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Message: <blockquote data-quote="ez bake" data-source="post: 1359507" data-attributes="member: 229">154CM is good steel for a pocket knife, but very few folks go through the effort to harden/temper it like Bill Coye does (he's a little bit crazy about it but it produces one of the best edges I've ever seen in 154CM), so it has great potential to be frigging super-hard and hold an edge for ever, but in most cases, commercial knives made from 154CM are not put through all of those hardening/tempering/cryo'ing processes.  They're still better than AUS8 and most 440 variants, but not as hard as D2.D2 is what they make hammers and drill-bits out of - its easier for mass manufacturers to get harder and keep an edge with much less effort in hardening/tempering.I'd say that the D2 version would probably hold its edge longer just like you said, but it is much harder to sharpen without a diamond stone.  I usually prefer knives made of D2 over other steels (save a few exotics and obviously INFI).I will say this - after hanging out on the ESEE section of Blade Forums and doing some reading on field-maintainable knives/machetes, I've got a lot more respect for 1095 and its ability to last while being field sharpened very easily.Oh, and for anyone getting a semi-nice knife - you should watch some youtube videos on sharpening with an Arkansas stone (and polishing /stropping), its a skill that is well worth its weight in gold.  Practice on a cheap knife at first and/or cheat with a Lansky or Spyderco sharpener if you have to, but learning how to put an edge back on a knife is crucial if you actually use them a lot (no matter what they're made of).</blockquote>

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