[Karl Knisley]

Hello
i`ve seen some short swords on Ebay made from D2 tool steel (full tang). Would these be good swords?

Thanks in advance

[Jared Smith]

http://www.knivesillustrated.com/does-d2-tool...ood-knife/

The above link is not specific to swords, but likely relevant. D2 may be tricky to achieve the combination of springy flex and toughness we tend to look for in swords. I would guess its not impossible though. I have some custom steak knives made from D2 which are pretty nice, but have never heard of it being used for any large blades with flex.

[Kevin Coleman M.]

My understanding has always been that the type of steel doesn't actually matter if the blade is not properly heat treated. I wonder if those swords are made of d2 tool steel just to throw out a name that sounds attractive.

[Luka Borscak]

I have a dane axe with a welded on D2 edge and it works great. But I have also heard it's not the easiest steel to heat treat to a desired combination of toughness and hardness.

[Jared Smith]

I can understand it making a good axe bit, as the cutting edge can be very hard in relation to the ductile body (was recommended for machette..) D2 is air hardening, and hardens very easily. For small knives, a blast of compressed air from a shop system hose can be all that is needed for a very hard and rigid knife. My thoughts were that it would have to be very slowly cooled if heated, and possibly might be ok if it were just ground cold as annealed... It would take a great deal of experimentation.

[Herbert Schmidt]

I have a sword made from D2 and it works great, did a lot of test cutting with it.
I am very pleased with it.
Although it is a katana type blade, so there is almost no flexibility.

[Daniel Wallace]

D2, tuff. tuff! tuff stuff!

normally, D2 is a steel used where you would expect a lot of wear and tear. machined parts I guess would be a good example.

in knife making, it is excellent in my opinion, I've have a pocket knife of d2 that has lasted the test of may years, the edge holds far longer than other alloys, and is truly a tool making alloy. draw back is that it does eat my stones when honing it.

I also am thinking of having an axe made with the bit of d2 just because I like its toughness factor. I'd think you'd want to keep d2 use to a minimum in making blades due to its cost vs spring steels. a spring steel sword costing $500 may cost $1000 out of d2. its over kill like making a letter opener out of S7.

if you compare it to spring steel, it is rates higher on the Rockwell scale, but tensile strength is what you would be looking for in flex strengths and I don't know of a scale to measure that. if anything it may resist flex.

[Jeffrey Faulk]

As I have said elsewhere:

Type of steel only matters a little bit. What's more important is who is making it and their skill and familiarity with the craft. A good craftsman can turn out good product even with mediocre supplies, or he/she will tell you they can't do it.