Sharpening D2

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Pink Guy

Joined
Dec 11, 2013
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I'm having a very hard time to sharpen D2 to the sharpness that I want it to be (able to slice paper on it's short side instead it just tears it). I can't seem to raise a burr and I've spend about an hour sharpening. What am I doing wrong? How do I correct the mistakes?
 
I do D2 free hand just fine. I use a diamond stone and a burr raises pretty easy, but is hard to remove and takes longer to get it off, but when it does. Wow, what an edge. Some light stropping on 320 sand paper and the edge is so sharp and smooth. Lasts very long too.

If you are good sharpening other steels you should be fine, just takes some more time, that's all I notice.
 
It needs a coarse grit to start, something that cuts fast like diamond stones. I don't enjoy sharpening D2, I prefer vg10
 
This is a Maintenance and Tinkering topic.
 
I still have some trouble sharpening d2! Sometimes it seems like I raise a burr and then when I remove it there is a flat spot left on part of the blade that is not very sharp:confused:
I found through trial and error that getting a burr the whole length first is the key, and then use light pressure and single alternating strokes to remove the burr. Doing this seems to leave a clean and sharp edge. I also usually don't go higher than 600 grit, and diamond hones.
 
Well it depends on what you use to sharpen and how you finish your edges. For my D2, along with my S35VN blades, I prefer to sharpen using 120, 400, 600, and possibly 800 grit stones and then when I've got a fully apexed edge I go straight to a leather strop with black compound. Leaves a very toothy edge that will shave and splice hair but is aggressive against rope and zipties.
 
Also, what blade are you trying to sharpen? The edge/stock/initial grind could be a factor.
 
I'm using an old synthetic grey waterstone. I think the grit is coarse and fine (don't know the number). I'm not sure what the medium is I'm guessing aluminum oxide but I may be wrong. I can sharpen other steels like Kershaw's 14c28n to a super sharp edge but I can't get that same sharpness with the D2. It feels very sharp on my fingers but when I'm testing it, it isn't very sharp.
 
Pink Guy said:
I'm using an old synthetic grey waterstone. I think the grit is coarse and fine (don't know the number). I'm not sure what the medium is I'm guessing aluminum oxide but I may be wrong. I can sharpen other steels like Kershaw's 14c28n to a super sharp edge but I can't get that same sharpness with the D2. It feels very sharp on my fingers but when I'm testing it, it isn't very sharp.
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D2 is often pretty slow to reach a full apex, because the chromium carbides in D2 are so large and quite hard as well. I'd bet the edge isn't quite there yet (full apex), although some portions of it might be. If it's just tearing paper when attempting to cut it, that indicates the edge is at least kind of toothy-coarse, and there may be some burrs along the edge as well. Other factors might be playing into it as well, if the held angle varies too much, or if it's too wide (obtuse).

A more aggressive stone, like SiC (silicon carbide) or diamond, will handle D2 much more easily in the coarse grinding stages; most other synthetic stones, like aluminum oxide, can handle the refinement of the edge after the heavy grinding is out of the way.

Might post a pic of the stone you're using (and your knife); that might generate some tips as to what exactly the stone/abrasive is, and if it's part of the problem or not. Can use a photo-hosting service like Photobucket; upload the photo to their site, then cut & paste the IMG url for the pic into your post here.


David
 
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I'd advise you keep the stone rinsed as you go, mud is not the best for D2 in my experience. You might finish with some very light trailing passes on the waterstone as a finale, and a few light passes on plain paper to clean it up.
 
Obsessed with Edges said:
D2 is often pretty slow to reach a full apex, because the chromium carbides in D2 are so large and quite hard as well. I'd bet the edge isn't quite there yet (full apex), although some portions of it might be.
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My thoughts as well.

HeavyHanded said:
I'd advise you keep the stone rinsed as you go
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I'll second this advice - keep the stone clean of debris so you don't slow yourself down.
 
I find D2 is a toughie to sharpen. I use a coarse diamond hone, then a fine (ca 600 grit) diamond, then a 1000 grit ceramic hone. Takes a lot of time and patience, but once sharp D2 seems to hold its edge forever.
Ric
 
I should be able to feel a burr throughout the length of the blade before I switch to the other side right? Does it have to be a big burr or can it be a small burr that I can feel by "scratching" down the blade from the spine to the edge (fingernail stops at the edge)? I don't want to remove too much metal.
 
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Keep it small as possible. They can be seen with the naked eye and some strong lighting before/after they're large enough to be felt. Hold the knife horizontal, edge down, and tilt it slowly back and forth under strong light. The burr, being at at a higher angle than the edge, will show itself as a small glint of light just off the cutting edge like a halo.

Can also be felt by pressing the side of the edge and running the finger/thumb away from the edge - compare sides.
 
Pink Guy said:
I should be able to feel a burr throughout the length of the blade before I switch to the other side right? Does it have to be a big burr or can it be a small burr that I can feel by "scratching" down the blade from the spine to the edge (fingernail stops at the edge)? I don't want to remove too much metal.
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Whatever it takes to make sure it's fully apexed. You might notice, on Queen's D2 blades, the burrs won't likely get all that big anyway before breaking off. I've never seen any of Queen's D2 hold onto really big burrs at all. With that in mind, it's important to watch/feel/test the edge very closely as you get closer to apexing, so you'll catch the burr as soon as possible. My favorite means to 'test' for the burr is to cut into light/thin paper, like phonebook pages or magazine/catalog pages, or newsprint. If the edge isn't apexed, it won't cut well at all; and if it's apexed with burrs, the burrs will snag or tear at the paper. When you have a fully-apexed edge with minimal or no burrs, Queen's D2 will begin slicing like a laser through the paper. It takes a while to get there, but it'll jump up and impress you when it does.


David
 
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D2 is very easy to sharpen, just get a silicon carbide stone,or sandpaper.Apex the edge fully until you get burr and then raise angle little to break it off.Toothy edge on d2 is excellent all around.
 
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