Fellas, I stand corrected. KG, and EMF, thanks for setting me straight.

In ref. to the NIP, it DOES have a pretty sharp point, like it came from the factory, and it does pierce/stab VERY easily. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> Pointy INFI... ahhhh.

Recon,

I have just been to the P/O this morning and picked up my BRKT Golok....for $200 or so it is THE sharpest factory knife I have ever had....bar none! It is convex so it is not easy to measure the angle to the edge because this is a flowing curve like an inverted "tear" shape or an "appleseed" shape but you can get a good approximation and I will do a post on this with pictures later.

I also got last week my Ash LE....I went for one mainly because of what HD said...the time taken to clean up my Skinny Ash and re-profile it was TOO much. This version of an LE is very close to the Skinny Ash...hence my choice...but for a knife costing close to $500 the edge comparison will suprise you. This is a stright edge grind and much more easily checked off....again I will do some pictures. Saying it simple....it is not properly sharpened. From the tip before it gets to the belly it is sharp and will shave hairs off my arm...this is always the steepest grind on a blade and the higher angle may explain the edge reaching a pinnacle to make it sharp. The belly curve has not joined up on the grind properly and has a dull edge and this persists back to the choil.

The angles appear steep....I suspect more than 25 degrees but will know later...hence if this is so the edge needs to be taken back to 20 degrees either side and at the tip going down to the belly...I go for 25 degrees because this retains well when using the knife for prying or twist/gouging techniques. 20 degrees here and you can prize the edge over easier resulting in "rolling" the edge which translates to blunting it albeit you can often strop it back easily.

The point however is for $200 you get an edge which if you never let it blunt out you just have to strop it for it's life to maintain it....and you get the pleasure of opening your out of the box knife and marvelling at how sharp it is and ready to go....AND on the other hand you get a knife which you know needs a good couple of hours work on it to make it what it should be....which is one of the best combat/ultra performance knives in the world! The Busse guys really need to address this in my view! If you are not a really confident/long time user and sharpener of knives and you feared making your $500 knife perhaps duller.....you would be SO dissapointed...either that or your ignorance might prevent this...but if you opened both side by side...you would certainly think the $200 knife was the better of the two because it is sharpened properly!

However....the good news on the Ash LE is that the finish is second to none and compared to the Skinny is only slightly heavier...no difference really and feels just as good...so once the edge is done you are ready to go. The grind is also a great flat grind which I like very much as there is a lot less resistance than a Saber grind when cutting and reaching the saber "flats". Don't get me wrong....once the Ash LE is sharpened properly it will be a hell of a performer...one of the best for it's design. Maybe THE best....because it is what Busse do best.

BUT....if you were to put the smaller blades up against a BRKT Bravo or whatever...out of the box...then my money would go on the "sharp knife with the useful convex grind". If others can give this level of finish....those at the top of the price group ought to be able to match it.

I compared my new Bravo-1 with my new Meaner Street last year, both with factory edges. There was no comparison. The Bravo-1 cut much better. Once I reprofiled the edge on the little INFI knife, it cut much better than it had. I eventually traded off the Meaner because the handle just didn't feel right to me, but I still have the Bravo. I am impressed with knives that come out of the box ready for use. My Sarsquatch CE is such a knife. It may have a rough, unfinished look, but the edge is superb. It is the sharpest Busse I ever bought.
I think all Busses should come with such an edge.

I saw on knifetests.com a Scrapper 6 (SR-77) and a Busse FFBM (INFI) tested in the same way. Both of them passed the destruction test entirely, but while chopping into concrete the scrapper first rolled, then chipped on the edge. The Battle Mistress had almost no damage on the edge at the end (only some evasive denting) and its edge was intact and usable also at the end of the entire test. The S6 edge also rolled badly at metal-against-metal test. Of course, the blade size and geometry might have influenced the test, but anyway, the INFI blade kept its edge not only when cutting, but also when abused in the hardest way possible. No visible rolls and no chipping at all.

I think the most important difference between the two steels is that INFI never chips (at a normal environment temperature) whatever you do to it and it might be also more resistant to deforming (rolling, dulling etc.) than SR-77, as can be observed in that test. If you ever fall into a desperate situation and need to chop dull things (like concrete), you'll not only have the knife still in one piece with INFI, but you'll also have a still usable cutting edge.

After I badly chipped out the edge of my Fallkniven A2, i was commited to pay any amount of money for a blade which was similar in edge retention but does never chip. So, I picked INFI. It is the only steel I could find which never chips at that hardness of 58-60.

I do not think busse uses cpm154.they use 154cm. cpm is a much better steel.

INFI is superior to SR-77 in 3 regards:
1) wear resistance - it holds an edge better when cutting soft things (like food, textiles and so).
2) corrosion resistance (it comes close to some stainless steels category in this regards).
3) deformation resistance (and compresive strength) - it's more deformation resistant than SR-77 (something which is usually forgotten to say, but in Noss tests from knifetests.com you can see this very clear in the behavior of the tip and edge of the Scrapper6 and the Skinny ASH-1; the two knives have pretty similar sizes).

In lateral strength (which means bending for good or breaking a steel bar by applying lateral pressure) the two steels seem similar. And they are the same in impact resistance (chip and break resistance).

I won't comment on the price ratio between the two, because the price should normally reflect the production costs more than the utility value of a product.

Bruce-

Is that price diff just for the diff steels or is some of that diff also due to the handle materials used? I think the Micarta/G-10 is more than Res-C. But I get your point and I am still unsure if i think it is worth it or not...But, I sure am looking forward to getting my new S5LE's in Infi. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />

It'll be my second...first was a SS4. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

My first Busse knife will be my Tank Buster that I ordered. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> can't wait to get it.