Would you buy a pocket knife with D2 steel?

how's the D2 tool steel compared to the other forms of D2?
queen cutlery uses alot of d2 tool steel.
 
I'm dying to get the upcoming ZT 0454 which is D2 at the edge. If I don't get one, I'll be crushed.
 
cards94 said:
how's the D2 tool steel compared to the other forms of D2?
queen cutlery uses alot of d2 tool steel.
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D2 is a tool steel, one of the most common in fact. D2 from various manufacturers may vary slightly, but should all fall within a fairly narrow range of chemistry specs. The only other "form" of it is Crucible's CPM-D2, a particle-metallurgy alloy with the same chemistry.
 
My Infidel is D2. Chisel grind was hard to keep sharp, and the blade LOVED to stain from unknown things.

Benchmade is confident enough to run it on the Adamas, so I have to trust that it's decent.
 
Have several times, and will again for sure, one of my favorite steels. From my experience, try not to let D2 get to dull, little touch ups to keep it sharp to begin with. And D2 is very rust resistant, I've had uncoated blades take a faint dull look, but never had D2 develop actual red rust.
 
I have a few Queen D2 folders that I use for work knives. Love them. As with most Queen knives, mine needed a reprofile, but with that finished they hold an edge well and touch up easily.

Ditto, Kershaw with a JYD combo blade as well as a Tyrade. Both of those have stainless sandwiched over a D2 core. Excellent knives, came sharp. Great large work knives.

Have two D2 steeled knives from Ontario. A five inch and seven inch camp knife. Both came sharp and both work great in the field, especially the 5 inch when camping.

I have had it rust, but then stainless rusts in my pocket as well during the hot South Texas summers. But with just the tiniest bit of maintenance it won't, and if it does, it is very easy to flick of the tiny spots of rust.

Personally, I love the stuff.

Robertr
 
Sure i would, as when heat treated right it's still a very good steel in my book.
Recently i reprofiled & sharpened this acid dipped DPX Hest folder for a Dutch forum member, and although it took a while it got treetopping sharp.
The edge is now slightly convex and measures somewhere between 25 and 30 degrees inclusive.





Close-up of the finish (15 micron diamond compound):

 
Depends...I had a satin lionsteel that rusted in two days but my benchmade d2 blades have been perfect in all aspects.
 
I've got several knives with D2 (Kershaw, Benchmade, Queen), and it is a great steel. Takes and holds a great edge. It can be difficult to sharpen on natural stones, but it's no problem on diamond stones. Touch-ups on a leather strop or even on a honing steel are pretty easy. I haven't had corrosion issues on any of mine.
 
I'm going to go against the flow here and say I would think long and hard about purchasing a D2 blade or any tool steel for that matter....IF!!! you live in a humid or wet environment (see next paragraph if you do). If you don't, D2 will serve you incredibly well. There's a good reason several hard-use knives, like Benchmade's Black class knives, use D2: it's a tough steel that won't quit.

HOWEVER! If you live in a humid environment, D2 will punish you for carelessness. I live in a very humid environment (humidity index often reaches 100% right up through September) and I've had problems with keeping my D2 blades free of rust. I have taken excellent care of my Benchmade 710- D2, applying oil to it every morning, making sure to oil up the interior, ect, and I still have problems with small rust spots forming. The same goes for my Brous Silent Soldier necker: despite oiling it up frequently, a tiny rust spot or two still manages to make it's way onto my blade. I've recently taken to applying a very light coating of Vaseline to the blades, which seems to do the trick. Still, it's a big annoyance, and one that has caused me to put off my plans of buying any more uncoated D2 blades (coated D2 should be fine) for a long time.

In summary, let me say that I am not hating on D2; it's a fabulous working steel that will take hard-use like a champ. I once heard it said somewhere that D2 "can take any edge, crappy or good, and hold it for a long time". In my experience, that's true. If you need a steel that you can thump on and brutalize, D2 is hard to beat...but heaven's help you if you want it to look prim and pretty at the end of the day.

Just my .02...not trying to be a hater.
 
One of my favorite steels. People say its hard to sharpen, but I can't see any reason why. And as far as rust resistance goes, treat it like any other carbon blade. It's a truly good steel.
 
I have a BUNCH. The CPM stuff is great, but it's all good and rusts less easily than most carbon steel, holds a FANTASTIC edge, and handles punishment well. And personally, it isn't difficult to sharpen if you have some experience..unless its run past 62 RHC. Best carbon IMHO.

Kershaw D2 is amazeballs.
 
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