D2 steel

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nathan310

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I'm thinking about getting the d2 mini griptilian thats hrc 58 -60 and I'm wondering if anyone here has one and how hard are they to sharpen?
 
It's far, far easier to keep it sharp with daily maintenance (ala ceramic Spyderco Sharpmaker rods) than it is to let it go dull and need to reprofile. That takes a long freaking time (even with diamond rods) for D2 steel. I've been using a D2 BM940 for several months now, and I just make sure it stays sharp with ceramic. Haven't had to do anything more than touch-ups yet, and probably won't for a long time.
 
D-2 is one of the very best cutlery steels available. It cuts well, it holds an edge very well, and it's NOT difficult to sharpen.

D-2 is the only steel that Bob Dozier uses! "Nuff said!"
 
What Planterz said- basic sharpening isn't too bad, but if you let it get real dull it can be a bit of a pain. I reprofiled a BM 710D2, it proved to be quite tedious. Once sharp, it is fairly easy to maintain- just give it a few passes on the sharpmaker every so often and you'll have no problems. Have a full size Grip in M2, great knife; if I was going to buy a mini, thats the one I'd get.
 
THG said:
Each time? Doesn't that defeat the purpose of superior edge retention?
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Don't have to do it EVERY time by any means(unless you're cutting a bunch of wires with it, I guess).
Just don't let it get to the point of REsharpening; keep it at the point of touch-ups, and everything's cool with the ceramic rods.:)
 
Really not necessary to touch up each time but you sure don't wont to let it get dull. Just about like anyother sharp knife, it is much easier to keep them sharp than to have to do a resharpening job from the dull side.
 
I don't like to fill my glass after each sip. I prefer to finish the water in my glass and then fill it up even though it takes a much longer time to fill it up.

I'm not talking about knives.......maybe.:D
 
Thanks.

I don't have a sharpmaker but I do have dmt red, blue and green diamond stones and a strop with green paste I use.

Do you think giving it a quick strop after each use would do the trick to keep it very sharp?

Or should it be run through a fine ceramic stone instead?
 
I use both DMT and ceramics, I haven't found it that hard to sharpen. I also have found on my grip that it doesn't hold an edge nearly as long as Dozier D2. Probably the heat treating. Good luck!
 
I have D2 on a spyderco para military... Easy to sharpen with the ceramic stones.... once a week.... Keeps it's edge forever....
Good luck
Matt
 
Have a full size Grip in M2, great knife; if I was going to buy a mini, thats the one I'd get.
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No doubt if they were readily available more people would reccomend them. All M2 benchmades are getting scarce. The Ritters even more so as there really weren't that many made. Mine was the sharpest M2 blade I ever bought from benchmade.

The stock M2 knives were fairly obtuse. I still have a NIB first edition numbered PE McHenry & Williams ( I don't think it even says 710 anywhere on it). It's ground well but not thin enough to make a really sharp knife out of. Though low RC for M2, the heat treat seemed consistant & well done on my M2 benchmades. It's still as shipped.

To those looking for one, especially a rare item like a ritter grip or mini grip good luck, and have patience. They're worth it when you get the edge thinned out just right. That steel can cut. Joe
 
Mastiff,
Just realized my post was poorly worded. I had meant to say that if I were to buy a mini it would be the D2; I'm a big fan of tool/non-stainless steels and the D2's are readily available for a reasonable price. The M2 full and mini are IMO the king of the Grips, can't remember the last time an M2 mini came up for sale. The M2 Grip is the only one I have experience with sharpening-wise. It (M2) used to get some of the same comments as the current D2 models about being hard to sharpen- in fact, I find it fairly easy to sharpen.

Am aware of some rumors that BM is tinkering with M4- don't know if it will ever make it to the regular production knives, but it sure would be nice :)


Nathan,
My experience with BM's D2 is that it was not easy (for me) to get it "push cut" sharp, but it would slice like crazy. D2 seems to be better suited to a slightly coarse edge, my preference was to sharpen it with medium stones, gave the edge a lot of bite. You won't have any problems keeping it sharp with DMT stones. Edit: Also have a 732 Ares in D2, it has a tremendously sharp factory edge that will easily push cut- has a different feel to it than the 710D2 I had, maybe a heat treat thing. Get the D2 and enjoy :)
 
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After reading the 710 passaround reviews I ordered a BM 710 and Stryker tanto plain edge yesterday in D2. I went ahead and ordered the diamonds for the sharpemaker because of the edge thickness I had read about with the 710.

Would you set the edges at 40 or 30 degrees? I was intending to back bevel at 30 and set the edge at 40, but am not sure since I've never had a blade with D2 steel.

I hope asking this here in General Discussion is ok. The heading was about D2.
 
Ben Dover said:
D-2 is one of the very best cutlery steels available. It cuts well, it holds an edge very well, and it's NOT difficult to sharpen.

D-2 is the only steel that Bob Dozier uses! "Nuff said!"
Click to expand...

Bob Dozier also uses CPM S30V...

This steel is not hard to sharpen. At least if you use diamond or ceramic or water stones or sanpaper. I did not try others "solution" which can not sharpen.

In the knife market "hard to sharpen" is common scarecrow to compete at least somehow with good steel and you may hear this about all major top grade steel CPM S30V or ZDP189 etc. Usually if I see something like this - for me this mean that this is good steel and I better pay some attention to it.

Thanks, Vassili.
 
I have Queen slipjoints in D2.

Once you have sharpened them to where you want them to be, they stay sharp.
D2 is then easy to keep sharp.

But if you have to rebevel then it is hard work.
 
I strop my D-2 knives with 1 micron CBN paste on leather. If I've let them get a little dull, I start with 6 micron SiC paste on leather.

If I've neglected them to the point that I need a stone, then shame on me! :p
 
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