To be survival and self-defence respectively, D2 or 1095 is more suitable?

1095 is known for being tough and resilient and fairly easy to sharpen. It will rust quickly if you don't keep it clean and oiled. It's a balanced steel.

D2 is very hard and will hold a sharp edge for a long time but be harder to sharpen. It too is used for a lot of hard-use knives but I have no personal experience with Kabar's D2 or D2 in a big knife. It can rust but is slightly more resistant than 1095.

Both will work for both applications. Both are tough, hard-wearing steels that can rust if you don't take care of them. If you take care of them and keep them sharp, either'll serve you well.
 
For a survival knife, go with 1095. Easier to sharpen. More resilient. For defense, it doesn't matter. You're not going to be fencing with a knife and clashing against another blade repeatedly. Just go with the 1095. Try it out. Use it as a benchmark.
 
For these roles, 1095 would be better. It is tougher than D2 so it would last longer as a real hard use outdoors knife, you'll just have to sharpen it more often. In regards to a fighting knife, as long as its sharp the steel doesn't matter. 1095 will serve just as well as D2. The shape of the blade will matter far more than the steel used since a fighting knife only comes out when its time to defend yourself, so MOST likely never.
 
I'm a big fan of 1095. It gets the job done really well.

As for defense, I'd go with a cell phone. Or a good pair of shoes. Or something that won't get you thrown in jail. Unless you're in the military, avoid using a knife for self-defense unless you have NO other choice. If you MUST use a knife for self-defense, anything remotely poky will do. The type of steel matters not at all.
 
I agree, the 1095 for tough woods use, easy to sharpen, and the 1095CV that Kabar uses has some more "flex" to it.

The D2 tends to have larger carbides, when can sometimes chip out, so, for defense, take the D2, you can put a scary larry edge on it, and it will stay there until needed.

Save the heavy lifting for some 1095CroVan.

Moose
 
I dunno. To be truthful, a "self-defense" knife need not have good edge retention, if "self-defense" will be the only thing for which it is used. (I cannot imagine a knife fight in which an opponent is cut so many times that the knife is made dull.) So, for "self-defense", pretty much anything will do.

If you wanted a knife that would do lots of slicing chores and still be sharp for self-defense, then D2 is a good choice.

While D2 will hold an edge longer than 1095, if you are really in a survival situation, even the edge of a D2 blade will get dull before you are done. And D2 is much harder to sharpen without proper equipment than is 1095. So, for "survival", I would vote for 1095.
 
both. neither.

whatever you have on you, it's what you use.
 
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