Your thoughts on W2 tool steel

K

Kali4nia

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Aug 12, 2015
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I love it, but with the large array of steel choices... what do you think of this steel?
 
If you like it then it probably doesn't matter. It depends on availability, cost, what you are using it for, etc. The types of knives, how you are producing, so many other things than just what other people think about it.
 
One of my favorite carbon steels. Top two or three. Fine grain, very good edge retention and tougher than it gets credit for
 
my favorite by a longshot. Especially when i can get my hands on some of the gentlemen aboves W2, which sadly is getting harder and harder to come by. Down to my last piece. Aldos W2 is pretty solid though as well. Just doesn't give me the same hamon activity levels as Don's stuff did. Ever think of doing another batch of that W2 Don?
 
Well, my opinion of the steel is good. It is really a very simple high carbon steel that can attain a high working hardness with exceptionally fine grain and excellent “apex stability” due to such.

There are only 2 suppliers of this steel I am aware of. There is the old round stock that Don Hanson has that has an excellent reputation but obviously requires forging to make a knife from.

Then there is the W2 from Aldo. It has a decent reputation but had been riddled with problems and less than satisfactory performance. I haven’t ever had the privilege to use the Don Hanson round stock W2, but I’ve seen the results. I have used Aldo’s W2, with both good results and not so good results. Others can concur. If you’re looking for hamon/differential hardening.....W1 W2 amd 1095 are great options.
 
samuraistuart said:
Well, my opinion of the steel is good. It is really a very simple high carbon steel that can attain a high working hardness with exceptionally fine grain and excellent “apex stability” due to such.

There are only 2 suppliers of this steel I am aware of. There is the old round stock that Don Hanson has that has an excellent reputation but obviously requires forging to make a knife from.

Then there is the W2 from Aldo. It has a decent reputation but had been riddled with problems and less than satisfactory performance. I haven’t ever had the privilege to use the Don Hanson round stock W2, but I’ve seen the results. I have used Aldo’s W2, with both good results and not so good results. Others can concur. If you’re looking for hamon/differential hardening.....W1 W2 amd 1095 are great options.
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I find W2 tha is easily sourced now very very inconsistent, I sent it for comp analysis to confirm my findings. I do not feel comfortable discussing this open, feel free to message me privately if needed.
W2 is good when you get your hands on it, unfortunately there is a lot of stuff being sold as W2 that is not.
AISI 1095 from multiple sources is available with certs which I would now prefer, hamon does suffer from trace Cr due to 1095 being mainly recycled now.
-Trey
 
Aidenag said:
my favorite by a longshot. Especially when i can get my hands on some of the gentlemen aboves W2, which sadly is getting harder and harder to come by. Down to my last piece. Aldos W2 is pretty solid though as well. Just doesn't give me the same hamon activity levels as Don's stuff did. Ever think of doing another batch of that W2 Don?
Click to expand...
I didn't have that batch made, it was old stock I found. Others knew about it, but I ended up buying most of the 30,000 lbs. When I discovered how good it was, I set off to buy it all! I sold over 20,000 lbs in a 5-6 year maga sale. Not all W2 is the same, somethinkg very strange with the stuff currently available.
 
comet_sharp said:
I find W2 tha is easily sourced now very very inconsistent, I sent it for comp analysis to confirm my findings. I do not feel comfortable discussing this open, feel free to message me privately if needed.
W2 is good when you get your hands on it, unfortunately there is a lot of stuff being sold as W2 that is not.
AISI 1095 from multiple sources is available with certs which I would now prefer, hamon does suffer from trace Cr due to 1095 being mainly recycled now.
-Trey
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If the steel being sold isn’t what is advertised, then there should be no problem letting people know. How much carbon does this steel actually have?
 
Just a side note but very good W1 with certain can be found fairly easy and cheap in the form of drill rod(from reputable suppliers) it’s not W2 but it’s very good steel.
I was a huge fan of Howard’s 1086m but of course that’s not available anymore either
 
Willie71 said:
If the steel being sold isn’t what is advertised, then there should be no problem letting people know. How much carbon does this steel actually have?
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My friend works at a foundary and tested 2 coupons for me from different stock thickness, all cut directly off annealed bar from vendor. One test .75%C and the other tested .85%C. Also had between .05-.1% Cu(wtf) and .35% Mn or so. The bars that tested under .8%C actually fall out of the AISI spec for W2.
-Trey
 
comet_sharp said:
My friend works at a foundary and tested 2 coupons for me from different stock thickness, all cut directly off annealed bar from vendor. One test .75%C and the other tested .85%C. Also had between .05-.1% Cu(wtf) and .35% Mn or so. The bars that tested under .8%C actually fall out of the AISI spec for W2.
-Trey
Click to expand...
Seriously? Copper?
 
I don’t use W2 very often. But I have used it throughout the last 5 years intermittently. I have kept thorough notes on HTing steel and my recipe for W2 has not changed at all over the past 5 years. I recently bought a bar from NJSB and I cannot get it to consistently harden. I have five years of successful heat treats and now all of a sudden I can’t harden it at all. I can’t even get it to through harden with water. The steel seems bunk. Tread lightly.
 
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