CPM D2 and I like my knife

oldtymer said:
IMHO properly heat treated D2 or 440C are better options for knife blades than these newer generation Specialized Steels that were never designed for knife
use but for industrial purposes.
Just another marketing gimmick to separate the consumer from their money.
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I'm waiting for the 420hc guys to come in here to say the same thing about D2 and 440c haha
 
I would put Bucks 420 up against anything below the 440c class.
They got the HT down.
If you like D2 give Dozer a look. He is the D2 master. I appreciate anyone who can get the most out of a steel.
 
ScooterG said:
The earth is hollow.
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There is no Earth. There is only yourself.

The last D2 blade I had was a BM 710 and I found it held a pretty good edge. Not sure if it was Crucible.

But for my uses , I much prefer the likes of M390/204P.
 
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BladeScout said:
I like D2 and A2.

I also like turtles....



Might not be what you mean, but are you saying, that in your opinion, D2 only holds an edge marginally longer than VG10?
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Here's the cut test list.
https://www.patreon.com/posts/17366331

D2 is around 120 cuts and s30v starts around 175-190 cuts. No other d2 has come close yet. Okc source there d2 from bohler iirc.

It's no slouch but not super steel level. And iirc the d2 for okc is around 58hrc

Would love to see Benchmade hk in d2 tested

M390 starts around 300 cuts. No wonder why people want it. Plus it's not as hard to sharpen/maintain as other super steel in its class. Unleashed which is sharpened using the lansky and diamonds it goes around 600 cuts. Let's see d2 do that.
 
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I recently purchased a Manly Patriot in D2. Pretty inexpensive knife. They must have the heat treat optimized, as it vastly outperforms many other fixed blades I own in VG-10 and S30V from very "major" manufacturers.
The other knives I'm referencing cost over 3x as much as well. Glad I took the chance--previously I'd written D2 off as some has-been cheap steel.
 
I
JamesofArc said:
I believe that too many people don't know what tool steel is. I believe many think it's just a category like stainless or carbon steel but tool steel is a working steel. Lots of people here have not been in the manufacturing business and do not understand that tool steel is what machines use to make parts. D2 is generally used to stamp out steel and other metals parts. You set up a punch press using D2 steel as the punch and you will punch out many thousands of holes in that steel part. Stuff like M390 is just a high end stainless and would go flat after the first or second hole.
I hope some of us knife guys understand it better so we can ask for better knives at affordable prices. Why do I need a M390 blade for $150 bucks when I can get a D2 blade for $40 and it will do everything the M390 will do.
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I think you're confusing "tool steel" with "die steel". M390, S30/90/110V, Elmax, and the like are all tool steels just like D2 is, at least according to their manufacturers. Just because they happen to be mold steels rather than die steels doesn't make them less useful as a knife steel. In most cutting tests, they will hold an edge better than D2, and will generally be more stainless, both of which are useful traits for EDC knives. D2 isn't particularly unique in toughness, corrosion resistance, wear resistance, or any other measurable trait that I can think of, short of carbide size.

Unless you're using some specialty knife as a punch to cut metal, I can't see why you'd extol the virtues of a die steel for knives over something more aptly suited.
 
I'm not one to pretend D2 is better than other steels, it's not. It's a great value steel and the toothy edge it seems to take makes it an awesome user steel. I know steel prices don't make much difference in the custom knife world but for some reason it seems to make a big difference in the manufactured knife world. It definitely doesn't hold a match to some more expensive steels when we start talking "price is no object."

Personally, I like CPM-M4 a fair bit better... especially if I can pay someone in beers to sharpen it for me.

Truthfully, the only steels I've been underwhelmed with are simple carbon steels. I would take some cheaper stainless options (8cr, aus-8, etc.) over simple carbon steel (with some exception for very hard use edged tools) most days of the week. Tool steels are by far my faves though.
 
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