Top contenders of the toughest steel?

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The_Knife_Man

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With everyone wanting a folding pry bar nowadays; who would be top contenders of the toughest steel?
Next comment will be "define tough"...
So, tough as in, can beat the hell out of it and not thing twice about it. Use to pry stuff if necessary.

Ya, ya, I hear ya. Using a tool not for its intended purpose.
For discussion sake; is it M4, 3V, perhaps something else.
 
If I'm going to be tough on it in terms of impact and prying then I would prefer a softer steel that won't chip/crack/shatter as easily as other 'wear resistant' steels.
 
I've never used either, but from the reviews, I'd give toughest usable knife steel to either S7 or INFI. Been meaning to pick up a knife in both steels but other things keep getting on my radar.
 
INFI. Nuff said. I know firsthand that it is definitely the real deal and lives up to the hype. I was digging up a fence post one day and chopped on a solid chunk of concrete where it was countersunk into the ground for 20 minutes. I didn't even know it. I was just trying to chop and break the part of the fence post that was in the ground into pieces so I could pull it out. I couldn't see the concrete - it was covered up with grass and dirt. It very slightly rolled the edge in a few spots! If that ain't tough I don't know what is.
 
I second INFI and 1095. At least my fixed blades have performed extremely well.
My 3V and M4 are both around 4" folders but I do no prying or insane chopping with those of course.
I vote INFI.
 
AntDog said:
INFI. Nuff said. I know firsthand that it is definitely the real deal and lives up to the hype. I was digging up a fence post one day and chopped on a solid chunk of concrete where it was countersunk into the ground for 20 minutes. I didn't even know it. I was just trying to chop and break the part of the fence post that was in the ground into pieces so I could pull it out. I couldn't see the concrete - it was covered up with grass and dirt. It very slightly rolled the edge in a few spots! If that ain't tough I don't know what is.
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How come you didn't notice it was concrete? I'd imagine concrete would give you a slightly different feedback than a wooden fence post.
 
Not really. Didn't even make a different sound. Just chop, hack, thunk, etc... The wooden fence post was still in the middle of the concrete after all.... I was mainly chopping, cutting, stabbing, twisting, splitting the wood. I was however inadvertently hitting the concrete. It made no difference. That INFI just ate it up.
 
Once I realized it was countersunk and I was hitting concrete, I stopped. I thought "oh my god, I just phucked up my $350 Busse", but nope. It was fine. After 2 sharpenings nobody could even tell the difference. I'm telling you, INFI is the real deal.

And no, I am not Jerry Busse! I am not even a Busse fanboy! I only own one Busse knife right now. A Busse basic 9. I used to own a bunch of them though, and have put plenty through their paces. I've put my basic 9 through hell! It's been everything from a jack handle to a tent stake to a prybar. I cut and hacked an old refrigerator to pieces with it just to see if I could. I figured I might as well test that legendary warranty! Stabbed though it many times and literally hacked the door right off. My brother threw it at a tree stump a bunch of times until I told him how much they cost.... INFI is just the shiz. It honestly is.
 
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Blues Bender said:
Who said it needs to be a super steel?

1095 is plenty tough enough...
Click to expand...
Properly heat treated it's one of the very best steels for my purposes. Of course, when I need a prybar I find a more appropriate tool than a knife, just as when I need a knife I find a more appropriate tool than a prybar.
 
The_Knife_Man said:
With everyone wanting a folding pry bar nowadays; who would be top contenders of the toughest steel?
Next comment will be "define tough"...
So, tough as in, can beat the hell out of it and not thing twice about it. Use to pry stuff if necessary.
Click to expand...

Actually, when talking about steels, toughness has a very specific meaning, just like hardness and strength.
 
The_Knife_Man said:
With everyone wanting a folding pry bar nowadays; who would be top contenders of the toughest steel?
Next comment will be "define tough"...
So, tough as in, can beat the hell out of it and not thing twice about it. Use to pry stuff if necessary.

Ya, ya, I hear ya. Using a tool not for its intended purpose.
For discussion sake; is it M4, 3V, perhaps something else.
Click to expand...


Knife design and geometry would have more to do with it really, people would be surprised how much a lot of the steels can take.

So in the end it really comes down to what knife design a person likes and if it's designed for harder use the steel choices can be pretty broad...
 
The toughest commonly-available steel by far is 1018 that's not hardened at all. It won't hold an edge worth a hoot, though.

As for something will actually take and hold an edge and withstand a ridiculous amount of abuse, I don't know of anything tougher than Busse's INFI or CPM-3V at 58Rc as HT'ed by Peter's. I have yet to see any maker or fan of plain carbon steel knives put their favorite against either of those in a head-to-head challenge.
 
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