I have several 154 CM blades and the real users get pushed pretty far but easily short of abuse. The 154 CM blades slice like a light saber and that is what I expect. The force put on this blade is not something I would ever try on the 154 CM blades I have simply because this steel IS characteristically more brittle and not meant for such abuse. The blade geometry obviously was meant for a different purpose than brutal prying. With the Busse blades we laugh when someone says you shouldn't pry with your knife but look at the configuration of the tip of an INFI blade at the point where this HC failed. As I said, I wouldn't use my HC in this manner and I would expect it to fail if such forces were applied at that point. 154 CM, relatively brittle, you can't heat treat that out of the steel.