Queen's D2 steel

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Captain O

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I have a "Curly Zebrawood" Stockman with D2 Steel blades. It is a marvelous knife, but harder than #ell to put an edge on the blades. I have been vacillating between a new Queen Barlow that sports D2 steel blades, or a Utica Barlow that has 1095 steel blades (While the Utica is less expensive, I'll sharpen the Queen less frequently).

Opinions?
 
I like all types of steel but Queen's D2 is my favorite among the most common steels offered in traditional knives. I usually like things that cost more money than I really need to spend but Queen's D2 really pushes my buttons. The fact that they don't charge an outrageous price for such a great steel is just the icing on the cake.
 
I've yet to try Queen's D2 but I'm afraid my sharpening mojo may not be up to the challenge.
 
I love queens d2 steel! I have a canoe that gets carried frequently and still has a nice edge after about 2 years! However, it is a beast to sharpen unless you have diamond hones... I think the sharpening effort and slight increase in cost is worth it though.
 
Here's the trick to Queen's D2: Use a SiC (silicon carbide) stone to get your initial bevel and profile set, and then you can refine the edge on whatever you like to use otherwise. Don't get off that SiC until you have a sharp edge, though.

I just now sharpened a Queen D2 #2 jack using the fine side of a Norton Economy SiC combo stone, then refined the edge on a soft/hard Arkansas combo, and stropped on a leather belt with green CrOx compound on it. Shaves hair, whispers through receipt paper. Took me all of 10 minutes, if that. I didn't even use oil, I was too lazy.

Diamond will work too, if you already have a diamond stone, but I prefer the SiC scratch pattern myself.
 
On a vendor's site, I saw a review of the Utica Cutlery Barlow. It was stated that it wasn't 1095 Carbon Steel. (They had wrapped the blade in a vinegar-soaked paper towel overnight and the blade hadn't changed at all). This makes me hesitate to trust Utica. This inclines me toward spending the extra $50.00 on a Queen Barlow.
 
If queen could grind their blades as thin as GEC does, I'd have more. I have a 1x30 grinder, and it took quite some time to get the blades thinned out. I'm not sure that I'd have been able without a grinder (I completely reprofiled the blades).
 
I'm definitely with Rick T. on the D2; it is so worth the extra money. It takes and holds a great edge (admittedly with a little more work) and is practically stainless as well. With 11+% Chromium it will still gray slightly, but I've never had one rust from pocket carry even in very hot weather.
 
I just picked this railsplitter up off of the exchange, and I was thrilled with everything about it except the factory sharpening job. I was able to turn it into a razor on a Norton India stone without as much trouble as I was expecting. It sharpened up for me much more easily than I was led to believe based on how people talk about D2.

 
Get the Queen, you won't regret it. D2 is about, oh hell, is my favorite type of steel. Once it takes that edge it holds it. You can always have someone regrind it, if you aren't satisfied with your own efforts. I recently did, and honestly, it cuts as well as the few customs I have. What more could you want? Good luck on your decision. :D
Thanks, Neal
 
When you catch a D2 Queen with the blades ground nice and thin, they are easy to deal with; the hard ones are the ones that happened to leave the maker with a big ol' thick grind. I've worn out a couple of Lansky diamond hones rebevelling Queens, BUT I do think they're worth the effort required as the edgeholding is excellent. And so far I've never managed to rust one, mirror polished tool steel seems pretty corrosion resistant.

If you do happen to ever work on one with a Lansky sharpener or similar, it's best to start off with the coarsest hone in the kit and slowly work your way to ultra fine, trying to skip a step will slow you down drastically. The last two that I got were a 41 copperhead and a 44 one blade folding hunter, both in the natural carved stag bone from several years ago, and both are perfect, not only the blade grinding but all of the fit and finish. I have gotten them that would qualify as a club though, so I guess it's lucky to get one that's absolutely correct. If the springs and such are okay it's still worth the effort to grind 'em down.
 
For setting or shaping a new bevel on D2: SiC or diamond works best and pretty fast. With very SMALL hones (Lansky's 4" x 1/2" diamond hones, for example), it'll still take some time, as it's a much smaller working area and more difficult to use a little pressure with any control at all. Much, much faster on bench-sized hones in SiC or diamond, cutting rebevelling time down to maybe 1/4 what it'd take otherwise on a small hone. I'm talking 20-30 minutes on a bench-sized hone, versus a couple hours (or much longer) on very small hones.

For refining the edge after setting the new bevel on D2, I'd recommend a Fine/EF/EEF diamond for that in particular, as diamond will leave the edge much crisper and cleaner at smaller working grit sizes, especially below 10µ or so (EF/EEF).


David
 
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Railsplitter said:
I like all types of steel but Queen's D2 is my favorite among the most common steels offered in traditional knives. I usually like things that cost more money than I really need to spend but Queen's D2 really pushes my buttons. The fact that they don't charge an outrageous price for such a great steel is just the icing on the cake.
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+1 :thumbup: I have a 71 Country Cousin, the finish was appalling (1/2mm gap on one side) but once fixed, I fall under the charm of the lustrous satin D2 blade, a really top steel and I am lucky not too hard to keep sharp with a strop.

@Captain O the Utica barlow come in 1095 or stainless with different slabs. I have yet to try the stainless.
 
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As much as I enjoy 1095, D2 has absurdly better edge holding. I love Queen's D2. My Queen scout has it on the main blade, as does one of my barlows, a stockman, and a couple of large lockbacks. There may be a couple more.

I use a set of Spyderco diamond rods on my Sharpmaker, to set the initial 30 degree inclusive bevel. It doesn't really take too awfully long to set that bevel. Then I work my way down to the medium rods to refine the edge just a bit. But I don't go all that fine on my D2 edges. They seem to cut quite nicely with a coarse edge.

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D2 was and continues to be my favorite steel. Dollar for dollar it is so hard to beat. I just really like the edge it takes. I need to try it on a EF or EEF diamond stone and see what I think.

BTW, I am a woodcarver and do most of my knife work with a D2 Queen whittler.
 
Never tried a D2 knife and now I really want to.
Here's hoping the exchange is my friend ;)
 
I've had trouble sharpening Queen's D2, only because I didn't know how to remove the burr then. It's only hard to reprofile, sharpening it after that is easy. Reprofiling each blade will probably take you a good 2 hours with a silicon carbide stone or a waterstone.
 
In my limited experience with Queens D2 they can take a very fine shaving edge but seem to perform better when a little "toothy"
They make some very nice products,if they could be more consistent with their QC I think they would be more popular.
 
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