Identify an INFI SHSH

knife hunter

knife hunter

"Die Hard Hog" Moderator & Dealer
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Can you older Hogs help me out?


I am trying to determine if either of the two on the right are infi?

the center one is .300 aproximately

one one right is .295 ish


thanks in advance

shsh001.jpg


shsh002.jpg
 
Last edited:
Mulder said:
Probably both are.
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please elaborate.

THey dont have to have tube fasteners to be infi?


I do see what looks like dimples under the coat near slabs and choil. Sorry battery is dead and waiting to get more close ups
 
Of the few SHSH's I've seen those with grooved micarta handles were all INFI.
It seems that those with smooth micarta handles and slotted fasteners can be A2 or INFI and it's a 50/50 chance but if you take what Chozen Frozen said in another thread about SHBA's and those with slotted fasteners were INFI then I'm pretty sure the 2 SHSH's you have will be INFI.

piglet
 
Mulder said:
Of the few SHSH's I've seen those with grooved micarta handles were all INFI.
It seems that those with smooth micarta handles and slotted fasteners can be A2 or INFI and it's a 50/50 chance but if you take what Chozen Frozen said in another thread about SHBA's and those with slotted fasteners were INFI then I'm pretty sure the 2 SHSH's you have will be INFI.

piglet
Click to expand...


Well, I know the one on the left for sure is A2! I would guess the one on the right would be INFI and probably the middle one also like Dave said. One test would be to put some cold bluing on the sharpened edge, if it discolors it (absorbed) then it is A2, if it is repelled, it is most likely is INFI.

You can always try and see if they will cut 3000 pieces of rope and still shave!!!! :eek:
 
The answers that Dave gave you are about as good as you are going to get.

When I started getting into older SH Busse knives it was always a question for me if they were INFI or not. There are many guys with good information like Dave, Ducci, Papa and Cobalt .... But no one is going to be able to say that those knives 100% are INFI.

What CF had said about the screws was kind of a shock to me, in that no one seemed to have known before. I have no reason to doubt him and based on what he said those should be INFI.

The funny thing about fasteners is that any older A2 shsh that went in to be refinished or otherwise worked on (and the slabs had to come off) came out of the shop with tube fasteners. So there are some shsh's with tube fasteners that will be A2.

So I wonder if a knife that was a smooth bolt A2 would have been changed to slotted screws if it was sent back to be worked on while Busse was doing slotted screws.

So like Dave said based on what CF said then those are likely to be INFI unless they had been reworked at some time..

But I have come to the point that I don't care if the knife is A2 or INFI as long as Busse made the knife. Jerry once said that it was like baking a cake. The knife isn't tough because of the ingredients the knife is tough because of how he cooked it. But INFI does "cook" better in the right hands.

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I'd put my money on the right one being INFI for sure and probably the one in the middle like the more knowlegeble HOGS said before me. If you don't want to do the blueing trick, try sending it in to Busse. Jerry will tell you for sure. He offered the same to me on a SHBM that I wasn't sure was a 1/300 or CG heat treat.
 
Well Ducci seems to know for sure that the center one is A2, so that solves that. The right one should be INFI based on the handles which were the handles used during the progression from bolts to tubes. So it is a later model slotted bolt and most likely INFI. Do not use Dimples as a factor for INFI since it has nothing to do with that.
 
Very informative and very much appreciated:thumbup:






I tip my hat to all:cool:
 
Cobalt said:
Well Ducci seems to know for sure that the left one is A2, so that solves that. The right one should be INFI based on the handles which were the handles used during the progression from bolts to tubes. So it is a later model slotted bolt and most likely INFI. Do not use Dimples as a factor for INFI since it has nothing to do with that.
Click to expand...


There I fixed it.

The thing that seems funny is that there are a lot of the older straight handle knives, be it MS, SHBA, SHSHII, or SHBM that have bead blasted spines on top and the bottom of the handles. It would seem to me that they old enough by now that there would be some discoloration/slight corrosion after all this time and handling if they were A2. I have heard rumors that these knives might be made from a development formula of INFI, who knows for sure? ..........................Only Jerry! :eek:

Like Tony and Cobalt have said, I don't really care if they are A2 or INFI, they are worth the same to me. And to me, that means they are the best! :D


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randucci said:
Like Tony and Cobalt have said, I don't really care if they are A2 or INFI, they are worth the same to me. And to me, that means they are the best! :D


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Click to expand...

I love this one and it isn't A2 or INFI :thumbup: :cool:

Thanks to the guy that helped me get it. It just fits my hand so well :thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup:


2823675346_7d8055d826_o.jpg
 
Like your photo's, this one (.30w) shows zero discoloration or anything on the edge or spine. I know it's relatively old but it's been handled a lot and not really cleaned or otherwise protected. It does show some dimpling under the paint but I don’t know whether that is any indication of the type of steel used.


Busse5.jpg
 
I used to send in tagged and numbered slotted screw Busse knives 10 to 15 at a time to get sharpened and to identify A-2 and INFI.

Still the best way, Jerry will look at the sparks and He will know.
 
Yup, sharpen a few of each on a #60 grit belt and you too will prolly figure how to tell.
 
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