I am not a knife maker but I am a bit of a materials science geek.

Assuming a straight air-quench and no other heat-treating protocol shenanigans, A2 has relative toughness peaks at HRC values of 60 and 55. Wandering off 60 in either direction results in reduced performance, although 59 is better than 61.

http://www.crucibleservice.com/datash/dsA2v12.pdf?CFID=776323&CFTOKEN=18654335

Personally, I feel that if batoning is in the cards, A2 wins. Just be careful to keep it clean and oiled to avoid staining/pitting/corrosion.

I know you said you didn't want to hear about other steels, but CPM-3V is A2 on steroids. I can't say enough positive about this stuff.

Last edited by rbmcmjr; 01/30/10.
Rick