D2 @ rc 64....opinions please!!!

M

MACHAVEN

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Aug 26, 2006
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105
I would appreciate some input from those in the know.

I'm wanting to buy a 3inch folder for edc in d2 and the maker said they are coming out at rc64.

Besides sharpening, any other issues I should be worried about?

thanks
 
If you don't mind me asking which maker? I've never heard of D2 that high but it sounds interesting. I would need to know the intended purpose of the knife before I can recomend.
 
Japanese kitchen knives made from D2(SKD11) are 63-64HRC and people are happy with them. Yoshikane knives for example.
 
not really d2 is very tough at 60+ HRC
you cant really get the true preformance of d2 unless you take it too atleast 60 HRC.
 
Steelsnob
Intended use of the knife is everyday farm use (lighter duty) as a companion to my para or millie. I use my knives very carefully and and have beaters(mora/leatherman etc) on hand most of the time. Cutting wood. Cutting off husks of macadamia nuts...onto the very hard shell. And everthing else that comes up during a day on the farm. Handle is smooth CF...more of a pretty knife to keep me happy.
 
To be honest Machaven, I'd love to hear followups from you on this one. I've heard of it used up to RC 63, but never higher.This has my interest. I'd feel confident about it, but I wouldn't make it an ultra thin edged, low angled knife either for the uses you describe. I'd keep it no less than 35 degrees inclusive just because I have no experience with it that high.
 
It sounds like it may work out for light duty. Either way it would be really fun to try out.
 
That's my view. Getting an Exkelibur1 from Burger Knives with two blades. One in N690 and a spare/fun blade in D2. Might even get a Panser36 instead of the N690. Will decide after the maker has finished the cutting tests!
 
If I'm not mistaken isn't his D2 60-61? The reason I ask is I'm ordering one with D2 blade also. Or is it a special HT batch? The Panzer36 does sound interesting.
 
D2 @ 64 would have great edge retention and most likely be able to be polished to some extreme levels of sharpness. The problem though would come if you profiled the edge too low, it would chip like glass.
 
64 RC is right outside the recommended maximum working hardness range [per Crucible] for D2.... I guess it depends on what your intended purpose of the knife is going to be.

D2 @ 64 RC would work wonders in the kitchen cutting soft vegetables and meats. It would hold an edge forever in that environment.

D2 @ 64 RC for an outdoors knife that would see some light chopping and possible twisting/flexing? Not so good.

I take it this is for a small (sub 4") pocket knife?
 
Thanks again guys.

Steelsnob
I'm sure that his D2 is coming out at 60-61. He had a few at 63-64 last week and I was wondering what that would be like. I would prefer 60-61 after getting feedback from those who know. But I'll have to wait till Friday for the knives.
 
Thanks Machaven. I think im going with 60-61 D2 as well. If you get the other blades/steels let us know how they perform.
 
Steelsnob: Phoned Burger knives today and was told that the D2 we are getting came out at 61-62 rc. Really looking forward to that!!! Now I just have to choose my second blade. Good sense tells me N690...they've been doing it for 8-10 yrs. Curiosity would like Panser36. I've been told it is slightly tougher to grind. Another maker, Kevin Harvey, also found it to have more wear resistance than N690 &tougher. He also mentioned that the structure seemed finer than N690. I'll wait for Trevor's opinion and cutting results. Friday seems so far away!
 
You are asking for trouble with D2 at that hardness. D2 is designed to be used @ 60/61 HRc. With the correct heat treatment D2 will give you its best combination of wear resistance and toughness @ 60/61 HRc. If it is CPMD2 you can go a bit highr in hardness and still maintain same toughness
 
I would think that CPM D-2 would lend itself to the higher hardness because of the finer grain structure. An added bonus is the presence of more free Chrome in the CPM D-2 which makes it stainless. I have been using ZDP-189 blades at 67 Rockwell C with no problems. ZDP-189 is a Japanese powder steel by Hitachi that has 20% Chrome and 3% Carbon.
 
tsdevanna said:
You are asking for trouble with D2 at that hardness. D2 is designed to be used @ 60/61 HRc.
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D2 is a die steel. So, 60-61 might be recommended for that application, but it has nothing to do with other uses like cutting food or whittling wood.

Like I said, Yoshikane makes kitchen knives from D2 steel and those are 240-270mm(9.5"-10.5") long chef's knives, 64hrc. It all depends on the designated use. Yes, those will most likely break if you try to chop the bone with it, but for soft food, meat, veggies it works just fine, and that's how they are used all day long. What would one gain hardening those at 61HRC? Ease of sharpening I guess.
 
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