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

[gamepete]

We'll rust away before the knife does.

 

[MolokaiRider]

I find AUS8 and D2 will both show rust spots when allowed to consistently be exposed to lingering moisture.

It is a good idea, as many have mentioned, to wipe and dry them after use.

I believe both versions are hardened to the same Rockwell. D2 has a bit more carbide content if I'm not mistaken. The AUS8 responds to polishing much easier, likely due to a finer grain structure.

In normal use, there won't be a huge perceivable difference in the RAT folder series.

 

[LimpCroissant]

I reprofiled an AUS-8 blade the other day and man was it nice to work with. It just polishes up to a super keen edge with a lot less effort than a lot of other steels and just gets absolutely hair poppin sharp for me. From a pure sharpening standpoint, the only other steel that has behaved similarly and is really a pleasure to sharpen is N690.

 

[Chronovore]

Yeah, I was about to post that one as well. Go figure...doesn't look like either one "cheated". Or, D2 is a sisal rope cutter and AUS-8 is a cardboard cutter? Yeah, no.

Takeaway: Don't put too much faith in YouTube tests. By *anyone*.

I don't know about faith but both of these testers seem like good guys. Outpost 76 is pretty consistent, sharpening the same way to the same angle on a KME and testing repeat edges for comparison.

If nothing else, these tests compare the difference in actual performance between those steels with the expected difference based on the reputations of those steels. That's something.

The thing about any test is that it tests a particular knife under particular conditions. How that applies to a person's actual use will depend.

 

[TC]

I don't know about faith but both of these testers seem like good guys. Outpost 76 is pretty consistent, sharpening the same way to the same angle on a KME and testing repeat edges for comparison.

If nothing else, these tests compare the difference in actual performance between those steels with the expected difference based on the reputations of those steels. That's something.

The thing about any test is that it tests a particular knife under particular conditions. How that applies to a person's actual use will depend.

Yes, I agree that both are generally good guys. But the fact remains that their results are exact opposites. OK, they used different test media, but how does that help someone looking to make a choice between the two steels in this particular knife?

 

[craytab]

And? You want to have a dialogue about this or just post youboob links?

Is that your video? Your test? Got any pics of your knives? Your rust? Anything other than a couple wild claims?

What you've shown thus far is your anecdotal claim and some youboober's one time "test". Stack that against what everyone else is saying their experience is here, I know which is more credible.

 

[craytab]

Yes, I agree that both are generally good guys. But the fact remains that their results are exact opposites. OK, they used different test media, but how does that help someone looking to make a choice between the two steels in this particular knife?

There's a very real chance that the Chinese D2 blades have some inconsistency in their HT.

 

[DMG]

There's a very real chance that the Chinese D2 blades have some inconsistency in their HT.

If their D2 is even real D2

 

[Hashishiin]

I thought this was gonna go all Rodney Dangerfield with a “Take my Ontario Rat, Please” joke at the end…

Wait…

Was I just too old for the rest of the room?

25 and love R.D so much
I get no respect around here though, I tell ya, none... I thought I got cut hard when my Matriarch went through my elbow, it's nothin' like how craytab 's remarks can cut, I'm tellin ya...

Showing myself out lol

 

[Arathol]

There's a very real chance that the Chinese D2 blades have some inconsistency in their HT.

Same could be said about the sharpening skills too.....How do you know if one knife was sharpened exactly like the other?

 

[craytab]

Same could be said about the sharpening skills too.....How do you know if one knife was sharpened exactly like the other?

Of course, but for the sake of argument, let's take the youtubers' at their word that they (and the OP for that matter) are representing the situation correctly. I suppose the AUS8 could be the culprit too but we have seen budget oriented D2 to be questionable in other instances, AUS8 out of Taiwan less so.

 

[craytab]

Showing myself out lol

Please do.

 

[Chronovore]

Yes, I agree that both are generally good guys. But the fact remains that their results are exact opposites. OK, they used different test media, but how does that help someone looking to make a choice between the two steels in this particular knife?

Heat treatments do vary. There can be variance between individual examples of the same model.

Different test media is a big deal. Different compositions and structures will wear differently against steels. Also, the sharpening method and edge geometry between these testers is different. As with any test in any field, the test is only testing under its own specific test conditions. How well a test models reality is an important issue in science overall. So any value here, from CATRA to cardboard, is how close the test conditions are to our own. If our sharpening method is similar or we cut a lot of similar stuff, it will be more representative.

Again, this provides some data points for general conditions and the big deal for me is how close they get in either case.

If their D2 is even real D2

Chinese steelmakers produce a product with the target composition of "D2". Reputable knife companies use this steel, although the budget knives being made in it are generally getting budget heat treatments. Your comment reflects a very real problem in non-reputable companies stamping "D2" (or whatever else they think will sell) on a blade made from anything between 3Cr13 and 8Cr13Mov. This seems to be less an issue with Chinese manufacturers as it does rebranding distributors like Eafengrow.

Another issue is the consistency of the Chinese D2, or how consistently they hit that target composition and where they hit within target range. Looking at XRF testing, the vanadium level in Chinese D2 seems to vary more than it should and is often on the low side of the acceptable range. That and issues with large-scale heat treatment are probably responsible for the generally lower edge retention on Chinese D2. Such issues are probably part of the reason that Bestech and Petrified Fish, both companies who've made a lot of knives in Chinese D2, have started doing more with Bohler K110.

 

[DocJD]

I hate D2 steel - it's overrated and rusts like crazy!!! I'll tell you something else, too. I've got several Ontario Rat I and II knives in both D2 and AUS8 steel, and the AUS8 outperformed the D2 in every single category, including edge retention!!!

It is what it is...

Some decent pics might help with sorting this out .

Lots of fakes out there for this popular model .

 

[MolokaiRider]

I think sharpening can certainly be a important factor as mentioned.

D2 needs a bit of finesse to keep the carbides flush with the apex. It's possible to leave a jagged edge with carbides exposed, which can tear out, resulting loss of a fine edge.

AUS-8 tends to sharpen more evenly.

All things considered, a good sharpening should make D2 a better alloy for edge holding ability.

 

[afishhunter]

huh ... No rust/rust spots on any of the blades of my Marbles MR431 Sowbelly D2 stockman in over a year ... admittedly that  might be because I got into the habit of wiping the blade if it gets wet no matter what the blade steel, around 59~60 years ago. (I also wipe off any food residue/fat/grease)
I can't comment on the "over rated" bit. I did take all three edges down to 10DPS/20 degrees inclusive on a guided rod sharpener with diamond hones.
Took a little longer than my 1095/440A/5160 blades, and wore the plates a bit more than the quote/unquote "lesser" steels. It does seem to hold a working edge a mite longer, before it needs touched up than my other stockmans.
Now, if you were to have said "... {I}t doesn't  patina worth a worm's bark ..." I would have to agree with that.

D2 is  not a stain less/rust free steel. I don't find it unusual that it will rust if/when "put away wet". Most tool and spring steels will rust if the bare minimum of care - wiping dry when they get wet, don't get a light coat of oil (if you are also trying to keep a patina away), and so on.
I've seen tool steels rust at a couple machine shops and plastics casting factories I worked at when I was a High Schooler and in college. I have no idea which tool steels they were, but I know the cause of the rust was improper care and storage.
(not my department/responsibility, BTW. I was a custodian at a couple, or operated a drill press or some other machine, or operated a forklift in the warehouse at a couple others. I was never assigned to the tool room.)

Any steel (including "stainless") can rust if not taken care of, and/or are exposed to certain chemicals and acids. Some just take a  lot longer to do so.

 

[Andy the Aussie]

Might need a Lasador IP check…

....has to be !!!!

I was wrong, wasn't a Busse per se, but a swamp rat. I need to get a leather sheath for itView attachment 1945614

......ohhhh old D2 Rat !!!!!!!!!!!!! You see these less and less now. Not actually sure when they were released.

 

[unwisefool]

....has to be !!!!

......ohhhh old D2 Rat !!!!!!!!!!!!! You see these less and less now. Not actually sure when they were released.

I don't think they made many of them to begin with.

 

[helobite]

Carbon V and 1095 rust before I can get a cloth and wipe them off

A bud of mine was given this Case Canoe knife in 1964, and the week before I took this picture, he had field dressed a deer, and had not cleaned it. Yes, the blade is brown, but it still cut. I thought all the meat fiber left on the blades was yucky.

I really like D2, it is my favorite steel for affordable folding knives

sure it will spot if you don't wipe it off, and probably rust if you leave it wet over night. But it fights corrosion orders of magnitude better than the 1095 blades I purchased in the 1960's and 1970's.

In terms of knife steels, we live in good times.

 

[greater]

Isn't it true that the requirements for a steel to be called D2 allows for a pretty wide range of should I say variables. What constitutes D2 is not as strictly and narrowly defined as in most other steels.

I think D2 is just fine when done right.