Once again SR101 way way better in edge holding then INFI. This is my recent test results in more readable format I guess:
1. Dozier heat treated D2.
2. SwampRat SR101 (52100)
3. J.P.Holmes CPM 10V
4. Yuna knives ZDP189
5. Fehrman R3V (CPM 3V)
6. G-Sakai SRS15
7. Kershaw CPM S30V
8. Busse INIFI
9. Benchmade M2
10. Kiku Matsuda OU31
11. Diamond Knives Friction Forged D2.
12. Kershaw Sandvic 1326
13. Fallkniven 3G (SGPS)
14. RosArms 110x18
15. CRKT AUS8
16. Kershaw SG2
17. Benchmade D2
INFI is in the middle while SR101 is on top. So this "general impression" does not match formal test results. Which happened a lot to those "general impressions"... Of course this is "only" edge retention, but this is what I value in knife first. Plus it cost less, plus it tough enough to chops concrete block!
Obvious winner for me.
Thanks, Vassili.
I have to say, your test results seem fairly random. I've never seen any AUS-8 blade hold an edge as well let alone better than any D2 blade... And it seems you are testing edge retention on only one material. If that is the one material you're cutting the most, then it makes sense to you. But otherwise, not so much. Ever tested cutting, even chopping into wood instead of soft rope?
And I don't very well understand how you get the results you quote in your post. As an example... let's compare your Kershaw ZT302 S30V to INFI. According to you, the S30V ranks above INFI. But why and how?
From your table we find that:
S30 INFI
015 020
025 035
030 040
040 050
050 050
055 060
060 060
055 065
065 070
070 070
060 070
070 080
080 075
075 075
That looks pretty absurd. Some strange details:
1) The S30V starts out sharper than INFI - 015 vs 020. Weren't they supposed to start as sharp?
2) Although INFI started less sharp than S30V, by the time the test finished, both had dulled to be equally sharp (both 075). So it's pretty obvious which one dulled more, considering that it started out a tiny bit sharper. So, why is S30V ranked above INFI, if it in fact started sharper and ended up equally sharp?
3) Your knives seem to be sharpening themselves during the test, going from duller to sharper to duller again. Like the S30V going from 070 to 060 and then back to 070 again. Many of the steels in your test seem to do this, even 420HC. Now, I've sometimes felt as if a knife sharpened itself a little in use, but not with many steels, and only with hard materials, where the case was probably just the edge being misaligned and upon changing grip aligning itself again due to the forces on it changing. But this seems to happen constantly in your tests, which raises some pretty serious questions about how accurate your measurements are...
As for the actual topic, and I speak for myself alone of course: when there's so much INFI out there, it's hard to find any reason to want a Swamp Rat, or a Scrap Yard for that matter...
