knowledge is power

[James T Thomas]

I have been admiring Bob Dozier's D2 -steel knives for awhile now, and the only reason that I have not purchased one yet, or others with similar blade hardness, is that I am unsure whether I could reasonably touch up their edge in the field with just a small whetstone.

My current knives have approximate Rc 58, and they can be given a renewed edge with very little effort.

Speaking of this, I had noticed while browsing a knife by Randall that had a blade hardness of Rc 55-56, which on the face of it seems that it would need resharpening after skinning one rabbit.

Are knives with blade steel of Rc 60 or more too difficult to easily resharpen under "field" conditions?

Are knives with blade steel of Rc 56 or less too soft to maintain an edge for even a small amount of cutting?

 

[ecos]

you can always buy a diamond hone that will sharpen any hardness steel...ive used my $15 diamondhone on knives with a rockwell in mid 60's(blades that i cracked in the water quench, was too lazy to temper and use as shop knives) with no probs.

i prefer my knives right about rockwell 60. to me the type of steel makes sharpening more difficult than the rc of the knife...for example 1095 steel at 60rc sharpens easily but a stainless like ats34 at 60rc is more of a pain..but either can be done with diamond

56rc is getting pretty soft....i assume it was a large knife intended for chopping? in that case some makers go for a lower rc to reduce the chance of breaking it...but i wouldnt go that soft on a 4" hunting knife. it will still cut but you will of course have to touch it up more often.

 

[Kingcreek]

life is full of compromise
Good steel with a proper temper will hold an edge pretty well and sharpen without undue effort.
I really like D2 and have used Bob Doziers blades as well as some MadPoet customs (made by Mell Sorg Jr.) heat-treated by Paul Bos. I carry a medium Dozier folding hunter. I have no problem touching them up when they need it with just a small stone or my sharpmaker. I have never felt the need to stop in the middle of skinning or quartering a deer or elk in the field to sharpen a blade. When butchering I will, but by then it is convenient and a welcome break.
My high-carbon Roselli is softer, takes a wicked sharp edge very easily, but needs a touch of the stone more often.
Bob Dozier has been using D2 for a long time and he does it very well.

 

[hso]

The D2 blades from Dozier are some of the most perfect knives you can purchase. You won't find any performance problems.

Sharpening may take a little time with a standard hard stone, but it won't be 2X as difficult as what you're used to.

 

[middy]

"Field" sharpenability is overrated. I'd rather have an edge that stays sharp longer, which means as hard as possible without becoming brittle.