D2 Tool steel informaion needed

J

johnggrg

Joined
Jan 17, 2010
Messages
157
A while back a friend of mine gave me a bunch of steel to try and make knives with. I talked to him about it today to ask him what type of steel it was and he said D2 tool steel. Now I went and read threw everything in the threads I could find on D2. Some like it some don't. Some say it will work for knives and some don't. One thing everyone said was it is hard to file. I took a piece and cut a knife blank out of it. Had to use a grinder and a cut off disc then filed the edges all the way around it smooth. Now it was hard to file but not that bad. It definetly took longer to file but I was thinking less room for mistakes. It took me a long time to smooth it out but now that is done. I am putting it to the side for now to do some more reading. And o figure out how to scribe the edge(no calipers or extra cash for a scribe). I was wondering if someone knew another source of information on making blades from D2 as I have read every thread that I could find here on the subject. Also any advice on the heat treating of D2 or how I should have it heat treated. I read about the HT with and with out cryo or crio I forget how it's spelled. Which way is better for this? Sorry if this sounds confusing or is misspelled I have been reading on here all day and I am very tired. Any and all help would be appeciated. Thank you. John
 
You should just send all of that nasty old D2 to me so you don't have to worry about it so much.

If your talking about marking a center line just get a drill bit the same thickness as the stock lay it flat and the cutting point of the bit will be as close to center as you can get.
Unless you have an ht oven I suggest you send it out for heat treatment

Rusty
 
D2 is wonderful steel and makes great knives.....period. Do some makers prefer other steels...sure. Do some makers use only D2....yep. Ask a knifemaker wha this heat treatment is nad you will get a different story with every one of them. I heat to 1880, air quench or plate quench, and temper depending upon needs.
 
Personally, I'd just send it to Texas Knifemaker's Supply (http://www.texasknife.com/vcom/privacy.php#services ) to get them heat treated if you just have a couple blades - you can have them add cryo to the process if you want (I'd say do it on D2 with their standard double temper -- with a proper triple temper, the need for cryo is more open to debate). Just be very sure before hand that you have all the holes drilled that you need and have your blades pretty close to finished except for putting on the actual edge bevel and the handle. You will have to sand a little after the HT to polish them up again, but you *really* don't want to have to do any major work by hand on a hardened D2 blade.
 
Thanks for the replies. Rusty good idea about the drill bit. What if I wanted a double line in the center of the edge? Could I use a drill bit that is about the size of a dime smaller then my piece scribe it flip it and scribe the other side and end up with the 2 lines scribed in center with a gap the size of a dime?
I didn't want to try and temper it myself just wanted more to read about it. I wasn't sure if the cro was needed on D2 or not.
In another thread I read the plunge was started with a round file on both sides. Is this a good way to do it if I don't have the special tool for it?
I am very linited on tools so it will be all by hand on this. Don't even have a vise just clamping it to a table in the basement.
Another thought I had was the blade towards the tip or front of blade. Should the blade taper towards the tip or will that just happen when I file the edge? All I can think to ask right now. Thank you for all the help. John
 
johnggrg said:
In another thread I read the plunge was started with a round file on both sides. Is this a good way to do it if I don't have the special tool for it?
Click to expand...

Most of the makers use this method, even ones with very fancy equipment :D

Emre
 
johnggrg said:
Thanks for the replies. Rusty good idea about the drill bit. What if I wanted a double line in the center of the edge? Could I use a drill bit that is about the size of a dime smaller then my piece scribe it flip it and scribe the other side and end up with the 2 lines scribed in center with a gap the size of a dime? ....
Another thought I had was the blade towards the tip or front of blade. Should the blade taper towards the tip or will that just happen when I file the edge? All I can think to ask right now. Thank you for all the help. John
Click to expand...

You can use a drill bit that is either a bit smaller *or* a bit larger in diameter than your stock thickness -- both will give you the double lines when you scribe, flip your blade and scribe again.

Whether your edge rises up toward the spine or the spine drops toward the edge or both, if you keep the angle with the edge consistent and take the "grind" all the way to the back the full length of the blade, then you *will* have a taper. Only if your edge and spine run parallel to each other (or diverge away from each other) do you have to worry about actually creating the taper if you want one.
 
Found the right sized drill bit and it worked perfectly. Blade is scored ready to go. Now I just need to drill holes in the handle then start on filing the blade. And figure out how to start the plunge. I'm taking my time to try and do it right. And I would like to thank Erin Burke for letting me use his #8 design for my first knife. Thanks for the help guys. John
 
D-2 is what I use on almost all my folders. It takes and holds an edge and can be polished to a high shine. I heat treat my own steel and i bring D-2 in at about 60 RC. it is double drawn so it is tough as well as hard. If you dont like useing it send it to me and i'll even pay the shipping LOL If it is already hard and you are trying to work it, you will have a nightmare on your hands.
 
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