Home Forums Gear Knives and Blades S30V vs. D2

Looking at picking up a bird and trout or similar style for frequent use. This will include skinning whitetails and maybe one day an elk as well as pretty light duty on the boat (inshore saltwater).

Which steel would better suit what I am looking to do? (Yes, I really have no clue about either of these steels.)

s30v is typically more stain resistant than d2, so for saltwater use I would use s30v. As far as general chores and game processing, both steels are more than capable.

John

Both have pro's/con's but if you are looking at being around water, either salt or fresh then the S30v is the better choice, keeping in mind that both require some care against rusting.

Both are good choices for tough working knives though.

War Eagle;

Get this one:
http://www.knifecenter.com/kc_new/store_detail.html?s=BU151SS



Buck Mayo Kaala Stainless Steel 6-3/4" S30V Fixed Blade USA made

Description
BU151SS: Mayo Kaala SS

Ultra-smooth, slim profile, fixed-blade knife. This Tom Mayo design is light, fast and agile. It features top quality S30V steel with lightening holes. The sheath is molded nylon with lanyard hole sized for parachute chord. Comes with 30" stainless steel chain.

Category End Use: Tactical
Blade Steel: S30V
Length Overall: 6 3/4" (17.1 cm)
Blade Length: 3 1/8" (7.9 cm)
Blade Shape: Drop point
Blade Thickness: 1/8" (.3 cm)
Weight: 1.9 oz. (54 g)
Handle Material: S30V steel
Carry System: Molded nylon sheath with chain
Knife Type: Fixed-Blade Made in the USA

I have both and can hardly tell the difference. I have it in my head that S30V may hold an edge a little longer and D2 may be a little easier to sharpen, but they are so close that I wouldn't trust that observation. Not much saltwater in KS. Bob Dozier is a master with D2. Some Buck's have S30V treated by Paul Boss, another master. Gene Ingram works with both. I have two of his knives in S30V and a D2 on order. Melvin Dunn from KS was one of the pioneers with D2 tool steel. I have one of his Stag Small Skinners, purchased in his shop for $120 about 20yrs ago. Good luck.

According to Crucible, they have approximately the same toughness and S30V is about twice as wear-resistant.

http://www.crucibleservice.com/datash/dsS30Vv5.pdf?CFID=776323&CFTOKEN=18654335

I have 2 otherwise identical edc knives one in D-2 and the other in S-30V. FWIW they are syderco Military's.

Anyway the D-2 version was severely rust spotted after carrying it for just a couple days, I'd never seen a edc knife rust so quickly. It pitted the blade enough to need sanding to remove it.

I've been carrying the S-30V version for months now with no rust issues.

I don't think that I used the D-2 version any differently than the other Military's I've carried or got it any wetter than I would have normally.

Kinda soured me on D-2, at least on an EDC folder. My Doziers haven't had rust problems yet but they aren't EDC knives. My buddy had a Dozier Folder that he carried EDC and never had such issues I'm still not quite sure why my Spyderco rusted so quickly. I don't necessarily wipe down my knives EVERY single night but I do wipe them down frequently and oil them with Corrosion-X or other premium rust preventative.

I think I'm just going to go with high end stainless steels and not worry so much if my knife is going to rust on me.......................DJ

Interesting, I've never had problems with d2 rusting, except maybe around saltwater. That includes cleaning a deer and putting the bloody, wet knife back into the sheath and not cleaning it until 24 hours later.

That said, if I thought I even might use the knife around saltwater, I'd go s30v, no question.

I have a knife or two in each steel and concur with the consensus that the salt water part of your needs leans toward the CPM S30V.

D-2 has sort of a reputation for not taking a real good edge, and holding it forever.

All carbon-steels will need some maintenance.

If your looking for a factory manufactured marine knife, have you looked into Spyderco's H-1 steels?

(From Spyderco) Spyder's salt-knives
" Carbon is the component in steel that makes the blade hard and allows it to hold an edge. Carbon also reacts to chloride, making rust. With nitrogen replacing the carbon; hardness and edge retention are realized but nitrogen doesn�t react to chloride so it physically cannot rust.

Nitrogen (N)
� Used in place of carbon for the steel matrix. The Nitrogen atom will function in a similar manner to the carbon atom but offers unusual advantages in corrosion resistance."



As for deer and elk, I do not believe that they care anymore, when it comes to field dressing them what steel you use. My choice for field-sharpening is 5160 - 52100 chrome/carbon steels for heavy work. I have not seen a more reliable steel for taking and holding an edge.

"Anyway the D-2 version was severely rust spotted after carrying it for just a couple days, I'd never seen a edc knife rust so quickly. It pitted the blade enough to need sanding to remove it."

D2 can be tempered at about 400 F and still get Rc 58-60. However, it can also be tempered at about 800 F and reach the same hardness. A lot of the other steels, 154 CM, for example are tempered at or near this temperature.

I cannot prove it, nor have I ever tested it, but I have read that with some steels, tempering temperature can affect stain resistance. I don't know if the low temperature tempering is more stain resistant than high temperature tempering, but your blade might have the temperature that does not resist rusting as well as the same steel tempered at a different temperature.

And again, your knife might not be made from D2. I have made several D2 blades and never had a problem with staining, but I don't know how the heat treater tempered them.

1234567 - sure hear you on the wrong steel comment. I was given a piece of "304 stainless" rod by one of our model makers and turned a set of handle pins using carbide. Then decided to mill the handle width down a bit but the high speed cutter was destroyed by the first pin it hit. I had to load in a carbide cutter to finish the job - slabs are a tad narrower than my original plan. My point being, even professionals occasionally mix up their stock.

D2 vs s30V, great question. For me, the blade geometry and heat treat have meant more as far as cutting, sharpening and such go.

I agree that S30V is probably more stain resistant, and seems to take a finer edge than D2. Though a Dozier in D2 is a cutting machine the way that shop makes a knife.

FWIW the D-2 knife that rusted quickly was a Spyderco Military with CPM-D2. I don't know if the CPM version of D-2 has more of a tendency to rust than other flavors of D-2. I have a half dozen Doziers of different flavors that have never seemed to have rusting issues but they are fixed blades that I don't carry in a pocket....................................DJ

If its gonna be around the salt go with the s30v.

D2 will rust. Its not like 1095 or anything but it is not stainless.

BTW I love D2 otherwise

Lots of good information here. I've made many knives out of each and given proper heat treatment don't believe you will be dissatisfied with either. D2 is not a stainless steel but when polished as opposed to just a ground finish almost acts like stainless. I would caution you that it does not stain, it pits. As someone else pointed out, deep enough to require re-grinding at times. CPMS30V is one of my favorites along with CPM3V. Properly heat treated it is much more wear resistant and stain resistant than D2. It also is more impact resistant as I have witnessed through some of my own tests and also reported by Crucible if I'm not mistaken. I haven't ever needed that feature but if you like hitting your knives with hammers it is good to know. Two great steels. In a corrosive environment go
with the S30V, other wise you won't go wrong with either.

That's exactly what I saw with my knife. The Military that pitted had the fine grooves perpendicular to the edge typical of a Spyderco Military blade vs a more polished concave than say on my Doziers. Maybe that's why it pitted so quickly. I convexed the edge and polished it some and so far it hasn't started to rust like it did before and I've been carrying it for a couple weeks now. So maybe you need to make sure your D-2 blades are a little more polished than other steels..................................DJ