I’ve been educating myself a bit on knife steels. It’s really very fascinating. There’s so many combinations of factors. But there’s one you can’t avoid: one factor being stronger is usually a trade-off on weakening another factor.
Blade HQ has an excellent Knife Steel Guide.
PREMIUM: M390, CTS-204P, CPM-20CV, CPM-M4, CPM-S90V, CPM-S110V, Elmax
HIGH-END: CPM-154, CPM-3V, CPM-4V, CPM-S30V, CPM-S35VN, CTS-XHP, LC200N
MID-RANGE: 1095, 154CM, A2, D2, H1, O1, N690, VG-10
BUDGET: 400 Series, AUS-8, CTS-BD1, Sandvik Series, Others
Some people are calling D2 “budget…” but seems that needs to be qualified by the source. Unknown heat treatment D2 from China? Very likely budget. Quality heat treatment German D2? Very likely mid-tier. Curious enough, D2 has been around since WWII.
At this point I have two D2 knives. Both came from China. I don’t know for certain if they’re authentic… And actually, I suspect the sub $20 D2 knife I bought (2.5” blade) might actually be 440C. It holds an edge very well. It “feels” like it takes a few more passes to hone it close to perfection than it does on another knife I have which is 440C. But, that’s all subjective. Given the price I paid, I’m not losing sleep over it.
Btw, on the earlier post I made, the D2 knife I mentioned about not corroding… it has a coating on it. So that may have helped avoid corrosion. I don’t know if there’s a reliable & easy test to prove it, without ruining the blade (e.g. soaking in lemon juice).
Anyway, for light duty EDC, the steel grade isn’t so critical. Any fairly decently forged steel is going to do just fine cutting packages, cardboard, food, etc. Some will require more frequent honing than others. It’s when you get into heavier duty usage that the steel quality becomes a more important factor—you don’t want to skimp.
Of course, cost is always a factor. Some people don’t subscribe to paying a lot more upfront for a knife that will last much longer. It can be more attractive to go for a bargain & hope for the best. Especially when attractively designed. China is certainly trying to aggressively feed that need. While there’s flood of very affordable knives coming from China with slick designs, the one “catch” remains—how good is that steel being claimed? There are more reputable brands emerging like WE, Kizer, Artisan Cutlery, Civivi, TwoSun, etc., that are striving for good reputation and appear to be fairly trustworthy on the steel grades they claim. But then you have these other brands which… while achieving very attractive designs, seem to be doing it at a price point that doesn’t match steel grades being claimed. For instance, I saw one nicely designed folder knife on AliExpress, priced at $68, and claiming M390 steel. But then there’s other knives in the same price range labeled as D2 steel. In fact, that very knife design has a “D2” counterpart at the same price from other sellers. It seems far more likely that “M390” is really mislabeled D2… or possibly 440C. This exemplifies that trust issue.
So bottom line, maybe a really good deal on a suspect D2 knife isn’t all that worthwhile in the end. Better off paying a little more and getting something you can definitely trust.