Who makes the best d2?

Bob Dozier is very good. He is a semi-custom maker. His knives are usually available through A.G. Russell. Queen does well with D2 at a bargain price and have been for decades. You just have to sharpen them as they don't usually come razor sharp. All of the main knife makers, Benchmade, Kershaw, Buck, etc. also do well with D2. Gene Ingram has been called the best of all with D2 but he is a custom maker with a lengthy waiting list. Buck knives along with many others use Paul Bos for the heat treat of D2. Anything that carries the Paul Bos stamp is going to be top of the pile, very hard to beat. CPM D2 is an excellent choice also. Mainly available through Kershaw. Bark River has made fixed blades with CPM D2 also.
 
I personally didn't like the edge I could get with my Benchmade Mini Grip in D2... great knife, but couldn't get it to the next level. Benchmade's limited edition 940 with D2, though, has been great. However, the best I've ever had has been the D2 in the Lionsteel SR1A... that steel takes an unbelievable edge!! And it holds it very, very well... at least through my uses.
 
I have no complaints about Benchmades D2 I have the Adamas and the 710 both get scary sharp and stay that way. DPX gear (made by Lionsteel) also seems to have done extremely well with their D2. I have a composite leek with CPM-D2 and it is excellent!

I don't have any personal experience with Bob Dozier's D2, But have heard he is the king of D2.
 
Bigfattyt said:
I am intrigued, but their designs are ugly!

They need some design help!
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More a matter of personal taste, IMO.

From what I've heard, it is essentially a differentially hardened D2 blade, although the process that does this is a bit more complex.
 
TotalDbag said:
Technically only one company MAKES D2, and that's Crucible.......Just saying ;)
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No, you have other makers of D2. Crucible makes a PM D2.


Brous Blades uses CPM D2. It sharpens up really nicely leaving a very nice edge. I've yet to do a lot of cutting, but I'm sure it's good to go.
 
Actually no... Crucible isn't the only company that manufactures that tool steel. :D

And what's PM D2?
 
sticktodrum said:
Actually no... Crucible isn't the only company that manufactures that tool steel. :D

And what's PM D2?
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Now I see what duro was saying. Wasn't able to understand what he said until I kept repeating it for about for 10 or so minutes.

Mario, he's referring to Powder Metallurgy D2
 
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Dewey, Australia.
http://www.deweyknives.com.au/index.html
All D2, 4.5mm thick
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Are you allowed to post prices on here, or am I thinking of another forum? (I'm on a lot of them)
 
D2 is an extremely common grade of tool steel, made by mills all over the world. The amount of D2 used in knife blades is barely a drop in the bucket.

CPM-D2 is not currently being made by Crucible or anyone else. There just wasn't enough market for it to justify the costs. EDITED TO ADD: I just received a pm from a major distributor about CPM-D2. In short, makers can still get it. See more here.

Major American knife manufacturers are most likely having their D2 blades HT'ed at one of two places - Bos or Peters'; those that do it elsewhere or in-house are probably following very similar protocols. The real differences between "company A's D2" and "company B's D2" (or 1095, or 154CM or what-have-you) are often vastly overblown and generally have more to do with geometry, selected final hardness and how aggressively the blade was ground after HT, than in any "magic" HT formula.

Custom and smaller makers like Dozier et al do tweak their HT processes to deal better with things like grain refinement and retained austenite... but D2 is still D2.
 
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For a near stainless, D2 can and is found on many custom knives, and when well done, or should I say well finished, is a very attractive option for a knife. When done poorly (read Finished poorly), it looks like a 1095 steel that has had its paint stripped and left in the raw; Becker BK24 is a prime example of why, and the Benchmade Bone Collector Skinner is a prime example of wow, nice!
 
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