What do you like about working with, and using D2?

Groundhogsniper said:
Has anyone here has experience with Queen's D2?
I have a Queen fixed blade model 92 in D2 that takes a wicked edge and seems to hold it well with the limited use that I have put it through. (Cleaning a limit of trout and some food prep.)
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No issues with mine. Queen's factory edge grinds have been kind of disappointing (thick, uneven, etc), but I have no complaints about their D2, in itself. I've thinned the edges on a total of 5 Queen blades so far: a Cattle King stockman (all three blades), a Country Cousin and a #92 fixed blade in Carved Stag Bone. Took a LONG time to do all that thinning. Once thinned out, they've all behaved impressively in their ability to take a very sharp edge. I've used the sheepfoot blade the most, in the stockman, and it's held up nicely; I keep thinning it a little more, with subsequent resharpenings. No issues that I'd attribute to bad heat treat, at all. Queen contracted out their D2 heat treat to Peters Heat Treating, whom've had a good reputation; it's well-deserved, from what I can see.
 
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Good edge retention, surprisingly good toughness on a bushcraft fixed-blade I own (Real Steel Bushcraft 2). I did some light wood-chopping and the edge was still shaving hair afterwards. However, it was time-consuming to re-sharpen, even with diamond abrasives, and I don't like to use diamond abrasives, much less be restricted to diamond abrasives, so D2, at around 1% Vanadium, is the starting point of steels I prefer to avoid now. But I'm looking at it entirely from a field-sharpening point of view. If that's not a concern, it's not a bad steel at all. Very good for the money, in fact.
 
I like D2, most of mine are either Dozier or Queen. My Doziers are great for butchering hogs (or I should say "field dressing" hogs), and Queen makes great pocketknives. The Queens are too thick at the edge for me, and usually don't come very sharp. About 10 min on the Edgepro fixes that, and they hold a great edge after that. I thin them out and use a microbevel, it's my favorite way to sharpen D2. I have yet to see another brand of knives that can beat Dozier in ergonomics, fit, and finish.

For a long time, I used D2 to test other steels' edges against when cutting abrasive media. Lots of other steels have come along that will do much better, I admit, but D2 still holds a good edge and sharpens up very fast for me on diamond stones.
 
Anyone have experience w Buck's D2? I'm assuming their HT would make it some of the best out there...
 
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