I was going to put this into a new thread but there's an opportunity for a rant in this one, so here goes:
All of this nonsense about this steel is better than that steel is just that; nonsense. Ironically it is often mentioned by those who have never even made a knife or used various knives of different shape/grind in various grades of steel at various hardnesses to thoroughly evaluate and accurately record what they can and cannot do in relation to one another.
All things being equal some testing in America recently highlighted that S30V was, in general, about 15% (ish) better than plain old CPM154CM.
Similar testing suggested that there was hardly any noticeable difference between RWL34 and other mainstream stainless - the claims made that RWL34 is X times tougher than other stainless steels still makes it less than half as tough as the simplest common or garden carbon steel, but you aren't told that because it would undermine the argument for the latest supersteel...
The knife world is a lot more heavily influenced by fashion, fad and marketing than it ought to be.
I could make a knife out of 12C27, 154CM, CPM154CM, S30V, RWL34 and so on and about the only discernible difference to the end user might be detected in sharpening.
12C27 bites differently than the others on abrasives and only someone who is very, very familiar with this will ever notice it.
Similarly D2 and, to a lesser extent, O1 can sometimes be picked out by someone who knows what they are looking for WHILE SHARPENING but in actual use I doubt that there is a knife user on the planet who could tell you what their blade was made from just by using it.
I get a lot of people asking me which stainless they should be using. If you like spending hours finishing a knife then choose S30V (lots of elbow grease required after heat treating) which your client is unlikely to be interested in paying you for...
From the commonly available stainless steels, if you want good edge performance, a very high finish and a seriously tough blade you only have one option available and that is 12C27.
The real kicker here is that people look down their noses at it for some daft reason that they must know of that I don't.
No other stainless is as tough - a few of them offer a more edge retention but nothing that is stainless and that makes a good knife is as tough as 12C27. It is also a pleasure to work with, but everyone is sold down the current trend for RWL34 without the foggiest clue as to why.
A2 offers about 15% more over O1 at the cutting edge on a good day (again, all things being equal) but if you alter the edge geometry just a shade or drop the hardness by a point on either of them the story is very different.
And so, this leads me kicking and screaming onto the broadbrush conclusion which is this: heat treating makes the single biggest difference to a performance blade, closely followed by edge geometry.
Everything else is (almost) incidental and although other parts of the puzzle can have an impact the above forms the core of what makes or breaks the finished article.
Fact: at RC60 and over any steel is more liable to chipping if you put it to hard use.
Fact: the very best of the 'supersteels' is less than half as tough as the simplest of the carbon steels.
Fact: maybe a handful of people on the planet stand the vaguest chance of identifying any given steel by simply using the knife it is made from.
Fact: theory, steel alloying element content percentages and number crunching has absolutely bugger all to do with producing a good knife.
Fact: a Scandi grind is the weakest at the edge (or at least in the bottom two)
Fact: O1 is readily available, relatively easy to machine and low in cost. If anyone wants to twist that this (or any other) O1 knife is too expensive, how much more do they think it might cost if it had to be machined from D2 ?
Fact: sellers will sell at what they think the market will handle.
All companies are in business to make money - they aren't your friend, they aren't trying to do you a favour and in today's economy they certainly aren't out there to give you value for money. They are in the business of maximising their return on investment and the goal is to make a product for the lowest overall cost that can be sold in numbers at the highest margin they think the market can stand.
I fervently wish folks would stop banging on about "I would prefer steel X because..." and similar.
If I was only allowed to use two steels for the rest of my days they would be A2 and 12C27 but, hey, what do I know ?
For everyone who reckons D2 is a poor cousin go and tell Bob Dozier that he's using the wrong stuff...
The problem with D2 is the user, not the steel. Most folks just aren't equipped with the kit or the knowledge to get the best from it so that gets it (often unfairly) branded as a bad choice.
For the record I really like the design and especially the grip shape of the Spyderco Bushcrafter - it's very tactile in use and highly practical.
I think the sheath sucks though.
To recap - heat treating is everything, edge geometry/thickness of blade is next in line, and nobody I know (myself included) could tell 10 knives from 10 steels apart in real world use until they come to sharpen them.
I'll get my coat...
but needs a pencil holder too 
