D2 Steel Question

Joe58

Joe58

Joined
Nov 11, 2002
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Hi! Today I received this gorgeous Howser knife, that for the life of me I cannot recall ordering, that is made with D2 steel as that's what's stamped on the blades. Besides his last name of course. Very well made with great snap and sharp blades. Not sure what the pattern is called. I'm such a noob.

Anyway - I have not carried D2 on a daily basis and I know it's been called a semi-stainless. Will it develop a patina on it, or just a good idea to give it a quick wipe down with a Hoppes type cloth at the end of the day to get finger prints and stuff off? Although that's likely a good idea with any knife.

Thanks!
 

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In my experience, a patina really doesn't come easy at all to D2, you can force one, but unless you're going swimming in salt water or vinegar with it, I think it really requires very little maintenance.

Nice knife BTW :thumbup:
 
Jack Black said:
In my experience, a patina really doesn't come easy at all to D2, you can force one, but unless you're going swimming in salt water or vinegar with it, I think it really requires very little maintenance.

Nice knife BTW :thumbup:
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^^What Jack said. :)

A Queen stockman of mine, in D2, has a very subtle & slight darkening of the spine on each blade. I think it's just a result of finger/handling contact, as these are the parts of blades not otherwise protected by the handle when closed. Probably a little salt content from fingerprints doing that. Good news is, not so much as a hint of red rust. For a 'non-stainless' steel, it's as close to being stainless as it can be, while still retaining the edge-holding qualities of good/great carbon steel. High wear-resistance too. :thumbup:


David
 
Ok, that sounds great. I know the thing has a wicked edge on it and is wonderfully made. I did a little research and found this gentleman had passed away. Real shame as you can tell he was a real craftsman. And I'm sure a good guy as most knife folks tend to be.
 
Joe58 said:
Hi! Today I received this gorgeous Howser knife, that for the life of me I cannot recall ordering, that is made with D2 steel as that's what's stamped on the blades. Besides his last name of course. Very well made with great snap and sharp blades. Not sure what the pattern is called. I'm such a noob.

Anyway - I have not carried D2 on a daily basis and I know it's been called a semi-stainless. Will it develop a patina on it, or just a good idea to give it a quick wipe down with a Hoppes type cloth at the end of the day to get finger prints and stuff off? Although that's likely a good idea with any knife.

Thanks!
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Drinking + surfing the Internet can produce some interesting and sometimes surprising results. Jokes aside, that's an attractive knife. :D
 
I carried a Queen D2 Canoe for a few years as my weekday knife. Used and abused it, never really giving too much thought to daily care and feeding, and it never got any rust at all, and not much of a patina either. Worked out great for me, and I still regret the day I lost it. In fact I liked it so much I made it a point to seek out and buy the exact same knife years later.
 
I have D2 blades on knives from Ontario, Queen and Kershaw. None of them have any patina on them, not even the ones I carry in my SWEATY, steaming pockets during the summer.

I have had a bit of red rust flecks appear on the Queen and Kershaw as they both ride inside the pocket of my jeans all day long. The rust came of easily with my fingernail, so no big deal. I sure the smallest amount of preventative would have prevented it.

Robert
 
I have a little "faux tactical" knife i made from D2, I wanted a blacker finish for the tactical aspect but still wanted a steel color so no paint/finish. First I tried my standard "10min-in-boiling-white-vinegar treatment" this made it ever so slightly less reflective from the high polish I stared from. This simply wasn't enough so I ended up talking to my best resource my current chemistry teacher. He was very helpful and as not just a teacher but a full out chemical engineer he knew exactly what I needed, I used a highly concentrated form of bleach mixed with powdered citric acid. Leave it for 36hrs and I got a dark black patina that was darn near permanent. But anything less than that and I think its fairly patina proof.

( I would like to add the irony that OP's profile picture is Mr. Clean... Knife like owner)
 
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My polished and satin D2 have shown virtually no inclination to stain in the several years of carry and use. Pretty darned near stainless. I have stainless steels that are not as stainless as polished D2.
 
PMEW recently gifted me this Queen Canoe in D2. It had the forced patina when he received it himself. I'm not sure how it was done, but I imagine it took a bit of work, and I'm sure it could be polished off very easily (just rubbing it with a finger will lighten it slightly).

 
Old & In The Way said:
Drinking + surfing the Internet can produce some interesting and sometimes surprising results. :D
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Gawd I know dude....I still can't recall where I ordered it from. Even the return address doesn't ring a bell. Wish I could, I'd look for another. Gonna be a smooth, easy, transition into senility I fear. But that's ok. Only need one knife that way. Everyday it's a new knife, new shows on tv, new friends, etc., should be fun. ;) In all fairness though, if you've a family member or friend this has happened to, I know firsthand how truly devastating it is. My Grandfather and Father both suffered from this affliction so I know how terrible it is to be trapped inside your own mind. Sorry for getting a bit maudlin there, but I don't want people thinking I'm making lite of a truly awful condition. Off my soap box now.

Seriously though, I'm glad for the positive comments about the knife and the D2 steel. I'm just gonna use it like my others and give it the occasional wipe down like I do everything. Cool beans.

Thanks for help. Great bunch of folks here.

Joe
 
D2 is one of my favorite knife steels. My sharpest knife is a Canal Street Pinch in D2. They put great grinds on their knives.

I usually have to reprofile my Queen D2 knives but once I set the angle to something I can sharpen easily on my stones, doesnt take any more time to sharpen it than any other steel.
 
The Queen knives I have sport a little grey spotting after months of slicing acidic fruits. The polished ones seem to show this more than the matte ones for some reason, D2 often shows a kind of orange peel effect when it is polished (not bright like carbon or Sandvik). Fact is, it requires next to no maintenance against staining, nor does it impart flavour on food like carbon does. When you get it sharp, it's one of the great pocket-knife steels in my experience.
 
My experience with D2 is that it is slow to patina. However, after extensive pocket carry, small pitting is not uncommon. No red rust, just very small black pits.
 
D2 is my favorite cutlery steel, of all.
Funny, though. Some of my D2 blades have darkened, while some stay bright & shiny with no maintenance. Ehh... Whateverrrrr. ;)
 
puukkoman said:
D2 is my favorite cutlery steel, of all.
Funny, though. Some of my D2 blades have darkened, while some stay bright & shiny with no maintenance. Ehh... Whateverrrrr. ;)
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I think if they started offering traditionals in black wash like your seeing on pocket clip knives now days it may attract new guys. Dunno. Not sure if the purists would object or not.
 
Joe58 said:
I think if they started offering traditionals in black wash like your seeing on pocket clip knives now days it may attract new guys. Dunno. Not sure if the purists would object or not.
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I'm no purist, but I would object. I have no use for an artificially colored blade, especially as I don't have any particular yen for a dark blade in the first place. Over time coatings get scratched in use. A dark blade with shiny scratches in it looks like... er... it looks bad.
 
Queen Canoe in D2
The D2 on the main blade just greys with usage

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On Queen D2 blades the polish-finish greys faster than the satin-finish
 
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