INFI and/or SR-101 vs 3v thoughts?

"Toughness would go to infi" - This is an interesting statement and I am not trying to pick a fight, but most Busse INFI knives are overbuilt. So yes they are going to be tough because, in some cases, they are .3" thick and their edges are set up, generally speaking, for chopping. I'd love to see a 3V GSO and an INFI blade go head to head in a toughness competition. To make it fair they would have to have the same thickness, length, etc. and have the same edge. Again not putting down Busse or his knives, I own a ton of them, but it would be an interesting test.
 
INFI- Holds an edge like a 1095 with a comparable stain resistance as D2, with a toughness of 80crv2 or greater

3v- Holds an edge better or a tad lower that 154cm, stain resistance like D2 and a toughness of 80crv2 or less.

SR101- Holds an edge like 154cm, little or no stain resistance, toughness comparable to 5160 or 1095 less


These attributes depends on HT, edge geometry and hardness......


If my life depends on it....I'd go with INFI
 
In my uses 3v is way better, cutting rope, or skinning game, much better than 154cm. More like s30v.
 
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Nice, but in my use I never had to touch up my 3v, sr101 and infi I had to, I finished me end of the elk with my fehrman peacemaker in 3v. That was caping the head and breaking down both front quarters, skinned and ready to go. My cousin worked the back with his Becker at the time, having to stop and sharpen a couple times. I haven't had a chance to use any gso's on an elk yet. I really like the looks of that rat trail, nice looking knife.
 
For the record, I agree with most of what you're saying. The pics are just to qualify my experience/opinions.

rodriguez7 said:
I don't get how some people say that a lower carbon steel will hold an edge as good as something with the same amount of carbon, and way more vanadium, that doesn't make sense. I'm guessing most haven't used either enough to actually see.
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I really like the looks of that rat trail, nice looking knife.
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Thank you. I prefer the modified version I have below, if I could get it in .100" to .125" 20CV I would be ecstatic.

 
I would like a rat tail in elmax, never tried one with busses heat treat. I have heard they're awesome though. I wish I had pics of my hunts, I could post up. In the last few years, I have worked 8 elk, several pigs, and 2 cows. Currently I'm having a nice skinner custom in 3v built for this years hunts. Should be around 61rc. I'm hoping the draws go good for us!!! Looks like some nice elk country up there. I'm in southwestern New Mexico, home to some monster elk!
 
Looks like some nice white tail racks in your garage, and a decent antelope.
 
OBX351 said:
"Toughness would go to infi" - This is an interesting statement and I am not trying to pick a fight, but most Busse INFI knives are overbuilt. So yes they are going to be tough because, in some cases, they are .3" thick and their edges are set up, generally speaking, for chopping. I'd love to see a 3V GSO and an INFI blade go head to head in a toughness competition. To make it fair they would have to have the same thickness, length, etc. and have the same edge. Again not putting down Busse or his knives, I own a ton of them, but it would be an interesting test.
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I only own smaller BUSSE a GameWarden, culti, and a couple Anniversary Mean Streets. A lot are tanks but ball of mine fall in to EDC size. They are Tough. How tough? I don't break cinder blocks but I don't worry about breaking them. Used to own a BossJack but made the mistake of selling it off. Do you also have a GSO?
 
rodriguez7 said:
I would like a rat tail in elmax, never tried one with busses heat treat. I have heard they're awesome though. I wish I had pics of my hunts, I could post up. In the last few years, I have worked 8 elk, several pigs, and 2 cows. Currently I'm having a nice skinner custom in 3v built for this years hunts. Should be around 61rc. I'm hoping the draws go good for us!!! Looks like some nice elk country up there. I'm in southwestern New Mexico, home to some monster elk!
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We have a trophy room thread here. Any hunting, fishing or pre/post season scouting pics and details can go here... http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/1293816-Trophy-Room-Hunting-and-Fishing-Pics

Pics of game (live or dead) or caught and released fish are wanted
 
Actual use is good to see and understand the results. Elk processing is a good test for wear resistance and edge stability. I enjoy the pics. Hope to hunt New Mexico sometime. It is a favorite place to visit.... You are blessed to live there.
 
I'm waiting on my next-gen GSO-4.1 to arrive, then I'll try and do a comparison of it against a Busse Hog Muk, my only INFI blade with behind-the-edge thickness ~0.020", comparable to the recent S!K blades (my original GSO-4.1 was ~0.030, the 5.1 is ~0.020). My RMD and HRLM are thicker, so they won't show the same cutting efficiency, but for dubarnility i could compare that Rodent Solution in SR101 that I've already used to cut apart metal roofing and gutters... I guess that could be used for a durability comparison of S!K 3V, INFI, and SR101.

I am not so blessed to have the elk-processing experience of our local mountainmen here on the forum :thumbup: Awesome pics.
 
If he does a test of some sort is very possibly. I too will try to contribute. I have a barkie 3v N.Star I of my three variety of busse I will see which is the closet in thickness and come up with some sorta test. I am a wuss though and am not going to abuse my Bark River not sure if their warranty is as forgiving as BUSSE. :)
 
lobo9er said:
I only own smaller BUSSE a GameWarden, culti, and a couple Anniversary Mean Streets. A lot are tanks but ball of mine fall in to EDC size. They are Tough. How tough? I don't break cinder blocks but I don't worry about breaking them. Used to own a BossJack but made the mistake of selling it off. Do you also have a GSO?
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The smaller Busses are supposed to be really nice and tough. I am thinking of getting an AMS after I get my next gen GSOs. I have a bunch of first generation GSOs they are fantastic knives.
 
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lobo9er said:
If he does a test of some sort is very possibly. I too will try to contribute. I have a barkie 3v N.Star I of my three variety of busse I will see which is the closet in thickness and come up with some sorta test. I am a wuss though and am not going to abuse my Bark River not sure if their warranty is as forgiving as BUSSE. :)
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I am testing the my new 5.1, old 5.1 INFI RMD and my SR101 RMD. Nothing major, just whittling, carving, notching, etc. I'll take pictures and try to post 'em this Monday.
 
OBX351 said:
+1 to that HK very impressive and tasty!!! How do you think SR101 does verses 3v and INFI?
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Well, we're talking about my favorites steels. I like them all precisely for some of the differences that get debated so much. But, if you want my OPINION.... :D

I have a lot of experience with SR101. In my experience, you get a lot of work out of sr101 before the need to resharpen. And then the edge is easily brought back. It almost seems as if it defies the laws of nature in that regard. It accepts stropping very well and can be made absolutely screaming sharp. Of course we all know that Guy produces scary sharp 3V as well.

Most of my 3V experience is from BRKT. Gunnys, liten brors, mini fox, kephart, etc. and the GSO 3.5. I got to use the 3.5 pretty hard last year, it wasn't all cleaning trout :) In side by side use, cutting the same materials, I believe 3V will stay sharper longer than sr101. At least properly heat-treated 3V, as we are seeing testimony from those like Mr. Carothers that points to the need for proper heat-treat protocols with this steel. I really appreciated HaleStorms's side x side test of 3V vs S35VN, very good real world information :thumbup: I have had no bad experience with 3V yet, and my GSO 3.5 is very good. When 3V dulls, though, you're going to spend more time bringing it back than you will SR101. Some draw the conclusion that SR101 must be inferior in the edge-holding aspect strictly based on ease of resharpening. From my experience, SR101 is freakishly easy to sharpen. So much so that it should not be used as an edge-holding indicator. Cutting tests would be much more appropriate edge-holding indicators. For me, 3V wins in the edge-holding aspect, but 52100 is still very good, and remember, we are talking about GREAT steels here.

I think we sometimes get hung up on finding perceived strengths vs perceived weaknesses. Sometimes a quality in a steel is not better or worse, but just different. For example, how likely are you to need to resharpen in your outing? Not likely, you say, because you have a 3V blade and it holds a great edge. Everything dulls with enough use. Will I be out for a day trip or out overnight? Will I be hunting chukar out the back door for the weekend, or muledeer in the Owyhee mountains for two weeks? If you find yourself needing to sharpen 3V in the field, you will need the proper equipment to do it, probably diamond, it's going to take a bit of effort. Not such a big deal to field sharpen SR101. A perceived weakness can be turned on its head, depending on what YOUR outing is going to look like. I pack 3V a lot since most outings are by necessity shorter, and I can always resharpen at home/work after having enjoyed the great edge-holding of 3V for whatever tasks I needed accomplished that trip. Your circumstances may vary YCMV! :D

All that to say (Yes I know I've said it before) : If I could have the same blade, with the same grind, at the same price point, I will take 3V every time :) Getting all that to line up is kind of like witnessing a solar eclipse, though, so SR101 still has a spot in the lineup. It's like going to the gun cabinet and selecting a weapon for varmint hunting or elk hunting, options are good! If you all don't lynch me, we can still debate stainless vs non, toughness, price point, etc. Just don't ask me to give up any 3V, INFI or SR101 :D
 
Hard Knocks said:
Well, we're talking about my favorites steels. I like them all precisely for some of the differences that get debated so much. But, if you want my OPINION.... :D

I have a lot of experience with SR101. In my experience, you get a lot of work out of sr101 before the need to resharpen. And then the edge is easily brought back. It almost seems as if it defies the laws of nature in that regard. It accepts stropping very well and can be made absolutely screaming sharp. Of course we all know that Guy produces scary sharp 3V as well.

Most of my 3V experience is from BRKT. Gunnys, liten brors, mini fox, kephart, etc. and the GSO 3.5. I got to use the 3.5 pretty hard last year, it wasn't all cleaning trout :) In side by side use, cutting the same materials, I believe 3V will stay sharper longer than sr101. At least properly heat-treated 3V, as we are seeing testimony from those like Mr. Carothers that points to the need for proper heat-treat protocols with this steel. I really appreciated HaleStorms's side x side test of 3V vs S35VN, very good real world information :thumbup: I have had no bad experience with 3V yet, and my GSO 3.5 is very good. When 3V dulls, though, you're going to spend more time bringing it back than you will SR101. Some draw the conclusion that SR101 must be inferior in the edge-holding aspect strictly based on ease of resharpening. From my experience, SR101 is freakishly easy to sharpen. So much so that it should not be used as an edge-holding indicator. Cutting tests would be much more appropriate edge-holding indicators. For me, 3V wins in the edge-holding aspect, but 52100 is still very good, and remember, we are talking about GREAT steels here.

I think we sometimes get hung up on finding perceived strengths vs perceived weaknesses. Sometimes a quality in a steel is not better or worse, but just different. For example, how likely are you to need to resharpen in your outing? Not likely, you say, because you have a 3V blade and it holds a great edge. Everything dulls with enough use. Will I be out for a day trip or out overnight? Will I be hunting chukar out the back door for the weekend, or muledeer in the Owyhee mountains for two weeks? If you find yourself needing to sharpen 3V in the field, you will need the proper equipment to do it, probably diamond, it's going to take a bit of effort. Not such a big deal to field sharpen SR101. A perceived weakness can be turned on its head, depending on what YOUR outing is going to look like. I pack 3V a lot since most outings are by necessity shorter, and I can always resharpen at home/work after having enjoyed the great edge-holding of 3V for whatever tasks I needed accomplished that trip. Your circumstances may vary YCMV! :D

All that to say (Yes I know I've said it before) : If I could have the same blade, with the same grind, at the same price point, I will take 3V every time :) Getting all that to line up is kind of like witnessing a solar eclipse, though, so SR101 still has a spot in the lineup. It's like going to the gun cabinet and selecting a weapon for varmint hunting or elk hunting, options are good! If you all don't lynch me, we can still debate stainless vs non, toughness, price point, etc. Just don't ask me to give up any 3V, INFI or SR101 :D
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Well said and I totally agree....I have a TON of time with 3V and though it's my favorite steel I have growing respect for being able to strop back SR101 and 01 quickly (my second favorite steels). This is the big reason why I am REALLY looking forward to knowing about Guy's SK steel and ultimately getting one. I digress....There's definitely a trade off when you're out working your knives hard.

I am still not sure about INFI yet in that line up, at least for hard work. I had all of my RMD INFI knives re-profiled and I am going work them next to my GSOs in the coming weeks.
 
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