I generally tend to agree - especially for my uses and price justification. However, I can also agree and appreciate what HD just said:

HD: quote: "Busses are high, but INFI makes sense in a hard use survival knife. If you compare Busse to other high end knives, they are not that much more. Lately I seem to favor the Swamp Rats in the small to medium sizes."

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There are those out there whose lives can depend very much on the ability of a given knife. Sometimes that extra 5% - 10% of toughness, edge holding or corrosion resistance is enough to justify $100's more. To each his own.


For my purposes, I am VERY confident that either SR77 or SR101 is MORE than sufficient for their given uses. I tend to feel compared to each other, SR77 has an advantage for larger blades and SR101 generally has an advantage for smaller blades. That said, SR77 is still "good" for small blades - probably not the best, but good. SR101 is quite good for a large blade and yet most likely better than SR77 for a small blade. SR101 is not even likely to be my favorite steel for a small blade, but it is quite good.
Again, style and shape of the knife are large factors for me.

Generally, if given a choice, I would probably lean towards some of the high end stainless steels for blades under 5" or so.

That said, I just bought an AD with a 3.5" blade and paid $202 including shipping. That is a LOT for me for a 3.5" bladed knife and I DANG sure shouldn't be spending any money on a knife right now let alone $200, but I like the style of the knife and unfortunately I know that I had to jump on it now for $200 or pay $250+ later or never have one.

I can buy Bark River knives with 3.5" - 5" blades made with Excellent quality A2 or 12C27 all day long for $100 - $140.

Honestly, if I had to recommend a 3.5" - 5" blade knife to a friend who wants a very good hard use knife, I would probably have to recommend one of many Bark River options or the Swamp Rat HRLM or Ratmandu. Mike Stewart's treatment on A2 vs. Swamp Rat in SR101 are both options I could feel very comfortable betting my life on - at least compared to the options.

However, if I were to recommend a 6" - 10" blade knife to a friend who may very likely depend on the knife for his life - say going to war or extreme survival situation, I would probably recommend he pony up for a Busse. If that were not an option because of price, I would recomend Scrap Yard followed by Swamp Rat for the larger knives. Because of price, I think Scrap Yard has Swamp Rat beat in the larger knife department. - unless you have to have micarta or G10(???).

Again, intended use, style and function play a significant factor in the decision.

As a user and a collector, I tend to have some of all of the above. But, the INFI blades continue to be hard for me to pay for.

If my life were to depend on it, I would likely have much fewer knives than I do, but probably more Busse knives!

Since my life doesn't depend on it and since my budget doesn't justify Busse (or at least VERY seldom), then VERY good is likely good enough for all my intended uses.

If Swamp Rat were to release a blade very similar to the AD for $70 - $80 less, I would probably have to consider selling my AD.

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