Sharpening D2 tool steel blade

Toyz

Toyz

Joined
Nov 2, 2006
Messages
1,838
I have posted on this forum before admitting that I had no trouble sharpening my D2 knives, and up til this point I haven't.

I put my Benchmade Hardtail 13100 thru some yardwork yesterday, and I am touching it up, only to find that the blade edge is splintering and leaving small chips in the blade edge.

I was using the Sharpmaker ceramic rods, but then I tried it on the stone only to get the same results.

The blade is sharp, but now has these chips in it running the entire length of the blade. The edge snags repeatedly when running it along a rag.

Anyone else have this happen? Is there a trick to sharpening D2? I have 2 other BM D2 knives and have never had this happen.

I know - I can send it back to BM. I just wanted to make sure I wasn't doing anything wrong before I did that.
 
I have D2 blades from a number of makers and have not had that problem. Had to really take some metal off of my Queen fixed blades to get a fine, sharp edge. One of Queen blades, the #73 has an 1/8" thick blade. IIRC it did chip out a little when I took it down to about 10 degrees per side. After a 15 per side micro-bevel I had no more problems and still don't. If a micro-bevel doesn't help I would send it back in. BM has good CS, they should take care of you.
 
This problem with the hard steels and ceramics seems to be growing though I have never had it happen with D2 yet. The problem you are having is that the stone is chipping your edge. I had a similar thread not too long ago and their is also one in the spyderco forum now talking about ZDP.
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=653142
 
Never had that happen with D2, either.

Sometimes the edge is "burnt" on some knives from the final factory sharpening.

You could try going back to a courser stone and resharpening until the chipping stops. Sometimes this works.

It may call for a return to Benchmade for a blade replacement.
 
I've had this problem before with other steels. Bottom line, it's a bad blade. You should buy a new knife.
 
cotdt said:
Well his knife is clearly brittle. Other knives in the same steel don't have the problem. How is it not a bad blade?
Click to expand...

Is seem to be something with the ceramics and high Rc steels, take a look at the pics in my link. I also think using thinner bevel angles plays part in it too.
 
I have had issues with high RC steels chipping on ceramics, but not D2. If it is 62 RC it may be just hard enough to cause an issue, though I sharpened a 62 RC custom in D2 with no issues on ceramics. One thing could be is that if you worked it real hard the steel got damaged deeper than the slow cutting ceramics are getting at, and you may be sharpening weakened steel. From far away it is impossible to tell. I do know my S30V Native was a burnt factory edge knife and it took the sharpmaker 4-5 sharpenings before I reached the good steel because those ceramics are so slow cutting. A good thorough sharpening with a light rebeveling might work wonders if the steel is weakened or your factory edge was burnt. Also, the steel just might be at the top of Benchmade's hardness range for D2 making it just hard enough to microchip on the stone.

I know Knifenut 1013 offers free demo sharpenings (and I would be willing to give it a shot for free as well as I am a pretty proficient sharpener) if you wanted to see if other sharpening methods would work (his turnaround might be faster than mine, though I would probably get it done and shipped within 3-4 days or so of getting it from you, as I've been working a lot lately and only sharpen as a hobby, not a business like Knifenut 1013). Also, Knifenut has an Aligner if perfect angles are important to you (his freehand looks like it was done on a jig as well), and his edges are extremely impressive in both looks and sharpness. Taking him up on that offer (or me if you want) is a great way to see if alternative sharpening methods work on the knife. There are pics of blades Knifenut has sharpened all over the forums if you want to see how nice your edge would look (I have pics of blades I've sharpened on the forums as well. I would give diamonds and waterstones a shot on that steel before calling the blade a lemon, as some of the best performing steel I own isn't happy on ceramics. It could actually be a great performing blade if it is one of the 62 RC blades rather than the 60 RC lower end of the range D2 blades that Benchmade puts out, you never know. If Knifenut 1013 can't get it sharp then I would say it is a lemon, but I have a feeling you would be getting back a polished edge, hair whittling knife if you sent it to Knifenut 1013 (or me if for some strange reason you don't want to send it to Knifenut 1013). The Diamonds he uses will cut anything, and when you pair that with his experience and great skill the only reason for a blade not getting sharp under his watch is a blown heat treat. He can even look at the steel at 400x as he sharpens it to see and take pictures of exactly what is going on with a blade as he sharpens it. He can get right to the bottom of any problems with the blade if there are any and document them if they crop up.

Mike
 
If I'm using a SM after I finish with the white ceramics I actully return to the gray ceramics and finish with a 10/10 on the flat. That's what works for me but I prefer a toothy edge!
 
I would go through 4 or 5 sharpening - dull cycles (and I mean as dull as a butterknife) before I sent it back. I prefer DMT diamonds, but YMMV. You've gotten some good advice already, but give it a chance. You just might need to get past the current edge.
 
Sharpen the edge with diamond sharpener and finish with your ceramics. If the edge was burnt due to the factory grind the bad steel most likely was removed with the diamond sharpening. If the knife continues to chip, add a microbevel and see if it continues; increase the size of the bevel until it stops (if you can get it to stop). If you have not been able to make it stop, then it should be safe to assume that it's the heat treat that is the problem. I would then send it back to the mfg.
 
Toyz said:
I have posted on this forum before admitting that I had no trouble sharpening my D2 knives, and up til this point I haven't.

I put my Benchmade Hardtail 13100 thru some yardwork yesterday, and I am touching it up, only to find that the blade edge is splintering and leaving small chips in the blade edge.

... I can send it back to BM. I just wanted to make sure I wasn't doing anything wrong before I did that.
Click to expand...

So, how did it turn out?
 
Funny - when I use the grey rods with the Sharpmaker the chipping stops. Once I take it down the ceramic rods the chips come back again. I'm having trouble getting the edge sharp.

Also - it looks like the very tip of the blade has chipped off (small piece).

I am going to try to hard use the knife this weekend and sharpen it again. I will see what happens.

I'll also try to post pics of the blade after using the ceramic rods (hopefully I will get enough detail so you can see the end results).

I love the knife but this has really got me pissed off. I've never had a blade do this to me, and I've owned / sharpened a lot of different types of steel with my sharpmaker. As I said in my original post, I also own a BM survival knife in D2 (coated) and a BM Nytrous Stryker in D2 (coated). When I look at the steel near the edge it looks different than the steel used in the Hardtail, even though all are labeled D2. I've sharpened both of those other knives with good results.
 
I like the Hardtail design, also.

I'm still thinking "burnt" edge. But if it doesn't start sharpening without chipping, save yourself the aggravation and send it to Benchmade. It could be a "bad" blade, these things happen. I've used Benchmade customer service twice now, for older knives, and they were pretty good.
 
Toyz said:
I love the knife but this has really got me pissed off. I've never had a blade do this to me, and I've owned / sharpened a lot of different types of steel with my sharpmaker. As I said in my original post, I also own a BM survival knife in D2 (coated) and a BM Nytrous Stryker in D2 (coated). When I look at the steel near the edge it looks different than the steel used in the Hardtail, even though all are labeled D2. I've sharpened both of those other knives with good results.
Click to expand...

Can you mirror polish the edge, or do you get an orange peel look that can never acheive absolute mirror shine? Sometimes steel is just not high quality (air pockets, large grain growth, impurities). Maybe you got bad quality steel.
 
I cannot mirror polish the edge. I'm beginning to think I just got a bad blade. I will give it another shot over the weekend - and if I do not get better results its taking a trip to Benchmade.

Honestly - since I got the Hardtail - the yard work I did last weekend was the toughest thing I have thrown at it.

I pulled my other 2 Benchmades out (D2 steel) the other night and ran them down the ceramic rods a few times each - and did not have the chipping / flaking problem. They just look like they are much more "solid" - if thats possible.
 
Toyz said:
I cannot mirror polish the edge. I'm beginning to think I just got a bad blade. I will give it another shot over the weekend - and if I do not get better results its taking a trip to Benchmade.

Honestly - since I got the Hardtail - the yard work I did last weekend was the toughest thing I have thrown at it.

I pulled my other 2 Benchmades out (D2 steel) the other night and ran them down the ceramic rods a few times each - and did not have the chipping / flaking problem. They just look like they are much more "solid" - if thats possible.
Click to expand...

I can mirror polish an edge, and would be more than happy to if you want. I can even take it to 16000 grit on stones and .05 microns on lapping film. I can e mail you links to pics of my edges if you want. I'd just be real interested to see if this just acts like real hard D2 that is still good or faulty D2. If you send it in your bound to get it replaced with a softer blade while you may have a superior cutting 62 RC blade. The offer is open if you wish, and I haven't failed at getting a hair whittling edge yet.

Mike
 
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