Bld522, this is really simpler than it appears. Composite blades offer a cool factor, and they are a patented feature that no other knife company offers. As steel technology progresses, we have run up against some boundaries as heat treat is concerned. However, we have demonstrated before that a composite blade is effectively as strong as a one-piece blade. We have tested them to the point of failure, and we are confident in the durability of the finished components.
One of the great advantages of this technology is that it allows you to make your cutting edge out of a hot new super steel and the rest of the carriage from an affordable, tough, material. Will the toughness of that second material ever really come into play? Probably not. But that blade is just as strong a a one-piece blade, so who cares? You will never use all the strength of Carbon fiber when you make a folding knife handle out of it, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't use it.
When I described the three-piece blade of the 0454 to people at blade show, I said up front that the piece of D2 on the spine was just there for looks. It created a unique look on a really cool knife, and people like it. The blade isn't any weaker for having that extra piece of D2 welded in, so there's really nothing to worry about here.
When it really comes down to it, composite blades are cool. Maybe someday we'll marry a 14C28N spine with a cutting edge made from some $300/pound über steel, and we'll see some really serious cost savings over a solid blade. But as it stands right now, they are a unique and exclusive way to make a cool blade for a high end knife. We will continue to develop this technology and to advance it. And as Forrest Gump once said, "That's all I have to say about that".
