Queens D2 steel?

mrknife said:
Yeah Im more of a collector than a user, I have users and the users are generally 1095/420HC. Ive given away a D2 queen slim trapper because I cant sharpen it
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You've been 'initiated' to Queen's D2. You're not the first to say it, either. ;)

Queen is pretty notorious for their thick, obtuse edge grinds, which complicates sharpening their D2 in a big way. That's the basis for the strong recommendations for SiC or diamond hones for rebevelling them. Once the edge is thinned out to good geometry, they're a lot more user-friendly on typically-used tools, except for Arkansas stones, which won't handle D2 well.


David
 
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Obsessed with Edges said:
You've been 'initiated' to Queen's D2. You're not the first to say it, either. ;)

Queen is pretty notorious for their thick, obtuse edge grinds, which complicates sharpening their D2 in a big way. That's the basis for the strong recommendations for SiC or diamond hones for rebevelling them. Once the edge is thinned out to good geometry, they're a lot more user-friendly on typically-used tools, except for Arkansas stones, which won't handle D2 well.


David
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no stranger to queens thick obtuse edge grinds. the person who does the sharpening at the factory probably needs new glasses, ive posted pictures of my coke bottle that came all wonky
 
D2 definitely takes a long time to sharpen up. I use diamond stones and I'd guess that sharpening a Queen in D2 takes me 3 to 4 times as long as a similar blade in 1095 does. However, once it's sharp it stays sharp. When carrying my Queen City 49 in 1095 I strop the blades two or three times a week to maintain the edges. When carrying the D2 version of the same knife I strop the blades once every two or three weeks. I'd guess that the D2 blade keeps it's edge about five or six times as long as the 1095 edge.

I really like Queen's D2 for knives that I'm giving as gifts to non-knife people. If I give somebody a knife in 1095 I have to give them a lesson on maintaining their knife. With D2 I just give them the knife and let them know to bring it to me when it needs a sharpening. I'd say that most people average around a year before they're asking for a touch up. In our climate D2 just doesn't rust. I've never had any rust form on one of my D2 knives, or one that I've given away. I have yet to give somebody a Queen that didn't love their knife. I've given away several GECs and Schrades that later got swapped out for a Queen because the recipient didn't like the maintenance.

All together D2 is probably my favorite of the steels I've had on a slipjoint, though I really like CPM-154 as well and I have yet to try 52100. Peters does Queen's heat treating, and they do a fantastic job with D2.
 
Queen's D2 steel is great. Cory is spot on.

I bought a hand diamond hone (not much money) and take down the edge while watching TV and then finish on the Sharpmaker. I don't go to the fine hones for D2, I like the slightly coarser aggressive edge.
 
This will shave arm-hair, stropping keeps it that way, but sharpening was a bit of a chore....

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And this is my favourite Small Stockman. Previous owner got it nice and keen, really enjoy carrying this one :cool:

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mrknife said:
no stranger to queens thick obtuse edge grinds. the person who does the sharpening at the factory probably needs new glasses, ive posted pictures of my coke bottle that came all wonky
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I wish i was your friend.

I will ship my knives to you when they start getting dull.

Actually i enjoy sharpening my knives i use edge pro apex had greatvresults with ats 34 cm 154 a2 steel case thru sharp chrome vanadium and 1095.
I have a custom in d2 .


Any difference s in sharpening a d2 as oppose to ats or cpm

Thanks
 
I bought this 06L Teardrop on the exchange and it's as sharp as it needs to be, besides being a real looker.

 
toppygray82 said:
I wish i was your friend.

I will ship my knives to you when they start getting dull.

Actually i enjoy sharpening my knives i use edge pro apex had greatvresults with ats 34 cm 154 a2 steel case thru sharp chrome vanadium and 1095.
I have a custom in d2 .


Any difference s in sharpening a d2 as oppose to ats or cpm

Thanks
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In my opinion yes, there is a difference.

For whatever it's worth, we have a large elaborate press in the fabrication shop at my workplace that cuts shapes out of steel sheets. The die slams down onto the sheet cutting out the desired shape. Like a big steel cookie cutter. Mostly 24 gauge stainless steel but some of the cold rolled sheets are as thick as 18 gauge. I've been told by the tool & die makers that the dies that cut those sheets are made of D2 tool steel and that few other steels would hold up to that kind of abuse.

Having said all that, I have sharpened D2 by hand before and there definitely is a difference. It's very abrasion resistant which is awesome for edge retention but it makes sharpening a real chore. The trick is to never let it get dull.
 
If you like single blade knives, you'll love it. It's bigger than I thought based on photos, but the F & F and W & T is as good as it gets.
 
I have only got one queen and it is a jumbo stockman in D2, it did need a reprofile out of the box but it wasn't much more difficult than reprofiling anything else, and the edge thickness is equivalent to the case 6375 jumbo stockman which is not a bad standard of measure at all:D Edge retention has been noticeably better than 1095 except where the much better toughness of 1095 shines
 
Not all Queens are dull out of the box. Of my three (a #2 Serpentine Jack, #70 Country Cousin, and #9 Stockman) - the #9 Stockman is a really excellent specimen that is on a par with GEC knives. The factory edges on all three blades are good enough for use as is. I haven't carried it yet.

The other two needed some work. The main blade on the #2 Serpentine Jack had the stereotypical Queen edge and grind that needed both sharpening and thinning. The pen blade wasn't too bad.

The Country Cousin has a fairly thick blade by design (compared to a Case Sod Buster Jr, for example) and benefited from some thinning to get a more acute angle. It was decently sharp when I got it but I wasn't the first owner. I've got it where I like it now, and it is quite sharp. It's a good knife that deserves more pocket time than I give it.
 
Fanglekai said:
I'll go ahead and say no, not with the standard set. The Queen knives I've bought required a reprofile. The brown stones don't remove metal quickly enough to do that, even for steels like 1095. You need something more abrasive. Once you properly shape the edge and apex it, then the Sharpmaker will really shine. It's not the ideal tool for reprofiling, but it's fantastic for sharpening once you have done the necessary shaping.
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Agree with this. I reprofile using a DMT X-tra Coarse Diamond stone. Once the blade is properly shaped so that it actually cuts, a Sharpmaker works fine to keep it sharp.


Obsessed with Edges said:
Very simple: yes and yes.

Queen's D2 is well-known and leaves little doubt as to it's character. Not sure why(?) that's even in question. It's not the CPM version of D2, so sharpening it can be more challenging, due to the huge carbides. In that regard, it likely is different in how it behaves during sharpening, if one has only been familiar with CPM-D2.


David
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Agree with David, also.
D2 it is. Easy to sharpen, it is not. (You should pardon the Yoda-isms.)
 
joeradza said:
If you like single blade knives, you'll love it. It's bigger than I thought based on photos, but the F & F and W & T is as good as it gets.
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Alan Really agree, the Teardrop is a fine single-blade which locks. Nor does the lock tab get in the way.

I'm lucky enough to have 4 versions: WCSB, ACSB, BEM, and this Zebra which has nice stripes. 3 are excellent knives, the BEM has some fit issues and I've never liked that scale too much, but a fine user too.

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Thanks, Will
 
Thanks for reply.

I have a custom knife in d2 steel. A sowbelly by tony bose. Knife is sharp, have not been used or carried . i want to try to improve its edge using the edge pro apex and tuning the blade with 2000 3000 and 6000 polishing tapes.

I had great results with ats cpm devin thomas damascus 440 1095 but have not tried d2.

I had a d2 blade made by queen . sharpened by a guy at a knife show.

D2 has a toothiness feel to it but it cuts and stay sharp like no other.

Will try the d2 on the edge pro.

Sharpening kn ives by hand is a lost art that requires patient skills and the right stones and strops.

Kuddos to you.
 
If I had a Tony Bose knife, I'd try to keep the original edge and wouldn't sharpen it until it needed sharpening. Not sure you can "improve" it with an edge pro :)
 
brownshoe said:
If I had a Tony Bose knife, I'd try to keep the original edge and wouldn't sharpen it until it needed sharpening. Not sure you can "improve" it with an edge pro :)
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Very true.

I agree.

I will just stick to a strop for edge tuning.


Thanks for your input..
 
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