Old School Steel Question

snwbrdr202

snwbrdr202

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Joined
Mar 9, 2009
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Hey gents! I just wanted to ask any of the older hogs (or the newer hogs) possessing Busse blades with the A2 what their thoughts were on the steel? What are its strengths? What are its weaknesses? How does it compare to INFI?

I have been bitten by the oldschool Busse bug, and I want to see if I can justify spending a large amount of cash on a non-INFI blade. Its bloody hard with so much sweet INFI coming out of late :p

Any help is much appreciated! Thanks Hogs.
 
Brendan--- If A2 is done right, and Busse does it right, A2 is right behind INFI, imo :thumbup:
 
Lycosa said:
Brendan--- If A2 is done right, and Busse does it right, A2 is right behind INFI, imo :thumbup:
Click to expand...

i agree, and i think it get's a little sharper than infi. plus you get a really patina.:thumbup:
 
Think of Jerry's A2 as INFI and use it hard. Good stuff!
 
A2 is what I call one of those "classic" steels that still works just as well as it did when it was high speed. The term "hair popping" come to mind when you have the heat treat right.
 
I have a SHSHII in A2, i beat the hell out of it, its awesome, i get it sharper than my infi and holds well and doesn't stain if you keep it clean.
 
Thanks for the replies guys! How does A2 hold out in terms of wear resistance? Based on the knife steel FAQ, A2 supposedly has less wear resistance...but I don't fully understand the steel terminology.
 
It's tough steel. IMO it stains and rusts pretty easily. It gets dull but you can be brutal to it and it doesnt chip, it rolls like INFI.
 
I remember Jerry sayiong that if it wasn't for INFI, he would still be using A2. Personally I would like to see swamprat or scrapyard using A2 for a few models.
 
snwbrdr202 said:
Thanks for the replies guys! How does A2 hold out in terms of wear resistance? Based on the knife steel FAQ, A2 supposedly has less wear resistance...but I don't fully understand the steel terminology.
Click to expand...

I have not done side-by-side tests, but in casual use, I have not noticed a difference in wear resistance between Busse A2 and INFI. If there is in fact a difference, it is negligible and likely not statistically significant.
 
Jac The Slayer said:
I remember Jerry sayiong that if it wasn't for INFI, he would still be using A2. Personally I would like to see swamprat or scrapyard using A2 for a few models.
Click to expand...

Does this mean that A2 is a preferred steel over Sr101 (52100)? Or, is this more of a situation where A2 would be better in larger knives but Sr101 is about the same, performance wise, if it is differentially heat treated?
 
I would just like to see A2 still be used in the stable of Bussekin alloys. I have no preference of A2 over SR101, SR77, or even INFI.
 
Only one true way to find out which is better... Get an INFI blade and an A2 blade, bang them together until one breaks.
 
Brendan, what is it your looking at that is an A-2 Busse??? Inquiring minds would like to know. ;):D
 
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