Sharpening D2

[Rob W.]

I sharpen all my broadheads and knives on a wheelie sharpener. I dont know what I did before I got one but it wasen't pretty. Anyway, I have a knife made out of D2 steel on the way. I have heard it can be hard to sharpen. Anybody use a wheelie on a D2 knife or broadhead?

[robtattoo]

NNNOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!

The Rada sharpeners are fine for cheap, soft broadhead steel.
If you try & sharpen a good quality D2 knife with a wheelie sharpener, I'll personally drive to your house & slap you  

D2 is no hrder to sharpen than any other steel. The myth has arisen because D2, even when lazer sharp, doesn't feel sharp.
Sharpen it exactly as you would any other knife. Slow & light pressure & use a good quality stone, or a KME.

[mrjsl]

I have a couple knives that are D2. I use DMT diamond stones with water for every kind of sharpening, and I have not found the D2 to be any worse than many of the others. S30V takes a little time. Even Case CV carbon takes some time if the initial angles require a lot of grinding down. Once I get the angle I like, D2 doesn't seem that bad to me.

[JV Rooster]

I have a knife made of D2 and I have a hard time getting it sharp. Maby i just dont know what i am doing.

[Tom]

I have two made of D2 and use a diamond stick but touch ups are few and far between. A wheel would take some of the temper out, methinks. Ringneck is the one to talk to as that is all he uses. He will be on this one soon I'm sure.

[Karl Kortemeier]

I sharpen my knives with water stones.  I have 2 d2 knives.  One I can sharpen as easily as any of my other carbon steel knives.  The other, I find difficult, if not impossible, to get a good edge.  The easily sharpened knife is from a small maker.  The other is more "mass" produced.  I suspect the differance is in the hardening process.  I am no expert, but from what I understand the hardening of the knife steel is as important as the type of steel used.  I suspect that the hard to sharpen d2 has not been hardened correctly?    

Any thoughts from the more experienced folks?

[Sharpster]

Originally posted by robtattoo:
NNNOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!

The Rada sharpeners are fine for cheap, soft broadhead steel.
If you try & sharpen a good quality D2 knife with a wheelie sharpener, I'll personally drive to your house & slap you    

D2 is no hrder to sharpen than any other steel. The myth has arisen because D2, even when lazer sharp, doesn't feel sharp.

Sharpen it exactly as you would any other knife. Slow & light pressure & use a good quality stone, or a KME.

 Dang Rob, you made me spray a mouthful of coffe all over my desk and keyboard!!

Rob is right though, D2 or S30V or any other super-steel shouldn't be any more difficult to sharpen than any other knife. It's just that you're stone progression choice might be different. I'm not a big fan of diamond stones unless I'm working a very dull or very hard steel blade. On any blade that's 60+ Rockwell, I'll start with a coarse diamond to quickly set the bevels and create a cutting edge but, once that's been acomplished, I finish up with ceramics and Arkansas stones like any other knife. Using the coarse diamond and staying with it till the edge is sharp is a real time saver at that first, most critical stage of sharpening.

Ron

[mrjsl]

Originally posted by Sharpster:
Using the coarse diamond and staying with it till the edge is sharp is a real time saver at that first, most critical stage of sharpening.

Amen. this is the only part of sharpening a knife that tries my patience. If the geometry of the edge is way off, or the geometry of the blade makes the knife tricky to pass across the stone, this first step can take forever. This step is also where you need a loupe magnifier to check your progress and makes sure you get down to the edge.

[Sharpster]

Originally posted by Limbbaconeer:
I sharpen my knives with water stones.  I have 2 d2 knives.  One I can sharpen as easily as any of my other carbon steel knives.  The other, I find difficult, if not impossible, to get a good edge.  The easily sharpened knife is from a small maker.  The other is more "mass" produced.  I suspect the differance is in the hardening process.  I am no expert, but from what I understand the hardening of the knife steel is as important as the type of steel used.  I suspect that the hard to sharpen d2 has not been hardened correctly?        

Any thoughts from the more experienced folks?

Yes, heat treating and tempering are both very important regardless of the steel being used. I'll let someone more knowlegable than me provide us with the details but, generally a given type of steel can be made very hard or relatively soft depending on the makers desired outcome. I don't think either of your D2 blades were tempered "incorrectly"... just differently.

Ron

[Rob W.]

I have a similar knife in 440c that I use the wheelie on with good results. My sharpening ability leaves a lot to be desired with anything else. I just dont want to mess up a new knife.

[Bob Stager]

I have one knife made with D2 steel and I have no problem sharpening it with a KME sharpener.  Bob

[Kentucky Jeff]

Sharpening devices like the wheelie things will create a large overgrind in a knife blade over time and make it useless.  

For broadheads--who cares they are cheap and mostly disposable/consumable.  But of course I can easily get a broadhead much sharper than a wheelie tool any day of the week.  Not bragging.  Just the truth.

There really is no substitute for a good set of waterstones and a leather strop.  I also use a felt block to deburr between stones.  If you haven't been able to learn to sharpen tools using waterstones before I suggest you invest in a good sharpening video--you can see parts of Murray Carter's video on Youtube.  He sharpens a knife well enough to shave with nothing more than a concrete block and a piece of cardboard. Its the technique that matters.  

You need to learn to maintain consistent angles.  If you can't do that you can try convex sharpening with a mousepad and some commonly available sandpaper.  Again, plenty of videos on Youtube.  Its easy but the technique requires a soft touch as too many newbies push down too hard on the sandpaper.

Lastly, you can invest in a machine like an Edgepro.  I have one for some of my higher angle edge hunting knives and most any moron can put an edge on any blade with an edge pro.  Again, instructional video can be found on Youtube.  

My first preference is always waterstones.  But sometimes I convex and edge or use the edgepro.  Since I started relief carving and metal engraving on  longrifles I found I simply had to learn how to properly sharpen and strop tools and knives.  There is no easy way to learn how to do it but there are wrong ways and right ways and most people try to go WAY too fast when they first start sharpening.   Work on being consistent--maintain your angles--SLOWLY at first.  Like anything you will gain speed with experience.  Make the investment of time and proper tools and you will be glad you did.

I will tell you up front that until you have successfully sharpened maybe 30 knives you won't feel good about your work...and I almost guarantee you can find 30 knives or cutting tools in your house!

[Rob W.]

You guys are killing me. Robtattoo, you can drive up here and slap me if you show me how to sharpen afterward. I will look into some of the sharpening tip threads and see what I can learn. Honestly thats the only reason I don't shoot three blade heads either. I will say though that I got my rada sharpener as part of a wedding present about 10 yrs. ago and have seen no over grind effects on any of my knives. They all will shave when I'm done.

[Dave Paradowski]

I have thirteen Dozier knives { I collect them }made from D2 tool steel. I use ceramic rods to keep them sharp. They don't need to be sharpened very often if you use them the way they're made to be used. I have field dressed three deer with one and I can still shave arm hair with it.
DaveP

[MD]

I agree with what many here have stated about D2. I personally don't use diamond on anything but abused blades. Just get a good spectrum of man-made stones natural or ceramic up to 6000 or I like to finish will 8000 grit. Your knives and broad heads will get sharp and you can do it when just relaxing so time required is not an issue.

[NoCams]

Rob...... three little letters for ya and your sharpening problems are over..... KME !

[Ringneck]

D-2 is my steel of choice for my custom knives. Avoid the carbide pull sharpeners on knives as there are much better methods. I recommend ceramic crock sticks for touch ups and carry a fine diamond stick by Jewel Stik in my pack. The KME knife sharpener would be very nice as well. The diamonds set the edge fast. High rockwell is the only thing that makes  knives harder to sharpen. But the higher rockwell blades when properly heat treated will keep on cutting. One of my knives dressed 4 deer last season without sharpening. D-2 is an awesome steel but a complex one. Not all D-2 blades are created equal.

[Gen273]

There is some very good info in this thread!

[Rusty in Fla.]

Many years ago I bought a set of Spyderco tri angle stones at a wood working show. They will sharpen anything from pinking shears to broadheads.

[TaterHill Archer]

Originally posted by Kentucky Jeff:
Sharpening devices like the wheelie things will create a large overgrind in a knife blade over time and make it useless.  

For broadheads--who cares they are cheap and mostly disposable/consumable.  But of course I can easily get a broadhead much sharper than a wheelie tool any day of the week.  Not bragging.  Just the truth.

There really is no substitute for a good set of waterstones and a leather strop.  I also use a felt block to deburr between stones.  If you haven't been able to learn to sharpen tools using waterstones before I suggest you invest in a good sharpening video--you can see parts of Murray Carter's video on Youtube.  He sharpens a knife well enough to shave with nothing more than a concrete block and a piece of cardboard. Its the technique that matters.  

You need to learn to maintain consistent angles.  If you can't do that you can try convex sharpening with a mousepad and some commonly available sandpaper.  Again, plenty of videos on Youtube.  Its easy but the technique requires a soft touch as too many newbies push down too hard on the sandpaper.

Lastly, you can invest in a machine like an Edgepro.  I have one for some of my higher angle edge hunting knives and most any moron can put an edge on any blade with an edge pro.  Again, instructional video can be found on Youtube.  

My first preference is always waterstones.  But sometimes I convex and edge or use the edgepro.  Since I started relief carving and metal engraving on  longrifles I found I simply had to learn how to properly sharpen and strop tools and knives.  There is no easy way to learn how to do it but there are wrong ways and right ways and most people try to go WAY too fast when they first start sharpening.   Work on being consistent--maintain your angles--SLOWLY at first.  Like anything you will gain speed with experience.  Make the investment of time and proper tools and you will be glad you did.

I will tell you up front that until you have successfully sharpened maybe 30 knives you won't feel good about your work...and I almost guarantee you can find 30 knives or cutting tools in your house!

Agree on Murray Carter's technique with water stones.  If you haven't tried it, I highly recommend it.  I've used wheels on a grinder and a belt sander for years to sharpen things.  I now use the belt sander to get the angle I want and then the waterstones and strop with newspaper over the stones like Murray for touch ups.  Works great.