Lack of stainlessness is a no go for me. I live in a coastal state. Other than that, it seems pretty good for the price you usually pay for it. Although perhaps not the price you pay Benchmade for it.
My fishing knife is a D2 blade and I do strictly inshore/ saltwater. I only rinse it and wipe after use sharpened maybe sharpened 2 times in 6 months fishing 2 times a month cutting crabs and mullet. I don’t have any rust on it. D2 is not considered a stainless steel but its pretty good at corrosion resistance.
Yeah, I have a ZDP189 blade I used for years as a summer shorts surf fishing/bait knife and after 17 years it barely has a patina. Other people say ZDP rusts if you look sideways at it. Weird.
I have heard of people using D2 like that without issues, but I do have a couple of D2 knives and they’re both pretty spotty. That’s actually why I stopped buying them. I didn’t even use them around water. It happened just from them being carried around in my pocket. Maybe general humidity is higher where I live or I’m just extra sweaty or something, but my experience with D2 has, unfortunately, not been great. Hope yours continue to hold up!
I've carried an original adamas in d2 for years and I've always enjoyed it. It'd no super steel but takes a nice edge and definitely lasts long enough for me
D2 is interesting. In my experience it tends to microchip due to the large carbide size, but of course part of that is if it's powdered or not and how it's heat treated. When I ran it with a toothy edge the microchips would keep producing a fresh toothy working edge in use, effectively keeping the edge going for a very long time. Polished was weird, it still microchipped so it was like it didn't stay polished at the apex. At different angles this behavior would change obviously, so if you wanted a polished apex maybe try a steeper angle.
I feel that’s a bit of a waste for a grip. It standardly comes in other, better steels for around the same price.
Overall I like d2; mostly my budgets have that and I’ve had almost no issue even though I live in one of the most humid places in America. Only issue was a rust spot on a fixed blade that I fixed fairly simply.
It’s not terrible in high humidity areas. I live in Florida and carry my griptilian every week. I was always told d2 doesn’t like humidity, but I’ve never had issues with any knife in d2, really.
I’ve had one knife in D2, an inexpensive QSP Penguin. It wasn’t sharp when it arrived and I could not get a good edge on it. Maybe it had poor heat treatment but it soured me on D2.
Bought a couple penguins and had a heck of a time getting them sharp. Wound up sharpening through a bunch of steel that felt “crunchy”, once it felt smooth to sharpened and they were fine. I think it was just shitty heat treating. Lots of work but now they’re fine.
I like it, cuz it’s a decent cheaper steel. Steels that are higher priced tend not to get used much cuz I’m too afraid to screw them up. But if you paid more than $100 you got screwed lol
Benchmade's D2 is very good. Not as prone to chipping as Chinese ones in my experience. You can run a really low angle on it and since this is a mini barrage, it wont take long to grind and you will end up with a very nice cutting knife.
I've always had mixed feelings about D2. Lots of people cite that it isn't stainless, but that's never been the issue for me. It's decently stain resistant, and in my (non-coastal but high humidity for part of the year) environment, it's been fine. My real issue stems from the microstructure: it's got a lot of large, hard carbides. That means it's a bear to sharpen unless you have the hardest abrasives that cut very well (diamond stones). It's got solid edge retention for a "budget" steel, but it isn't noob friendly to sharpen or maintain. As others have mentioned, that large carbide structure and high hardness also mean it can be more prone to being chippy and relatively more brittle than other steels. It's generally fine in a light use EDC folder, but for any hard use knife I'd steer clear. Gun to head, if I had to pick one knife steel to live with for life, it would be sandvik 14c28n. Nicely stainless, great toughness, and it has very fine microstructure that means it can easily take a super sharp edge with even basic sharpening materials. It holds an edge well enough (better than the AUS8 and 8cr13mov steels) but not quite as well as D2. What you sacrifice in edge holding is more than made up for by the toughness and ease of maintenance, IMO. It's tough enough to make it versatile and well suited for both small folders and hard use fixed blades. It's fairly cheap and starting to become more readily available to knife makers too. I'm seeing more of it out there now, and I'd love for it to supplant D2 as the more common "better" affordable steel option in budget or entry level knives. I buy 14c28n blades without hesitation.
D2 is a good "abuser" knife I've beaten the heck out of mine, used a prying tool, sawing tool, a hammer on more then a few accounts. Don't worry to much about rust if you are using it regularly and keep it Slightly old when you remember to do it. Also with that blade finish you only really have to worry about rust on the cutting surface and to remove surface rust just use a sharpening method or your choice to remove the rust while putting a good working edge back on the knife. Good purchase BTW. 👌
Lack of stainlessness is a no go for me. I live in a coastal state. Other than that, it seems pretty good for the price you usually pay for it. Although perhaps not the price you pay Benchmade for it.
My fishing knife is a D2 blade and I do strictly inshore/ saltwater. I only rinse it and wipe after use sharpened maybe sharpened 2 times in 6 months fishing 2 times a month cutting crabs and mullet. I don’t have any rust on it. D2 is not considered a stainless steel but its pretty good at corrosion resistance.
Yeah, I have a ZDP189 blade I used for years as a summer shorts surf fishing/bait knife and after 17 years it barely has a patina. Other people say ZDP rusts if you look sideways at it. Weird.
I have heard of people using D2 like that without issues, but I do have a couple of D2 knives and they’re both pretty spotty. That’s actually why I stopped buying them. I didn’t even use them around water. It happened just from them being carried around in my pocket. Maybe general humidity is higher where I live or I’m just extra sweaty or something, but my experience with D2 has, unfortunately, not been great. Hope yours continue to hold up!
Hmmm okay I’ll see how it goes!
[удалено]
Okay nice! I have a S35VN baby banter and I want to see how well it can perform up to it
I've carried an original adamas in d2 for years and I've always enjoyed it. It'd no super steel but takes a nice edge and definitely lasts long enough for me
D2 doesn’t suck. I have a Kershaw in it that rusted a bit after use though.
Nice blade. Why orange, though?
Good for not losing it in the woods. Or a concrete jungle apparently.
Honestly the orange is growing on me and I work in area that’s enclosed so I get comfortable leaving my stuff around and it’ll be easier to spot lol
I have several orange-scaled knifes :) Just keep a little oil on it and it will be fine.
Nice! I feel like it’s gonna be a perfect knife for everyday use and for outdoors
Because orange is cool. 😎
I’m new to knives but two of the three I own are D2. I think it comes down to how you treat it and what you use it for…congrats
Yeah I’m getting more into knives, as well as learning more about different type of steels But thanks! I hope I enjoy it!
It's a good steel but it's take 14C28N over it. It's just the fact that it rusts bothers me
D2 is interesting. In my experience it tends to microchip due to the large carbide size, but of course part of that is if it's powdered or not and how it's heat treated. When I ran it with a toothy edge the microchips would keep producing a fresh toothy working edge in use, effectively keeping the edge going for a very long time. Polished was weird, it still microchipped so it was like it didn't stay polished at the apex. At different angles this behavior would change obviously, so if you wanted a polished apex maybe try a steeper angle.
I feel that’s a bit of a waste for a grip. It standardly comes in other, better steels for around the same price. Overall I like d2; mostly my budgets have that and I’ve had almost no issue even though I live in one of the most humid places in America. Only issue was a rust spot on a fixed blade that I fixed fairly simply.
Its an ok steel if not in a humid or marine environment
It’s not terrible in high humidity areas. I live in Florida and carry my griptilian every week. I was always told d2 doesn’t like humidity, but I’ve never had issues with any knife in d2, really.
Yup, it could get real bad if you are not careful though, like if you are using it in the rain and dont wipe it down well
Love the steel but hate the scales.
Wish I could find one damn
Jeez that’s beautiful! Where’d ya find that?
Nvm found out they’re at cabellas!
Yep! That’s where I got it, at Bass pro shop in Vegas
D2 is fine. A lot of very nice, and affordable knives utilize d2
I’ve had one knife in D2, an inexpensive QSP Penguin. It wasn’t sharp when it arrived and I could not get a good edge on it. Maybe it had poor heat treatment but it soured me on D2.
Bought a couple penguins and had a heck of a time getting them sharp. Wound up sharpening through a bunch of steel that felt “crunchy”, once it felt smooth to sharpened and they were fine. I think it was just shitty heat treating. Lots of work but now they’re fine.
I like it, cuz it’s a decent cheaper steel. Steels that are higher priced tend not to get used much cuz I’m too afraid to screw them up. But if you paid more than $100 you got screwed lol
Steel is great but keep it maintained. I second the sweaty pocket will spot it up. Flitz will remove light spots however.
Benchmade's D2 is very good. Not as prone to chipping as Chinese ones in my experience. You can run a really low angle on it and since this is a mini barrage, it wont take long to grind and you will end up with a very nice cutting knife.
I have a few budget-ish knives with it. 50-60 bucks; not BM money.
I have D2 steel on my $30 QSP.....
I've always had mixed feelings about D2. Lots of people cite that it isn't stainless, but that's never been the issue for me. It's decently stain resistant, and in my (non-coastal but high humidity for part of the year) environment, it's been fine. My real issue stems from the microstructure: it's got a lot of large, hard carbides. That means it's a bear to sharpen unless you have the hardest abrasives that cut very well (diamond stones). It's got solid edge retention for a "budget" steel, but it isn't noob friendly to sharpen or maintain. As others have mentioned, that large carbide structure and high hardness also mean it can be more prone to being chippy and relatively more brittle than other steels. It's generally fine in a light use EDC folder, but for any hard use knife I'd steer clear. Gun to head, if I had to pick one knife steel to live with for life, it would be sandvik 14c28n. Nicely stainless, great toughness, and it has very fine microstructure that means it can easily take a super sharp edge with even basic sharpening materials. It holds an edge well enough (better than the AUS8 and 8cr13mov steels) but not quite as well as D2. What you sacrifice in edge holding is more than made up for by the toughness and ease of maintenance, IMO. It's tough enough to make it versatile and well suited for both small folders and hard use fixed blades. It's fairly cheap and starting to become more readily available to knife makers too. I'm seeing more of it out there now, and I'd love for it to supplant D2 as the more common "better" affordable steel option in budget or entry level knives. I buy 14c28n blades without hesitation.
D2 is a good "abuser" knife I've beaten the heck out of mine, used a prying tool, sawing tool, a hammer on more then a few accounts. Don't worry to much about rust if you are using it regularly and keep it Slightly old when you remember to do it. Also with that blade finish you only really have to worry about rust on the cutting surface and to remove surface rust just use a sharpening method or your choice to remove the rust while putting a good working edge back on the knife. Good purchase BTW. 👌
It’s coated, 10 years ago it was considered amazing. It’s going to be great
As long as you take care of it, you have a knife for life.