Would you buy a pocket knife with D2 steel?

Personally I'm a big fan of D2. Especially with a thick blade stock. Can't go wrong with a benchmade adamas.
 
Poez said:
I like knives with D2: wish there were more of them around. Does Spyderco has any with D2 blade: i have difficulty coming up with any model, I do not think they made a Mule with D2?
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Military sprint CPM Cruware is about to come out, like an improved D2, tougher.

CPM D2 in Discontinued Military and Para
Also discontinued mule in CPM Cruware
 
Absolutely! It's my favorite! Finished out around RC 60, it will provide superior performance with exceptional edge retention. Rust is not typically a problem. Wipe it down after use & apply oil occasionally. It may take a little extra effort to sharpen but once you have a nice flat edge, finish it off on good honing steel....a few strokes with just the weight of your blade & it will pop hair!
 
james terrio said:
D2 is not stainless, and it was never meant to be. D2's 11-12% chromium content, along with its rather high carbon content (1.5%, give or take a couple points) is mostly tied up in carbides (for wear-resistance). There's some, but relatively little "free" chrome, which is what allows for passivation to occur and therefore, aids corrosion resistance. Depending on whom you ask, hardenable steels require 13-14% chromium by weight to be considered stainless. There may be exceptions to this rule, but D2 is not one of them.
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Low-alloy steels constitute a category of ferrous materials that exhibit mechanical properties superior to plain carbon steels as the result of additions of alloying elements such as nickel, chromium, and molybdenum. Total alloy content can range from 2.07% up to levels just below that of stainless steels, which contain a minimum of 10% Cr.
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http://www.keytometals.com/page.aspx?ID=CheckArticle&site=kts&NM=62
 
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Knarfeng, I'm sure you are correct technically, but my understanding is, that's a bit out of context when discussing hardenable alloys suitable for knife blades.

Please review my earlier comments regarding carbon content, carbide formation, and the need for "free" chrome (that is, chrome not tied up in carbides) to allow martensitic steel to be generally considered "stainless" by the knifemaking and toolmaking industries. If I am incorrect in those specific regards, I sincerely welcome further clarification.

I apologize to the OP and other respondents for Knarfeng and I drifting somewhat off-topic.

The short answer remains, YES, D2 with good heat-treatment can be used to make a good pocketknife. :)
 
My old HEST 2.0 is what made me like D2. 5mm thick stock heated up to 60HRC, D2 done like that makes for a freaking awesome folder steel.
 
Wolf_HR said:
Why is that a problem, Hwang? I'm relatively new around here, but I think I've seen you in sharpening discussions, so I guess you're probably more than good at it- is it looks of recurves, or something else?
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I use stones so im better at flat blades. I have a kukri which I take no joy of sharpening. I guess im just not fond of recurves.

but who knows, maybe I havent found the right one....
 
Spyderco made 2 Sprint runs, The Military and the Para 1, you can still find the Para 1 at an online store in Canada. They were CPM-D2

Poez said:
I like knives with D2: wish there were more of them around. Does Spyderco has any with D2 blade: i have difficulty coming up with any model, I do not think they made a Mule with D2?
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I carry a D2 Paramilitary 1 everyday. I live and work on the Gulf coast from FL to LA and have never had any problems with rust.
 
Yes, and I own some, although it is not what I prefer because I personally find it to stain very easily and while it is not a delicate steel by any means, there are significantly tougher steels that are as-easy or easier to sharpen, yet with as-good and better edge retention/wear resistance. I have also found D2 to wear in nastier fashions than other steels in regards to edge deformation. I do not consider it an ideal steel unless the primary desire is pure edge retention...but even then, better options exist IMHO.

I look at something like S35VN as a significant upgrade to D2 in every single measurable category except edge retention, which I do not really care all that much about given I have an EdgePro and two arms and two hands. D2's tendency to spot and, if not promptly handled, pit, makes its practicality to me very limited. I also find it to take longer to sharpen and people with crude sharpening equipment will likely struggle to get a reasonably sharp working edge.

A few years ago D2 was IMHO more desirable...for a while, steels with excellence in one category but with something to be desired in another area is what people had to work with. But today with blades in steels such as S35VN and ELMAX (Plus the newer XTP and M390), their balanced properties makes D2 that much less appealing. As the vanadium and vanadium/niobium steels become more popular and more mature, many of the traditional fashion "supersteels" may very well fall out of favor because high-performance stainless steels continue to offer better performance and one no longer has to accept one area of performance that just plain sucks. S35VN has impressive edge retention, but it also can perform in marine environment and it is TOUGH AS HELL, yet not difficult to sharpen. To me, that makes it perfect for a daily use blade.

My other issue is that most of the knives with D2 blades are pretty expensive...for example, the Spyderco Paramilitary in CPM-D2 carried a serious premium...but I don't see that as an upgrade to S30V...in fact, I see that as a downgrade that took a tough knife and made it not-quite-as-tough-as-before. If I am going to shell out a large chunk of change over the price of a knife in something like S30V, I want a supersteel giving high marks in all performance categories, such as M390.

Of course all of the above is dependent on the hardening skills of the maker. And chances are competent makers can push D2 to better performance than I have personally experienced with my production D2 folders. On the other hand, bad hardening can make a good steel suck...I've had a few S30V folders that have had some chipping issues. The presumed culprit was that the steel was hardened slightly past the ideal range for toughness and the steel was simply too-hard to perform its intended purpose without issues.
 
PaulTR said:
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.
I
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.
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Gulf coast I assume Send your name and mailing address to agr@agr3.com and I will send a bottle of Rustfree for you to try.
 
james terrio said:
Knarfeng, I'm sure you are correct technically, but my understanding is, that's a bit out of context when discussing hardenable alloys suitable for knife blades.

Please review my earlier comments regarding carbon content, carbide formation, and the need for "free" chrome (that is, chrome not tied up in carbides) to allow martensitic steel to be generally considered "stainless" by the knifemaking and toolmaking industries. If I am incorrect in those specific regards, I sincerely welcome further clarification.

I apologize to the OP and other respondents for Knarfeng and I drifting somewhat off-topic.

The short answer remains, YES, D2 with good heat-treatment can be used to make a good pocketknife. :)
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How do you know how much free chromium is in a blade? From my limited understanding the amount of carbide formers converted into carbides varies depending on the heat treat. This seems to be why my ZDP-189 with 20% chromium rusts easier than the few D2 blades I've owned.

Also, wouldn't a near-mirror finish solve the corrosion issue with D2? I don't have the tools to get a high level finish with that stuff but I Flitzed an AFCK in D2 to a glossy grey finish & never had a spot of rust all summer.
 
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