INFI vs M INFI

Cobalt

Cobalt

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Joined
Dec 23, 1998
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At one time Cliff did this comparison and thought that MINFI might be tougher until he actually compared the two steels and found that INFI was still tougher even though it was a high Rc. Enjoy the read.

Cliff Stamp said:
The regular INFI line is tempered harder than the M-INFI blades. RC is a measure of how compressible the material is, which is how resistant it is to straight on deformation. Thus the INFI blades should resist being pushed in at the edge stronger than the M-INFI ones assuming similar profiles. There is a also a comparison somewhere on the web which shows that the INFI blades are stronger than the M-INFI ones in that they are able to resist more force without breaking at the blade/handle juncture. This can be extrapolated to show that the INFI blades have greater resistance in their edges to rolling / indenting from lateral forces.

From work that I have done this seems to be the case. For example when I put a really coarse edge (x-coarse DMT) on my Basic and did some chopping (500 chops) I saw a performance decrease in slicing ability that could not be restored by steeling. When I repeated this with a fine India finish I could restore the slicing performance with a steel. What this shows is that the microserrations on the x-coarse finish are large enough that they break away under impact. When I repeated this with my Battle Mistress, steeling would restore the edge even when an x-coarse finish was used.

The only drawback is that the M-INFI might be a little tougher, I am only guessing this because it is slightly softer. I have not stressed my BM in this regard yet so I have no data to support this. My BM is currently out on loan and once it comes back I will give the edge some hard impacts and compare it to the Basic.

-Cliff

[This message has been edited by Cliff Stamp (edited 02-03-2000).]
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Cliff Stamp said:
Jeff :



This was the only problem I had with mine. It does have to be a fairly high pressure one though of decent velocity. For example digging through rocky soil or chopping hard woods are not problems, but hard wire can be.

For example, I took a coathanger last night and chopped it up with my Basic #7 and my Battle Mistress. I was chopping on a spruce stump and making cuts about 1.3 to 1.6 deep in the 2.6 mm thick wire. These were hard chops the wire was being pushed right into the wood. I had some harder wood but I didn't want to use it as a base as I had it for something else and didn't want to beat it up.

Anyway, the Basic was indenting fairly significantly taking semicircular hits about .6 mm in depth. The Battle Mistress on the other hand was being informed at a much smaller level. They had to be measured under a scope and were less than .2 mm in depth. The BM was also cutting into the wire better about 25%.

The Basic was actually losing bits of the edge with the impacts. I think that the toughness was being exceded and that it was fracturing because of the more extensive compression. The Battle Mistress was just being very lightly flattened.

Note both edges are thinner than the factory. My Basic has a v-ground included bevel angle of less than 30 degrees. The BM is slightly more obtuse about 35 degrees and has the dual grind. Neither one of these factors however could account for the size of the change here it indicates a difference in the material properties.

-Cliff
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Cliff Stamp said:
Jeff, a thinner bevel would be much more likely to indent or deform. These are using blades so by all means do some experimentation on the edge and find what works for you. Glad to see it worked out.



Everything I have seen says INFI is actually tougher as well. My initial impression was that it might not be simply because it was harder. This rule does not hold across different alloys however and as I continue to work with it this does not seem to be the case at all. INFI seems to be tougher than M-INFI as well at least in the two blades I have.

-Cliff
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Cool read, ... so, we have indestructible and really indestructible :thumbup:
 
Thanks Cobalt, interesting read...never heard of M-INFI before. The Basic had the M-INFI so that's what was used in some of the earlier knives?
 
The M stands for MMMmmmmm Infi! The Basic 9 is one of the most underrated choppers out there......it slices, it dices, won't rust, dust, or bust, and it moves faster and smoother than teflon coat Chit! I already have it in my will to be buried with it! I won't even pass it onto my children because I like it so much!
 
sleepyhead said:
Thanks Cobalt, interesting read...never heard of M-INFI before. The Basic had the M-INFI so that's what was used in some of the earlier knives?
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Only the Basics had modified INFI. My understanding from back then was that it was much easier to make M INFI so the knives were cheaper, yet it kicked butt. Kinda like what the SwampRats and Scrapyard do now.
 
Thanks Cobalt, you guys are seriously killing me though. I came here looking for an edc blade...now you guys have me thinking about picking up a chopper just for kicks. :o
 
Thanks, Cobalt - hadn't seen that before. :thumbup:

Think Jerry would ever do a special run with Mod-INFI again? That'd be cool.
 
I never knew that the Basics were MINFI. Are there any knives with RES C and true INFI other than the SS4? Why don't Swamprat and Scrapyard use Minfi if it is cheaper? Is Minfi togher than S7?
 
must have been thinking of the Desert Camo Euro 6" offered at Blade '05.

so was i. :D


attachment.php
 
Drew, are those the Magnum and Standard EU-17 on the left? Very nice. :thumbup: What is the blade length on the Std?
 
Unsub said:
Why don't Swamprat and Scrapyard use Minfi if it is cheaper? Is Minfi togher than S7?
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M-INFI wasn't that cheap (Basic 7" $249, Steel Heart E $299) It would still be expensive for SwampRat/Scrapyard to use it in their knives but I wouldn't rule out that possibility.
 
resinguy said:
Drew, are those the Magnum and Standard EU-17 on the left? Very nice. :thumbup: What is the blade length on the Std?
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Those are indeed the Magnum and Regular sized Eu-17's. They're 9'' (Magnum) 7'' (regular) and 6'' (mini). I've got 2 magnum's and a mini. Kick ass knives. I use one of the magnums frequently, probably the most comfortable handle out there and even more so on a chopper. It's magnum thickness too :D the Eu model in all sizes is easily my favorite Busse!
 
http://www.oz.net/~malinski/Turber_test/

here is a pic of the radiused transition underneath the Basic9's handle. Notice that the Cold Steel is not

busse-tm-tangs.jpg


here is the basic9 bending to nearly 50 degrees before breaking whereas the Cold steel snapped at 35 degrees.

busse-break.jpg


tm-break.jpg


apologies to Turber if he did not want these pics posted and I will remove at his request.
 
resinguy said:
Drew, are those the Magnum and Standard EU-17 on the left? Very nice. :thumbup: What is the blade length on the Std?
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Thanks for getting that reply pbubsy. I agree that the EU handles rock.

I just checked my lengths and from the tip, straight back, even with the back edge they come in at 8 1/2, 6 & 5".




∞
 
Whenever I see Cobalts avatar I put the mouse on her boob so it turns into a hand. Does anyone else do this?
 
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