All About D2 Steel - Development, Use in Knives, and Properties

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Larrin
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All About D2 Steel - Development, Use in Knives, and Properties

#1

Post by Larrin »

In this article I wrote about the history of D2 and how it was developed (it’s really old). I found the person first reported to have used D2 in a custom knife. And then I summarized the known properties of D2 relative to other knife steels. https://knifesteelnerds.com/2018/11/05/ ... el-knives/
http://www.KnifeSteelNerds.com - Steel Metallurgy topics related to knives
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Re: All About D2 Steel - Development, Use in Knives, and Properties

#2

Post by Wanimator »

Wish there was more D2 used by Spyderco. Especially as an alternative step up steel in the lower class ranges. Hell, I'd even buy d2 higher end ones.
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Re: All About D2 Steel - Development, Use in Knives, and Properties

#3

Post by JD Spydo »

Another very interesting thread Larrin :) Hey I got a couple of questions to ask. I've heard that the CTS-XHP made by Carpenter is supposed to be an improved or imitated version of D-2? I've also heard that about a couple of other newer blade steels that come to mind.

Also are you aware of custom knife maker Bob Dozier? He has gotten the nick-name "Dr. D-2" because of his great heat treatment process of D-2 blade steel. Mr. Dozier has been using D-2 on most of his custom made units for many years now and the two I've tested are very good. He's one of the custom makers that I feel makes really good custom knives that are actually functional as well as they are aesthetic.

Also I've noticed that more knife companies in the past 5 years are using D-2 than I ever remember.
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Re: All About D2 Steel - Development, Use in Knives, and Properties

#4

Post by Larrin »

JD Spydo wrote:
Mon Nov 05, 2018 11:47 am
Another very interesting thread Larrin :) Hey I got a couple of questions to ask. I've heard that the CTS-XHP made by Carpenter is supposed to be an improved or imitated version of D-2? I've also heard that about a couple of other newer blade steels that come to mind.
I wrote about XHP in the article on D2 corrosion resistance: https://knifesteelnerds.com/2018/06/11/ ... stainless/
Also are you aware of custom knife maker Bob Dozier? He has gotten the nick-name "Dr. D-2" because of his great heat treatment process of D-2 blade steel. Mr. Dozier has been using D-2 on most of his custom made units for many years now and the two I've tested are very good. He's one of the custom makers that I feel makes really good custom knives that are actually functional as well as they are aesthetic.
Bob Dozier was mentioned in the article for his reputation with D2.
Also I've noticed that more knife companies in the past 5 years are using D-2 than I ever remember.
I haven't tracked any of that. I wonder if there is any way to get good numbers.
http://www.KnifeSteelNerds.com - Steel Metallurgy topics related to knives
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Re: All About D2 Steel - Development, Use in Knives, and Properties

#5

Post by Pelagic »

Interesting that one chart in that article has m4 tougher than cruwear.
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Re: All About D2 Steel - Development, Use in Knives, and Properties

#6

Post by Larrin »

Pelagic wrote:
Mon Nov 05, 2018 12:15 pm
Interesting that one chart in that article has m4 tougher than cruwear.
If it was CPM CruWear it would be tougher than CPM M4.
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Re: All About D2 Steel - Development, Use in Knives, and Properties

#7

Post by gull wing »

Thanks for bringing this up.
I have several knives in D2 and love it. More D2 knives Spyderco. I like it more than S30V.
No problem with rust as I take care of my blades.
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Re: All About D2 Steel - Development, Use in Knives, and Properties

#8

Post by Pelagic »

Larrin wrote:
Mon Nov 05, 2018 12:25 pm
Pelagic wrote:
Mon Nov 05, 2018 12:15 pm
Interesting that one chart in that article has m4 tougher than cruwear.
If it was CPM CruWear it would be tougher than CPM M4.
I figured so. Thanks for clarification
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Re: All About D2 Steel - Development, Use in Knives, and Properties

#9

Post by Halfneck »

First knife in D2 I bought was a Bob Dozier Agent. Carried it while in the Army during field exercises. Good knife, still own it. Next was probably a knife from Tom Krein. Most recently I have 2 folders from Steel Will knives in D2. I've also got a few knives in CTS-XHP (Spyderco and Ken Brock.

I like the steel. Doesn't get as laser sharp as some other steels, but it holds a nice toothy edge for a while. Once it started to get dull it was not too hard to sharpen back up freehand on my benchstones. While not stainless, the Dozier Agent I carried in the field only has a couple of discolored spots on the blade.

Interesting write up.
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Re: All About D2 Steel - Development, Use in Knives, and Properties

#10

Post by sparky2016 »

Interesting discussion, especially the history in the article. But D2 is the choice only if someone values good edge retention and lower cost without regard to other aspects.
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Re: All About D2 Steel - Development, Use in Knives, and Properties

#11

Post by JD Spydo »

OH yes there are a lot more of your knife companies with household names that have gone to making their upper tier knives with D-2. Before Queen Cutlery shut their doors they were offering a lot of their fixed blades and bigger folders both in D-2. I've seen at least 4 other companies I've checked out that are now using D-2>> when I find out which companies had them I'll put them up on this thread. Back in the machine tool and CNC school I attended about 10 years ago I made a set of V-Blocks with solid D-2. I cracked two of them before finally getting the heat treatment right on the final two :o

But once I got the tricks down on the heat treatment the two I finished were awesome. I still have them but don't use them much. The instructor at the time told me that D-2 had a reputation of being difficult and tricky to heat treat properly. I've also heard at least 4 knife makers I've met that tell me the same thing.

The one thing that I like about D-2 and XHP both is that they really take a super smooth edge on a Spyderco Ultra-Fine benchstone better than many other steels I've experimented with. I believe I've heard tell that BoB Dozier has a heat treatment for D-2 that is legendary. I do know that the two fixed blade knives of his that I've got to use both held an edge incredibly well. I'm just not into custom knives much at all because of the exorbitant high costs of some of them. But I'm going to one day have Bob Dozier make me some type of fixed blade>> and I won't be collecting it I'll be using it.
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Re: All About D2 Steel - Development, Use in Knives, and Properties

#12

Post by JD Spydo »

gull wing wrote:
Mon Nov 05, 2018 4:16 pm
Thanks for bringing this up.
I have several knives in D2 and love it. More D2 knives Spyderco. I like it more than S30V.
No problem with rust as I take care of my blades.
Oh heck yes!!! I also like D-2 & XHP both a lot better than I do any S30V blade I've ever owned and used. Even with all the new supersteels out there to select from if I were to really like a knife design and it's only available in D-2 I won't hesitate a bit.

Now the one Brother says he likes it with a toothy edge but I've had excellent luck putting a final edge on a D-2 blade with a Spyderco Ultra-Fine stone.
It isnt' the easiest steel to sharpen and I kind of compare it to the older Crucible 440V ( S60V) blade steel which was a monster to sharpen>> and D-2 isn't a lot easier either.
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Re: All About D2 Steel - Development, Use in Knives, and Properties

#13

Post by Naperville »

@Larrin, is there an encyclopedia/dictionary for explaining the following on your site? Sorry if I missed it. I could Google the following but with a metallurgist here I thought that I would ask.

What is "superior hot hardness" or "hot hardness" and why is it important?

What is "high speed steel" and why is it important?
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Re: All About D2 Steel - Development, Use in Knives, and Properties

#14

Post by Larrin »

Naperville wrote:
Mon Nov 05, 2018 7:26 pm
@Larrin, is there an encyclopedia/dictionary for explaining the following on your site? Sorry if I missed it. I could Google the following but with a metallurgist here I thought that I would ask.

What is "superior hot hardness" or "hot hardness" and why is it important?

What is "high speed steel" and why is it important?
After the sentence that says “superior hot hardness” it says, “You can read about hot hardness in the article on high speed steel” which has a hyperlink to this article: https://knifesteelnerds.com/2018/03/22/ ... ool-steel/
http://www.KnifeSteelNerds.com - Steel Metallurgy topics related to knives
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Re: All About D2 Steel - Development, Use in Knives, and Properties

#15

Post by vivi »

D2 may take a while to grind, but for me it's always taken one of the best edges out of any steel I've tried.

That's the thing that confuses me about it. From what I've read I own many steels that on paper I'd expect to take a finer edge, but all of my D2 and CPMD2 have taken some of the sharpest edges I've put on a knife. Polished or toothy, it just wants to pop hairs.

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Re: All About D2 Steel - Development, Use in Knives, and Properties

#16

Post by Naperville »

Larrin wrote:
Mon Nov 05, 2018 7:45 pm
Naperville wrote:
Mon Nov 05, 2018 7:26 pm
@Larrin, is there an encyclopedia/dictionary for explaining the following on your site? Sorry if I missed it. I could Google the following but with a metallurgist here I thought that I would ask.

What is "superior hot hardness" or "hot hardness" and why is it important?

What is "high speed steel" and why is it important?
After the sentence that says “superior hot hardness” it says, “You can read about hot hardness in the article on high speed steel” which has a hyperlink to this article: https://knifesteelnerds.com/2018/03/22/ ... ool-steel/
Thank you!

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Re: All About D2 Steel - Development, Use in Knives, and Properties

#17

Post by JD Spydo »

Vivi wrote:
Mon Nov 05, 2018 7:53 pm
D2 may take a while to grind, but for me it's always taken one of the best edges out of any steel I've tried.

That's the thing that confuses me about it. From what I've read I own many steels that on paper I'd expect to take a finer edge, but all of my D2 and CPMD2 have taken some of the sharpest edges I've put on a knife. Polished or toothy, it just wants to pop hairs.
When you've got a knifemaker who is also recognized as a Master Bladesmith speaking of Bob Dozier you have to know that he's truly on to something significant by using D-2 as his main blade steel on his great custom blades.

But I've also had great luck with commercially made knives with D-2 as well. Not to mention newer steels that are similar in alloy content like XHP.

A few years back on a hunting trip I used a fixed blade made with D-2>> it was a custom knife but I never found out who the maker was. Even with all the newer supersteels we now have at our disposal D-2 is still considered a very respectable blade steel.
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Re: All About D2 Steel - Development, Use in Knives, and Properties

#18

Post by anagarika »

In my limited experience (BM HK), I found D2 losts that extreme sharpness (hair popping) very quickly but stay on somewhat sharp (hair scraping). XHP (Coldsteel) holds that extreme sharpness longer.

Is this behavior a norm or I got a lemon (the BM)? Because of this, I’m reluctant to pick any more D2.
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Re: All About D2 Steel - Development, Use in Knives, and Properties

#19

Post by GarageBoy »

I just watched supersteel steve's video on D2 and thought of this thread

He mentions that d2 has a narrow window of austenization temperatures and that's why its a poor choice for production use/is the cause of disparity in cut testing.

How much does variability can that actually cause? I'm sure someone out there has figured out d2 heat treatment by now, it's been around for so long
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Re: All About D2 Steel - Development, Use in Knives, and Properties

#20

Post by Wartstein »

GarageBoy wrote:
Mon Apr 13, 2020 10:47 pm
I just watched supersteel steve's video on D2 and thought of this thread

Thanks for reviving this thread, would have missed Larrins very interesting article on D2 otherwise! :)

I can only say good things about D2. Have a Boker Vox Rold in this steel (see pic below (NOT my pic!): Esee 6 size (and my largest fixed blade) and definitely used as a chopper a lot. I don´t notice any severe thoughness /chipping... problems with that particular D2, holds up great to use and abuse.
Also just a few rust spots on the blade,though I oil it just occasionally.

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