Which tool steel is the best?: A2 vs O1 vs D2

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I've really NO idea to which of the following, very common tool steels is the best:

A2
D2
O1

What I am looking for is the best steel (given that the knifemaker heats it properly) for a classical bushcraft knife with scandi grind, that has got to be:
1 - easy to sharpen
2 - when sharpened properly it has to be hair-popping sharp
3 - still very robust (doesn't need to be very HRC hard...)
4 - rust/stain resistant

I know that the perfect steel doesn't exist and that much probably each steel will be better in one sense and worse in another aspect, so I may also turn around the question and ask:
which of the three steels is the BEST in the 4 points above (separately)? That is, which is:
1 - the easiest to sharpen
2 - the one with the sharpest edge when properly sharpened
3 - the strongest (non necessarly the hardest)
4 - the most stain/rust resistant

thanks!!
 
o1 is not stain resistant, and a2 isn't stainless either...
o1 is the strongest, then a2, then d2
 
Any of those listed steels, need to be fairly high on the Rockwell scale, to be properly heat treated. My pick would be A2 at 60 Rockwell, out of those 3 choices.
 
D2 because it can be sharpened to hair splitting and is the most stain resistant of the three. A2 is tough but it stains easily in my experience. O1 is a great steel but it'll rust pretty quick too.
 
If you want rust resistance then CPM-S30V will meet all of the other criteria and resist corrosion very effectively.

Otherwise, I would vote A2.

Or CPM-D2, CPM-3V or CPM-M4.
 
Best for what use? There is no blanket best steel. Bushcraft could mean just woodcraft or a lot more.

O1 probably the easiest to sharpen. D2 is the hardest to sharpen.

D2 is the most stain resistant. Then A2. O1 will stain pretty easily.

You can get hair popping edges with all 3 steels.
 
I own and sharpen alot of knives, but I cannot get D2 "hair poppin'" sharp. I can get it "very sharp", but not "sharp!". So...it is last on that particular list.

A2 tops the list for me. It's as hard as O1 (or negligibly so), it will sharpen to a razor edge (as will O1), yet is somewhat stain resistant. O1 comes in a close second.

One that will fit your requirements nicely would be 154CM.
 
I have a number of blades in A2. They stain easily but rather than rust they develop a lovely patina. Also very tough and very easy to sharpen (which is a pity because I love sharpening those knives).

D2 is harder but more brittle from what I've read.
 
As has been said, D2 is the only blade steel of the 3 that is "sort of" stainless. The other 2 will/can rust fairly easy.

I'd say D2 (& CPM D2) is probably the best of the 3 for edge holding, but A-2 & O-1 are going to be tougher.

I have very little experience with O-1. I do have a very nice slip-joint in Bos HTed A-2 (I think at 59-61 RC) that's proven to be a very good knife.

As with most things, you need to decide what your priority is. If you're looking for stain/rust resistance, then perhaps you ought to look at a SS, not a carbon steel.

If stain/rust resistance isn't the main priority, then you'll probably want to go with a high carbon blade steel. The ones that come to mind are: INFI, M4, 3V, & yes, 1095. There are others, but those are the ones that come to mind 1st.
 
I have a few knives D2 and one in A2, none in O1

The D2s are Ontario RAT-3D2, Seki Cut Lum Encounter, Benchmade 710D2, and a Queen Cutlery. Only the RAT has a coated blade. I have not had rust problems with any of them, so I think they're pretty resistant up to a point. Of these four the Seki Cut Lum is extremely sharp from factory, as sharp as any knife can get - way sharper than the RAT-3 and the Queen Cutlery when new and considerably sharper than the 710. So I think you can get D2 as sharp as you want. It might just take more labor.

The A2 is Bark River Bravo 1. It's amazingly sharp for such a thick knife. It does stain more easily than my D2, especially the exposed tang. But a great knife. My favorite in fact.

Add: Of all of these, the only one I keep oiled is the Bravo 1. The D2s I just keep dry.
 
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O1 because there is tons and tons a tons of it in the garage of the house I am living in. Though it is all saw blades.
 
In my experience, you have to know when to stop when sharpening D2 - it gets to paper slicing sharp fairly directly - but I cannot get them to hair-whittling sharp on my basic Sharpmaker. They do stay there, but I noted teeny orange dots of rust on my BM 710 D2 last summer after a few days at Gulf Shores, Alabama (This year, I took SS!). A2 seems to hold up at least as long in bushcrafting type applications as anything else. My only such blades are Barkies - and they are all convex ground - and, now that I know the trick, are easy to keep honed. It does grow discoloration with food prep, but a cotton swipe with a dot of Semichrome removes it. Oddly, if it was 1095, we'd call it 'character' - or 'patina'! In my limited experience, O1 is a fine, but hard, steel - that rusts the easiest of the trio you mentioned. It's pretty hard to re-edge, too.

Now, if stainless properties are paramount, consider S30V, CPM154, 154CM in that order, as very strong and wear-resistant blade steels - especially if Bos heat treated, like Buck uses. I have honed the CPM154 Bucks I have to restore their hair-whittling status, while the S30V & 154CM blades, like the D2's, reach an acceptable sharpness in a straightforward manner. While I am at it, the best hair-whittlers I have re-made, at least with any consistency, were made of Buck's 420HC for stainless, and various carbon steels, like Boker's German made 'classic' slippies employ. Of course, those slippies show 'patina'! Mineral oil helps.

Keep in mind that my double-edge re-sharpening is done on a Spydie Sharpmaker, while I hone with metal polish or buffing compound on leather or old mouse pad strops.

Stainz
 
I have a USA handmade survival knife which was made with 01 tool steel. The maker bought it from one of the best stool carriers ever. Anyway, that knife is badassedness times 10! It has a hair-splitting edge and is basically indestructible. I have used it to pry with (emergency situation) and the blade didn't even bend, not in the least. And it is on a hollow handle at that. Anyhow, if not taken care of, my 01 knife will stain easily. And it will rudt but not that harsh red rust. I had it bead blast when I bought it, and I used a light oil on it. Then I saw some dark spots showing up and under advice of a knife maker, I used a light sandpaper. It took those spots right off and also enhanced the bead blasting.

Then I polished it with Flitz protectant polish. After this, and about a month now, I have not seen the slightest rust or stain on it. The guard is also 01 steel, and the handle and endcap is 440C steel. I love the hollow handled knife concept but not on those el cheapo Chinese Cheapies that use aluminum for their handles and cheapo 420J2 for their blades. But for me, you put a good solid blade like 01, D2, A2, or 440C steel with a handle and guard that is the same or made with a steel that is just as durable as the blade, and you got yoruself one beast of a knife, despite what others mock the hollow handles for. My Dad used a modified Randall Model 18 when he was in Vietnam. He had someone work on it and make the serrated sawteeth deeper so that it would cut through the hardest woods over in Nam. He said he used that hollow handled knife over and over doing the most rigorous tasks. Then, when he died over 40 years later, he still had that same Randall Model 18. Anyway, I got off track here. Bottom line is it doesn't matter what steel you use. If it isn't properly heat tempered, it's a piece of crap, and makes a piece of crap knife. But if properly heated based on its own specifics, then you have one badass knife there, no matter what steel the blade is made with. Of course, this is just my personal take on it. Everyone's opinion is different.

Sorry I got on the hollow handled concept. Guess I have my Dad on my mind today, and he was my hero! I know that nothing beats a full tang knife, but there are knife makers that can make hollow handled knives to be just about as durable as a full tang; not an equal, but pretty close. I just like the looks and concept of hollow handled knives.
 
pick one. you wont break any of them bushcrafting, all of them will rust, all of them can be sharpened similarly, all of them can split hairs.
 
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