Why D2

Is Eafengrow really that bad? I have bought a couple of them as gifts for non-knife people who might only use them to trim a string off something or cut the occasional piece of packing tape. The main selling point was that they looked pretty and were relatively cheap. Cloning issues aside, is their steel really trash? (At least, when compared to $20-30 budget knives in 8Cr14Mov, etc.)


The steel may not be 'trash' but it's definitely sub-par 'd2'. The company is an ultra low cost knock off shop. I would bet money that the 'd2' they use is actually this chinese variant: ytl122

http://www.zknives.com/knives/steels/EST/ytl122.shtml

Only problem is instead of 1% v it's about 0.2%. Also, part of what makes d2 great is the heat treatment. I doubt they would bother to have that dialed in. So you're getting a sub-standard product on 2 fronts (at least). Do yourself a favor and get the ontario rat in d2 for only little more, or the kabar dozier for about the same price.
 
For the record, you will notice most people who complain about knives made in china are some how connected to overpriced sky high overcharging American knife companies. They try to shame you into buying their overpriced products Beware.
you are wrong. Very wrong. None of the USA stuff is over priced regardless and your actually getting what you pay for the majority of the time. Please tell me what knife manufacturer you work for please. I'll tell you what I think of it.

Is Eafengrow really that bad? I have bought a couple of them as gifts for non-knife people who might only use them to trim a string off something or cut the occasional piece of packing tape. The main selling point was that they looked pretty and were relatively cheap. Cloning issues aside, is their steel really trash? (At least, when compared to $20-30 budget knives in 8Cr14Mov, etc.)
Yes they are very bad. They clone and false advertising. That is wrong. Very wrong. It is completely trash as even the heat treatment on them is bad. They just want to sell knives so they copy. They care less about making good knives.
 
As they say, "different strokes for different folks." I've used 1095 and D2 myself for years and I would rather have D2. It has better edgeholding, better rust resistance, and about the same toughness as 1095. It is a little harder to sharpen but worth the trade off in my opinion. To each their own as "they" say.





The toughness shown looks like V-notch. V-notch is a terrible measure due to the low numbers. C- notch is much better and much more representative of real conditions. When you do c-notch the numbers are larger and more easily interpreted.

Steel.......Hardness(Rc)....Charpy C/ft-lbs
D2................60..............20
1095.............62............. 28
1095.............60............. 30
1095.............58..............32

This shows reality a little better and what most of us who have used both steels already know. 1095 is a lot tougher than D2, 50% tougher to be exact.

Having said that I like D2 for smaller blades.

Having said that, I would not trust anything being made in China.
 
Very true imo. I've been hammering on a slab of s30v for years. The BM 162. I've had a few tiny chips, but I mean tiny. I'm also smart enough not to put a super refined edge on it. Just sharp enough is all that's required. I also live in New England so it is used in the cold. Nothing wrong with that steel. To be honest I like just about any blade steel. Can't say I've ever found one were I found it to be junk. I'm not sure what people are doing with knives to find any modern steel to be junk, I just don't see it.

The 162 is a fantastic knife, and I agree with you about the different steels. I buy the knife, not the steel.
 
For the record, you will notice most people who complain about knives made in china are some how connected to overpriced sky high overcharging American knife companies. They try to shame you into buying their overpriced products Beware.
Nope, that it not correct.

Did you know if you look at the HTML you can see the IP Address of the poster? I'm pretty sure that your IP Block is located in Shanghai. :p
DOH!
 
I personally have no problems with D2 steel, for example, in my thinking, if i had a choice between a LionSteel folder in D2, and a chinese made knife claiming to be D2, and both are similarly priced, i will very much prefer to go with LionSteel ---
because why buy the chinese folder and risk it not being made with the D2 its claiming to be made from, when you know for a fact when you buy from a company like LionSteel, you are getting what is advertised?
Thats how my logic and reasoning works, anyway; at any rate, i personally wouldn't use D2, cause i don't want to have to worry about moisture and rust, ill pick 3G, m390, or one of the cpms, or something similar that will stand up to daily hard use, just my preference and opinion.
 
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Kizer uses vg10 and S35vn as far as I know.
Bestech, Artisian Cutlerly, all the recent Chinese spinoff companies use “D2”. You have to wonder why.
I have been going American companies lately. Hogue, Benchmade


Bestech introduced some 12c27 budget knives last year but people freaked out and said they were downgrading from the standard D2, so they went back to D2 or mostly D2.
 
About 15 years back I went through a stage where I was using the cheap knives from China and other imports. In the job I had as a agriculture mechanic it was easier to lose a knife or any tool and the usage was very dirty and nasty at times. I simply didn’t want to lose or ruin a good knife that cost more so cheaper was better. The thing I noticed most was the consistency in the blade performance. Most were soft and dulled quickly but a few were harder and kept a better edge but were brittle. Quality was random but I lost more than I broke. They may have improved since then but it made a lasting impression and I don’t do that kind of work anymore so I’m happy to have a great quality USA made knife to use since then. I still mostly stay with knives under $100 but I get excellent performance and a knife that will last a lifetime and I know what materials they use and can have trust in their reputation.
 
Bestech introduced some 12c27 budget knives last year but people freaked out and said they were downgrading from the standard D2, so they went back to D2 or mostly D2.
People are cray cray and follow trends, not facts or data.


NSFW warning . Video has lots of swearing. Also skip ahead to see the cut tests.

12c27 Manly knives use a great heat treatment with cryo and edge and blade geometry and perform extremely well. Priced super good too.
 
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I'm curious about D2 vs Sliepner as I understand it Sleipner is a variant of D2 though I can't recall is Sleipner is a PM steel or not.
 
I have a Freeman 451 in d2 and it's really good, a lot better than I thought it would be. Steel holds an edge really well and seems pretty tough
 
I try not to buy anything made in the PRC (People's Republic of China, a.k.a. Communist China). I have bought quite a number of excellent knives manufactured in non-communist Taiwan, however.
 
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