What we carry in D2 Tool Steel and VG-10
VG-10 and D2 both rate very good for edge retention, so on Böker Plus folders the choice turns on rust and toughness. Takefu's VG-10, a true stainless, rates very good for corrosion and good for toughness, which suits a knife that gets wet. D2, a semi-stainless tool steel, rates moderate for toughness and stains with neglect: the lower-tier pick for a knife kept dry.
| D2 Tool Steel | VG-10 |
|---|---|
| Type | |
| tool steel (semi-stainless / air-hardening) | stainless |
| Made by | |
| Generic AISI grade; produced by many mills. Bohler's proprietary equivalent is K110 (see k110 entry). | Takefu Special Steel (Japan) |
| Composition | |
C 1.4-1.6%Cr 11-13%Mo 0.7-1.0%V ~1.0% (or less, mill-dependent) | C ~1.0%Cr ~15%Mo ~1.0%V ~0.2%Co ~1.5% |
| Hardness | |
| 58-62 (up to ~64 with cryo treatment) HRC | 60-62 HRC |
| Edge retention | |
| Very good to excellent for its price tier; high carbide volume gives strong wear resistance. | Very good, a long-standing benchmark premium Japanese stainless, especially in kitchen cutlery. |
| Toughness | |
| Moderate, more brittle than tougher stainless like 14C28N or MagnaCut; can chip on hard use if ground thin. | Good, though can be a bit more brittle than tougher modern stainless at the high end of its HRC range. |
| Corrosion resistance | |
| Only ~12% chromium and most of it tied up in carbides, so D2 is often called 'semi-stainless', it resists light rust better than true carbon steel but will still stain/spot with neglect, unlike 420HC or VG-10. | Very good. |
| Where it sits | |
| Upper-budget to mid-tier workhorse; long-standing favorite for fixed blades and hard-use folders where cost matters. | Upper-mid to premium tier; iconic in Japanese kitchen knives, also used in Western folders. |
| On this site right now | |
| 160 listings, 106 distinct models, $10.49 to $217.43 | 11 listings, 8 distinct models, $98.96 to $242.10 |
The Böker Plus Kwaiken Air Linerlock in VG-10 and the Böker Plus Takara Linerlock in D2 put this choice into a pair of knives built on the same kind of frame. Both listings give a linerlock, a black G10 handle and a pocket clip. They part on size, finish and steel: the Kwaiken Air has a 3.5 inch black finish VG-10 blade and closes to 4.5 inches, while the Takara has a 3 inch satin finish D2 blade and a 4 inch closed length. The Kwaiken Air also costs more than the Takara.
What the pairing does not settle is edge life. D2 is rated very good to excellent for its price tier on edge retention, and VG-10 is rated very good, its record calling it a long-standing benchmark premium Japanese stainless. Neither rating says one edge outlasts the other, so a buyer weighing the Kwaiken Air against the Takara is not choosing a longer edge. The real choice is a true stainless against a semi-stainless tool steel, and a good toughness rating against a moderate one, plus the size difference.
The Böker Plus knives page shows the line beyond these two steels. Within them, the listings named here spread each steel across different knives. In VG-10 there is the Kwaiken Air Mini Linerlock, a smaller black G10 linerlock with a 3.13 inch satin blade, and lockbacks in the Petite Urban Trapper Lockback, with a 2.75 inch satin blade on black G10, and the Frelon Lockback, with a 3.25 inch clip point blade, also on black G10.
In D2 the named listings include a fixed blade as well as folders. The Böker Plus Bend is a linerlock with a 2.63 inch black finish blade and a GFN handle. The Böker Plus Cox Pro Framelock pairs a 2.63 inch satin blade with a cocobolo handle over a stainless back. The Böker Plus Lofos, a fixed blade, runs 5.75 inches overall with a 2.38 inch satin blade, a full tang and a black Kydex belt sheath. The Bend and the Cox Pro each cost less than the Petite Urban Trapper, which fits D2's lower tier, and the D2 tool steel knife guide picks folders and fixed blades for a reader set on D2.
So choosing a steel here also narrows the knife. Among the listings named on this page, VG-10 brings the Kwaiken Air models and the lockbacks, and D2 brings the Takara, the compact Bend and Cox Pro, and the sheathed Lofos.
Corrosion is the clearest split, and the record for D2 tool steel draws it itself. D2 carries about 12 percent chromium, most of it tied up in carbides, which is why it is often called semi-stainless. The record says D2 resists light rust better than true carbon steel but will still stain or spot with neglect, and it names VG-10 as a steel that does not. VG-10 is a true stainless with about 15 percent chromium and a very good corrosion rating. A D2 blade wants wiping dry after sweat, rain or wet work; a VG-10 blade leaves more room for a missed wipe. The same wet or dry question, with D2 set against 8Cr13MoV instead, is the subject of D2 vs 8Cr13MoV.
Toughness splits the same way. VG-10 is rated good and D2 moderate, and each record adds a warning. D2's says it can chip on hard use if ground thin. VG-10's says it can be a bit more brittle than tougher modern stainless at the high end of its hardness range, a narrow 60 to 62 HRC. D2's published window is wider, 58 to 62, with up to about 64 after cryo treatment. One more line differs on paper: VG-10's composition includes about 1.5 percent cobalt, and D2's lists none. Neither record says what the cobalt does, so this page will not guess.
That sorts the Böker Plus choice by where the knife will live. A folder that will see sweat, weather or wet hands, or harder cutting where a chipped edge is the worry, belongs on the VG-10 side. A folder that stays dry, a smaller D2 blade at a lower cost, or a fixed blade with a sheath points to the D2 side, as long as its owner keeps up the drying habit that D2 asks for.
The figures on this page are the published specification ranges for the alloy, cross-checked against manufacturer datasheets and independent metallurgical references. They describe the steel, not any one knife. Hardness in particular is a range a mill and a knifemaker work inside, and Knives Now does not test the heat treat of individual knives, so nothing here is a claim about what a specific listing measures.
Cross-checked against the sources above. Figures verified 2026-07-19.
