[Jason Cutter]

Thanks heaps, Brett & George,
I guess it confirms my feelings. D-2 is top notch material. I still tend to ascribe to the general hard = brittle idea. I do all my own differential heat treat on carbon steel - O-1, 1095, 1084, L6 but I send my high alloy steels to a professional firm locally who are well-known for their affiliation with knifemakers. They will set up their oven just to do your one knife at no extra cost ! For some reason, the local standard for non-knife use of D-2 is 58-59HRC but they are more than happy to temper to 60-61HRC.

For those in Australia / New Zealand, I strongly suggest Hills Heat Treatment in Bayswater, Victoria 3152, Australia (03-97626233) for professional heat treatment. The folks there are experienced and thoroughly knowledgeable about knives. You just can't surprise them. They handle everything from straight carbon steel to particulate metallurgy steels and will happily accommodate your specific needs at very reasonably cost.

I'll make up the "bigger" knife in D-2 and use my standard 20-degree semi-convexed edge on it. From all the feedback so far, that should have no troubles with durability. If there are any problems I'll let you know, but it all looks good to start.

Thanks again.