D2 -vs- Vasco wear?

A

Adamantium

Joined
Oct 3, 1998
Messages
355
Hi. How do these two steels compare to each other in terms of edge holding, price, stain resistance, etc?

Sincerely,
Adam

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Self improvement is a hobby of mine :).

 
Vascowear is not the least bit stain resistant whereas D-2 is to some degree but is still not considered to be a true stainless steel due to the chromium content.

Edge holding, Vascowear wins hands down bar none.

Vascowear is MUCH harder to work with than D-2, it will work harden if it gets too hot. D-2 grinds like butter, Vascowear is tougher to grind in the annealed state.

Vascowear is quite a bit more expensive than D-2 and is more difficult to heat treat. I send my blades to Texas Knifemakers Supply for heat treating and Vascowear or Cruwear is more expensive to have heat treated than any other steel they treat.

Although it is more expensive, is not "stainless", harder to work, and cost more to heat treat, in my humble opinion, it is worth going through all that for the finished product produced. I love the stuff.
I am somewhat biased as you can tell.

CLWilkins
 
agree with the above...except d2 doesnt grind like butter...unless you are used to grinding vascowear all the time.....and i refuse to grind it any more.....ever.... i like 440v a lot better......much more corrosion resistant too....not trying to start an argument here...just stating my opinion....ok??????
 
As I remember, until the advent of CPM steels, Vasco-Wear was about as high as the Vanadium content could go. That would make for one tough, hard blade, but adds to the cost. D2 is probably one of the most common high-alloy steels, and is easy to get and heat-treat.
Aaron

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amacks@nist.gov
Don't forget to pay your taxes...they eventually become my knives:)

 
What makers have used Vasco-Wear over the years? Has it ever been used by non-custom manufacturers or has it ever showed up in bayonets?
 
About grinding D2, I've heard other knife makers say that "It grinds like stones." But I've never thought it was that hard to grind. IMO 1/8th D2 grinds like 5/32th O1. Which grinds easily also. Maybe its just the belts I'm useing.

BTW: What knife makers supply places carry vasco wear?

Sincerely,
Adam

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Self improvement is a hobby of mine :).

 
my understanding is that vascowear has been discontinued...by the way...one of its main uses was those long curved paper cutting blades in many school offices...and that there is some other stuff thats very similar thats being carried by texas knifemakers supply.....cant rememeber the name but it ends in -wear....sure they could help if you called them

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http://www.mayoknives.com


 
Tom:
The Vascowear replacement is called Cruwear, haven't any experience grinding either of them, we use D-2.

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P.J.
YES,it is sharp, just keep your fingers out of the way!
www.silverstar.com/turnermfg


 
Vascowear is not available as far as I know but Cruwear is. Texas Knifemaker's Supply carries it but from what I understand, once their supply runs out, they are not reordering any from Crucible. I have ground quite a bit of it in the past and as mentioned in a previous response, it is more difficult to grind than most other steels. Looking over the Crucible Service Center website, it is not as tough as CPM 3V which seems to be latest "most interesting" steel.

Is there anyone out there that can compare 3V and Vascowear?

CLWilkins
 
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