Your take on D2

J

JamesofArc

Joined
Apr 19, 2016
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I have dabbled with D2 for years in my knives but never really liked it until recently. My problem in the past was it just did not slice as well as I wanted but after playing with it more and more I am realizing that on the D2 knife I have now that it does require a little bit of pressure for the edge to bite in but once it does it cuts like a hot iron thru iron.

I am not trying to compare D2 to other knife steels but what is your take on D2, do you like it, hate it or just don't know yet?
 
I don't own any D2 right now but have gotten to play with some and I liked it and didn't feel I needed to add pressure but maybe I am always adding it plus what I have seen in reviews makes it something I want to have on one of my next purchases.
 
It holds a very good edge for a long time. Even my 80-something year old father used to comment on this regarding the Queen Cutlery canoe in D2 that I gave him.
 
JamesofArc said:
I have dabbled with D2 for years in my knives but never really liked it until recently. My problem in the past was it just did not slice as well as I wanted but after playing with it more and more I am realizing that on the D2 knife I have now that it does require a little bit of pressure for the edge to bite in but once it does it cuts like a hot iron thru iron.

I am not trying to compare D2 to other knife steels but what is your take on D2, do you like it, hate it or just don't know yet?
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What you're talking about doesn't have anything to do with the steel. It's entirely edge geometry.

The steel type can make achieving a specific edge more or less difficult, but doesn't really have anything to do with how it cuts initially.

The steel type determines corrosion resistance and, along with other variables like heat treat, abrasion resistance and workability.

I like d2. It's arguably the best bang for buck on the market and often outperforms its more expensive stainless cousins. It can be a bit more difficult to sharpen though.
 
I love it, but I think my love may be for reasons that are not entirely rational.
The rational reasons I love it are for the edge retention, improved rust resistance over carbon steels and the cost/performance ratio with D2 blades.

Now, totally irrationally, I love that it's a bad ass steel with street cred going back generations. I feel like it's got some serious "been there done that" vibe. The steel equivalent of this:

grantorino.jpg


Does it make sense? Nope. But that's the kinda vibe I get with D2.
 
19-3ben said:
I love it, but I think my love may be for reasons that are not entirely rational.
The rational reasons I love it are for the edge retention, improved rust resistance over carbon steels and the cost/performance ratio with D2 blades.

Now, totally irrationally, I love that it's a bad ass steel with street cred going back generations. I feel like it's got some serious "been there done that" vibe. The steel equivalent of this:

grantorino.jpg


Does it make sense? Nope. But that's the kinda vibe I get with D2.
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If he would not have had a 1911 in his hand it would not make sense but since he does it does.
 
I am fascinated with D2. It's a good enough steel to use on custom knives or high end cutlery, yet it is cheap enough (cost wise) to use on budget blades. It is considered semi stainless, so with a little care, corrosion shouldn't be much of an issue. D2 steels edge retention is on par with some super steels, and it has decent wear resistance as well. Other than being difficult to sharpen, I dont know how someone could go wrong with this steel. Unless of course you live near salt water and need ultimate corrosion resistance. To me, D2 is a huge bang for your buck.
 
Ruso said:
Hows is D2 toughness wise, compared to A2 or 3V for example?
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Not a big deal but I was hoping to keep this thread on D2. I have noticed when we start to compare to other steels that the thread gets side tracked and the original thread meaning gets lost.
 
D2 vs CPM154 , hard for me to pick a winner. I have blades in both & like them equally.
In my experience these are my favorites, hard to chose between so I will keep both.o_O
 
JamesofArc said:
Not a big deal but I was hoping to keep this thread on D2. I have noticed when we start to compare to other steels that the thread gets side tracked and the original thread meaning gets lost.
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I guess I will rephrase my question then. How tough is D2? Is it suitable for hard chopping blade?
 
I wouldn't use it for a chopper. But my taste in chopper steel is somewhat unique.
 
WValtakis said:
I like it a lot... here's a recent discussion on it: http://www.bladeforums.com/threads/d2-fascination-no-idea-why.1497116/

~Chip
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I was just going to dig up this thread I started. I think many people, myself included, really like D2 as it holds an edge really well, even if not the best for super fine edges, is stainless enough for most people's lack of knife maintenance, and is cheap enough that you don't have to ask if you wife will divorce you for buying the knife.

Ruso said:
I guess I will rephrase my question then. How tough is D2? Is it suitable for hard chopping blade?
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D2 is tougher than many stainless steels but not nearly as tough as 3V or A2, which are quite tough. I recently went through this whole thing during a bushcraft custom design with a maker on the forum and I was originally going to go D2 because of my lust for it but in the end I went to a tougher steel (M4). D2 can chip out with chopping and battoning, especially at higher hardness. I think if you tone the hardness down it will be more forgiving for abuse. LT Wright uses D2 in his bushcraft knives as does Knives of Alaska in most of their fixed blade line.

D2 is a great user steel in that it performs well and for a good price. It's doesn't get superfine edges but keeps a "user edge" (I'm of the opinion that most of the time really fine edges dull too fast) and it doesn't polish as nice as some steels. It can take some extra time to sharpen but as long as you don't go too acute of an angle it sharpens pretty well, especially on diamond stones. I usually only go down to a fine DMT to leave a toothy edge on it as my primary D2 EDC fixed is a carboard killing wharncliffe. It was great when I moved recently and had to breakdown tons of boxes.

Comparison for tool steels, O-1 and A-2 are common knife tool steels. 3V should look something like the S7 bars I think as it's higher toughness but lower edge retention, not sure how much so though without a direct graph comparison. 3V rusts much more readily.
coldworkcompare.gif
 
I like D2, up to about a six or seven inch blade. That's just me. Bigger than that, and I think heat treatment, edge geometry, and cutting technique become more important in overcoming any inherent or supposed weaknesses in the alloy. For a 'hard use' knife, time and/or environmental concerns might not allow for refined technique, or careful attention to the edge. Be careful, and D2 will probably do the job, but I prefer something with a little less chromium for that kind of work, personally.
 
Bob Dozier does D2 very well in my experiance. Also lion steel does it good on the Hest/f 2.0. I happen to like it but I only have those to compare so not sure about all makers D2.
 
,In my years as a Toolmaker, D2 was an answer to many prayers, believe me.
Tools, Dies , Punches, Cutters , D2 came out shining. D2 excelled when cutting, slicing and piercing paper products , a real test of a metal's performance,
In my Knifemaking days I used a lot of O1 but sometimes I'd talk a buyer into a D2 product.
The steels abrasion resistance is high, making sharpening more difficult but edge holding ability is very good.
Because of the steel's high Chromium content, it approaches some stainless types in corrosion resistance also.
All in all, a great material .
 
D2 is fairly hard for most to sharpen it, unless they have the right tools (SiC or Diamond). some stones won't do a damn thing to d2 no matter how long you sit there trying.

in any case I don't like d2. I don't think its bad, but there are so many better options. I'd go with, Sleipner,
154cm, xhp, niolox etc over d2.

if I'm getting a budget knife it had better be d2 at minimum tho. as its far better than most budget steel like 8cr, aus8, vg10 etc.

154cm seems to be better in many ways and has a similar edge retention to d2.

has anyone done tests between d2 (ingot), psf27 (spray form) and CPM d2 (powdered)?
 
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