440C vs D2

MT Damascus said:
I would be more worried that it is a benchmade than the steel.
Click to expand...

Unless you can back that up with data, that is nothing more than a troll post.

I have measured the hardness of 4 Benchmades. Each has been within the published Benchmade hardness spec for that alloy. Each has had a fit and finish commensurate with the price. Each has performed well for the price.

Benchmade? Recommended.
 
440C, any day of the week, from most manufacturers, and definitely from a custom maker who knows what he's doing.

I agree 440 on my gut hook has served me well for 25 years Very Hard use....It has only been sharpened 2 times in 25 years.......
will cut through a Brest bone like butter all day long......
This guy built mine he is Dead now , RD his son Steve is still alive..........

http://www.nolenknives.com/index.html
 
I like 440c with the right heat treatment. It is just my personal opinion that benchmade quality is not what it should be. I have several gold class and if that is the best they can do, well then.
 
i have the 440C rant and it's served its purpose well but only has been used a few times. can take a mean edge though as shown from the factory but i haven't had to re-sharpen it yet so can't comment much on edge holding. in general i had read (when looking into the knife) that benchmade's 440C is one of the better ones.
 
UDT-SEAL said:
... has served me well for 25 years Very Hard use....It has only been sharpened 2 times in 25 years.......
Click to expand...
I don't think there is an alloy on this planet, not yet at least, that can survive even 1 year of moderate use with just 2 sharpenings.
It might've served you, but I dunno how sharp it really was or how hard it was used.
 
Gator I assure you my 440c has seen very hard use..
If I was to avg the deer it went through I would say at least 75 over 25 years
Now you say 3 a year is not that hard of use...it was more I just avg
Ever Deer I ever gutted went from bottom to top...
 
I like D2 better, but it might just be the heat treatments I've seen. My baseline for 440C is the Buck 110(which is some pretty good knife steel), and my baselines for D2 are Queen and Kershaw.
 
gomipile said:
I like D2 better, but it might just be the heat treatments I've seen. My baseline for 440C is the Buck 110(which is some pretty good knife steel), and my baselines for D2 are Queen and Kershaw.
Click to expand...

I have a slight preference for 440C over CPM-D2 due to it's 'toothy' nature when sharp. It is hard to describe, but it just feels like a more aggressive edge.
 
oldschool45 said:
D2 not to bad for vintage tool steel:D and unlike 440c you can get it to take a forced patina.
Click to expand...

false statement in my experience :mad:

i have a 940 and a 53 in d2. the 940 gets spots if i don't oil and rub it semi frequently, but i go to force a patina on the 53 and NOT A #&#$#%@@@!%#% THING!!!!!

i've yet to witness any problems chipping with my d2 knives. i'd get it in that :thumbup:
 
All these fancy steels for your knives.
For straight out hard work. reliability, and edge retention.
Get a coupla 1.1\2 and 2 in Power hacksaw worn out blades.
Well used. well heated. Super hard. Snap 'em off to size. slow grind to shape.
then profile etc to suit. You'll NOT find a better blade for skinning and butchering.
For Buff's, Goats. Roo's and Croc's.
Meatworks knives are a good second. My next yellow handled 6 in curved Boner
won't be my first.
I wouldn't use ANY folder for hard work. It WILL fold at some time.
And I like my pinkies too much thank you.
They mainly for sharpening a pencil and cleaning your nails (I do)
and collecting.

Over the last 20/30 yrs. 440 B and C have been well proven.
reliable Blade steels with very LITTLE problems.
H/T is the most important management of it, any steel.
b4 making anything.
and VG10.
H/T and Laminated by a good knifemaker. would be, probably
the best all round kitchen steel out there in general..I love it.
Along with my old Puma Stag scales hunting knives from early '60's on.
 
I love old answers to new questions. I see that Ganzo Tool and Die have changed their newer knives from 440c to D2.
 
I have been a knife guy for many years and like both the D2 and 440C which have been popular knife steels as long as I can remember. I recently bought a bright orange Brous Blades T4 in D2. It wasn't expensive and is a handful of good cutting joy.

 
I can tell which steelnid rather reprofile.....


I have a few Queen D2 blades. They take more work to sharpen. In use, they do fine. Hold an edge well, and in polished, or satin finishes are pretty much stainless.

440C is a fine steel too. Better stain resistance, a bit easier to sharpen than D2.

Hardness of either is not determined by steel type, but how hard they are heat treated to l, and what temp they are tempered at after heat treat.

D2, and 440C will be significant different in performance compared to D2, 440C from different makers/manufacturers. A custom maker with a well dialed in heat treat can get better performance than you will likely get out of either steel from a production company.

Either will be just dandy... but if probably go D2 I'd you have diamond stones.
 
I've never had any knives in D2, but I do have an older Benchmade Griptilian in 440C when that was their standard steel for that knife. I probably bought it in 2004 or 2005. It has worked and held up well and is a good balance of edge holding, ease of sharpening, and stain resistance.
 
Benchmade's D2 is excellent, judging by my 710 and Grippie. Takes a very fine edge with minimal effort, on diamond hones.
 
This is an old thread but I’ll go ahead and chime in anyway. Other than edge retention D2 really doesn’t have any advantages over 440C. If you need/want a blade with good edge retention go with D2. On the other hand, 440c is tougher, more stain resistant, and easier to sharpen. It won’t hold an edge like D2, but is still good enough for most tasks. My vote is for 440c.
 
I enjoy steel discussion because I have knives from 40 years ago that moved with me 13 times, often stayed in boxes for years without being oiled or touched, and with the exception of one Gerber knife which was corroded from the tannins in its leather sheath, all of my knives are still sharp and rust free. While the last few knifes I bought were Elmax and M390, I am fine with D2 or 440C because I can easily sharpen them. I do not use my knives a lot. Just to open packages and letters, plus cut some cardboard boxes which I think many knife owners use theirs for. So they do not dull often and I enjoy keeping them razor sharp. Call me crazy but I enjoy spending time sharpening knives. I find it soothing, :) I am the same way about cleaning my guns.

I am happy with any steel that will not rust under my normal conditions and that I can keep sharp. Not a steel snob, but I do expect better steel on expensive knives to justify part of the cost.
 
440c for me all day long. It and S35vn are my general faves. The whole edge retention thing is moot to me. Most of the modern steels from 440c on up have excellent edge retention. The key here is with D2 I'd have to whip out my diamond stones to bring back to life whereas 440c for regular use I can bring back to a shaving edge with almost anything including a norton economy stone, my Lansky turnbox, my Spyderco sharpmaker, hell give me sandpaper, and a little strop paste on a sheet of paper. 440c regains its edge so fast that I don't even care about edge retention as 440c with a good heat treat holds its edge great. I am into my second mini presidio ultra right now, it's a BM in 400c. I beat the crap out of my first one over 5 years of use doing all of my house renovations and yardwork. It was my number one folder for a very long time because I could get a shaving sharp edge on it no matter what I threw at it in 10 minutes, including punching it through or scoring drywall etc...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top