Why D2 instead of something like CTS-XHP or M390? Help me understand!

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G10 Titan

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I do a lot of research on blade steels and it seems to me that there are better options than D2. For instance, CTS-XHP is supposed to be more or less a "Stainless D2", and M390 seems to be the top choice for many high-end knives, like Direware. So if you could have a steel with the edge-holding capabilities of D2, as well as improved corrosion resistance, why not make the switch?

I understand that there will clearly be cost difference between a tool steel like D2, and a "super steel" like CTS-XHP or M390, but there has to be more to D2 than I am giving it credit for. Two of my favorite makers, Medford Knife and Tool and Brous Blades use D2, and clearly these guys know what they are doing, so help me understand what I'm missing. To me, Greg Medford's knives are well worth the price he charges, but price of materials is clearly not why he is using D2.

In fact, if I don't get an email back from Direware, I giving Greg Medford a call for a Praetorian Ti. The Brous Reloader is also near the top of my list, if I can ever figure out which configuration I want. If I can understand why so many knowledgeable knife makers are using D2, I think it will open a whole new world of options for me.

Any help is appreciated...thanks guys!
 
D2 is still a very good steel. My guess is it may be more readily available to those makers you listed, and also is more familiar to them.
 
Don't get hung up on steels man. D2 is a great steel, it's near stainless and it has been around FOREVER. It must be doing something right.

If you want the latest and greatest in steels, stick to production pieces.

I have B75P, M390, Elmax, ZDP-189 in my production pieces.

My customs are either CPM154 or S35VN.
 
Why mess with what works? I have a few from Brous and he does D2 right.
 
I'm just repeating a hazy notion I have from reading forum posts all the time, but I believe steel prices have gone up in the last few years. Benchmade switched over to D2 on the 710 & uses it a bit more generally because of this if my foggy notion is correct. I've certainly seen a lot more of it in the last year or two.

D2 is a lot cheaper than higher end steels, is fairly stainless, & holds a good edge. It's one of the very best bang for buck steels for smaller blades.

Benchmade wouldn't have gotten away with substituting AUS8 or Sandvic13C26 for 154CM but D2 replaced it in the 710 with no complaints that I've seen. Most people who give it a chance seem to warm up to it.
 
D2 is a lot tougher than M390, or so the lab techs among us say. I've been pretty hard on my M390 Beast from Three Sisters Forge, with no ill effects, but there's something otherworldly durable about a quarter inch of D2 or 3V in a folding knife that's ground about the same as a splitting wedge.

As far as I know Direware's books are closed, but Medford is at 9 months' wait and going strong.

The slightly reduced corrosion resistance is very infrequentlyan issue. I've had M4 pit and rust on me, but that was due to neglect and adverse weather conditions. Given regular use and maintenance, it shouldn't be a problem.

One thing with the Medford Praetorian Ti is the handle ergonomics - the fat handles around the pivot and the thinner back half make for a fairly uncomfortable claw grasp, and you'll find that the clip fills the palm without giving a significant advantage of leverage.

Consider one of the other knives in the same blade stock, but with the low profile clips. The Marauder looks more comfortable, but that remains to be seen.
 
Tool steels, A2, D2, are proven steels. These steels were designed to cut other steels.
 
darkangel55555 said:
D2 is a lot tougher than M390, or so the lab techs among us say. I've been pretty hard on my M390 Beast from Three Sisters Forge, with no ill effects, but there's something otherworldly durable about a quarter inch of D2 or 3V in a folding knife that's ground about the same as a splitting wedge.

As far as I know Direware's books are closed, but Medford is at 9 months' wait and going strong.

The slightly reduced corrosion resistance is very infrequentlyan issue. I've had M4 pit and rust on me, but that was due to neglect and adverse weather conditions. Given regular use and maintenance, it shouldn't be a problem.

One thing with the Medford Praetorian Ti is the handle ergonomics - the fat handles around the pivot and the thinner back half make for a fairly uncomfortable claw grasp, and you'll find that the clip fills the palm without giving a significant advantage of leverage.

Consider one of the other knives in the same blade stock, but with the low profile clips. The Marauder looks more comfortable, but that remains to be seen.
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I do agreed that D2 is a bit tougher than M390 but it still far from what I would considered a real tough steel. D2 and 3V are in a different league though.
 
For the vast majority of user in the vast majority of uses, steel snobbery is pointless--beyond, that is, giving knife nuts something to argue about on the Internet.
 
I have a Tango Foxtrot knife in D2 and I had my doubts that I'd like the material. After use and sharpening, I would not replace it with another steel. I have a strong affinity to stainless but D2 is the bees knees. I would prefer a folder to have stainless because I use my knives for all kinds of things and when (not if) the pivot gets gunked up I'd like to avoid rust spots in there. I currently have FBs in ELMAX, CTS XHP, CPM 154, 1095, S30V, O1, N690, Dendritic 440C & D2 & 'hawks in 4140, O1 & S7. They all "stand out" in their ow way but D2 seems to be good at everything. S30V is my all around fav steel and I would say that D2 acts very much like S30V as far as difficulty of sharpening, edge holding & retaining a great, long lasting "working edge." The trade off is that it is not a true stainless. The trade up is that it is tougher! D2 has, however, proven itself to be quite stain resistant in my use.
 
shqxk said:
I do agreed that D2 is a bit tougher than M390 but it still far from what I would considered a real tough steel. D2 and 3V are in a different league though.
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I'm really hopin that my next knife will be in CPM 3V. ...just waitin for something to come along (available) that I'm interested in!
 
My two favorite steels currently are D2 and S30V. I have very little real world experience with the likes of S90V , M390 and the super steels from Carpenter.

In my experience , D2 is a tough steel that holds a razor edge for a long time. I live directly on the coast and due to it's high chromium content for a "non-stainless" steel , my D2 blades have never shown even the slightest sign of rust or discoloration. It's often referred to as a "semi" stainless steel.

I recommend D2 highly.
 
evilgreg said:
For the vast majority of user in the vast majority of uses, steel snobbery is pointless--beyond, that is, giving knife nuts something to argue about on the Internet.
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From the view of vast majority of people, buying $300 folding knife is also pointless man.

Be aware that you are in a knife forum, discussing any thing about steel is absolutely make sense. Saying that the difference among steel is pointless would referring that you actually have a little knowledge about cutting tool.
 
shqxk said:
From the view of vast majority of people, buying $300 folding knife is also pointless man.

Be aware that you are in a knife forum, discussing any thing about steel is absolutely make sense. Saying that the difference among steel is pointless would referring that you actually have a little knowledge about cutting tool.
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I think what he's saying is that once you get to a certain level of steel (like say 154cm and above) the vast majority of people aren't going to be able to tell any huge difference in performance. Those that can, the difference isn't going to be as huge as the marketers think.

Acting like it does is how you get people to hate on elmax because it performs on a similar level as s30v.
 
shqxk said:
From the view of vast majority of people, buying $300 folding knife is also pointless man.

Be aware that you are in a knife forum, discussing any thing about steel is absolutely make sense. Saying that the difference among steel is pointless would referring that you actually have a little knowledge about cutting tool.
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I'd say that most of this post proves his point with an odd casting of stones at the end. Personally I absolutely know I'd be perfectly happy with a good HT'd 440C but I love learning and furthering my experience with different materials and designs. A specific steel is pretty far down the list on what I want in a knife. The maker and the design come first and if those things are on par with what I'm looking for the steel will almost always be appropriate or even overkill for the knife's intended use.
 
My first blade in D2 was an Adamas.
I reprofiled the blade and that took a bit of time even with diamond stones.
At first I was not too keen on it just because of that but as time went on it has kept its edge like a champ and I think D2 is a very good knife steel.

I just got a BM 710 in D2 and am interested how this thinner blade will perform.
 
Can you PROVE the functional difference between m390 and d2 in those hi-end custom knives?

If fact, practical reason is fact that HT of D2 is mastered by makers or their TH service providers. They know what to expect.
With modern supersteels it is not so sure.
 
evilgreg said:
For the vast majority of user in the vast majority of uses, steel snobbery is pointless--beyond, that is, giving knife nuts something to argue about on the Internet.
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Ding ding ding!
 
Having used D2 for a while I can safely say that good heat treated D2 is all the steel I would ever need in a folder. The only "true stainless" steel I like as much as D2 is Spydercos VG10 which is my ideal folder steel just because its more stainless than D2 is.
 
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