Is D2 (generaly) a bit tougher to sharpen ?

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Nov 25, 2006
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I have the bigger Lansky kit and the Spyderco Sharpmaker. Will I need something with diamond dust for the Leatherneck in D2, or is what I have good enough to keep a nice edge on it ?
 
You will find your job much easier if you switch to diamond stones on your Lansky. D2 can be a bit of a problem, not too much, but some. Diamonds make life easier. The same can be said for CS's new CTS-XHP, basically a better D2 stainless.
 
Diamond is going to be at easier. I also find it supremely easier to leave a course medium grit finish that bites into material vs that super fine edge that one tries to get with powdered steels. It's counter to what I normally do meaning I stop at a medium grit refinement for D2 but that's just me.
 
Ditto to the above posts. I recently sharpened D2 for the first time (Brous SS), and I found it slow going on my Edge Pro with the standard water stones. I wanted to go to a bit lower angle, and while I could see that the water stones were cutting, it was just taking a while. I switched over to the fine diamond plate, and things went much easier. I then switched back to a water stone (600 grit) for the final finish. I also wanted to micro bevel on the Sharpmaker after this, and I noticed that that too took a bit longer than with other steels I'm used to (things like AUS-8, 4116, 8Cr13-14, 12C27, 440C, CPM154, various carbons, etc.), but I did get there. :thumbup:
 
Shoot, even on my grinder, I can tell D2 takes significantly more work!
 
Let me know if you manage to get a fine edge on it. I've only had Queen and Benchmade and I only managed to get it to a toothy medium. It didn't take too much to get to get the medium though.
 
I ordered in a set of those Cubic Boron Nitride rods for the Sharpmaker, that should help. :thumbup: Here is a pic that I just took to give some size perspective for the Leatherneck.
 
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