INFI vs. Z-Wear PM steel

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erto

erto

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What do you think about Z-Wear PM steel? and how it is compare to INFI, SR101 or CMP 3V?
Looking for input from folks experienced with this steel.
 
Don't know much about comparison. We all know how tough infi and sr101 can be. I did see a z-wear millerbros testing vid, which looked impressive, but realized at the end that the knife was .34 or .35 thick which is even thicker than the NMFSH. So for practical purposes I'm more than confident that my infi skinny ASH, at half the size, can handle anything I throw at it.
 
cpm 3v and z-wear are better than infi and holding an edge but harder to put one on, toughness is about the same. Infi is also less prone to micro fractures "edge chipping"
 
nydude said:
Don't know much about comparison. We all know how tough infi and sr101 can be. I did see a z-wear millerbros testing vid, which looked impressive, but realized at the end that the knife was .34 or .35 thick which is even thicker than the NMFSH. So for practical purposes I'm more than confident that my infi skinny ASH, at half the size, can handle anything I throw at it.
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yeah I have seen those testing videos too and that's why I am bit curious about this steel. But I did not notice the thickness! thanks for the heads-up.
 
All this begs the question: Is there any metal/heat treat that is far superior than Infi out there, that no matter what you do to it, it will never break and is backed up by the same warranty as Busse knives?
 
erto said:
yeah I have seen those testing videos too and that's why I am bit curious about this steel. But I did not notice the thickness! thanks for the heads-up.
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I have always wondered if those sheets of metal they use in their testing videos are heat treated???! I am guessing probably not but I have been known to be wrong quite a bit. AnyWho all of the steels that are mentioned including Z tuff I do own and are all great. There's plenty of information on pros and cons of all of the steels and can easily be looked up online with a million different opinions.
really comes down to personal preference. I don't believe that one is better than the other. all are knives that cut they are all great companies that use steel types mentioned in title.
you already know.
 
I have used a lot all 3 steels INFI Z-wear and Z-tuff, have also tested them on metals (nail, screws and such), and have hitted by mistake many rocks. I Have few MBBs and few BUSSEs.

Zwear is more wear resistant, I like it on smaller knives.

Ztuff and INFI are very similar, in toughness, wear and corrosion department. Love those on choppers, also because they are easier to sharpen, especially when you get some bad edge damage. They usually don't chip.

Both companies make probably the toughest blades on the market, great warranty and service.

Don't choose....buy both!
 
LadyEarth said:
All this begs the question: Is there any metal/heat treat that is far superior than Infi out there, that no matter what you do to it, it will never break and is backed up by the same warranty as Busse knives?
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Well of course that is always a good question, but there are so many variables such as blade size length, width, thickness that you have to narrow down the choice of how it's going to be used. I can break just about every knife (the MOAB would be a chore) with the right equipment, but that is not common sense usage. We are in an Age of wonderful new blade steels that are available to almost anyone interested in making knives. The KEY is what elements you want in a practical affordable knife be it Toughness, Stain resistance, wear resistance and a mix of those attributes. These knives are out there, but are they any better than Busse maybe in one area or another but overall. Busse is putting out some incredibly rugged hard use knives with a great warranty I don't think there are many manufacturers that can compete with that reputation.

The one steel that I feel has promise in comparison to INFI in a large chopper is CPM3V provided its given an optimum heat treat by a professional and you will pay the price for a large blade equal to a Busse. I think it's about individual choices on what type knife and what type steel you are willing to spend money on then do a head to head comparison.
 
Busto said:
Well of course that is always a good question, but there are so many variables such as blade size length, width, thickness that you have to narrow down the choice of how it's going to be used. I can break just about every knife (the MOAB would be a chore) with the right equipment, but that is not common sense usage. We are in an Age of wonderful new blade steels that are available to almost anyone interested in making knives. The KEY is what elements you want in a practical affordable knife be it Toughness, Stain resistance, wear resistance and a mix of those attributes. These knives are out there, but are they any better than Busse maybe in one area or another but overall. Busse is putting out some incredibly rugged hard use knives with a great warranty I don't think there are many manufacturers that can compete with that reputation.

The one steel that I feel has promise in comparison to INFI in a large chopper is CPM3V provided its given an optimum heat treat by a professional and you will pay the price for a large blade equal to a Busse. I think it's about individual choices on what type knife and what type steel you are willing to spend money on then do a head to head comparison.
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That is a fair assessment but the “variable” part of your paragraph does not seem to be at all a factor with INFI metal. The Busse Company has used INFI metal in practically every blade they come up with regardless of size, width, thickness, etc for so many years. That alone makes the “Variable” part of this discussion pretty much null and void because the Busse company put their products where their mouth is.

In another way of putting it, are there any other metal/heat treat out there that can perform the same amount of versatility that INFI metal/heat treat can do?

You said that “we are in an Age of Wonderful new blade steels...” and yet I barely hear a whisper of anything better than INFI. Why is that?
 
LadyEarth said:
That is a fair assessment but the “variable” part of your paragraph does not seem to be at all a factor with INFI metal. The Busse Company has used INFI metal in practically every blade they come up with regardless of size, width, thickness, etc for so many years. That alone makes the “Variable” part of this discussion pretty much null and void because the Busse company put their products where their mouth is.

In another way of putting it, are there any other metal/heat treat out there that can perform the same amount of versatility that INFI metal/heat treat can do?

You said that “we are in an Age of Wonderful new blade steels...” and yet I barely hear a whisper of anything better than INFI. Why is that?
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Busse has used many different steels.....NOT just INFI....D2 and A2 were a couple of early steels and they toyed around with 5160 as well in the early days. Elmax is yet another that has been used on small slicers in the HACK series so to say they have only used INFI is incorrect. Also of Note is that there have been 2 versions of INFI.

Busse Combat Knives was built on a reputation of Steels that were optimized by their proprietary Heat Treatment. They put their quality into ALL THE DIFFERENT Blade materials NOT JUST INFI. Each Steel type is a variable of ALLOY compounds.

The Variables are one Manufacturer using 0.250 thick with flat grind and Busse using 0.320 thick and convex grind. Even if the materials are close the thickness and grind are a variable that can change how the blade performs.

YES.....CPM3V will do everything INFI will do!!!

You might check some other manufacturers and see how well some other metals perform...not that Busse and INFI are bad but there are some really good manufacturers with steel other than INFI...There is a whole list of manufacturers in the FORUMS pull down that you can check...
 
cpm 3v is a little more chippy than the 3 mentioned though. atleast on some of my folders. Not as bad as s35v though
 
Rob stanley or somebody should do a steel test, those videos are all mild steel or tin. I'd like to see a Battle between a Busse and a Miller Brothers "same thickness blades"
 
StealthCaliber said:
Rob stanley or somebody should do a steel test, those videos are all mild steel or tin. I'd like to see a Battle between a Busse and a Miller Brothers "same thickness blades"
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Would be great wouldn't it, if they would allow that here, but that prob be a no go unfortunately.
 
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