I hate D2 steel - it's overrated and rusts like crazy!!! Take my Ontario...

If I'm using a specific knife for the day and I work with it, the first thing I do before I put it away at night is wipe it down with some mineral oil. It's cheap and it's available in the laxative aisle of your local pharmacy. It will keep 1095 carbon from rusting hell drink some too!
 
Shying back from a D2 blade because of possible rust issues seems a bit of an overthinking problem. Yes, I know, you may live in a coastal zone with high humidity, have very acidic sweat, and so on... But in my experience (dry , hot region and profuse sweating, thanks...), none of my many D2 pocket knives have ever showed signs of abnormal oxydation. However, when one overnighted in a puddle of red wine it did show marks that could not be (completely) eradicated. D2 is a semi stainless. I treat it as a carbon steel, that means a drop of oil from time to time, when I think of it. It's a great steel, by the way. I have many knives in D2. All of them are a treat. Pics or it didn't happen. A sample of them, these are made by Jelio Tenev (limonad on BF's Makers Market) :
https://imgur.com/l5HKr3b
 
There is no problem with Ontario's heat treatment or quality of their D2 steel.

There is a problem when op comes in with outlandish claim and just never responds from there. H Heffeb you got feedback, anything you'd like to say by chance? Usually we have conversations here, not drive by postings.
 
Different steels can perform differently depending on several factors and especially the heat treatment.
( Missing Cliff Stamp right about now ;) )
It can also vary from knife to knife from a given maker
I have had really good experiences with all the knives I have made of D2 although I don't have anything from the manufactirer in question.

But if somebody has a badly performing blade from a maker I think it's fair to complain since even if that complaint isn't true of all their knives they should be responsible for those that don't perform as well as the others.

I think D2 can be an excellent steel.
 
Lesknife said:
My suspicion is that the op must not of cleaned his d2 blade and let it set with a layer of salty drippings after a bbq or similar lack of care.
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While that might be true, and would explain the rust, it does not explain why the OP claims his AUS8 RATs have better edge retention than his D2 RATs. I've never experienced or heard of such a thing, in personal practice with the steels in question, or in anecdotal evidence available out there on the interwebs. I suspect I know the reason why the OP would say such a thing but I'd really like to get an explanation, with maybe some pics, from the OP.
 
And that's probably the crux on the biscuit... Some high performing steels are not easy to process. There is no point claiming D2 or 440C (or whatever...) if it hasn't been forged, heat treated and tempered properly. Excellent steels can be finnicky to work with.
 
While I love both AUS8 and D2 for their specific advantages, I see no way edge retention could be that much better than D2 on a AUS8 blade. It's just not what I have experienced in the kitchen. My AUS 8 blades are killer razor sharp with some honing from time to time while the D2 blades just work and work and work.... with an occasionnal sharpening once (or twice) a year.
 
Got two Sog Tridents. Older version with Aus-8 and the new Trident AT-XR with D-2. Heard Aus-8 easier to sharpen. Claims the D-2 is cryo and has better edge retention but harder to sharpen. Guess time will tell with usage. Gonna need a better sharpening system it sounds like. At least the coating on blade seems durable which should help.
 
My most frequently carried EDC is a SOG Terminus Cryo D2. Very satisfied with performance and edge retention. But FYI, don't use a nice blade to cut the seal on a bottle of Birchwood Casey Perma Blue. Perma evidently means "permanent".
 

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fowlintent said:
My most frequently carried EDC is a SOG Terminus Cryo D2. Very satisfied with performance and edge retention. But FYI, don't use a nice blade to cut the seal on a bottle of Birchwood Casey Perma Blue. Perma evidently means "permanent".
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What have you tried to remove it? I'd hit it with some flitz, though I'm not familiar with how permanent gun bluing is. Still, everyone should have flitz around so maybe give it a go.
 
craytab said:
What have you tried to remove it? I'd hit it with some flitz, though I'm not familiar with how permanent gun bluing is. Still, everyone should have flitz around so maybe give it a go.
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Meh….it really doesn’t bother me. $50 utilitarian knife and all……
 
craytab said:
While that might be true, and would explain the rust, it does not explain why the OP claims his AUS8 RATs have better edge retention than his D2 RATs. I've never experienced or heard of such a thing, in personal practice with the steels in question, or in anecdotal evidence available out there on the interwebs. I suspect I know the reason why the OP would say such a thing but I'd really like to get an explanation, with maybe some pics, from the OP.
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Yo Mama said:
There is no problem with Ontario's heat treatment or quality of their D2 steel.

There is a problem when op comes in with outlandish claim and just never responds from there. H Heffeb you got feedback, anything you'd like to say by chance? Usually we have conversations here, not drive by postings.
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I can only speak to my experience. I live in a humid environment, granted, but I take care of my knives. With consistent outdoor use, D2 rusts. With other people who live in dry climates, only work indoors with their knives, or just fidget with them, their experiences may vary. See post #75 regarding edge retention.
 
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mmyron1 said:
CPM D2. I carried it daily for almost 16 years with no issues and only sent it in to get some stripped screws replaced.
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Ok yea, that's what I thought it was too. Excellent knife! You don't ever really see original Paramilitarys anymore. I remember I wanted to give mine a forced patina and either covered it in mustard or stuck it in a potato (I can't remember which), all that happened was I got one spot that was slightly darker than the rest about the size of a dime. Nothing at all happened to the rest of the blade.
 
craytab said:
I suspect I know the reason why the OP would say such a thing but I'd really like to get an explanation
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We all know the reason:

JSt78D3.jpg
 
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