D2, Stumpy won

[Stumpkiller]

Whew!  I wanted to give a knife in D2 a try, having been an ATS-34/154CM user and hearing good things about D2, and I picked up a Benchmade 201 Activator knife.  It was sharp out-of-the-box, but not to my satisfaction.

Man, the reports that "D2 takes a poor edge and holds it forever" seem to make more sense now.  I about started a fire-by-friction on my alumin-ceramic crock sticks with little progress on the edge.  I went back to a diamond stick to set the angle and then back to the crocks.  Finally, after 1,500 repetitions, I have a smooth edge that pops hair.  

I'm thinking I may have to break down and invest in a Lansky Diamond Sharpener or the like.  My Arkansas benchstones could probably strop a near-finished edge but I'd be forever should I need to get this one back from a nick or edge warp.

 

I'm really liking the Activator so far.  It seems to be a good, general purpose hunting knife.  Passed both the Hormel Pepperoni Test and the Garden Stake Pointing Test swimmingly but I'm afraid any deer work is still months away.

[Ringneck]

D-2 is a fantastic knife steel and is all I use. Glad to hear you won the sharpening war. Diamond stones and D-2 go together very well.

[ron w]

D-2 is good stuff,Made a lot of stuff from it when I was a Toolmaker,dies,tools and other goodies!It will hold an edge once you get there!

[Philthy]

D2 is a great, tough steel.  And Snody makes a great knife.

[Otto]

I have a half a dozen or so Bob Doziers, the man who brought D2 to the knife world.  D2 is fantastic.  Once you figure out how to sharpen it, it stays sharp longer than any other knife steel I've seen, including ATS34, CPM 154 and all the other fancy powdered steel stuff that some knifemakers have fallen in love with lately.

If D2 didn't exist, then A2 is my next choice.

[MTArrowLauncher]

Glad to hear D2 is so good, that's what my custom hunter style is being made out of

Fin