down with oil ?
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carbon knife and sword exists over 2K years , those served people well ,so do not over worry about rusting on SR101.

keep your SR101 blades dry and clean after use , rusting is not a big pro here.
 
If you do a search around the forums on custom 52100 knives and how good they are you will see that they don't take a back seat to anything. It is still one of the more popular hard use steels. Add to that an incredible differential HT from Busse and the difference in performance between SR101 and other super steels like INFI or cpm3V is negligible enough that you will not notice a difference. I believe in it enough that I cannot wait till Busse makes an ASHBM in it for dirt cheap, haha.
 
dingy said:
carbon knife and sword exists over 2K years , those served people well ,so do not over worry about rusting on SR101.

keep your SR101 blades dry and clean after use , rusting is not a big pro here.
Click to expand...

Just a pointer, 'pro' means positive or good, what you should have used is 'con' or typed a full word 'problem'
 
Jerry said recently that it's not exactly the same composition as 52100 (an element up, one down), so we can't take it as 52100, plus the fact of Busse HT

How good is it? You can baton through a log in the horizontal way :D
 
I only have a 1311 but I like it. It's very tough and as others have said it is a great bang for the buck. I have beat on my 1311 pretty hard and it smiles and asks for more. I forced a patina on it to help with corrosion because I stripped it and haven't had any issues with it. I do wash it and out a thin coat of frog lube on it after use normally but I have simply dried it off on some occasions without an issue. I still prefer infi because of its near stainless attributes. But I would take sr101 over other non stainless steels any day.
 
I've used the hell out of my old Battle Rats and Camp Tramp I've only every seen one that was rusty, when I purchased a stripped Camp tramp. It arrived orange with rust, so I'm not sure it got soaked in transport or where it was shipped from but I've used SR 101 here in brackish water with no rust issues as long as you put it away dry.
 
SR101 has never left me wanting. I have used darn near every steel out there and SR101 is one of the three I have settled on. I honestly don't think anyone would ever be disappointed by SR101 if they are used to INFI so long as they do some simple maintenance on the knife. I honestly prefer SR101 over INFI because I get all the performance at half the cost.
 
As a certified steel snob I agree with all the positive comments above. It's great stuff!
 
Firestrike said:
Pretty Damn Good. Far superior to most steels when it has the Busse HT.
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Speaking of the Busse HT--

I vaguely recall reading somewhere that Busse blades are cooked a bit longer than Rats or Dogs. Or did I just dream that? And if it's true, how much of a difference would it make if you're comparing a Busse SR-101 blade to a Rat or Dog?

Anyone?
Anyone?
 
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