M2 vs D2

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ph.ht1

Joined
Jan 6, 2006
Messages
219
Just ordered a mini ritter grip m2 from aeromedix. How does m2 steel compare with d2 or A2? I have never owned m2 or d2. This is also my first benchmade.
 
M2 is a very fine grained and high wear steel, designed to cut things at high speeds because it doesn't get soft even when hot. In knives it tends to have less of a burr problem than D2 and is much more suitable at low angles and high polishes. D2 is much more corrosion resistant. A2 is different, a low wear steel in comparison, more of an inbetween cutting/utility steel.

-Cliff
 
From the limited reading ive done it seems like M2 is the preferred material of knife enthusiasts, and its only drawbacks are difficult sharpening (less frequent though) and susceptibility to rust (which seems fixable with a black coating).

My question is why dont we see more M2 knives?
 
Ease of sharpening is actually a positive of M2. The downside is that as a HSS it requires very high austenizing temperatures and thus not many makers can actually heat treat it.

-Cliff
 
The black coating will only prevent rust on the body of the blade, where rust is mostly a cosmetic issue. Your blade will still be free to rust at the cutting edge, where a little corrosion can quickly dull the blade. Even if the blade is coated, you still have to practice proper knife blade "hygiene".
 
I've gotten rid of my D2 blades. Just a bugger to sharpen. The M2, as described, sharpens easier than D2, but harder than most steels. Benchmade is getting out of the M2 business so use that knife well.
 
Hmmm...I also have a Benchmade Ritter in M2. Since the majority of my knives over the years have been ATS-34/154CM...I was wondering how much knife "hygiene" you are referring to.

Is utilizing the Sentry Tuf Cloth enough? If So, how often would you utilize it?

Thanks
 
Use of corrosion inhibitors would depend on use and conditions.

I regularly carry M2 and have never experienced rust. When I touch up the blade, I apply.

TUF Cloth should be enough. Can't see applying it more than once a month under minimum use conditions unless you live next to the ocean or carry where it will be exposed to sweat.
 
Cutting keeps the edge clean!

Over more than a year i edc blades with much less chromium than M2 and there is nothing of the problems considering carbon blades, oftenly descirbed here. I even don´t apply a slightly oily film on the blades.

They get black from sour things i have cut and get clear if i cut into cardboard.

Pretty easy.

I would prefer M2 over D2 but M2 is sold out. Sharper, harder, stronger.
 
More than sold out - if the reports are correct, BM is not going to be offering M2 blades at all in the future. The RSKs supposedly used the last of the M2 stock they had on hand.
 
JNewell said:
More than sold out - if the reports are correct, BM is not going to be offering M2 blades at all in the future. The RSKs supposedly used the last of the M2 stock they had on hand.
Click to expand...
Which accounted for the extended run on the M2 RSK. Benchmade estimated they had enough M2 on hand to do 170 knives in both the full size and mini. After that was done they continued making the full size until their M2 was all gone -- an additional 70 knives. I received 204 of 240 this week, so there may still be some remaining. When they're gone, they're gone.
 
I don't have any experience with M2, but I do have some with D2. I don't like D2 all that much. I keep my edges highly polished and D2 prefers to be kept toothy. If you like your knives toothy D2 is for you, otherwise I would stay away from it.
 
I think they're all gone now. I got #220-something in the mail yesterday and noticed that both the Mini and full size RSKs in M2 are gone from the Aeromedix website.

Out of curiosity, does your box have the second label with the serial #? Mine looks like it had a label for the serial #, but it had been pulled off (mostly - some left). No big deal, since this is a user for me.

Correction: some still seem to be available (link)
 
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