不要迷恋哥，哥只是个钢----关于INFI

realjam

我是一个钢材控，在此中我得到乐趣，yy的乐趣。
INFI是一种叫人既爱又恨的钢材，既神秘又保守，引发争议也很多，有人说不过是个噱头，有人说是神秘的热处理方法，有人说性能其实也很一般。
INFI通常能查到的资料这样描述-------BUSSE的专用钢，韧性、强度相当好。顺便说一下Busse Combat Knife Company由Jerry Busse创建于1992年，Jerry Busse最早于20世纪70年代末期开始制作刀具，其在1982开始成为全职刀匠。有消息显示，busse最早使用A2钢制造刀具，1998年前后换用infi钢，也就是做刀许多年后换了钢然后就一直到今天。从A2的性能角度来看，busse很关注刀具强度，因为A2是一种韧性很好的钢材，虽然硬度超过57以上会脆一些。大约在1998年（如果数据不准请提示我更正），busse开始使用一种新钢材，命名为INFI，并对此报以巨大的期望，以至于在其后的十多年时间内，都稳定的使用这种钢材-------除了为低端市场而推出的basic系列上使用了M-INFI（INFI的简化版钢材）
    第一部分、从钢材成分看INFI。
INFI的成分似乎并不是十分保密的，至少我们得到了它的一些主要成分，同时也有人认为由于INFI是刀具商自己研发，因此披露的成分表有所保留。
C=0.5  
Va=0.36  
Cr=8.25  
Co=0.95  
Ni=0.74  
Mo=1.3  
N=0.11
从成分表中比较令人疑惑的地方，是氮的含量，居然有0.11%，镍的含量达到了0.74%。
对于INFI钢材，有以下几种观点：

       1.infi应该是一种以6L或者A2为基础经过busse独特的热处理后形成的刀具钢材。他与普通的6L或者A2的区别是热处理的方式独特。这种猜测可能建立busse早期使用A2的基础上，但是A2的C <0.35，和INFI区别较大，虽然INFI也被认为韧性强度高和A2具有一些共性。但是A2通常被认为处理到57硬度以上就会韧性大幅下降，和infi在60度以上有高强度不太像，

      2.对于氮含量的猜测，认为对于氮和镍对于制刀钢材而言,是有害杂质。因此INFI表现好，但是也肯定不稳定。或者猜测INFi使用了渗氮工艺。渗氮，是在一定温度下一定介质中使氮原子渗入工件表层的化学热处理工艺。常见有液体渗氮、气体渗氮、离子渗氮。传统的气体渗氮是把工件放入密封容器中，通以流动的氨气并加热，保温较长时间后，氨气热分解产生活性氮原子，不断吸附到工件表面，并扩散渗入工件表层内，从而改变表层的化学成分和组织，获得优良的表面性能。如果在渗氮过程中同时渗入碳以促进氮的扩散，则称为氮碳共渗。常用的是气体渗氮和离子渗氮。常规渗氮层厚度一般在0.6mm以下，深层渗氮可达0.8～1.2mm。从那谁把busse磨成一根牙签，然后找busse免费换了个新的事情看，如果渗氮只有1.2mm，仍然不够磨。

realjam

二、关于INFi的性能。通过测试，我们得到了一些关于INFi性能的直观感受。这是自1998年8月6日的一封电子邮件，jerry busse 关于关于他的新钢的邮件。

This is from August 6, 1998: an email Jerry wrote, talking about his new steel.......

Interesting facts about INFI:

Although the hardened INFI knives are 60 - 62 Rc（官网数据为58~60） we have yet been able to chip an edge. The edge can be dented or disalligned but its high level of malleability at such high hardness has never been duplicated by any other steel that we are aware of or have tested. We have bent INFI 35 degrees in a vise and it springs back to true. Why? What is the benefit to the customer? Not only does this test demonstrate the enormous toughness and lateral strength of an INFI blade but because our hardness is homogenous and not differential it demonstrates the amount of lateral strength and "spring" that the edge has as well. Many knives, which are differentially tempered, are done so because the steel being used does not possess great levels of inherent lateral strength at high hardness. In other words, if the entire knife were left at the same hardness as the edge the knife would be brittle in comparison to the same knife when differentially tempered. Carrying this thought even further, it tells us that if the knife is brittle or possesses low levels of lateral strength at high hardness then the edge must possess these same characteristics even when differentially treated because the edge is at the higher and more brittle hardness. The other question that arises is which hardness will the point be at on a differentially treated blade? There are only two choices; it is either the high brittle hardness, like the edge, or the softer spring temper, like the spine. Neither one offers optimal performance for the tip of the knife, which is often the most, used portion of the blade. INFI does not suffer from this malady because it is the only knife steel ever tested that has achieved such high levels of lateral strength with a homogenous hardness of 60 - 62 Rc（官网数据为58~60）. No other steel has even neared this performance level.

INFI's high level of chip resistance makes this the easiest steel to resharpen by hand that I have ever encountered. I personally fall into the category of the "hand sharpening challenged". I've heard tales of those who can sharpen ball peen hammers to a razor's edge on an Arkansas stone in less than 5 seconds flat. My experiences have always been to the contrary. The spine of the knife is usually sharper than the edge when I'm finished applying my magic stone sharpening technique. One of the great beauties of INFI is that simply stropping away from the edge (the way a barber strops a straight edged razor) on a ceramic stick is basically all that is required for INFI. Since you're not chipping steel off the edge there is no need to grind any steel away. This feature of INFI will, likewise, allow you to keep the same overall profile of the knife for a much greater period of time. Cool, huh?

Stainless? Not supposed to be. However, INFI has demonstrated very high levels of stain resistance in many different climates. Uncoated blades have been tested for more than a year in Alaska and have made their way into the wilds of British Columbia, the High Sierras and the tropical rain forest. No rust in Alaska or British Columbia! No rust in the High Sierras, even when exposed to great quantities of blood and left in the wet grass overnight. The tropical rain forest, which has been known to rust plastic (just kidding), did offer the toughest of the environmental exposures and a light speckling of oxidation did occur but was easily removed in the field with a hand rubbing of sand and water. No pitting was reported. Now I'm sure that salt-water exposure would offer some different results. The point is that although INFI is not a stainless it is certainly not a rust aggressive steel as many of the high carbon steels have proven to be. Couple this with our coating and you've got yourself a fairly maintenance free knife.

How does it compare to other steels? Simple question, complex answer. INFI represents what I have always dreamed of in a knife steel. Tougher, by an enormous margin, than any other steel I've ever tested. Unparalleled edge holding under high impact and in cutting tests. Shock resistance that begs you to "bring it on". An ease of resharpening that you have to see to believe. Higher levels of lateral strength at high hardness than have ever been achieved by any other steel. We have published our test results and our testing methodology. We have video taped all of these tests and play the video at the knife shows we attend. We encourage all knifemakers to duplicate our tests. We also encourage other knifemakers to supply us with their testing criteria and videotape of their test results so that we might perform the same tests on our INFI blades. We love testing knives! We destroy more knives in a year than most custom knifemakers manufacture in the same period of time. The only competitor's performance results that we will publish will be those that have been supplied to the public or to us privately by other makers. We will only publish the name of our competition if they give us permission to do so. If you want to know how another maker's knife will compare to a Busse Combat knife ask the other maker to duplicate our tests. We will gladly duplicate their tests.

Will you notice the difference between our knives and our competitions? I don't know. Most consumers will never take a knife to its limit. Many of the high performance knives on the market surpass the abilities of human abuse and cannot be taken past those limits without the assistance of leverage devices and insane behavior. There are some out there, however who have some real issues, who's primal urges cause them to run screaming through the forests. Who seek therapy in the wilderness and only find some resolve after cleaving down a patch of trees (dead ones of course) large enough to constitute a small rain forest. For those of you who can relate to this sort of behavior and think it beats the heck out of golfing, then we make the knife you've been looking for. If you're the type of person who wants more horsepower than you'll ever be able to use, then here we are waiting for you with a knife and a guarantee,

realjam

Are we the only knife you should ever buy? I hope not. There are an enormous number of fine knives and knifemakers in the market place. We salute those companies who strive for performance and not cosmetics. Some achieve both. The overall performance of knives has greatly increased over the past 15 years. Some companies and makers achieve better performance through better design, some through better construction, and some through the use of better materials. Some have achieved one or two and, rarely, some have achieved all three. I believe that Busse Combat has achieved all three and we are not the only ones. On the other hand there are many designs that confuse me, many choices of materials used that seem like a waste, and construction choices from handle construction to blade grind that seem to have been based solely on cost of manufacture. However, if there is one thing I've learned, it is that the more I learn the more I realize I don't know. Are there absolutes in design, construction, and material choice? You better believe I think so, but these are only based on my personal experiences and therefore are nothing more than opinion. I learned through too many years of graduate school and academic study that even though my opinions are supported heavily by facts they are still nothing more than opinions. I believe that knife manufacturers who strive for performance should keep an open mind.

Are we excited about INFI? Oh yeah! In fact it is difficult to contain ourselves. We have invested a lot of time and money in this project. We were prepared to invest more until we got it right. Luckily, more than ten years and countless bucks later we hit the jackpot! Lucky us, lucky you. With a steel like INFI it's easy to understand why we offer the toughest guarantee in the business. We guarantee against any and all major damage, including the handles, including accidental damage forever. We highly encourage gross abuse as it is covered by OUR warranty. The only thing we do not cover is intentional damage. For example, let's say you cut your Busse Combat knife in half with an acetylene torch. We probably wouldn't cover that . . . unless it was accidental, in which case we would send you new knife. I have rambled for too long here. Thanks for bearing with me and stay tuned to our website for more info in the future on INFI."

Your friend,
Jerry Busse

realjam

Some facts and info about INFI.
Hardness
Although hardened INFI knives are 58-60 Rc we have yet been able to chip an edge. The edge can be dented or misaligned but its high level of malleability at such high hardness has never been duplicated by any other steel that we are aware of or have tested. Flexibility
In one of our performance tests, we bend a Battle Mistress 35 degrees in a vise and it springs back to true. Why would we do this? What does it prove? What is the benefit to the customer? Not only does this test demonstrate the enormous toughness and lateral strength of an INFI blade but, because our hardness is homogenous and not differential, it demonstrates the amount of lateral strength and "spring" of INFI all the way to the edge. That means that edge of the blade will possess this same toughness. INFI is the only knife steel ever tested that has achieved such high levels of lateral strength with a homogenous hardness of 58 - 60 Rc. No other steel has even neared this performance level. Edge Retention
Many so-called knife experts have heralded the "wear resistance" of a steel as the key to edge retention. This may very well be true if a knife is designed and intended for the cutting of soft materials ONLY. However, we have never inspected a dull knife and found the edge to be perfectly smoothed away, like a ball bearing. Instead what we find are microscopic chips where the edge has broken or chipped away like glass after having impacted against bone, gravel, or other hard surfaces. This micro chipping dictates that the edge be reground during the resharpening process, which will ultimately lead to a thicker edge and a radical change in overall blade shape. Steels with high wear resistance normally score fairly low in shock resistance, lateral strength, and overall toughness. INFI scores very high in ALL of these categories. Sharpening
INFI's high level of chip resistance also makes it the easiest steel to resharpen by hand that we have ever encountered. I personally fall into the category of "hand sharpening challenged". I've heard tales of those who can sharpen ball peen hammers to a razor's edge on an Arkansas stone in less than 5 seconds flat. My experiences have always been to the contrary. The spine of the knife is usually sharper than the edge when I'm finished applying my magic stone sharpening technique. One of the great features of INFI is that simply stropping away from the edge (the way a barber strops a straight edged razor) on a ceramic stick is basically all that is required to resharpen INFI. Since you're not chipping steel off the edge there is no need to grind any steel away. This feature of INFI will, likewise, allow you to keep the same overall profile of the knife for a much greater period of time. How does INFI compare to other steels?
Simple question, complex answer. INFI represents what I have always dreamed of in a knife steel. Tougher, by an enormous margin, than any other steel I've ever tested. Unparalleled edge holding under high impact and in cutting tests. Shock resistance that begs you to "bring it on". An ease of re-sharpening that you have to see to believe and higher levels of lateral strength at high hardness than have ever been achieved by any other steel. We have published our test results and our testing methodology. We have video taped all of these tests and play the video at the knife shows we attend. More importantly, we have duplicated these performance tests in "LIVE" demonstrations at many trade shows throughout the United States. We encourage all manufacturers to put their products through our tests and to publish their results. If you want to know how another maker's knife will compare to a Busse Combat knife, ask the other maker to duplicate our tests in a "live" demo. Is INFI stainless?
Not supposed to be. However, INFI has demonstrated very high levels of stain resistance in many different climates. Uncoated blades have been tested for years in Alaska and have made their way into the wilds of British Columbia, the High Sierras and tropical rain forests. No rust in Alaska or British Columbia! No rust in the High Sierras, even when exposed to great quantities of blood and left in the wet grass overnight. The tropical rain forest, which has been known to rust plastic (just kidding), did offer the toughest of the environmental exposures and a light speckling of surface oxidation did occur but was easily removed in the field with a hand rubbing of sand and water. No deep pitting was reported. When compared to other cutlery steels in salt spray tests, INFI faired better than ATS-34 and D-2. Although all three grades exhibited surface oxidation, the INFI was not deeply pitted as was common in these other two grades. So, although INFI is not technically a stainless steel, it is certainly not a rust aggressive steel. Couple this with a minimal amount of care and you've got a fairly maintenance free knife. With a steel like INFI it's easy to understand why we offer the toughest guarantee in the business. We guarantee against any and all unintentional MAJOR damage forever.

Jerry Busse

realjam

从以上资料中简单翻译如下：重复部分跳过。关于INFI有趣的事实：
    虽然INFI钢材硬度为60 - 62 Rc（疑应为58~60），我们仍然可以切削出刀刃。我们清楚或进行测试---这样高硬度的刀刃并且延展性还这么好，没有其他钢能够做到。我们用一个老虎钳弯曲INFI到 35度，能够能够弹回复原回。为什么？对于用户有什么好处？这不仅表现出韧性和INFI横向强度经受住了巨大的考验，同时也显示它的硬度均匀性，它显示了横向强度和“弹性”，结果刀刃表现良好。许多刀，经过选择性回火，这样做是因为正在使用的钢材不具备横向高强度和高硬度。换句话说，如果整个刀处理到同样硬度那么会比较脆，进一步来说，它告诉我们，如果虽然高硬度但是横向强度低的钢材必须具备经过不同处理，否则容易破碎。所以只有两种选择，它的刀刃处理成高硬度，刀脊处理成保持弹性的低硬度。但是 INFI不会“患上这种疾病”，因为它是测试过的刃材中，唯一的能在60~62 Rc（疑应为58~60）的均匀硬度下还能保持这么高的水平的横向强度。甚至没有其他刃材能接近这一成绩。 （98年放出的话，10年过去了，居然现在从测试来看还是这样）
   保持性
     许多所谓的刀具专家推崇保持性的关键在于“耐磨性”，如果刀的设计的切割目的仅仅是针对软质材料话，那么这很可能是真的。但是，我们从来没有在检查钝刀时发现刀刃是完全平滑的边缘，像球一样圆。相反我们看到的是其中的破碎、缺口，就像玻璃对付过骨，砾石或其他硬表面一样的。这些微崩边决定了在重磨新磨利之后刀刃又变厚并导致刀刃形状的根本性改变。高耐磨钢通常在抗冲击、侧向强度、整体韧性上不足。 INFI在所有这些类别得分都非常高。
      不锈钢？不，尽管INFI展示了在许多不同的气候条件下的高耐修饰性。无涂层的刀片已在Alaska、British Columbia的野外、热带雨林已测试超过一年，。没有在美国的阿拉斯加或British Columbia生锈！即使暴露在血液中和在潮湿的草地留下过夜。在能腐蚀橡胶的热带雨林（开个玩笑），是最艰难的环境出现了锈斑，但很容易用手沾沙和水擦掉。据反馈没有发生点蚀。当然我敢肯定，和盐水接触会是不同的结果。重点是，虽然INFI不是不锈钢但是已被证明绝对不是像高碳钢那样的一个容易生锈的钢。有我们的涂层你得到的可以说是免维护的刀。
      它与其他钢相比如何？简单的问题，复杂的答案。 INFI是我梦寐以求的刃材。和我已经测试过任何其他钢相比，有巨大的强度差异。高冲击下和切削试验中无与伦比的保持性。抗冲击性仿佛在求你“来吧！”。重磨刀的时候你简直不敢相信。横向强度高，硬度高的水平超过任何其他钢。我们已公布的测试结果和我们的测试方法。我们有录影所有的这些测试并在参加的刀展上播放。我们鼓励所有刀匠重复我们的测试。我们也鼓励其他刀匠提供他们的测试标准和测试结果的录像带，以便我们可以也用INFI刀进行同样测试。我们热爱测试刀！我们在一年中破坏了n多定制刀匠制造的刀。竞争对手的表现我们只私下交流，如果他们允许我们这样做我们会公布竞争对手名字。如果你想知道另一个制造商的刀和busse比较会如何，你可以要求其他厂商复制我们的测试。当然我们会很乐意重复他们的试验。
（插一句，busse的确感觉牛气冲天。要是没有小胖noss的毁灭性测试，我肯定以为他在逼大胡话）
      不知道你有没有注意到我们的刀和我们的比赛之间的区别？大多数消费者不会用到刀的极限。没有杠杆装置的协助和疯狂，市场上的高性能刀具极限都超越人类能力，不过有一些真正的问题，有的人的原始冲动使他们尖叫穿过森林，有的人发现砍掉一整片热带雨林才能解决困境。对于认为这类行为不过就像打出一记高尔夫球的人来说，我们制造的就是你一直在寻找的刀。如果你正是那种要想要更大马力的人，那么我们的刀和承诺在这里等着你。
    我们是唯一你应该买的刀？我希望不会。在市场上有大量的刀匠的刀。我们向这些为提高刀具表现而努力的不是摆设的公司致敬，在过去15年刀的性能有了巨大的提升，这些公司通过更好设计、更好的加工、应用更好的材料。其中有些实现了一个或两个方面，有些三方面多做到了。我相信，，我们busse做到了三方面，不是唯一三方面都做到的。另一方面有许多设计，让我疑惑，用的很多材料看起来像一个废物，从加工刀刀片研磨似乎纯粹只是在考虑制造成本。但是，我学到的越多，就意识到自己还有更多未知。是否有绝对（最好）的设计、加工、材料的选择吗？你最好相信我这么认为，但这些只是根据我个人的经验的个人看法。我学了太多年，研究生学习、学术研究，即使我的意见是大量的事实支持的，他们仍然只是主观看法。我相信，追求性能的刀制造商应该努力保持开放的态度。
     我们对INFI兴奋？Oh yeah! 。我们已经在这个项目上投资了大量的时间和金钱。我们愿意投入更多，直到我们得到它。幸运的是，十余年来无数的钱，（从这句看来这钢研发经历了大约10年以上）后来我们中奖了！我们很幸运，你也很幸运。有了这样的INFI钢很容易理解为什么我们提供了最艰难的商业保证。我们保证对任何和所有严重的损害，包括处理，包括意外损坏，永远。我们非常鼓励以上严重的虐待，因为它是我们的保修范围内。我们唯一不保修的是故意伤害。例如，假设您用乙炔火焰将busse刀一切为二。我们保修可能不会包括的。 。 。除非它是偶然的，在这种情况下，我们将寄给您新的刀。

realjam

      3我个人比较倾向于INFI可能就是一种氮钢，与渗氮所区别的是，冶炼过程中氮的溶解，可以更为均匀。过去认为氮加入钢中将产生脆性而作为必须除去的元素处理，但在1910～1930年期间却开展了氮加入钢中可提高强度的研究，以后并用它来提高韧性、疲劳强度和耐蚀性等性能。通常情况下，常压下氮在液态钢中的溶解度很低，但这些少量的氮却能导致钢材产生时效脆化，于是开发了各种减少液态钢中氮的二次精炼技术，并还在不断地改进。然而，在高氮钢中氮作为合金元素可以和钢中的其他合金元素(如Mn、Cr、V、Nb、Ti等)交互作用，而赋予该钢种许多优异性能。例如，提高奥氏体的稳定性，使钢的力学性能大大提高，改善钢的耐腐蚀性等等。
   现有资料表明：氮作为固溶强化元素可以促使不锈钢形成奥氏体组织。氮在铁基固溶体中一个最显著和最有效的作用是稳定面心立方晶格，同时在固溶强化、晶粒细化硬化、加工硬化、应变时效、耐一般腐蚀、点腐蚀和缝隙腐蚀方面起积极作用。研究表明：每加入0．1 N，其强度提高约6O～100MPa；在奥氏体不锈钢内1% 氮和含2O%铬的耐蚀性相同，（虽然INFI远达不到这个含量，但是INFI的耐腐蚀性也还不错）
氮钢有低氮钢，中氮钢，高氮钢，比如高氮不锈钢还有比其他合金钢更为有利的优点：①屈服强度、拉伸强度高和延展性好；②具备高强度与高断裂韧性；③高应变硬化潜力；④阻止形成变形诱导马氏体；⑤低磁导率；⑥良好的耐腐蚀性能。高氮钢在强度、断裂韧性、耐磨性、磁性及耐腐蚀性等方面具有良好的综合性能。似乎与INFI钢的性能特点有些相似。虽然氮加入钢中能有诸多有益之处，但由于氮在钢中的极限固溶度极低，限制了其在常规冶炼工艺下的加入量，致使高氮钢的研究一直在深入进行中。留意到busse开发INFI钢花费大约10余年（他自己提到），我注意到：1988年的第一次“高氮钢国际会议”（HNS-88）召开之后仍定期召开，我更原因相信，busse找到了比较好的方法精炼氮钢，并且控制氮含量在合适水平以获得最高性能。
   
以上就是目前能找到的资料了，关于infi到底是什么也仅只是我个人猜测。抛砖引玉。

刀刀居

学习了 。。。

hr1666

吹毛断发，削铁如泥的busse，重现中国古代宝剑钢材的INFI，顶礼膜拜

hound

的确  如果没有NOSS的话所有人都会认为JERRY在吹牛逼

222333

INFI钢材硬度为60 - 62 Rc吗？官方网站数据是58－60.为啥会有如此差异

realjam

10# 222333

不错，现在官网上的介绍是58~60。我也不清楚资料不准确原因在哪。要么是资料有误，要么是busse做过调整，在没有证据证明后者的情况下，我以官网数据为准，以免误导。
Some facts and info about INFI.
Hardness
Although hardened INFI knives are 58-60 Rc we have yet been able to chip an edge. The edge can be dented or misaligned but its high level of malleability at such high hardness has never been duplicated by any other steel that we are aware of or have tested. Flexibility
In one of our performance tests, we bend a Battle Mistress 35 degrees in a vise and it springs back to true. Why would we do this? What does it prove? What is the benefit to the customer? Not only does this test demonstrate the enormous toughness and lateral strength of an INFI blade but, because our hardness is homogenous and not differential, it demonstrates the amount of lateral strength and "spring" of INFI all the way to the edge. That means that edge of the blade will possess this same toughness. INFI is the only knife steel ever tested that has achieved such high levels of lateral strength with a homogenous hardness of 58 - 60 Rc. No other steel has even neared this performance level.

Jerry Busse

222333

我有一把busse ash1，我感觉busse硬度到不了60，仅感觉，没实测。

dian44junpin

含镍也增加抗腐蚀能力,LZ分析的很透彻呀,关于具体含量的问题,到也不是什么太难的事,计量理化应该可以分析出来,更难的是热处理的工艺和流程

兵不血刃

支持深究学习！！！

xxxxx213641

学习了

realjam

我有一把busse ash1，我感觉busse硬度到不了60，仅感觉，没实测。
222333 发表于 2010-5-9 06:56

按现在的官网标称是58到60，我想busse从3寸刃到10寸刃以上都有，硬度区间分布也只可能小直高大直低。

行天

所有的资料都来自BUSSE自家，怎么排除自吹自擂的嫌疑？

realjam

是啊，再就是noss的测试评价了。网上资料太少，绝大部分都是对infi的评价，看了下其自己的介绍可能还比粉丝的靠谱一点，虽狂妄但好像也没人挑战成功的。
缺少更多方面关于其钢材奥秘的资料，如果谁有希望补充。期望能够了解的更为深入。

peachzan

测试是最能“蛊惑”人的，现在特迷恋busse的sjtac，可惜就是没钱没路子。材料至今还是没有公布，弄得玄乎其玄的。希望国内能有牛人也来个测试。

222333

busse的infi性能还存在差异吗？每个系列是不是都不同？有了解的吗？