There is no such thing as the "best" knife steel. All steels are a trade off between corrosion resistance, edge retention, toughness, etc etc etc. Where INFI excels is in having a very favorable all-around balance of these qualities for hard use knives. But INFI is hardly the best choice for ALL knives - if I were a diver, the spyderco ultra-corrosion resistant steel might be better, and for a knife like the bdle I much prefer stainless over infi - it holds an edge longer and handles acidic foods better. I don't baton my bdle or chop blocks with it, so I don't want to sacrifice the traits that actually benefit the knife in use, in exchange for unneeded toughness