Sharpening D2 steel.

P

PV29

Joined
Feb 13, 2007
Messages
171
Bought a Queen Country Cousin, it arrived today in the mail. The edge was pretty poor out of the box (big disappointment), so out came my Sharpmaker and I went to work.

Usually I can get a good edge by using only the fine rods (white ones). Some shots on the edges of the rods, then 20 strokes each side on the flat sides of the rods. On the D2, it was useless. So I grabbed the coarse rods (brown ones) and went to work. I put about 150 strokes, 30 at a time, on the rod edges and then the flat sides. The improvement on the edge was minimal. :eek: :mad: Holy crap! I've sharpened dull butter knife-like work knives in 2 minutes to cut like razors. This is unreal.

I put the knife and the rods away for now. It's getting late, work tomorrow, and I figure I'll need to be patient here. Do a little at a time. But in the name of sweet potatoes, somebody tell me that this will be WORTH the effort. That when I finally (hopefully) get a nice hair-popping edge on this thing, that it'll last for a long while and lots of cutting. Somebody please tell me that I'm not just :jerkit:, because that's what it feels like now.
 
You really want diamond hones for sharpening an obtuse edge in D2.

The Sharpmaker ceramics can do it, but it takes a good long time.
 
D2 is good steel, Though I don't know about Queens HT, should be good, reliable steel.
 
I agree, I use diamond sets to re-bevel my blades to a common angle for me to sharpen later on with ceramic stones and such for the nice hair popping micro-bevel :p

You can keep using what you have, but it will feel like forever. Good luck sharpening, I've heard several stories in the traditional forum about Queen making some nice knives with poorly finished edges. So I suppose yours is normal :)
 
rifon2 said:
You really want diamond hones for sharpening an obtuse edge in D2.

The Sharpmaker ceramics can do it, but it takes a good long time.
Click to expand...

J's Knives-N-More said:
I agree, I use diamond sets to re-bevel my blades to a common angle for me to sharpen later on with ceramic stones and such for the nice hair popping micro-bevel :p

You can keep using what you have, but it will feel like forever. Good luck sharpening, I've heard several stories in the traditional forum about Queen making some nice knives with poorly finished edges. So I suppose yours is normal :)
Click to expand...

Thanks folks. I don't have diamond sharpening rods, so I guess I'm gonna be working on this blade for a few days. :o Kinda sucks that a brand new knife needs this kind of sharpening. Not a good recommendation for Queen knives. :grumpy:
 
D2 reprofiles nicely with diamond. That is for sure. And that is expensive.

But I have also had good luck reprofiling D2 with a Norton Medium India Stone. And that is not expensive.

Once you have a great edge on a Queen D2 you have a prize. I have several and I love each one.
 
yeah i got one of these knives a while ago and it took forever to get it sharp. once it was sharp though it stays that way for a long time.
 
D2 is a really good steel and will hold a edge for a long time but it can be a bear to sharpen if all you have is ceramics. Either get yourself a coarse diamond stone or some sandpaper to reset the bevel, you can keep using the medium stones I guess but remember. Excessive repetition leads to inconsistent results and even more headaches.
 
PV29 said:
Kinda sucks that a brand new knife needs this kind of sharpening. Not a good recommendation for Queen knives. :grumpy:
Click to expand...

Pretty much my experience with Queen knives. Look great out of the box but rarely do they have a nice edge. A couple times, I bought one from a knife store that had sharpening services. They touched up the edge to hair popping sharpness for me at no charge. One of the advantages of buying from a brick & mortar.
 
You can often pick up cheap diamond stones at truckload sales. Mine were three for five dollars.They remove steel quickly. Rubberband them to your sticks to insure proper angle.It works.
 
I've found that re-edging Buck 420HC is very straight forward. S30V, CPM154, & D2 are much more time consuming. Additionally, the triangular files - especially with the harder steels - require more frequent cleaning - sometimes every 30 or so swipes on those edges - especially those corners. I seem to stop with D2 & CPM154/154CM before they will shave - kind of the 'diminishing returns' problem. They will still cut quite well, just not shave. I got most of my experience in sharpening dull knives when I got a new Benchmades home. BRK&T, Buck, Kershaw, etc, set a decent hair-raising standard others should follow.

I need the diamond files - sadly, when I've found them - they were more than the Sharpmaker was!


Stainz
 
I used Smith diamond benchstones(coarse and fine),followed by ceramics,to reprofile my Queen stockmans'.Queens D2 is some tough steel,but great once you thin the edge.
 
I've been debating whether or not it's a good idea to use a bastard file to reprofile D2. Not sure if the file would be cutting the blade or the blade cutting the file...
 
Last edited:
I started off with the sharpmaker but even with the diamond rods, rebevelling a hard steel was a chore.

If you have a bench vice, a full size coarse diamond stone, even a cheap one, can be used just like the sharpmaker. I just screwed in a step onto a piece of 2x4, use an angle gauge to set the base in the vice at the angle I want. I place the bench stone on the base and use it exactly like the sharpmaker.

I got my bench vice from a friend for free, so the only thing I bought was the cheap Smith's diamond stone from the hardware store. The angle gauge is from Sears for around 10 - 15 dollars.
 
dsmegst said:
I started off with the sharpmaker but even with the diamond rods, rebevelling a hard steel was a chore.

If you have a bench vice, a full size coarse diamond stone, even a cheap one, can be used just like the sharpmaker. I just screwed in a step onto a piece of 2x4, use an angle gauge to set the base in the vice at the angle I want. I place the bench stone on the base and use it exactly like the sharpmaker.

I got my bench vice from a friend for free, so the only thing I bought was the cheap Smith's diamond stone from the hardware store. The angle gauge is from Sears for around 10 - 15 dollars.
Click to expand...

Sounds like a good system.
 
The best investment I think anyone can make in the area of edge work is one of the $90-$120 upright belt sanders like they sell at Lowe's/Home Depot/Ace Hardware/etc. Buy that and some ceramic belts (which you will have to order, the stores won't have them) in 60 grit, 180 grit, and 400. Look in thrift stores or garage sales for some old, beat up knives, and start practicing. Intentionally grind their existing edge bevels off and create new ones. Practice turning thin edges into thick ones and vice versa. Practice keeping your angles consistent. Keep a big bucket of water handy (and a towel) and dunk your blade every few passes to keep it cool, and don't let any section of the edge have the belt on it for more than about a second at a time.

Yes, it's some effort and cost, but once you've figured it out you can do anything but serrations...actually you can do the best possible thing with serrations and grind them off. ;) It takes me about a minute to reprofile Queen D2 pocketknife edges to Spyderco-like geometries. Doesn't matter the steel, blade shape, or anything else.

Now, I don't recommend actually using the belt sander for routine sharpening as it removes too much metal, but the point is that once the edge is actually at the angle you want, sharpening with stones/ceramics/diamonds stops being a time consuming experience.

My Delta 1X42 has been going strong for about 11 years now and done everything from SAKs to turning Becker Brutes into thin convex grinds. Probably the most useful money I ever spent.

wintermute said:
I've been debating whether or not it's a good idea to use a bastard file to reprofile D2. Not sure if the file would be cutting the blade or the blade cutting the file...
Click to expand...

I don't think you'll find a D2 knife hardened high enough to make a mark on a file unless you order it that way, but I doubt the steel teeth on a file would bite very well, at least without a good deal of pressure to begin with. If you're doing it on a pocketknife, I wouldn't recommend trying it--don't want to push on that joint too hard.

For hand sharpening Diamonds are the best overall, and especially for reprofiling. I keep some ceramic and black Arkansas around if I'm doing a super polished edge but the only type of cutting instruments that really benefit from that type of edge are axes, wood carvers and straight razors. If you want something to slice instead of push cut, best to leave it coarser.
 
The easiest solution would be to get an EDGE-PRO and be done with it! :thumbup:

I wouldn't buy a slipjoint unless it was a Queen D-2. On the EDGE-PRO, it's quite easy to re-profile any steel. Not just D-2, But CPM M-4 and S90V as well.

www.edgeproinc.com
 
PV29 said:
Thanks folks. I don't have diamond sharpening rods, so I guess I'm gonna be working on this blade for a few days. :o Kinda sucks that a brand new knife needs this kind of sharpening. Not a good recommendation for Queen knives. :grumpy:
Click to expand...

I know exactly what you mean. I've always been a little miffed when a blade arrived dull.
But now I look at it a different way.
You will eventually have to sharpen it anyway, so now is the time to put the angle and edge you want on it.
Think of it as practice. ;)
I have gotten some from Queen that were very sharp though. Kinda hit or miss.

knarfeng said:
But I have also had good luck reprofiling D2 with a Norton Medium India Stone. And that is not expensive.
Click to expand...

On a nice flat piece of D2 the Norton stones work very well. :cool:
 
It's worth the effort. Queens are notorious for coming with blunt and excessively thick edges. I thin them out on my Edgepro, worth it's weight in gold. The 3 bladed stockman takes about 10 minutes per blade, and then I have it set the way I want for a good long time. Queen does a good job on the heat treat, it keeps it's edge really well.

A diamond stone will save you a lot of time and frustration, I've thinned them out on DMTs, and it's pretty quick.

Keep in mind, once you do this, the knife won't be pretty any more, but the performance will make it worthwhile!
 
sodak said:
It's worth the effort. Queens are notorious for coming with blunt and excessively thick edges. I thin them out on my Edgepro, worth it's weight in gold. The 3 bladed stockman takes about 10 minutes per blade, and then I have it set the way I want for a good long time. Queen does a good job on the heat treat, it keeps it's edge really well.

A diamond stone will save you a lot of time and frustration, I've thinned them out on DMTs, and it's pretty quick.

Keep in mind, once you do this, the knife won't be pretty any more, but the performance will make it worthwhile!
Click to expand...

Would the DMT Diafold be of any help here?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top