D2 Steel

One of most difficult steels to sharpen. Above-average abrasion resistance. The two usually go together.

Good corrosion resistance for a non "stainless steel."

Not sure what you mean by "durability," but there are tougher steels out there.
 
My hand gets cramps from sharpening D2, its a really hard steel. I don't know about edge retention, when my knives are dull I just sharpen and D2 takes the longest for me,
 
harder to sharpen but holds an edge longer. if by durability you mean toughness then I'd say it has good toughness. not the best but far from bad. imho
leif
 
Again, hard to sharpen. It also seems, in my experience, to not be able to get super scary sharp. However, it hold the edge that you can give it for a long time.
Not super corrosion resistance, but not bad and I have never had a problem with it rusting. Overall, it is one of my favorite steels. I think at last count I had 5 knives with it as the steel.
 
As others have said. It takes a while to sharpen, but gets scary sharp and holds the edge for a long time. Good corrosion resistance for a non-stainless. I have never had a problem with D2 chipping, but I would not attempt prying with it. At this point I have more knives with D2 than any other. One of my favorite steels.
 
Some of my favorite blades are D2. Best IMO are from Doctor D2 himself Mr. Bob Dozier.
 
Im currently making 11 blades out of cpm d2, so time will tell for me. Heat treat will be at 60-62rc. The only experience I have with d2 so far is my benchmade 710. Don't really care for the design, so i dont/wont carry it near as much as the ones im making, so those will be my true test.
 
man, i cant believe so many "hard to sharpen responses" cant say ive had much issue. Ive actually had harder times sharpening S30V and Elmax over D2.
 
PURPLEDC said:
man, i cant believe so many "hard to sharpen responses" cant say ive had much issue. Ive actually had harder times sharpening S30V and Elmax over D2.
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Not everyone has the typical experience. In fact, many post about unique experiences.
 
My experience with D2 comes from a couple of composite blade Kershaws (Leek & JYDII), a D2 Mini-Grip, and a Queen Sodbuster. Edge retention is great (stays sharp at least as well as my S30V knives). With diamond stones, it's pretty easy to sharpen. With natural stones, not so much. Haven't tried ceramic stones.
 
Not to hijack, but what is meant by "toughness"? I've never been clear on that. Is it lateral strength? Resistance to chipping? Ability to handle "hard" use? All the above? And how is it quantified?

Sorry again for hijacking, but I figured it was in the same vein.
 
D2 isn't that bad to sharpen really, it's an ingot steel and found it to be about the same as ATS-34 sharpening wise.

It does take a nice aggressive toothy edge and has respectable edge retention.
 
In my experience it holds an edge better than average and S30V is pretty average these days. If you are set up to sharpen modern 'super steels' (diamonds and even ceramics) it isn't all that hard to sharpen. Also, 12% or more chromium makes a steel stainless and D2 has around 11% so it is basically stainless. I haven't had issues with staining.

Also, if you keep up with your knives and strop often or hit it on something like ceramic Sharp Maker after every couple uses so the knife never really gets dull, it really isn't bad keeping it hair popping sharp.

I like D2 and prefer it over most steels except for the newer super steels that will really hold an edge. And it doesn't seem too terribly far behind them. This is my experience at least.
 
Ankerson said:
D2 isn't that bad to sharpen really, it's an ingot steel and found it to be about the same as ATS-34 sharpening wise.

It does take a nice aggressive toothy edge and has respectable edge retention.
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Ditto to both. For one, it's very difficult to find D2 above 61-62HRC in western knives, and even at 62HRC it's quite easy to sharpen given proper sharpening equipment and skills. Even at 64HRC D2 still no comparison to high vanadium alloys like CPM 10V, S110V and bunch of others, main problem for novices would be edge micro fracturing during sharpening, not excessive wear resistance.
 
fatheadhill said:
Not to hijack, but what is meant by "toughness"? I've never been clear on that. Is it lateral strength? Resistance to chipping? Ability to handle "hard" use? All the above? And how is it quantified?

Sorry again for hijacking, but I figured it was in the same vein.
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Toughness signifies the degree of resistance to brittle fracture. It is quantified in steels most often by the Charpy test, where a notched specimen of a standard size/shape is placed into a test fixture and then struck by a pendulum. How high the pendulum has to be raised in order to shatter the sample is the measure of toughness.

Lateral strength is basically hardness. Edge stability is a function of both hardness (strength) and toughness. Too brittle, i.e.- not tough, and edge chips. Too soft, i.e.- weak, and edge flattens or rolls. Cutlery is always aiming for a balanced blend of these two qualities, which tend to be at odds with one another. Steel is generally tougher when it is softer, more brittle when harder. See the problem here? It is all about clever engineering and choosing trade offs.
 
I like d2 alot. My experience is it holds a edge for a long time. I have to agree that it can be difficult to sharpen. I tried to reprofile my kershaw rake with a lansky two hours with the coarse stone and not even close. But that being said you definitely something more. When I got the wicked edge the diamond stones made a easier job of it by a mile.
 
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