Sorry for the blasphemous title, but as we're waiting for out S5LEs to arrive I've been telling people that INFI is the "best knife steel out there".

My question to the Yard... is this true? Or is this just the opinion of the loyal following?

I don't want to speak out of school either way.

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

+1...<img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbup.gif" alt="" /> Well stated!

As MM stated, there is no single best steel for everything. If there was, I'm sure we would see every knife being made of that steel or something very close. There are trade-offs made depending on what the maker is going for. The things that must be balanced/considered are:
toughness
strength
edge holding/wear resistance
ease of sharpening
price
price/performance
corrosion resistance
finish - some steel like S90V don't polish up nice
workability - how hard is it to work with


I think when you consider all of these things (except maybe price) Infi is a very good all around, well-balanced steel. SR-101 and SR-77 are also very good and while they score better in price, they lose points in corrosion resistance, etc. As I stated, there is always a trade-off for one thing or another.

Hope this helps. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

I would go even further to say that, in my experience, SR-101 actually seems to have better edge retention than INFI. Now the flip side of that is that INFI is easier to restore, often needing nothing more than a quick stropping, or a steeling if it's seriously dinged up. With SR-101, you're more likely to get chips or dents rather than rolls, so the only way to get rid of that damage is going to be to sharpen it out.

Others have also argued that SR-77 is tougher than INFI, but I haven't beaten it hard enough to tell any difference. All three are plenty tough for my needs.

I've been happy with my SR77 and SR101 blades, and I'm looking forward to my first INFI.

Thanks for the insight guys, very helpful. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbup.gif" alt="" />

My dad's been getting into hiking and camping a lot more recently (I'm sure one of the biggest reasons is to have something we can do together, which is great!) and the other day he said he's been thinking about upgrading his folder to a small fixed blade.

Well, of course my mind went crazy thinking "I'm going to find him the perfect one!"

I'm tempted to give him my S5LE when it gets here and wanted to be able to tell him what INFI was.

I just wanted to know what to say.

Thanks for your help folks!

Cool. I'm glad I'm on the right track at least! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbup.gif" alt="" />

That SHSJ looks pretty darn sweet. I'd love to see a comparison pic with it side-by-side with the SJTAC. I'm hoping to score one of those SJTACs this weekend if I can find a proxy.