General question

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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Hello dutch70 and welcome to the Forums!

If you can't sharpen common 440, forget about something like typical D2.

Practice sharpening your 440 blades. Sharpening is all about raising a burr on the steel at a consistent angle--softer steel allows you to see your progress much sooner and with far less effort than harder steels (also learn about the dreaded "wire edge".) Once you get your geometry correct, you will have greater success sharpening harder steels--because it will take a lot longer and require far more patience even though it is the exact same process. I highly recommend a guided-angle sharpening system and diamond stones--'must-have' equipment for harder steels, IMO...

Don't give up, OP, and good luck! :):thumbsup:
 
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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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AUS-8 is easier or at least quicker to sharpen than D2 in most cases. It also has better resistance to corrosion.

No, not all 440 grade steels are necessarily bad. However, 440A and 440B are bad relative to the current market. A lot of the 440C I see now is used in Chinese budget knives where it gets a mediocre heat treatment (at best). That doesn't mean it is terrible. It can still be better than 8Cr13Mov or AUS-8 but it depends on the individual knife.

One thing to keep in mind is that factory edges can be pretty bad, even on more expensive knives. The theory is that they get burnt on the grinder and it fatigues the steel. So at least with 440C, don't judge by the factory edge. Performance should pick up after you've sharpened it a few times and you are getting fresh steel.
 
PMQ said:
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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Good stuff! Im on it
 
Dergyll said:
Just get LC200N and call it a day
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I had already read about the amazing arc-forged powder steel or what ever it is they’re making in Germany one ingot is 2000 dlls because of the quality of the crystalline structure superior to martensitic steel
 
dutch70 said:
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.
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If you spend enough time on this site, you will see why some knives cost $400+, there is a lot more to it than just the steel.

I'd also urge you to explore this site as well: https://knifesteelnerds.com/
 
Personally I like good AUS8 like you will find in Ontario knives and other quality knives that use AUS8. I've had good luck with AUS10 as well. Do they stay sharp as long as S30V or other higher end steels? No, but they stay sharp for a decent amount of use and they sharpen easily and get very sharp without too much effort.

Most D2 I can sharpen without too much trouble, but I've got a Kershaw Endgame in D2 that I can't seem to get a really good edge back on. It came pretty sharp from the factory - sharper than I've been able to get it now.

I agree that there is a lot of good 440C out there, too.

I am not really into the 'super steels' because my primary sharpening system is the Sharpmaker - although I have a few other options, that's the one I use 90% of the time. So I try to be careful not to let my knives with high end steel get dull. I can restore a good edge if it's not too far gone, but once it gets really dull, it's hard to bring back with my Sharpmaker. I don't have diamond rods.
 
rje58 said:
Personally I like good AUS8 like you will find in Ontario knives and other quality knives that use AUS8. I've had good luck with AUS10 as well. Do they stay sharp as long as S30V or other higher end steels? No, but they stay sharp for a decent amount of use and they sharpen easily and get very sharp without too much effort.

Most D2 I can sharpen without too much trouble, but I've got a Kershaw Endgame in D2 that I can't seem to get a really good edge back on. It came pretty sharp from the factory - sharper than I've been able to get it now.

I agree that there is a lot of good 440C out there, too.

I am not really into the 'super steels' because my primary sharpening system is the Sharpmaker - although I have a few other options, that's the one I use 90% of the time. So I try to be careful not to let my knives with high end steel get dull. I can restore a good edge if it's not too far gone, but once it gets really dull, it's hard to bring back with my Sharpmaker. I don't have diamond rods.
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I might get alot of flack for saying this but, the diamond rods are not worth the money and wear out SUPER QUICK. I've owned two pairs and I've taken all the precautions I read online and they still wear very quick...

If they're really bad edges, i just take it to a stone or grind/sand out the bad parts. Better to maintain your edge constantly than let it go too far and have to redo it.

Also, the trick with the sharpmaker is, unless it's a very long and straight edge (like a santoku), I almost always use the angles and not the flats.

In my experience, LC200N = tough, keeps an edge (echelons better than H1), stainless, and easy to sharpen (feels like 12c27).
 
Diamond hones work with any steel. If you want to learn more about steels, get Larrin's (Dr. Larrin Thomas') book Knife Engineering. Fantastic read, even for non-technological knife nerds like me 😁 .
 
PMQ said:
... 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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Based on production costs in the United States, probably. However, there are a lot of Chinese-made knives with good build quality and decent steel at that price.

For instance, the Tangram Santa Fe is a fantastic budget knife in Acuto 440, which is a Japanese steel that is closer to 9Cr18Mov in composition. There are various knives in 9Cr18Mov, which is a decent budget steel. For a little more, the WE-made Civivi and Sencut knives in 9Cr18Mov get a superior heat treatment. There are a few knives in 12C27 or 14C28N, which are both good budget steels. There are also a bunch of inexpensive knives in Chinese D2 with varying levels of build quality. Even with the Bos heat treatment, I don't know that I'd choose 420HC over any of these options (except maybe D2 during the summer when its low corrosion resistance can be an issue for me.)

The Sandvik steels in particular are great everyday blade steels. They are tough for stainless steels, have decent edge retention, and are easy to sharpen. Especially for someone just starting out or looking to work on their sharpening skills, both 12C27 and 14C28N have a lot to offer. Heck, I've been a knife guy since before some of the members here were born and I still like those steels for EDC.
 
In general, generals are generally old farts generally in their last duty post before they are booted out if they don't get promoted to the next higher generalship rank if there is one.
oh. Generals also generally blame any "oops" they make on lower ranked people.
 
I was navy so thats captains. They would get put on crappy commands for the rest of their careers for not making Admiral, like old ships ready for decommissioning. Literally. And they usually made the crew miserable during any deployments as much as possible.
 
P. S. Sorry USN Capt = Colonel USMC, USAF, Army. Admiral=General. But a lot of commands are run by a Navy Captain, whereas in other branches its a General( albeit a one- star) , because, well- we have ships. And the Old Man, onboard, is God as far as a sailor is concerned.
 
In my experience YES D2 is harder to sharpen than AUS8 and YES 440 is typically what cheaper knives are made out of.

Two things to consider tho: (1) generally speaking if it is easy to sharpen, it is easy to dull (2) electricity means nothing ever has to actually be hard to sharpen. Ken Onion Work Sharp w/Blade Griding Attachment. A lazy knife owner's dream come true 👍
 
I love AUS8. I like how it gets very sharp with extremely little effort.

All of my AUS8 pieces are in small knives that don't get drawn into any sort of hard use tasks like construction or automobile maintenance, so they stay sharp just fine.

I don't have any D2 stuff any more that I can think of right off the bat, but it wasn't difficult to sharpen. I guess I wasn't impressed enough with it to seek it out more.

One of my favorite steels is 440C.... easy to sharpen, stays clean, holds a good edge long enough for my purposes.

Any of these steels from a good manufacturer will serve you well, and be very easy to maintain with simple equipment compared to todays super steels.
 
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