Bushcraft knife

[Hoodoo]

What about it?
I have a knife I made myself from a cast dendritic D2 blank and I hate it. I've never, ever managed to get a decent edge on the thing. If I ever do, I would think it would hold for an aeon, but I cant be bothered with it. I dare say others will love it, though you dont see many knives made from it. I know of a few, ...kabar springs to mind, but on the whole it's not really a popular knife steel.

Martyn, I'm not disagreeing with you for the most part. I'm just saying that D2 is a carbon steel and is known for it's performance at 60+. Not a bad compromise. Maybe not all that flexible or impact resistant but I've used a baton on a lot of D2 blades with no problems.

I guess you lost me on that last statement about not being popular. Bob Dozier has been using it almost exclusively for years. Gene Ingram uses it a lot. Many custom makers here in the US use D2. Ontario knives uses it. Almost the entire line of Queen's knives are D2. And Kabar uses it a lot. It seems pretty popular to me.

 

[Simon E]

Well, the closest and readily (sort of anyway) available steel that has both high wear resistance and toughness (@59Rc) is CPM (Crucible Particle Metal) 3V

The only problem I have found with it, is that it will stain as soon as you look at it and it is reported to pit easily, so you either need to be uber careful about keeping her clean and dry, or put a suitable coating on the blade like Gun-Kote.

Its also very time consuming to heat treat, but this is I think the ultimate blade steel for a Bushcraft knife.

 

[Simon E]

Martyn, I'm not disagreeing with you for the most part. I'm just saying that D2 is a carbon steel and is known for it's performance at 60+. Not a bad compromise. Maybe not all that flexible or impact resistant but I've used a baton on a lot of D2 blades with no problems.

I guess you lost me on that last statement about not being popular. Bob Dozier has been using it almost exclusively for years. Gene Ingram uses it a lot. Many custom makers here in the US use D2. Ontario knives uses it. Almost the entire line of Queen's knives are D2. And Kabar uses it a lot. It seems pretty popular to me.

Not only them, but Benchmade moved over from M2 to D2 citing superior performance. I spoke with one of their Metallurgists at SHOT show in Vegas this year and he said that in all the tests they performed they found D2 to be better. Hmmm thought I, but they must have done it for a reason as the M2 models sell very well.

I have some David Winston and Gene Ingram knives in D2 @ 61.5 (These are tested by Gene on a pro machine at the plant where he works) and have had no issues with them and they do get fiendishly sharp.

Martyn, perhaps you got one with a duff heat treat?

 

[Martyn]

I guess you lost me on that last statement about not being popular. Bob Dozier has been using it almost exclusively for years. Gene Ingram uses it a lot. Many custom makers here in the US use D2. Ontario knives uses it. Almost the entire line of Queen's knives are D2. And Kabar uses it a lot. It seems pretty popular to me.

I didnt say that it didnt get used Terry, just that it wasnt popular and polular is a relative term. Yeah it can be found in the custom market, but D2 has been around for a long time and if it is such a stellar compromise, why isnt everyone using it? Kabar are one of the few commercial companies that do use it, but I would stop well short of "a lot". What they use a "lot" is 1095 carbon and Aus 8A stainless.

If D2 hits the spot, why are the likes of benchmade and spyderco messing around with other steels?

D2 has got it's fans for sure, but I think there are plenty of folks who are failed to be turned on by it. To my mind, I feel it's more like a stainless steel that rusts a bit, than a carbon steel that rusts less. Give me s30v (or even A2) any day. That's just my taste though and I'm sure there are a queue of people who would disagree.

 

[Hoodoo]

Not only them, but Benchmade moved over from M2 to D2 citing superior performance. I spoke with one of their Metallurgists at SHOT show in Vegas this year and he said that in all the tests they performed they found D2 to be better. Hmmm thought I, but they must have done it for a reason as the M2 models sell very well.

I have some David Winston and Gene Ingram knives in D2 @ 61.5 (These are tested by Gene on a pro machine at the plant where he works) and have had no issues with them and they do get fiendishly sharp.

Martyn, perhaps you got one with a duff heat treat?

I forgot about Benchmade. My minigriptilian is 440C but I know they are making them in D2 as well.

 

[Martyn]

Martyn, perhaps you got one with a duff heat treat?

Maybe, I just found it so hard and abraision resistant, I just gave up trying to get an edge on it.

I'm pretty sure if I could be bothered to go all the way, the edge would be ferrocious and would hold for a long time, but I'm in the "little and often" camp of blade maintainance and the erffort required to put an edge on it, turned me off the knife (and off the steel) and I never finished the knife.

 

[Hoodoo]

To my mind, I feel it's more like a stainless steel that rusts a bit, than a carbon steel that rusts less. Give me s30v any day.

Martyn, I'm not promoting D2 over any other steel. My point was that D2 is a carbon tool steel that performs well at high rockwell. That's all I'm saying. Try not to make any more of it than that. As far as popularity, price has to play a role so "popularity" is not necessarily a useful yardstick to measure the quality of a steel. If popularity is your yardstick, then 420J must be one of the greatest steels ever made. It's sells like hotcakes at Wally World.

 

[Hoodoo]

Maybe, I just found it so hard and abraision resistant, I just gave up trying to get an edge on it. I'm pretty sure if I could be bothered to go all the way, the edge would be ferrocious and would hold for a long time, but I'm in the "little and often" camp of blade maintainance and the erffort required to put an edge on it, turned me off the knife (and off the steel).

Martyn, I own over 30 knives with D2. I don't have the least bit of a problem getting an edge on any of them and they hold an edge beautifully.

This one I convexed the edges on the blades in about 2 hours without using a diamond hone. It takes a wonderful edge.

 

[Martyn]

Each to his own mate. The blank I used was from here (hunter utility) and it wasnt cheap.

This is the knife after I had started to make it up...

I never finished it because I was so irritated by the steel.

That was enough for me.

 

[Martyn]

This is soooo going to tun into one of those "steel snob" threads isnt it?

 

[Hoodoo]

This is soooo going to tun into one of those "steel snob" threads isnt it?

Well, S30V is one of my favorite steels...

But this knife is made from an old handsaw and it's one of my favorites. If you are looking for a steel snob, it wouldn't be me...

 

[Martyn]

As far as popularity, price has to play a role so "popularity" is not necessarily a useful yardstick to measure the quality of a steel. If popularity is your yardstick, then 420J must be one of the greatest steels ever made. It's sells like hotcakes at Wally World.

That's a bit of an apples and oranges analogy mate. Damascus in any flavour, is probably both more popular and more expensive that D2, but that's not really a fair analogy either.

 

[Martyn]

Whats Wally World?

 

[Simon E]

Whats Wally World?

Wal Mart

Hoodoo

Lovely penmanship!

mine is bloody excreable!

Cuts like the devil too, just a steeling now and then if I need a shave

 

[Martyn]

You realise of course, I'll probably have to get a Gene Ingram now? I shall hold you entirely responsible Terry.

 

[Martyn]

Those Case knives look cute too.

 

[Simon E]

Those Case knives look cute too.

I have carried this for about 3 years as my EDC. In my stock cupbaord I have multiple thousands of pounds worth of knives and I cant find one in that lot that had the character of this little Case C.V

I should probably be burned at the stake for saying that lol.

 

[Hoodoo]

You realise of course, I'll probably have to get a Gene Ingram now? I shall hold you entirely responsible Terry.

I have three from Gene and none are in D2.

This one is S30V.

This is my latest D2 knife from Queen.

I have lots of Bob Dozier knives though in D2.

 

[Hoodoo]

I have carried this for about 3 years as my EDC. In my stock cupbaord I have multiple thousands of pounds worth of knives and I cant find one in that lot that had the character of this little Case C.V

I should probably be burned at the stake for saying that lol.

Makes sense to me.

 

[addyb]

Martyn,

You're right about Mr. Stamp and his reviews. A lot of them are actually quite good, but like you said they have that stupid pseudo-science aspect to them that really p*sses me off. The Mora 2000 review was interesting because it's edge retention on the cardboard was actually above the carbon variety. Now, seeing as Mora hardens their 12c27 to a slightly lower rating than the carbon, I think Sandvik's wear resistance might have been the determining factor.

That's why I wish our local knife store still sold Frost knives because I would just kill to get my hands on a carbon Mora to see how it stacks up against the stainless version. Reading one person's review is one thing, but getting the results yourself is another matter.

I haven't used carbon steel in years after I stopped using my Opinels and lost my Schrade Old Timers in 1095. (Too bad, I bet they're worth something now that Schrade has closed it's doors) I don't really know how signifigant the difference would be, except that perhaps a carbon Mora wouldn't chip as easily as the stainless.

Adam