Besides the appearance, what is the point of choosing the competition finish? It’s my understanding it’s most prone to rusting.
Maybe...
DC would probably be more prone to rusting, but with INFI it really isn't much of an issue.
Agree, overall, not much of an issue.
However, there are exceptions.
NFSH, comp finish. Didn’t rust... but after use, there were some weird orange stains all over the blade. I do not remember the condition I stored it. I usually clean (with soap and water), air dry, and put a LIGHT coat of SLIP2000 on my naked blades. I might have missed the lube on the NFSH. I do not remember.
BIG DC is rougher, no doubt. But it looks better. Until you use it. It begins to get scuffed, and trends then toward Comp finish, as you clean it aggressively to get rid of scum. Or at least I did. This is what I’m seeing on my BIG DC TGULB, probably my most hammered BIG DC INFI. It doesn’t look bad. To me. However, I will say that I’ve never had any kind of discoloration problem with BIG DC. Not like I saw on my Comp finish NFSH. That’s not my only comp finish, though. And I’ve used other comp finish just as much and not seen the discoloration. Probably due to my post use cleaning protocol one time in the NFSH. But I can’t guarantee that.
I’m going black or maroon micarta on BIG DC on this offering. Between the two (comp or BIG DC), I’ll take the less expensive. Both are better that stripping a Combat grade, IMO. My worst experience with corrosion with INFI is when I have stripped a combat grade, and there’s been carburization, or whatever, left over. A true pain in the ass. Take that for what it’s worth.