Infi @ 60-62

Ive wondered about this as well, "what if they ran 4" and smaller blades at a higher rhc?"
My guess is its not as simple as, 'trade some edge retention for some toughness'
 
Ran harder, it would need replaced more frequently with warranty claims. Harder means more brittle, after all. Busse isnt in the business of replacing blades, so thats a no go.
 
The diffrernt between 58-60RC and 60-62RC would be very slightly for the same steel and I do believe that by increasing the hardness by 2HRC the toughness can be decrease significantly. So just like the above comment, softer steel is a much safer bet.
 
AndreLinoge said:
Ran harder, it would need replaced more frequently with warranty claims. Harder means more brittle, after all. Busse isnt in the business of replacing blades, so thats a no go.
Click to expand...
Normally I would agree, but a few of the earlier SHBM were ran at 65 rhc! They certainly weren't 'brittle' by any means.
 
rcb2000 said:
Normally I would agree, but a few of the earlier SHBM were ran at 65 rhc! They certainly weren't 'brittle' by any means.
Click to expand...

IIRC, early INFI had a slightly different formulation... More cobalt I believe. There are a couple of threads on the topic.
The speculation is... And I emphasize speculation... Is that for cost savings, the Modified INFI (M-INFI) used in the original Basic line, became the normal INFI used from there forward.

.
 
Lil' Foo said:
IIRC, early INFI had a slightly different formulation... More cobalt I believe. There are a couple of threads on the topic.
The speculation is... And I emphasize speculation... Is that for cost savings, the Modified INFI (M-INFI) used in the original Basic line, became the normal INFI used from there forward.

.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the insight,, your thread about the 1/300 with the Ron Hood article will forever be saved on my phone! Do you still have it? The SHBM,, not the article :D
 
I think magnum bear cub was at a higher rockwell hardness but I'm not sure of it.

Jerry has stated that INFI is really not the best steel in thin cross sections.

SR101 might be a better candidate for high wear resistance high hardness applications.
 
What Jerry said,

How Different Is The Boney Active Duty ? ? ? . . .



VERY Different ! ! ! !

The BADs are mission specific designed to be wicked slicers!

We have bumped the hardness on these to 60-62 RC for better wear resistance when cutting softer materials and in
order to better support the extra fine point and edge. . . . . .

These are, by far, the thinnest ground EDC blades to ever leave the Busse Shop!!! The edge of the primary bevel is
ground down to .012" - .015" prior to sharpening and the distal taper extends nearly the full length of the cutting edge!!!

The tips are VERY, VERY fine and are not designed for prying or heavy abuse. . . . No worries though. If you find yourself
in a precarious situation and need to abuse the tar out of your BAD, or pry with it, you are still covered by our warranty. . .

You asked for it. . . and you got it! . . .

These are a Busse Company Store exclusive so stay tuned for Skunk to get sober enough to post them on the BCS website!!!!

Let's Drink!!!

Jerry
 
Good reference Hawg! Just a reminder that INFI ain't the be-all, end-all of blade steels <although it is pretty close ;)>...

I've not run any scientific trials on INFI or analyzed it's elements under spectroscopy...other brilliant hogs have done that however and I take their results as fact. And they claim INFI's components are really, really close <if not identical> to a great tool steel.

IIRC, but wasn't the cobalt uncovered as being a possible contaminant from the Rc indenter by the hog who ran the trials? :confused:

Speaking of cobalt...where has Cobalt <our bro.> been? Has anyone heard from him recently?

Back on topic...

It's pretty much ;) agreed upon that INFI is a pretty common tool steel alloy-wise, but the true gamechanger that sets INFI into it's own class is the anneal, HT, and cryo quench <especially the quench> protocol the Boss puts each batch of INFI through.

Seems plausible.

But all I have to go on is my personal experiences with use and sharpening.

I've found INFI to sharpen much like a tool steel...maybe a bit more "gummy"-- for lack of a better term-- that is, kinda soft with swarf wanting to hang onto the bevel and apex.

Sorry for the non-technical terminology and descriptions...but I'm a "non-technical" kinda guy! :o

INFI is tough like a tool steel, but more so...I've chipped out O1, 3V and 52100 from use...never with INFI, though.

But I've also noted that INFI isn't susceptible to the cancerous, pitting variety of rust like tool steels are subject to.

And, it is a tested fact that HT & quench plays a MAJOR role is rust-resistance in almost every steel.

Some hogs have claimed that a healthy dose of nitrogen is the "secret sauce" of INFI...which could definitely contribute to the rust-resistance that INFIdels are familiar with.

Spyderco uses nitrogen in H1 and it's classed as rust-proof...

However, seems like I've heard arguments here and there that nitrogen may be incidental to air hardened tool steels and is not an intentional ingredient, as in H1.

There's a lot of mystery around INFI, and that's part of the allure that makes me chase it like GOLD. :thumbup:
 
rcb2000 said:
Thanks for the insight,, your thread about the 1/300 with the Ron Hood article will forever be saved on my phone! Do you still have it? The SHBM,, not the article :D
Click to expand...

Awesome... And yes, I still have the holy trinity!!! :D

07WASPSHBM1246.jpg


08WASPSHBM1260.jpg


01WASPSHBM1287.jpg


The prize of my collection! :thumbsup:

.
 
Holy Crap Lil Foo,,,, that is beyond awesome,,, beyond Hog status :eek:
Thats Holy Grail status in my book.
Thanks for posting it!!!! :thumbup:

If anyone doesn't know what that SHBM marked "Wasp" is,,, it is LITERALLY the first SHBM Jerry made for field testing in 1997, a year before they were released IIRC.
AND.... correct me if Im wrong LilFoo,, but that one is at 65rhc...


LEGENDARY!!!!!
 
rcb2000 said:
Holy Crap Lil Foo,,,, that is beyond awesome,,, beyond Hog status :eek:
Thats Holy Grail status in my book.
Thanks for posting it!!!! 👍

If anyone doesn't know what that SHBM marked "Wasp" is,,, it is LITERALLY the first SHBM Jerry made for field testing in 1997, a year before they were released IIRC.
AND.... correct me if Im wrong LilFoo,, but that one is at 65rhc...


LEGENDARY!!!!!
Click to expand...

You are correct... The WASP was one of the 2 SHBMs that was at the 65rc... The other was Ron Hood's second BM he had sent in to be lightened up for his wife.

For those interested, here are my original posts about the Holy Trinity. :D

Lil' Foo

Thread 'Before there was a 1 of 300 (pic heavy)…'

There was the Battle Mistress featured in the March 1998 American Survival Guide article by Ron Hood.

Yes… it was me that dove into the trough that night and grabbed this beauty. So… I finally scored a SHBM… or two… but more on that one in a bit. After I scored these, I started to do a little digging… I’ve had some theories about the article mistress for a long time… so I had to know more.

Here’s some of what I found out… she weighs in at 24.6 ounces, is a hefty .290” thick at the ricasso, and Rockwell tests at 60Rc. This Battle Mistress was delivered to Ron for the article...
  • Like

Lil' Foo

Thread 'Another Great Piece of Battle Mistress History'

A couple of HOG brothers were kind enough to put me in touch with another Busse addict from the past… Tom Wheeler. Tom has asked me to share his treasured SHBM with you all… and it’s definitely a piece worth sharing! :thumbup:

OK… why is this SHBM so special you ask??? This particular SHBM was THE FIRST one that Jerry made specifically for field testing. It was made especially for Tom (see the “TW” initial stamp on the pommel) with the intent of being taken out and put through some real survival situations to see how well his new INFI steel faired under such conditions. The...
  • Like

Lil' Foo

Thread 'And the WASP makes three.'

01WASPSHBM1287.jpg


Ahhhhh&#8230; I was finally able to pry this from Tom&#8217;s hooves
It wasn&#8217;t easy&#8230; and I know he really didn&#8217;t want to part with her but&#8230;
The WASP has landed!!!
THANKS Tom... you're the best!!!! :thumbup:

I&#8217;ll give you all more pics in a minute&#8230; :p
But for those that are new or never saw these, here&#8217;s a little about them.
This is the third and I&#8217;m pretty sure the final pre-production release SHBM,
and the second one to have a...
  • Like
  • Wow

:cool:

Edited 03-22-2025 to fix broken thread links.

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Lil' Foo said:
You are correct... The WASP was one of the 2 SHBMs that was at the 65rc... The other was Ron Hood's second BM he had sent in to be lightened up for his wife.

For those interested, here are my original posts about the Holy Trinity. :D

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/s...1-of-300-(pic-heavy)…?highlight=Ron+hood+shbm

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/s...ttle-Mistress-History?highlight=Ron+hood+shbm

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/s...-the-WASP-makes-three?highlight=Ron+hood+shbm

:cool:

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Click to expand...

That is some good stuff there. That is the kind of history I really enjoy! Thanks for posting those!
 
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