Help recalling a type of blade steel - D3?

B

bladeshaman

Joined
Sep 23, 2005
Messages
101
I've got several knives with D2 blade steel and it's one I like despite some of it's drawbacks like a lower rust resistance but recently saw something like D2 but better in a number of ways.
I thought it was called D3 and I saw some knives with that better steel but can't seem to find any now so I question what blade steel it was (memory slip? ). I'm familiar with nearly all common and even less common blade steel types but the one I'm trying to find eludes me.
List of the ones it is NOT:
CPM S30V
CPM S90V
CPM S110V
CPM 154
A2
D2
M390
154CM
ATS-3
CTS-XHP
M2
M4
440 or anything similar or close to that type

It was a blade steel type that I had never heard of before but it was not totally new either - I think I recall it had been around a couple years at least. Any help in recalling this new-to-me blade steel much appreciated. I really thought it was called D3 (and maybe had another name but some were referring to it as D3) but even Google searches for D3 blade steel don't seem to produce any relevant hits.
 
bladeshaman said:
I've got several knives with D2 blade steel and it's one I like despite some of it's drawbacks like a lower rust resistance but recently saw something like D2 but better in a number of ways.
I thought it was called D3 and I saw some knives with that better steel but can't seem to find any now so I question what blade steel it was (memory slip? ). I'm familiar with nearly all common and even less common blade steel types but the one I'm trying to find eludes me.
List of the ones it is NOT:
CPM S30V
CPM S90V
CPM S110V
CPM 154
A2
D2
M390
154CM
ATS-3
CTS-XHP
M2
M4
440 or anything similar or close to that type

It was a blade steel type that I had never heard of before but it was not totally new either - I think I recall it had been around a couple years at least. Any help in recalling this new-to-me blade steel much appreciated. I really thought it was called D3 (and maybe had another name but some were referring to it as D3) but even Google searches for D3 blade steel don't seem to produce any relevant hits.
Click to expand...
https://www.hudsontoolsteel.com/technical-data/steelD3

Search for D3 Tool Steel. And stop using a Google. And see my signature.
 
Guess I might not have dug deep enough. I do see on thread here on D3 but not a lot of info on it. Seems fairly obscure. I don't recall where I picked up info on D3 but it sounded better than D2 and if anyone knows of any online sites with a D3 knife for sale please let me know as I'd like to grab this type of blade steel to try it out.
 
Farid Mehr is about the only person I know who has used D3 much. If the knife you are looking for wasn't made by him it is probably a different steel.
 
You could be thinking of the Delta heat treat protocol for CPM 3V that is commonly referred to as D3V. Carothers Performance Knives uses it in most of the pieces.
 
There is indeed a steel called D3, it actually came before D2 despite the name. You can read its history here: https://knifesteelnerds.com/2018/11/05/all-about-d2-steel-knives/

However, since D3 has never been common in knives it is unlikely that it is the steel you are thinking of. Perhaps if you gave more information about what was better about it than D2 we can help you figure out what it was. Or you can say what qualities you are looking for and we can find you a different steel altogether.
 
I had a d3 K2 from mehr. Steel seemed to hold a nasty aggressive edge for quite awhile.
On of the few knives i made money selling, it was just too heavy.
 
I have an American Standard Tanto in D3 made by Brazilian cutliero Ivan Campos, an awesome 1/4" thick chisel ground piece of steel. When I received it about 10 years ago (I won it in a giveaway) I asked him about D3 -- Ivan said it is fairly commonly used in Brazil and took him about three times as long to grind than high carbon steel. I tried it out by chopping through a 2 x 4 -- no chipping, and it still shaved hair. Seems very fine grained and takes a hair-whittling edge -- sort of D2 on steroids. I keep it handy for opening letters or maybe field dressing a walrus:D.
 
Alberta Ed said:
I have an American Standard Tanto in D3 made by Brazilian cutliero Ivan Campos, an awesome 1/4" thick chisel ground piece of steel. When I received it about 10 years ago (I won it in a giveaway) I asked him about D3 -- Ivan said it is fairly commonly used in Brazil and took him about three times as long to grind than high carbon steel. I tried it out by chopping through a 2 x 4 -- no chipping, and it still shaved hair. Seems very fine grained and takes a hair-whittling edge -- sort of D2 on steroids. I keep it handy for opening letters or maybe field dressing a walrus:D.
Click to expand...

Thanks, That is the kind of info I recall reading about D3 and I guess it was indeed D3 that I was recalling but yesterday I just couldn't seem to find much on it and not any place I had previously recalled finding a couple knives with D3. If I can find something reasonably priced around I plan on trying out the D3 despite any drawbacks it might have. Thanks everyone else too for thoughts and info.
 
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tomhosang said:
I'm curious, what makes you think it would chip easily?
Click to expand...

the part where
dirc said:
with 2%-2.35% carbon
Click to expand...

I'm fairly convinced any normal knife geometry would chip with d3, read Larrin Larrin 's article about it

to use d3 properly in a knife, imho, you must be willing to give up slicing ability (geometry) in order to get the really nice edge retention it offers without worrying about chipping, which imho defeats the purpose
 
dirc said:
the part where


I'm fairly convinced any normal knife geometry would chip with d3, read Larrin Larrin 's article about it

to use d3 properly in a knife, imho, you must be willing to give up slicing ability (geometry) in order to get the really nice edge retention it offers without worrying about chipping, which imho defeats the purpose
Click to expand...

What about ZDP-189 then? That has 3% carbon and way more chromium. In theory that should lead to it being chippy at knife geometries. But, in my personal use (your use may vary), I have zero issues with chipping or lack of edge stability. Same with maxamet at 2.15% carbon. I think you just have to be a bit more aware of what your cutting and how you're cutting it with stuff like that.
 
AISI D3 is simply a higher Carbon version of D2 and very similar to D6. It does have better wear resistance than D2 but is more brittle.
D3/D6 are commonly used in applications that require excellent sliding type wear resistance such as brick molds.
later
 
tomhosang said:
What about ZDP-189 then? That has 3% carbon and way more chromium. In theory that should lead to it being chippy at knife geometries. But, in my personal use (your use may vary), I have zero issues with chipping or lack of edge stability. Same with maxamet at 2.15% carbon. I think you just have to be a bit more aware of what your cutting and how you're cutting it with stuff like that.
Click to expand...

yeah and zdp189 also had quite a few reports of chipping problems depending on geometry & ht, it can be tougher however, since its pm steel and not ingot like d3 .. the finer grain distribution likely helps a lot

personally, I think these class of super high carbon steels ( > 1.5% really) are giving up too much toughness to gain edge retention

of course you should get them if edge retention (& difficult sharpening ; ) are something you enjoy
 
Not sure about D3, but ZKnives has a good post on hardness and chipping, with some objective level testing here:
http://zknives.com/knives/articles/hardvssoftedgesp3.shtml
I do know I have been carrying a WH B12 since the ZDP-189 came out as my most frequent edc knife, at 67 hardness, and haven't seen any edge chipping with normal use for an edc, plus some field dressing work on birds (forgot to bring a heavier belt knife, some impacts to the stainless cleaning table too) and haven't seen any edge chipping. Only one rehappening too, with occasional stropping with a leather belt on a 1 inch belt sander loaded with polish, shaves arm hair fine. Nice edc knife but not a great choice for field use, more because it is too thin for the grip than blade, and with Ti scales about the same price as CR.
 
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