D2 Chipping?

J

jvcuevas

Joined
Jun 30, 2008
Messages
8
Hello,
I have a BM 913 in D2 that I bought about 5 months ago and so far I haven't had any problems with it. I use it as my edc and it gets used daily. The main reason I got this knife is that I need a knife that could take it all. That was the main reason I choose D2.

Again until yesterday I never had any problems with it. I have a bugambilia on my backyard and decided to wack some of the long branches with it (I was bored). They were about 1/4 inch thick and the knife cut them with out any problems.

This morning I notice the blade was getting stuck while cutting some paper. I looked at the blade and I noticed the blade had chips on it. :mad:

I had heard that D2 chips easily, but I never expected this. I sharpen it using a spyderco sharpmaker set to 30 degrees with fine and ultra-fine ceramic rods. Could this be causing the problem? Shall I send it back to benchmade?

any thoughts?

Thank you.

j
 
Why not just resharpen it yourself and save the trouble of sending it to BM? Blades get dull with use, and tiny chips are normal in hard use, in my experience.
 
AFAIK D2 is not meant for chopping action; its selling point is edge retention on cuts. The resident metallurgist in my company cautions against D2 outside its specific intended use because "it breaks".

That being said, it doesn't hurt to send your knife back to benchmade to see if it happens to be especially fragile.
 
I have heard that but never seen it. I have Kershaw D2 Outcast that chops like crazy and has never chipped.
 
sharpen it at back to 40 and chop away.

I love D2 at 30 on the Sharpemaker. It puts out a great utility edge, but if I was going to chop something with a 913 I'd go to 40.

Not sure why I'd chop anything with a 913, but thats just me.
 
udtjim said:
I have heard that but never seen it. I have Kershaw D2 Outcast that chops like crazy and has never chipped.
Click to expand...

I don't doubt you. As we all know heat treatment makes a big difference, and it's entirely possible that Kershaw uses a slightly different process.
 
can't give advice, but can give grattitude. THANK YOU for sharing your experience, this helps me alot. i had avoided D2 for this very reason and your experience is one i won't forget hearing.
 
30 degree is simply too acute for chopping I guess, try it at 40" and you should be fine
 
When the proper heat treat is used D2 can be an incredibly tough steel.

This is a blade I used to chop the cinder block with.

IMG_1617.jpg


Granted, this edge was ground specifically for chopping but the cutting edge did not chip out or break.

IMG_1619.jpg


SDS
 
SDS said:
When the proper heat treat is used D2 can be an incredibly tough steel.

This is a blade I used to chop the cinder block with.

IMG_1617.jpg


Granted, this edge was ground specifically for chopping but the cutting edge did not chip out or break.

IMG_1619.jpg


SDS
Click to expand...


Wow :thumbup::thumbup:
 
Sep said:
AFAIK D2 is not meant for chopping action; its selling point is edge retention on cuts. The resident metallurgist in my company cautions against D2 outside its specific intended use because "it breaks".
Click to expand...

That's what I thought: hard tool steel --> not for chopping.
 
SDS said:
Granted, this edge was ground specifically for chopping but the cutting edge did not chip out or break.
Click to expand...

That's the magic of edge geometry.

I suggest you keep the secondary/back bevel 30 degrees and sharpen the primary edge (cutting edge) at 40 degrees. You'll still have a nice thin profile for slicing, just with a slightly more obtuse (stronger) edge.
 
The knife in that picture has been in the hands of a tactical unit from a large PD for a couple of months. They want a "team knife" and that was a prototype to test. I told them to beat on it and try to tear it up. I haven't seen the knife yet but they said they have passed it around the team and are ready to get serious about orders so I assume they are happy with the blade.

Obviously the more obtuse angle will help in the area of chopping but I was still surprised at the lack of expected damage. I would say there ARE better choices than D2 on a knife that will be used for chopping. I'd also say there are worse choices.

SDS
 
jvcuevas said:
I have a bugambilia on my backyard and decided to wack some of the long branches with it (I was bored). They were about 1/4 inch thick and the knife cut them with out any problems.
Click to expand...

THG said:
That's what I thought: hard tool steel --> not for chopping.
Click to expand...

I wouldn't call that chopping. It's a pretty small knife and 1/8" thick can take a good beating. You grind the edge very thin and it'll be a mean slicer, but more prone to chipping; give it a fat edge and it won't chip, but won't slice well either. Just gotta find that sweet spot.


udtjim said:
I have heard that but never seen it. I have Kershaw D2 Outcast that chops like crazy and has never chipped.
Click to expand...

I've seen and sharpen that knife before and it has a massive thick edge, which is why it won't chip.
 
After getting some chipping in my D2 RAT-7, I did some research and found out that D2 is tricky to heat-treat and if done improperly can be VERY brittle. I now use 1095 for chopping tasks and have had no problems at all. The same knive company may make a batch of "good" D2, and then a batch of "bad" D2. It's a hit or miss situation. Like another poster said, it really isn't meant for chopping, it's more for edge retention.
 
Oils ain't oils and D2's ain't D2's. There is a huge variation in the properties of D2 as a result of:
>Actual %'s of alloys and carbon in the mix
>How the steel is made - powdered metallurgy is supposedly better
>Heat treatment and tempering.

These will affect the intrinsic qualities of the finished D2 blade and can vary enough to make you think that different steels were used
 
if you look at the charts d2 is pretty poor for toughness compared to many other tool steels, so i'd keep a fairly thick edge for chopping with it... have done so and been rewarded with durability (but 8670m or 5160 can have way thinner edge and chop better)
 
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