Interesting post guys on the alternative steels and the common agreement that the performance of a knife is very much born out of the heat treatment of the blade. I have to agree entirely on this point.
There is another issue as well though....and that is the edge and overall blade geometry....especially if the blade is fully convex or a Japanese Hamaguru equivalent...then it is the whole blade geometry...but even the simpler issue of the edge angle being done with a view in mind to the likely use is often overlooked.
The case in point between the benefits of SR101 and Infi or SR77 is over shadowed for many by the simple experience they have with edge retention.
Obtuse angles supplied on many of these knives would certainly survive a breeze block chopping session better than a shallow angle edge....but are not going to impress well when it comes to cutting tasks. Similarly shallow angles applied for a very sharp cutting edge will "roll" if catching twists in the grain on battoning a log. Like MM said...you cannot avoid the laws of physics...but what you can do is make a blade suitable for it's most likely "tasks".
The skill deployed here makes a massive difference on "user endorsement" reputation. The best knives I have from top Japanese makers have all these boxes ticked. The steel is special in it's edge retention ability....the hamaguru edge given to the blade ensures it reaches the "user" perfectly shaped for a life times worth of use and with a knowledgeable user who can retain the edge with "stropping" there is no need to re-sharpen and re-profile the edge and perhaps by doing so take away from the total design benefit. Plus the heat treatment on the knife at high 60 plus Rc values on knives designed to be used for "cutting" and not chopping....means the edge retention begins to take on a noticeable "long lasting" ability and reputation.
These factors which need to be blended right to make the best of any given steel are starting to be seen with some of the more expensive Busse products which come with fully convexed edges. I have had a few of these now and whilst on the smaller knives they may benefit from a little thinning of the convex edge to give a better cutting ability...on the larger knives they come very well done for surviving heavy use...something Busse knives have built their reputation on. Which is a significant improvement from when I first came to this site when many of us were receiving knives which needed to be re-profiled and sharpened when taken out of the box. Certainly my recent purchases of a SAR 4 LE and a Zilla have all come with excellent fully convexed edges...even if these can be improved a little....they are still very well done and go a long way to convincing a user of the true benefits of Infi. It is nice to see a product now being supplied which makes the best of Busse's knowledge and skill in grinding and applying a convex edge for the intended use which optimises their knowledge and skill rather than requiring a user to develop such skills themselves. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbup.gif" alt="" />
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