A-2 characteristics.....

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basko152

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I'm no metalurgist and quite honestly, I can't remember the differences of %'s in this steel or that.

I'm curious about where A-2 fits into the steel spectrum. Of all my knives I only have 4 steels present. ATS-34, 440C, AUS 8, and 1095 high carbon. So how will A-2 compare in these areas??

1) How does it hold an edge
2) How hard is it to sharpen
3) Is a Sharpmaker sufficient for maintaining an A-2 blade.

I'd appreciate the guidance. I'm planning to buy a Bark River knife and I have no experience with the tool steels (D2, M2, A2).
 
You can sharpen a BRK on a Sharpmaker, but you'll remove the convex edge of the Bark River. Stropping on wet dry sandpaper is the general method for convex edges/grinds. You can use the Sharpmaker in its "stone" configuration and sharpen freehand to do convex sharpening as well.

Read this for details http://home.nycap.rr.com/sosak/convex.htm
 
IMHO, A2 is better then the steels you listed. With a 60rc, it will hold a good edge, is tough as nails and is easy to resharpen. The only drawback for some people is it will stain and if not cared for, will rust.
Scott
 
Good replies. It brings up two more questions though.

1) It looks like it may take some practice to not ruin the convex edge. Any recommendations for an el cheapo knife with a convex edge so I could practice? How hard is it to sharpen a convex properly.

2) What type of lubricant can I use to maintain the blade? I'll be using it for some food processing type things too (camp side stuff) and I don't want my s'mores tasting like CLP:barf:
 
Most old knives that have been sharpened "freehand" have convex edges. Can't be too hard to accomplish. I find no problem in keeping Bark River or Fallkniven knives sharp using sand paper, "crock sticks," or stones.

Cheap knives come with flat bevel edges because that's an easy edge to apply with automated equipment.

"Mineral oil" is food grade and works just fine. Available in any drug store.
 
I sharpen freehand and have no problem maintaining convex edges -- just pull them across the hone backwards (rather than stroking with the edge forwards) until you have a burr. Then gently remove the burr by stroking forward lightly. A2 as heat treated by Bark River is superb. It is also supposed to be very tough steel, though I haven't tried to abuse my Bark River Woodland.
 
Basko, I own a BRKT and love it. As far as holding it's edge, it's one of my better knives. I field dressed two deer this year (not mine :mad: ) and just a few strokes on 320 sandpaper brought it back. As far a what I use to sharpen the blade: I use a home made mouse pad sharpening block. I glued a old mouse pad to a block about 2" by 8" by 1/12 " tall. I then cut a slit @ each end of the block to stuff the ends of the sandpaper in. When sharpening, I press LIGHTLY down on almost the whole surface of the blade. The mouse pad will take the shape of the convex edge and build a bur on the opposing side. You can use any grip paper you want, but I have found that 100 is best for re-profiling the edge. I then use 150 and finally 220/320 to finish. After that, a strop on a charged leather belt, and you're done. The nice thing is, the mouse pad keeps the convex edge true for you. Fancy "rolling" of the blade isn't needed. You won't be disappointed with a BRKT. There is a great article in Nov 2004 TK magazine on how to build a mouse pad block if I wasn't clear. Wouldn't be the first time:D Hope this helps.
 
[ATS-34, 440C, AUS 8, and 1095]

Depending on which blades these are, A2 in the Bark River knives is likely to sharpen easier and stay sharp longer not only due to the properties of A2 but the fine edge geometry of the Bark River knives. 1095 can be better than A2 in some respects with how Bark River hardens it, but it will require a custom heat treatment to about 66 HRC. A2 is a general work tool steel, it is in the middle for wear resistance, corrosion resistance and toughness, it isn't very high in any of these areas, but isn't very low either compared to M2 for example which will be harder and much more wear resistant but not as tough, or L6 which is much tougher but not as wear resistant.

Is a Sharpmaker sufficient for maintaining an A-2 blade.
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Yes, the only things this doesn't do well are ceramic knives.

basko152 said:
Any recommendations for an el cheapo knife with a convex edge so I could practice?
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Opinel, these are just a few dollars and have a full convex grind on a fairly easy to machine carbon steel.

How hard is it to sharpen a convex properly.
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You can just put a small v-bevel on it which is trivial, sharpening it an maintaining the entire curvature can be done as well but is usually not the most efficient way to sharpen unless the knife is only lightly blunted due to the extreme amount of material which has to be removed.

You basically have to plane the full primary grind down each sharpening. It is usually more efficient to raise the blade slightly, focus the sharpening on the edge, and rework the primary grind as necessary on occasion with an x-coarse hone to keep the overall edge profile from thickening.

-Cliff
 
First, your knife will come with a SHARP edge. Maintain that edge rather than letting it get dull before you resharpen.

If you use your knife lightly (no chopping concrete blocks), you will be able to maintain your Bark River edge for a long time with nothing more than stropping on the cardboard back of a note pad. I was amazed at what a few passes would do. Depending on what you use your knife for, you may be able to go weeks/months with the back of a note pad. If you need more than that, LIGHT stropping on sandpaper placed on a mouse pad will almost automatically give you a convex edge. Not to be mystical, but Mike's convex edge is almost magic.

Worst case, Mike offers a free resharpening service (I think you pay shipping). If you really use a knife, I think you will love Bark River.
 
Just a personal opinion: The A2 BRKT is damn good stuff. Sharpens beautifully. And IMHO the Mini-Canadian is the best very small fixed blade anywhere.
 
A2 is a very good knife steel. I'll take a good tool steel over stainless almost every time. A2 sharpens fairly easily and takes a real nice edge, much better than any 154CM that I have used. Just my experience, but I am sticking to it.
 
The Opinel is perfect for practice due to its price and is also a really good knife. As for the lubricant, I recomend mineral oil, its the best "edible" lube I have used.
 
HoB said:
Just a personal opinion: The A2 BRKT is damn good stuff. Sharpens beautifully. And IMHO the Mini-Canadian is the best very small fixed blade anywhere.
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I agree completely.

I have one in stag bone, and I love it. It is an excellent caping/skinning knife for small game.

The edge geometry is awesome and the A2 steel is a good performer.
 
Razorback - Knives said:
IMHO, A2 is better then the steels you listed. With a 60rc, it will hold a good edge, is tough as nails and is easy to resharpen. The only drawback for some people is it will stain and if not cared for, will rust.
Scott
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I was going to type my opinion, but Scott already did it for me. :)
 
I have a BRKT M10 prototype, and the edge is simply amazing... I think it's 440C, they didn't remember what they made it out of, lol, but it's an awesome edge.
 
I agree with Danbo and Scott. I have a number of A2 knives, and they are among the best I have. For example, does the name RJ Martin mean anything to you? Well, he was using A2 before going over to S30V, and I think the A2 knives hold their edge (and a RJM edge is really something) about as well. They do require a bit more care than some of the ones that you mentioned, but the occasional oiling or Ren waxing is something that should be done for ALL knives.
 
HoB said:
And IMHO the Mini-Canadian is the best very small fixed blade anywhere.
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I had thought for some reason most of the BR knives were much more expensive, that one is only ~$50 which is nice. The only part that bothers me about the steel is Stewarts description of materials which stretches reality in parts and leaves it completely in others (hardens for maximum grain size explain that).

I also don't like wide hardness specs like 58-60 HRC, A2 has a toughness peak at 60 HRC and a minimum quite close to it which that range allows you to fall into. Overhype also turns me off as well, I realize some people really like the products, but some of what you read is so overboard it just gets silly but comments from guys like you and Ed turn it back around.

In regards to the mini, I like the look of the blade style, is the profile basically full flat or can you see a pronounced curvature, can you measure the edge thickness at 1/8" and 1/4" back? Do you like the finger cutouts in the handle?

-Cliff
 
One other thing to remember, how about when the Busse Steel Heart was made with A2. That was one badass knife. It's bringing big bucks on the secondary market now.
Scott
 
Originally posted by Cliff Stamp.
"I also don't like wide hardness specs like 58-60 HRC."

Rockwell testers are limited to plus or minus one point. A two point spread is the best you can offer due to the accuracy of the test blocks used to calibrate the machines. This is important to note for anyone sending material to commercial heat treaters. They will quote a range only, not an exact number.
 
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