Bld522, you are right! I just wanted to see how much better INFI was over sr77. Edge taking and retention there is no difference imho. As Dan proved how insanely strong his knives are with his DF torture pics I figured that was the last frontier.. While my test wasn't real world, it showed INFI is better in salty swamps, jungle and similar environments unless you pack a thorough care kit for your sr77.

While my Badger may change my mind; right now my S6 is my can-do knife and I think Dan is VERY cool!

Now Dan, about that D2 shaker..

That’s my understanding, INFI, SR-77 and SR-101 all come out great with the secret Busse heat treatment.

Yep, and at risk of getting flamed, owning sr77 and INFI I'd say the only real world difference is how they corrode. If you don't mind carrying a care kit then sr77 will be your best friend. It's cost effective and tough, INFI will work best in nasty environments though.

Out in the wilds I'd have my S6 and my SS4 (or possibly Badger instead of them when it arrives) and in extreme areas a chopper; most likely my Tram bolo..

It's great to have options!

YOU HIT THE NAIL ON THE HEAD.

You know Paul that is what has been bugging me. I have done more with my Dog Father in terms of general use,and WAY over the top hard use. I think what you said is what has worried me all along Paul.
Am I going to notice the difference in a piece of INFI or am I going to throw my money down a whole and think I'm still using my SR-77?
Honestly I have NEVER down things with a knife that I have with Dans blades in my entire life.
WRONG, retract that. I have and when I did catastrophic failure occurred. Tips snapped off,edges missing CHUNKS of steel and dull blades within minuets of use.
The SR-77 that Scrap Yard sells does NONE of those things. It excels my expectations at every turn and out performs any blade I own. So like you said Paul,am I buying corrosion resistance for the price of INFI?
I live in Wisconsin. Corrosion is just NOT a concern.
End of my thought on this,I need to try a piece of INFI to see for myself just why it is INFI. Spending gobs of money and not getting more performance than Dans SR-77 seems pointless to me.
What's the phrase they use in Missouri?
Oh yeah, SHOW ME.

Peace.

sorry bud, missed your post. this is an oversimplification but it will help put things in perspective.

When you heat steel to hardening temperature the crystals line up into austenite. if you cool it slowly they take a structure that is not rigid, hard, or brittle. this is pearlite, which is very workable, soft, and tough. when you cool it quickly the structure taken is very rigid, hard, and brittle. this is martensite. there's a lot of stress in the steel in this phase so you heat it to the tempering temperature to relieve the stress in the martensite.

there's more to it like ferrite, cementite, bainite, carbides, impurities, quenching media, normalizing, tons of other crap that affects the way things work, but that's the jist of it.

<img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/doh.gif" alt="" /> where do you come up with this stuff? <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" />

fairy dust & a pinch of "FM"

don't mistake this for flaming, my friend. i would just like to say that when you include the predicate of the 'real world' i would wager that even corrosion resistance is of no substantial advantage to infi. you specifically state that it would have to be pretty nasty condition and in a previous post you described soaking it in warm saltwater for three hours. you disclaimed the use of this as real world data so you obviously know it's of less consequence than it might seem while viewing the results.

simply put, you can use your carbon steel knife on a ship in the middle of the atlantic over the equator in july and as long as you swipe the moisture off after you use it, it'll be fine.

anything so soaked with saltwater or acid, you probably don't need to chop anyway.

finally, sr-77 is far more knife than we need. sure is awesome, though.

i'm sure you already own knives that cost more than your scrappers and perform less impressively. with jerry's knives you buy the products from the guy who started it all. more exotic designs, materials, styles, and they are a good investment.

if it's pointless, so are most of the knives we collect and we shouldn't have any knives but the best performers of each category which amounts to much less than nearly a hundred.

Get yourself a busse, my friend. you'll like it. they don't have to compete with your scrappers, they're family.

You will be visited by the Hell Hog for your blasphemy! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> I actually agree. I do not "need" INFI. But it sure is nice to have. There could be unforseen circumstances where INFI or the lack thereof would be life or death for the user. Mainly, I think it is human nature to want the very best we can afford in something we are passionate about.