D2 for hard use?

jesseaction

jesseaction

Joined
Jun 6, 2009
Messages
509
What's up everyone.

Can D2 from a good manufacturer be expected for perform as a hard use fixed blade? I'm thinking of a camp/survival knife, including possible chopping and light prying (don't kill me---I know knives aren't meant to be pry-bars...unless your life depends on it).

I thought that D2 was a tool steel, and meant to be very hard but pretty brittle usually. But it seems to keep popping up in limited edition folders and some fixed blades. Can it take abuse?

Cheers wise-ones. :thumbup::thumbup:
 
I have a BUNCH of D2. In my experience, use and abuse it at your will, you'll have a hard time making it fail.

I've sharpened sticks using sandstone as my chopping blocks without doing any major damage to my Kershaw Outcast.

It's not nearly brittle enough to treat it with reservation.

D2 rocks.
 
I really like my D2 knives. Bob Dozier is my personal preference. I really like the KS-7 Wilderness knife. I don't, however, chop with it. I am sure it would hold up fine, but could possibly have some edge chipping as it can be a bit brittle from what I read. Yes, I would have no problem doing so if I need to, but I try to use different tools for that.

Doc
 
J_Curd said:
I have a BUNCH of D2. In my experience, use and abuse it at your will, you'll have a hard time making it fail.

I've sharpened sticks using sandstone as my chopping blocks without doing any major damage to my Kershaw Outcast.

It's not nearly brittle enough to treat it with reservation.

D2 rocks.
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I'm starting to think the outcast has some magical heat treat, I see yours likes abuse too.

I doubt its anything special but with all the talk about chipping and breaking like glass and whatever else has been said, I just don't see it. I have a nice thin convex on the edge too and still no chips, even when I hit rocks.
 
Woowee, that thing looks sweet! Gotta love Kershaw's innovation and value for money no matter what size blade you're looking for. I think I'll have to put an Outcast on my list.

Thanks for the info guys. I guess it all depends on the heat treat, but its good to know that there is a chance. In a smaller blade (3-4") I probably wouldn't be doing any chopping anyway, so chipping wouldn't be an issue. So many knives, so little time...
 
Outcast is a good blade, solid. I still prefer High carbon but for stainless bushcrafting blades VG-10 or the moderate A2 steel would be my first pick. A2 contains about half the chromium of most stainless steels so it isn't quite as brittle, yet still has great rust resistance and superior edge retention.
 
My Outcast has lived a hard life...it's even thinner now...still holding up like a champ!

2245andoutcast50nf7.jpg
 
either steel with good heat treat is great.
i do'nt have a problem with rust since i clean all knives as soon as job is finished.
 
DennisStrickland said:
i do'nt have a problem with rust since i clean all knives as soon as job is finished.
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With mesquite growing near you, I'd image it's a bit dry either way. D2 is what most refer to as "semi-stainless". It is most assuredly more corrosion resistant than carbon steels, but not impervious.

I find D2 to be just a tad more resistant to rust, tarnish, and corrosion as ATS-34. Which all things considered, it's very respectable.
 
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I am getting ready to find out personally. I found a large survival type knife at a great price that was made from D2. D2 was on someone else's mind as well, and here is the thread on its use.

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=671838

There was good information, but no one offered any HANDS ON information that was newer than 20 years old. (That was by Mr. Busse himself!).

You can see my comments at #17 concerning what I found out from talking to a supplier that had first hand, recent information from personal use as well as feedback by purchasers.

Follow thread down to the YouTube link to see an actual test of the D2 in action as a chopper. Note that he macros in on the blade at the end of the test to show a lack of chipping, even after wailing on that treated 4X4.

I don't want to shortchange anyone's opinion here, so I will say that at least BLUNTRUTH's knife seem to hold up quite well as far as chipping goes.

As always, YMMV.

Robert
 
My RAT-3 in D2 is more brittle than my Kershaw Outcast. That being said, they are both tough as nails, I've officially abused them both, and I haven't had any chipping that any other steel could endure.

Hitting softer rocks with D2 is kinda funny. Usually the rock loses.
 
D2 is a chore to re-edge, more so with my Sharpmaker than S30V. My Benchmade 201 Activator+ fb is a neat little (3.63" x .140") D2 blade - delivered dull. The Sharpmaker fixed that, although I nearly tried my hand at convexing it. Maybe next time. I've chopped some soft maple branches, made stakes, debarked various limbs/twigs, o0pened cardboard boxes, etc, and it still raises a few hairs - no chips on the blade, either. Still push cuts printer paper. My recent BM 710 and Kershaw 1725CBs (JYDII with CPM D2 edge) were sharp out of the box - and remain so after months of mixed EDC. It seems to hold up as folder blades, too.

I really like A2 - like Bark River uses, too.

Stainz
 
PayetteRucker said:
Outcast is a good blade, solid. I still prefer High carbon but for stainless bushcrafting blades VG-10 or the moderate A2 steel would be my first pick. A2 contains about half the chromium of most stainless steels so it isn't quite as brittle, yet still has great rust resistance and superior edge retention.
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A2 will rust very fast :confused: maybe your thinking of a different steel?

D2 is just shy of stainless and will rust or patina but takes a lot to do so. I have never oiled my outcast and until I took this pic I have never seen rust on it before. D2 is tough but I would still not try and do heavy prying with it, its lateral strenght is not that high and will snap like a twig. I've pryed with my outcast but you can kinda feel in the steel just how far you should and should not go. I would love to see what the blade does under a high speed camera though, it feels like there is a lot of flex to the blade under hard chops. The lateral strength thing still has a big ? that comes with it because the blade geometry can play a big part in the outcome of that.

Nice pic J :)
Picture733.jpg


Picture734.jpg
 
J_Curd said:
D2 is what most refer to as "semi-stainless". It is most assuredly less corrosion resistant than carbon steels, but not impervious. [emphasis added]
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Don't you mean that D2 is more corrosion-resistant than carbon steels? D2 is a high carbon, high chromium steel, just 1% or so short of being a stainless steel.

cotdt, D2 has at least double the chromium of A-2, which is the element that makes steel "stainless."
 
J_Curd said:
My RAT-3 in D2 is more brittle than my Kershaw Outcast.
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Do you mean you had some chipping with your RAT D2?

If so, what were you doing? I tend to think of a smaller knife like that as a slicer, but then there are those here that would baton with anything they had handy.

Inquiring minds.... if I liked the RAT7 in D2 I was seriously considering the RAT5 in D2 as well.

Robert
 
As i was asking about D2, some years ago, i was told by Benchmade, that D2 is taken for it´s edge holding abilities, not for toughness. I think, that counts.

So, as long as the outcast performs to all the needs and wishes, ok, but in fact, D2 is not made for a large chopping blade. There are other steel grades that perform better.
 
Blop said:
As i was asking about D2, some years ago, i was told by Benchmade, that D2 is taken for it´s edge holding abilities, not for toughness. I think, that counts.

So, as long as the outcast performs to all the needs and wishes, ok, but in fact, D2 is not made for a large chopping blade. There are other steel grades that perform better.
Click to expand...

I have heard this many times as well... and one of those times was from a very reliable source.
 
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