I am really amazed at the bitterness and angst in debating between SR77 and SR101. Bottom line: does one trust that Dan knows his metallurgy and treatments well enough to manage material selection for products that he is backing with lifetime warranty? You know, if we just put material availability and cost aside, the whole matter of performance can be reduced to science by those truly in the know. I am not one of them, but there are common factors to steels related to blade performance that can be analyzed by the scientists. I suspect that, given that several of those factors are counter-opposing, and thus must be balanced for the maker's desired "optimum" in overall blade performance, there is no single best material. It will ultimately come down to the individual owner's use of the blade as to the likely best material for that user, so the manufacturer must pick a most general balance that serves the broadest utility.

Again, I am no expert, but those are my general opinions and experience.