Is it just China D2?

Asterisk said:
Yeah I'm on that. I have no issue with a working edge, but maybe my definition of a working edge is different. After a week and a half, it would not cut paper. I would call that dull. From my experience so far, it loses sharpness fairly fast. For example, the edge had degraded (slightly but noticeably) after just cutting some bale strings (about 35-40 or so) in one morning. Not impressive to me, but I'll keep an eye on it. I'm using a Lansky turnbox for exact angles, and I may have to just keep an exact record of starting sharpness and what I cut with it to see exactly how long an edge lasts. If worse comes to worst, I'll just touch it up on the turnbox every night, as it only takes about thirty seconds.
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Also be careful of wolire edges d2 is a pain for me in this regard. Not a horrible steel not my favorite either.
 
dirc said:
but I expect running it very soft is the real culprit as to why you see low edge retention
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Its 61hrc iirc. So not soft but it may have been a defect. Chances are it is just the sharpening to that specific knife.
 
As has been stated, heat treatment and edge geometry will dramstically change one’s experience with a blade steel.

“China D2” is a redundant statement, as D2 is D2 no matter where it is from. It’s an alloy made with a specific ratio of various elements. The only real consideration is that there are numerous companies who erroneously call 8Cr, 9Cr, and 440C “D2”, but larger brands are almost always a safe bet as far as getting what they advertise.
 
Comeuppance said:
As has been stated, heat treatment and edge geometry will dramstically change one’s experience with a blade steel.

“China D2” is a redundant statement, as D2 is D2 no matter where it is from. It’s an alloy made with a specific ratio of various elements. The only real consideration is that there are numerous companies who erroneously call 8Cr, 9Cr, and 440C “D2”, but larger brands are almost always a safe bet as far as getting what they advertise.
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I use the statement "China D2" to refer to D2 manufactured in China, and treated in a budget fashion. I know there are high end manufacturers in China, but this specific iteration is of course budget, and I know it won't perform nearly as well as a more expensive and higher quality blade. At the moment I am varying between heat treat and edge geometry for sub-par performance, or possibly unrealistic expectations. What I have settled on at the moment is sharpening my Kershaw Brawler as well as my Cutjack in the same way and testing the edge retention, both with the Lansky Turnbox, and freehand. I'll be using cardboard as my test medium, and I hope to be right in saying that budget D2 or not, the performance should far outperform 8cr13Mov. If it doesn't, well, I'm all ears for solutions.

davek14 said:
Are you using diamond to sharpen?
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No I am not, I'm using both a Lansky Turnbox and Japanese waterstones.
 
Maybe just take some metal off..

I’ve had knives I’ve been unimpressed with until I re-profiled them, for example my S110v PM2 was chippy as heck until I re-profiled it
 
[QUOTE="Asterisk, post: I found myself a bit let down with the edge retention. At first, it had a very obtuse edge, and was very dull after a week and a half of (IMO) medium use (i.e. hay strings and cardboard mostly.) I thinned out the edge to a 40 inclusive, but am still not impressed with the sharpness after only a day of relatively light use (I've been painting a lot.) Should my expectations be lower with China D 2].
I have a Cutjack too. Same deal with me. Feels more like 440C or 9cr14mov. Mine never stains either.


-Joshua[/QUOTE]
 
steel will is real d2,and i have had excellent results with my modus d2 in fact some of the best steel for a 38 dollar knife,just my experience
 
Mo2 said:
I would suggest it's your sharpening and edge angle. Possibly technique or stones/strops your using.

China d2 has better edge retention than 8cr13mov. And the cut jack is around 61hrc and Cedric Ada has shown it has good results to other Chinese d2.

It may not be the idea heat treatment, but it works fine for budget knives and better than other budget steels.

I would guess it's your sharpening. I would guarantee it pretty much. Alot of folks have this issue.
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That is my feeling as well. I have a Boker Urban Trapper (Chinese made) VG-10. My Kizer sharpens up so much easier an I keep wondering if it is my sharpening skills or the steel itself on the Boker. I like the Boker.... a little longer blade than I normally carry, but it is very slim and easy to carry.

I have the M390 Mini Cutjack and have been VERY pleased with it. I don't have the D2 version and doubt I'll buy one unless it's another Steel Will knife that catches my eye.
 
I started my cardboard test the other night. I only got through about 50 linear feet with both knives. They were both VERY hard to get through the cardboard. It was a huge pain, and should not be happening with blades that thin. I mean really, my Gerber Strongarm slices cardboard better. So I'm going to freehand reprofile my cutjack to roughly a 15 dps and see where that goes.
 
So there's a few things that can be factoring in here. As Supersteel Steve has demonstrated, factory sharpened knives usually suffer from a "burnt" edge (burnt is in quotes because it can be burnt or just stressed, either way the results are similarly uncharacteristically bad for the steel), and until that steel is removed the edge will perform unsatisfactorily. Usually this takes between 2-5 sharpenings, but with a reprofile it can happen sooner. Another possibility could be that your technique isn't fully forming a crisp Apex on the steel, as I've experienced first hand with M390. Some steels take a little finesse to get right. Third possibility is the HT is bad. Steel Will has decent QC, but no matter how good it is a lemon will always slip through. Their warranty isn't bad, though, so if it is the HT they will take care of you.

I do remember reading on here that Steel Will actually sources their D2 from Germany for their budget knives, which would likely be K110, a German D2 cognate.
 
John_0917 said:
Steel Will D2 is legit, they have released the specific composition of the variety they use.

Might be a bad HT, the edge retention on mine is very good at 40*, the D2 they use has about 0.85% Vanadium so not super high but decent for D2, your edge retention should be good.

Also, make sure you keep your edge fairly course, I find a 600 grit diamond is the best stone to finish with.
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This^^^^
Steel Will is a reputable manufacturer, so I wouldn’t be too concerned about it being some bogus steel labeled as D2 regardless of being made in China.
 
To get to “fresh” steel, take a course (under 100 grit) diamond to it for awhile and grind off a lot more than you usually would.

I have found the best performance on SW D2 comes with a 600 grit diamond finish at 40 degrees and a very brief (like 10 stroke) 1000 grit ceramic finishing at the end.
 
dkb45 said:
So there's a few things that can be factoring in here. As Supersteel Steve has demonstrated, factory sharpened knives usually suffer from a "burnt" edge (burnt is in quotes because it can be burnt or just stressed, either way the results are similarly uncharacteristically bad for the steel), and until that steel is removed the edge will perform unsatisfactorily. Usually this takes between 2-5 sharpenings, but with a reprofile it can happen sooner. Another possibility could be that your technique isn't fully forming a crisp Apex on the steel, as I've experienced first hand with M390. Some steels take a little finesse to get right. Third possibility is the HT is bad. Steel Will has decent QC, but no matter how good it is a lemon will always slip through. Their warranty isn't bad, though, so if it is the HT they will take care of you.

I do remember reading on here that Steel Will actually sources their D2 from Germany for their budget knives, which would likely be K110, a German D2 cognate.
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Thanks, that makes a lot of sense to me. I have reprofiled the edge to about 15 dps, and so far it slices cardboard a lot better. I am going to see how long it holds an edge here, and if it still is lacking, I will just give it some time, to get past any stressed steel, or possibly take a lot of steel off. If it is still lacking, then I'll consider contacting Steel Will. As a point of reference, how long should I expect the edge to hold? I mostly just cut hay bale strings and plastic wrap, with cardboard thrown in there as well.
 
Asterisk said:
Thanks, that makes a lot of sense to me. I have reprofiled the edge to about 15 dps, and so far it slices cardboard a lot better. I am going to see how long it holds an edge here, and if it still is lacking, I will just give it some time, to get past any stressed steel, or possibly take a lot of steel off. If it is still lacking, then I'll consider contacting Steel Will. As a point of reference, how long should I expect the edge to hold? I mostly just cut hay bale strings and plastic wrap, with cardboard thrown in there as well.
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Depends, do you strop the edge after use? What other steels are you familiar with? What grit do you finish your edges to?

D2 is usually a mid point between lower grade super steels like S30V and budget steels like 440C or AUS-8. With good HT I'm more than happy with the performance of it.
 
dkb45 said:
Depends, do you strop the edge after use? What other steels are you familiar with? What grit do you finish your edges to?

D2 is usually a mid point between lower grade super steels like S30V and budget steels like 440C or AUS-8. With good HT I'm more than happy with the performance of it.
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I don't usually strop the edge after using. I am familiar with Gerber's 420HC, Mora's 12C27, and Kershaw's 8cr13Mov, as well as a stainless steel on an old Bear M.G.C. Lockback, which may be the subject of an entirely different thread. I finish my edges on a 6000 grit King stone, with a bare leather strop to finish with.
 
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