Sharpening INFI?

5

500jefferyDK

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Jul 9, 2005
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What kind of stone works best on the INFI steeel?
I have a Spiderco medium stone and some natural Arkensas stones, translucent and hard Arkensas.


Cheers,

André
 
from the busse website:::::Sharpening
INFI's high level of chip resistance also makes it the easiest steel to resharpen by hand that we have ever encountered. I personally fall into the category of "hand sharpening challenged". I've heard tales of those who can sharpen ball peen hammers to a razor's edge on an Arkansas stone in less than 5 seconds flat. My experiences have always been to the contrary. The spine of the knife is usually sharper than the edge when I'm finished applying my magic stone sharpening technique. One of the great features of INFI is that simply stropping away from the edge (the way a barber strops a straight edged razor) on a ceramic stick is basically all that is required to resharpen INFI. Since you're not chipping steel off the edge there is no need to grind any steel away. This feature of INFI will, likewise, allow you to keep the same overall profile of the knife for a much greater period of time.
 
Let me see if I get this right.
Stroping away would be the best way?? Does this make the knife razor sharp? Hair shaving/popping?
Could I strope on a fine translucent stone? I also have spiderco ceramic rods.

After real hard use what do you hogs do?

Cheers,

André
 
The sharpest edge on iNFI I have seen is the convex edge which is stropped. If you have assymetrical edge then one side is stropped and the other is flat.

If you have an edge pro you can simulate close to convex by doing a multi angle sharpening. This gives a Razor edge as well.

INFI is one of the easiest steels. It's as easy as 1095 steel IMO.
 
I just put my SHBA on the EdgePro Apex last night (water stones), and can attest to it's ease or sharpening. Much easier/faster than the Rats 52100. My 180 stone does to INFI what my 100 stone does to 52100. And it got hair popping sharp at 600 grit, (just dragging the stone across the edge, using the stone's weight only, kind of a stroping effect). The hair actually jumps away from the edge now.

I think the sandpaper/mousepad/strope teqhnique is popular at least partly because of how fast you can remove good metal from the wrong place on an INFI edge if you use the wrong technique on a big, low grit stone. If you don't have hand sharpening skills you can still remove the right amount of metal with sandpaper, and get a nice and durable convex edge.
 
Except most barbers use a leather strop to do straight razors. So you you think a leather strop would get them sharp
 
I've used everything from Japanese water stones, Spyderco sharp makers,Worksharps, strops, Lansky field sharpened,,,all work well!
INFI is hands down the easiest to sharpen for me, regardless of which method you choose.
 
Yeah, but barbers are just cutting hair. Not trying to decapitate zombie threads.
 
Invest in a Wicked Edge. I slightly reprofiled and polished out the edge on my BA-E2 a couple weeks ago. The easiest system I have used on any blade. It takes infi to hair popping sharp with out having to overly thin the edge.

 
Cobalt said:
I answered this question 10 years ago:D
Click to expand...

I bought the knife in question from him off eBay 10 years ago. :D
My first LE #27...
Once received from overseas, it went straight back to Busse for a return to factory edge, with a penetrator tip added.

27HOGFSH_Excalibur_comp.jpg
 
Jaxx said:
I bought the knife in question from him off eBay 10 years ago. :D
My first LE #27...
Once received from overseas, it went straight back to Busse for a return to factory edge, with a penetrator tip added.

27HOGFSH_Excalibur_comp.jpg
Click to expand...

that is a good bit of trivia. Is that where you got started with 27's?

TEABAGS_Combined_Pix.jpg
 
from the busse website:::::Sharpening
INFI's high level of chip resistance also makes it the easiest steel to resharpen by hand that we have ever encountered. I personally fall into the category of "hand sharpening challenged". I've heard tales of those who can sharpen ball peen hammers to a razor's edge on an Arkansas stone in less than 5 seconds flat. My experiences have always been to the contrary. The spine of the knife is usually sharper than the edge when I'm finished applying my magic stone sharpening technique. One of the great features of INFI is that simply stropping away from the edge (the way a barber strops a straight edged razor) on a ceramic stick is basically all that is required to resharpen INFI. Since you're not chipping steel off the edge there is no need to grind any steel away. This feature of INFI will, likewise, allow you to keep the same overall profile of the knife for a much greater period of time.
Click to expand...

Honestly, this is more marketing than reality. I will say all Busse knives that I have had the pleasure of playing with required substantial reprofiling to be optimized for cutting performance. You'll be stropping a long time to get it to the straight razor level.

That said, INFI is a great steel once you do get it where its going. I would say start with a coarse stone until you have it shaped, knock off your burr at a higher grit, and then strop to your hearts content :p
 
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Panthera tigris said:
Honestly, this is more marketing than reality. I will say all Busse knives that I have had the pleasure of playing with required substantial reprofiling to be optimized for cutting performance. You'll be stropping a long time to get it to the straight razor level.

That said, INFI is a great steel once you do get it where its going. I would say start with a coarse stone until you have it shaped, knock off your burr at a higher grit, and then strop to your hearts content :p
Click to expand...

It's true that sometimes there is too much hype with INFI
It's great but it can still chip and still takes time to sharpen
 
No doubt Infi will Chip, but usually under extreme circumstances, and it is much, much easier to sharpen than CPM 3V IMHO-Cheers!!!
Revolverrodger said:
It's true that sometimes there is too much hype with INFI
It's great but it can still chip and still takes time to sharpen
Click to expand...
 
Cobalt said:
that is a good bit of trivia. Is that where you got started with 27's?

TEABAGS_Combined_Pix.jpg
Click to expand...

Teabags! :D

Cobalt, although this HOFSHLE through eBay was the first, Jerry started my run on #27's by assigning BATACLE #27 to me. That run was the first new production run after I scarfed up those 27 Skelly's & Jerry thought the 27 GW's incident on the forums was funny as hell although I believe he was not very appreciative of the ishtstorm I caught over it. Not from you, my friend. I still recall that you were about the only HOG defending ny right to score what I could score, but I know you remember that several tried to make me feel very badly about it...meanwhile, as they tried, the smarter HOGs quietly PM'd me to ask if I'd sell a few. :)
Anyway, I had to F5 and fight like crazy to get in early enough to score all the rest of my LE#27 collection, but Jerry started me off with ny first straight from Busse. :)

~ Jaxx 27 BBQ Sauce :cool:
 
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