Next Gen Ka-Bar D2 - Brittle?

B

bullfrog99

Joined
Sep 4, 2002
Messages
77
I've heard several references to the Ka-Bar D2 fighter being brittle. Does this mean people are chipping edges, breaking blades or is this just some people guessing that bigger knives hardened above 60rc are not tough enough?

kuraa pokha, manmaa naraakha
Jeremiah
 
I've seen pics of LTC Kukri's broke by the grip, and Trail Master's with broken tips, but I havn't seen anything about broken Ka-bar D2 Next gens, Yet people say that they don't trust the D2's toughness. Does anyone have anything to back up the claim that D2 in a big knife is brittle?
 
I see many custom and semi custom fixed blade in D2 hardened up to 60rc and while I don't have one just yet I have not heard any formal complaints. My first purchase for a fixed D2 will be Ryan Wilsons Model 2 and I have every bit of confidence in his quality. PGH~
 
bullfrog99 said:
Does anyone have anything to back up the claim that D2 in a big knife is brittle?
Click to expand...

Yep, the fact that D2 in a small knife is brittle too. It's not an indictment, it's just the nature of the steel when hardened up to the level that brings out its attributes. It is highly abrasion resistant and highly deformation resistant--helps it keep an edge very well when cutting hard/abrasive materials that wear down and missalign "softer" steels like 5160 at the same hardness. Everything is a tradeoff. In this case, the higher performance in slicing or push-cutting comes at the cost of ductility. All steel will deform--with D2 it doesn't take much flex before it breaks. As such, it is not as ideally suited to bigger knives as are 5160, 52100, O1, 1095/85/75 etc.--it's just not. It doesn't matter who made the knife, and it's not a question of quality, that's just the nature of the material. But, conversely, none of those steels have the same potential for long term sharpness in a skinning (for example) knife as D2 does.

Kabar brought the extreme out in D2 because that was the hot steel at the time. If they were introducing it today it would be S30V, and tomorrow... It's not a bad knife at all, just not an extremely intuitive match---why match a steel that best suits thin edges meant for slicing with a 7inch "combat" blade and a steep saber grind? Mind you, it is still steel and not glass--I'm not saying it'll shatter at the drop of a hat, but the areas of performance where D2 exceeds 1095 are not the types of chores where a kabar (meaning the combat knife in general, not the brand) is going to excell. The 1095 version just makes more sense and is half the cost. It will stand up to hard use better, be much easier to sharpen, and (we tend to forget) is a pretty decent edge-holder itself.
 
Great for slicing, not great for chopping. Slicing lets D2's deformation/abrasion resistance shine, but chopping will begin to tell on its lack of flexibility in the form of chips and (if you keep chopping with it long enough without repairing the chips) cracks.
Some of this can be gotten around by having a really thick edge, but the same is true of any steel, and a thick edge in D2 is a bear to sharpen.
 
I've had a Nex Gen for two years,given it some fairly extensive use and haven't had any problems with brittleness,no problems at all. :cool:
 
Yes, with the very thick edge that kabars have by design, the brittleness can be gotten around somewhat even in rougher use. D2 is still more prone to chipping and breaking than is the 1095 model. By way of analogy, I have many more non-stainless knives than stainless, and through a little care have had very few problems with rust, but they are still more prone to rusting than a stainless blade.

Again, I'm not saying it is a bad knife, I'm saying that D2 was chosen by the company because of its marketability, not its suitability to the design. The only area it surpasses the 1095 version in is edge longevity in extensive slicing or push cutting (e.g. when doing woodwork)---neither a task where most would employ a thick edged, saber ground blade with very little curve to its edge.

Also, quick question--do you have the Next Generation or the Extreme? The original NGs were 12C27 stainless and have now become 440A--both tough steels which do not tend to be brittle and are more suited to this type of blade. Only the Extreme is in D2. I have an original Next Generation and it's a great knife.
 
I have a kabar d2 next generation
haven't used it yet, but I just thought I would throw that out there :D
It sure is pretty to look at. I will be using it as a camp knife when the winter is over, it should do the trick.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top