Got my knife selection down to two hunting knives: one in D2 and one in S30V. The D2 is the Knives of Alaska Alaskan Hunter and the S30V is the Cabelas Buck Vanguard. Never owned a "high grade" steel knife and wonder what difference between these steels I will see. I've read that the D2 is tough but may not take as acute an edge but the Vanguard isn't a true full tang knife and I like the extra strength that yields.
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Pros and Cons: D2 vs S30V
- Thread starter dawgvet
- Start date
I have the Buck knife mentioned as well as a different one of KOA. I read where S30V micro chips. But I have not had that happen to me. I re-profiled the edge to as low as I could get without scratching the side of the blade and did not put a micro bevel on it and I have been shaving wood with it today to see if it micro chipped. Not a bit as of yet. Paul Bos does the heat treating for Buck so you won't go wrong with Bucks knives.
Both are very good steels, not easy to sharpen though. S30V is probably a little more expensive and holds a better edge. It is a stainless steel with a consistent structure, clean features, and superior corrosion resistance (58-60 HRC).
D2 is a air hardening tool steel, wear resistant, tough, probably not quite as corrosion resistant as S30V (also around 59 HRC). A good steel for everyday use.
An average user like me is not going to notice a big difference in everyday use between the two.
D2 is a air hardening tool steel, wear resistant, tough, probably not quite as corrosion resistant as S30V (also around 59 HRC). A good steel for everyday use.
An average user like me is not going to notice a big difference in everyday use between the two.
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- Jun 29, 1999
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My experience with these two steels is limited (BM MiniRukus in S30V; Dozier K2 in D2). I could live with either but find S30V a finer grained steel that is easier to sharpen than D2, and maintains a very fine edge for a long time. Today I used it for cutting fruit, opening plastic sacks of potting soil, cutting some dirty runners in the garden, and slicing up some plastic containers so I could squash them into the garbage. At the end of the day it was no longer scary sharp (slice hairs above the skin) but would still shave with some pressure. D2 takes a longer time to hone, can be brought to scary sharpness as above, but works better at slicing than push-cutting, compared to S30V. It responds better to coarser hones (DMT red). For all practical purposes, both are very, very good cutlery steels.
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http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=453359
Here is a current thread comparing these two steels. I tend to trust STR's comments because he has worked with so many blades.
I don't get a vote on this because I have no blades in either steel.
Here is a current thread comparing these two steels. I tend to trust STR's comments because he has worked with so many blades.
I don't get a vote on this because I have no blades in either steel.
Just a follow up on what I was doing with my Vanguard. Shaving several more pieces of wood for fire starting did not show any micro chipping. I then starting to batton with it. The wood did not have a straight grain which was good, more stress to the edge. And while battoning I purposely kept going when I knew the edge was in a stressful situation. I did enough battoning to get a good fire going and after finishing there was two very small microchips barely noticeable in good light. I might also add that the knife still has a very usable edge left when I finished. Good enough to skin a deer with it. I had sharpened it on a course diamond stone and finished it on a fine diamond stone with less than 10 strokes per side. 10 strokes per side on both stones put the knife back sharper than when I started.