D2 vs. Sleipner

[Humppa]

Hi guys & gals!

I´m planing getting myself a Lionsteel SR-1 or SR-2, aluminium versions. The SR-1 is made of D2 steel (hardened at 58 - 59 HRC) - the SR-2 is made of Sleipner steel (hardness 60 - 61 HRC).

Well, so far, so good.

But I´m a little concerned about the hardness of the steel. Can the Sleipner be sharpened without diamond sharping tool like the Sharpmaker or regular benchstones? I don´t have any diamond sharping tools, because I won´t need them anyway for my (mostly) traditional knives or VG10 or whatever.

Is Sleipner carbon steel which will provide patina - D2 will do, I know, but very very slowly.

What are your experiences with both steels, if you have knives with these steels please answer

Would be appreciated!

 

[BladeScout]

Hi guys & gals!

I´m planing getting myself a Loinsteel SR-1 or SR-2, aluminium versions. The SR-1 is made of D2 steel (hardened at 58 - 59 HRC) - the SR-2 is made of Sleipner steel (hardness 60 - 61 HRC).

Well, so far, so good.

No sexual references in Generel Knife Discussion, pls.



.
KIDDING!!

 

[Humppa]

LOL!! Thanks for the advice - just fixed it. I don´t want to get into trouble with the mods

 

[ibute21]

I'd imagine that either of those steels would be capable of being sharpened using the brown and white stones on the sharpmaker. Just don't let the edge deteriorate too much and sharpening should be fine

 

[Cereal_killer]

I'm a little confused, perhaps you used a computer translator?

Anyway D2 won't really develope a patina much and it'll be very very hard to force one, its pretty much a stainless steel (true stainless steel has a chromium content above 14%, D2 is 12%) so while not technically a stainless steel its going to act like one, its not like a typical carbon steel. Not sure if that's what your asking or not...

Personally I love D2, I guess that's the machineist in me falling for the "tool steel"!

 

[evanPGH]

Sleipner and d2 can be sharpened on the sharpmaker as long as you touch up when needed.

If you let it get too dull then you might as well buy the diamond rods right away because you'll be using the brown stones for days trying to get it sharp.

They're both about the same as far a sharpening goes, sleipner may be a tiny bit easier but no noticeable difference.

Sleipner is also a tool steel BTW.

 

[RamZar]

All stainless steels share a minimum percentage of 10.5% chromium.

LionSteel now mainly uses four steels (chromium percentage in parentheses): Sleipner (7.8), Niolox (12.7), D2 (11-12), Elmax (18). First three are tool steels.

 

[timberweasel]

Hi Andi!

I had (and still have) the same curiosity regarding D2 vs Sleipner steels. From what I understand, it is analogous to S30V vs S35VN in that Sleipner is kind of a revamp of the D2 recipe.

http://www.uddeholm.com/b_3067.htm

Since I liked the overall design of LionSteel's SR-2A, I decided to just jump right into the pool and order one. It's far too early for me to make many observations on performance, but I can see how initial sharpening might be a dilemma. Some may find the 'fat' factory convex grind perplexing. Though very sharp, it doesn't have that 'slicy glide' many of us have come to know and love, and some are going to want to reprofile the blade right out of the box. I would suspect that doing so would require a lot of time and effort on something like the Sharpmaker, even if using diamond rods. I'm going to use the factory grind on mine for a while before I decide to reprofile or not.

Regardless, the SR is a nice knife and worth owning, imo...

Cheers!

-Brett

 

[michaelm466]

I'd go for the Sleipner myself, they'll probably perform very similiar in all aspects, the extra point in hardness will help edge retention though. As far as sharpening, I just touched up my CPM-S110V Spyderco @63HRC on the Sharpmaker White rods without any trouble at all.

 

[Humppa]

Thanks for the great replies, fellows. Much appreciated.

I´ve seen some Queen Cutlery knives in D2 steel that developed a greyish patina - not as much as 1095 or any other carbon steel. That´s sure. I was wrong calling D2 carbon steel.

As far as I see it now, it´s the same like S30V - when letting the knife dull very much, it is a pain in the a&% getting it sharp again. But when letting it not dull that much and always resharping, the standart benchstones / sharpmaker rods can be used...

Thanks for the link to Uddeholm, Brett

 

[Lycosa]

Hi Andi! Gute Luck!
My D2 did start to rust in some spots. Check that D2 often.
r-d

 

[timberweasel]

Thanks for the link to Uddeholm, Brett

No problemo, sir! I know it doesn't really say too much, but that was the link that led me to several more technical data sheets on Sleipner that were far beyond my reckoning...

-Brett

 

[jdk1]

I have a HEST II Assault in Sleipner. I've used it a little and sharpened it some, not anything serious or razor sharp. The Sharpmaker seemed to work well enough for me. I don't think it's anywhere near as hard to sharpen as the Niolox, from what I've read. I think you'll be fine with Sleipner. It seems very tough and easy enough to work with. Good luck.

 

[eric_j]

Hi Andi! Gute Luck!
My D2 did start to rust in some spots. Check that D2 often.
r-d

No experience with the Sleipner steel here, but I have had the same rust experience with D2. It's the only steel I've encountered used in modern folders that will rust in normal use.

Thankfully, the rust comes off easily with CLP. Just maintain it like a gun barrel (clean and oil regularly).

 

[RamZar]

clean and oil regularly

:thumbup:

Knives are easy to maintain. It takes just a couple of minutes to blow out the dirt, wash in kitchen sink, dry with hair dryer and lubricate lightly. I use Flitz paste when needed.

 

[grybsh7]

Here's an interesting post from 2010.


istarr88
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D2 and Sleipner are somewhat similar because they are in the same category of semi-inox steels, however....

the chemical compositions are quite different, and this is reflected in a very different response in terms of performance.

D2 chemical composition:C=1.55%, Mn=0.3%, Si=0.3%, Cr=12%, Mo=1%, Va=1% Ni=0.3%

Sleipner chemical composition: C=0.9% Si=0.9% Mn=0.5% Cr=7.8% Mo=2.5% V=0.5%

D2 has more Chromium, it reduces a lot the resilience of this steel (thoughness) making it just a bit thougher than inox steels. it's about 30J/cm^2 at an hardness of about 60 hrc.

Sleipner instead at the same hardness has a resilience superior than the one of A2 tool steel, it means about 60 or more J/cm^2 so the resilience is the double.

D2 has more carbon and chromium, this gives D2 an higher abrasive wear, which translates in a steel hard to sharpen. field tests prove it.

Sleipner is easier to sharpen A LOT.

the corrosion resistence is pratically the same, in my direct experience Sleipner proved a bit more corrosion resistent in humid conditions and sea water than D2.

edge holding: Sleipner wins, for sure.

maximum sharpness achievable Sleipner due to a finer grain structure.

in the particular case of Kniferesearch the heat-treats will be done maniacally, so you can stay sure the steel will revail all it's potentials

in conclusions... I've tested both, liked sleipner more, that's it.

I repeat, I have no interest and have no direct connections to kniferesearch, but I'm a collector who loves to use his blades and I've just given my experience, impressions and knowledge to you.

hope this helps

 

[RamZar]

D2 chemical composition:C=1.55%, Mn=0.3%, Si=0.3%, Cr=12%, Mo=1%, Va=1% Ni=0.3%
Sleipner chemical composition: C=0.9% Si=0.9% Mn=0.5% Cr=7.8% Mo=2.5% V=0.5%

Data from the LionSteel Catalog:

[B][U]STEEL    C       CR    MN   SI   MO   V   NB  CO[/U][/B]
Sleipner 0.9     7.8   0.5  0.9  2.5  0.5
D-2      1.5-1.6 11-12 0.35 0.3  0.75 1
Niolox   0.8     12.7            1.1  0.9 0.7
Elmax    1.7     18    0.3  0.8  1    3

Here are some posts relating to Sleipner and what Gianni Pauletta (one of the owners of LionSteel) says:

Check out the LionSteel catalog: http://www.lionsteel.it/n/pdf/en/lionsteel_2013_catalogue.pdf

Their steels are on the last page.

According to Gianni their top steel is Sleipner which although not stainless has good corrosion resistance. It's a great tool steel. For stainless they now use mostly Niolox which is also a tool steel.

I confirm that Sleipner is the best steel we have ever used. We would like to introduce this steel in all our range of knives, of course it is not easy, not all the customers know it... never know in the future, step by step.

Gianni,

Why did you go with Niolox instead of Sleipner on the M3? Seems like such a fixed blade knife would be perfect for Sleipner just like my Knife Research Legion?

The only reason is that it is difficult find the Sleipner. I am going to close an agreement with Uddeholm. They will make special thickness only for LionSteel. As soon as I have enought material I will use Sleipner like my first blade's steel.

 

[Humppa]

Thanks for your kind replies.

I´ve made my decision. I´ll gonna go with the SR-1. Not just because of the steel, also because of its size.

I almost have enough knife in Delica size. I´d like to get a knife a little bigger. Like PM2.

Steel is not that much different. Sleipner might be easier to sharpen. Being honest, I had no idea what Sleipner is, it also could have been one of these super-hard steels, like S90V.

But it seems to a little like D2, which I really like on my Queen Cutlery SwellCenter Whittler.

So, my decision is made and you guys helped a lot!! Thanks for that!