General question

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dutch70 said:
D2 hard to sharpen?
AUS8 easier to sharpen?
And are all 440 grade steels bad; every time i buy a bunch they get dull and the metal is so soft can’t be resharpened
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Difficulty being a relative term here...

In broad generalities: D2 is going to be more wear resistant than AUS8, is typically heat treated to a higher hardness, and thus can be "harder" to sharpen than AUS8, 8Cr, and 440 grade steels.

It is also important to mention that not all knives branded as a certain steel are created equal. Think of it like a car engine if you will. In general an 8 cylinder engine is going to boast higher performance at the cost of fuel consumption than say, a 6 cylinder engine. However, there are of course examples of 6 cylinder engines that have higher performance than some 8 cylinder engines due to a variety of factors including who made them.

All this is to say that not all knives in the 440 class are terrible and it may be more illustrative to tell us what brands of 440 class knives you are typically buying. The same goes with D2. If the steel quality is good, the heat treat is sound, and you have the proper abrasives sharpening any of these steels is not that difficult.
 
Yes, yes, yes.

Its all relative though, I think D2 is ok to sharpen, not even close to 20CV hard or S110V hard.

440C is good, I like it better than alot of entry level steels. It's a good stainless option.
 
thanx. I have a myriad of knives and swords ranging from 440A to good AND bad Damascus- the latter having seemingly a mix of silverware stainless and some black carbon( from Pakistan, although i do have a good piece or two from there. ) The acid etching- great. Seems impossible to sharpen- but then again, i suck at it.
 
Most knives labeled as 440 are either 440a (very meh) or imported cheap mystery metal.

Without good tools and technique, d2 can be difficult, especially if it is completely dull. However, I've found it not particularly difficult to bring it back from fairly dull to very sharp with the medium and fine/ultra fine stones on the Spyderco sharpmaker.

I don't have much experience with sharpening AUS-8, but I was never impressed with the one knife I had with it.

Generally, I only buy PM steels now.
 
dutch70 said:
thanx. I have a myriad of knives and swords ranging from 440A to good AND bad Damascus- the latter having seemingly a mix of silverware stainless and some black carbon( from Pakistan, although i do have a good piece or two from there. ) The acid etching- great. Seems impossible to sharpen- but then again, i suck at it.
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I have a matching set of Damascus knives from Pakistan; a Bowie and Hunting folder. The steel measures 50 - 55 HRC with my Tsubosan testing files. The steel is crap although they do look pretty. But with steel is just depends on if the steel is really what the seller says that it is, and how good the heat treat is.
I don't buy knives anymore that are not made in the USA with American steel. I hear that the Japanese are making some nice knives but I don't own any of them.
 
As a true Nipponophile, i have always been obsessed with Japanese culture. Their steel in the heyday ( during the civil wars 12th -13th centuries, since the wars later they were produced more rapidly since the larger armies were 2/3 made up of ashigaru, or foot soldier, not samurai) was the best in the world. The Mongols didnt have better swords just their attack formations were formidable. But now, you are lucky to have an edged instrument actually made in Japan. Production costs for excellence are too high. Even ‘Cold Steel’ is made in Taiwan, but they are hella good. I cant afford their San Mai, but i have had a nice little Kobun for years, its AUS8. Then i snagged a ‘Leatherneck’ Tanto, D2 steel. It is a beast. I remember Lynn Thompson started the company with the Tanto I, sticking it thru car doors! It was great. But i digress. I know theres good American blacksmiths, but they want 400-500 for a knife. Cant do it in the time of a pandemic. In fact i would never pay that. Like Condor- ridiculous prices for a knife you cant tell what its made of with a heavy brushed finish. And I expect it to shave the hair off my arm and it dint. I realize i gotta get better at sharpening. But i dont have a belt grinder with various grades like on the knife TV show. So i a need a steel thats easy to sharpen. These days i leave a ragged toothy edge that cuts. Once you go to finer grit, all youre doing is polishing a dull edge. Thats 440a or 440c. Samey- same.
 
dutch70 said:
D2 hard to sharpen?
AUS8 easier to sharpen?
And are all 440 grade steels bad; every time i buy a bunch they get dull and the metal is so soft can’t be resharpened
Click to expand...
Welcome to the forums.

D2 can be hard to sharpen if you don't have a lot of experience. There is a learning curve imo.

Yes, I would consider AUS 8 easier to sharpen then D2.

I would avoid current 440, 440a, and 440b. 440c isn't bad depending on the brand. I have some Boker Plus stuff that is 440c. It isn't bad for the $ ($40 knives IIRC).

Don't let the *harder* to sharpen D2 make you avoid the steel. It just takes a little more practice and experience to get it sharp. Once you get comfortable with sharpening it, no big deal.
 
Maybe you should give a Worksharp sharpener a try. I haven't tried it with EVERY steel, but all of them you've mentioned it worked great on. Little bit of a learning curve depending on blade shape, but there are a ton of videos out there teaching how to use it.
 
1. D2 is not hard to sharpen, it depends on your skill. 3 years ago, when I started learning how to sharpen, it took me 30 minutes to sharpen cheap Chinese 3CrapMoV and it barely gotten any sharper. Now I sharpen that same knife under 4 minutes and it gets crazy sharp. D2 takes a bit longer, but defintely under 10 minutes.

2. The same for AUS 8, it is easier to "grind" (that's essentially what sharpening is - grinding) AUS 8 than D2, but the sharpness depends more on your skill. Trust me, just practice and learn how to sharpen and you'll never have to ask the question of "if A is harder to sharpen than B" ever again.

3. 440C is quite good, 420HC with good heat treat is kinda good, most other 400s are bad. You have to taken into account the price, if someone offer 420HC, heat treated by Bos, good build quality, good reputation and not likely to be scammers, at $30. That's not a bad deal at all
 
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