INFI is the toughest steel?

[Cliff Stamp]

tallwingedgoat:

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">And in such cases how a knife cuts will overrule other considerations. It is not necessary for knife steel to be "the toughest steel". Reasonable toughness is quite enough.</font>

Yes, exactly right. As long as the toughness is high enough so that it allows the geometry which gives the performance that you want, you gain little from having a tougher steel. You are better off getting more strength, wear resistance, machinability, or corrosion resistance.

In regards to 10V vs INFI, one comment to add onto what Will has noted in the above - 10V is far more brittle than INFI. At 59/60 RC 10V only has about 20% more impact toughness than D2. A2 is far tougher than D2, and Busse Combat dropped A2 for INFI, which I doubt they would have done if A2 was significantly tougher.

In any case, I have subjected INFI and M-INFI to repeated heavy loads that would have fractured the 10V blade into pieces. If you get a chance just drop Phil Wilson a line and ask him his opinion of making a large 58/60 RC chopper out of 10V. That is the exact opposite of what it is optomized to do.

3V, now that is a different story.

-Cliff



[This message has been edited by Cliff Stamp (edited 06-21-2001).]

 

[Will York]

Cliff: "At 59/60 RC 10V only has about 20% more impact toughness than D2."

I really like that comparison, in terms of telling us something about conventional thinking regarding blade steels. Just think what a tremendous reputation D2 has gained, via the bladecraft of people like Bob Dozier--and rightfully so. D2 offers a very good combination as compared with many other steels across the board, in terms of taking and holding an excellent razor edge and exhibiting decent toughness as well.

And yet, CPM10V is far superior in both edge aggressiveness and edge holding, and is TOUGHER to boot.

A2 is tougher still, and yet INFI has proven demonstrably tougher than A2 in Cliff's head-to-head testing of a Reeve's Project 1 against a Busse Basic 7 (M-INFI), with the A2 blade left even softer than the M-INFI.

This progression of comparisons gives a very good picture of how far blade science has progressed in the development of steels like CPM10V and INFI.

These are all great blade steels--D2, CPM 10V, A2 and INFI--and each has its place given a particular application, as do many other steels which excell when a particular set of qualities are called for.

-w

 

[Cliff Stamp]

WILL YORK:

[D2]

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">

CPM10V is far superior in both edge aggressiveness and edge holding, and is TOUGHER to boot.</font>

This is one of the main benefits of the CPM process, by preventing carbide segregation you can dramatically increase the toughness of a steel. So much so infact that you can produce higher alloy steels (greater strength, machinability, wear resistance and compression resistance) and still be at a greater toughness.

-Cliff

 

[HJK]

I think that 3V might, at the minimum, give infi a pretty good run. I've ordered a Lightfoot in 3V to go head to head with my Steelheart. They'll be rather different knives with different geometries etc., but 3V sounds too good on paper and anecdotally to resist.I don't expect it to react very well to corrosion, though.
I don't test scientifically or thoroughly like Cliff so I wouldn't presume to give a report, but something tells me Cliff might agree about the potential of CPM 3V.

 

[Cliff Stamp]

HJK:

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">I think that 3V might, at the minimum, give infi a pretty good run. </font>

Yes, so do I.

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">I wouldn't presume to give a report</font>

Honesty is of critical importance. What you do is obviously important, but as long as you are unbiased in the description of what happened the forums will benefit from the commentary regardless of what was done, or in what manner.

-Cliff