The BLADE Blogs

A CITES meeting that could determine whether there will be a world ivory ban begins Sept. 24 in Johannesburg, South Africa.

The 17th annual meeting of the CITES Conference of Parties is set to run through Oct. 5 and will include individuals and organizations around the globe who are for or against a world ivory ban, as well as a ban on ancient and other ivories. CITES stands for “Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora,” and is “an international agreement among governments … to ensure international trade in specimens of wild animals and plants does not threaten their survival.”

Elephant Protection Association officials indicate they expect animal rights groups to push for terminating “sustainable use” as a means of conserving any listed or endangered wildlife, which includes elephants and the trade of ivory. For U.S. owners of legal elephant ivory, this could at the very least mean losing the narrow “De Minimis Exception” in the recent Federal Domestic Ivory Ban instituted in July. Though it allows an extremely low amount of per-person trade in elephant ivory, the De Minimis Exception does allow some of it.

Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) fighting for a worldwide elephant ivory ban want CITES to list all African elephants on Appendix I. If the NGOs are successful, it will lead to even more pressure on the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) to list all elephants as endangered, too. According to the Elephant Protection Association, the FWS has indicated that if CITES puts elephants on the endangered list, FWS would abolish the De Minimis Exception. But that’s not all.

The Elephant Protection Association’s Rob Mitchell reports that the petition to declare elephants endangered is already under review. “I don’t know low long before they will reach a final determination, but it won’t surprise me one bit if they try to time it to coincide with [the Sept. 24-Oct. 5 meeting],” he notes. In fact, “FWS could make the determination even if CITES does not list all elephants on Appendix I.”

For more information, stay tuned to www.elephantprotection.org. (Editor’s note: The Elephant Protection Association is building a new website. You also can stay updated on elephant ivory news by watching videos from The Conservation Imperative on the Association’s Facebook page.)

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D2 tool steel just keeps cutting. It’s been around a long time and enjoys a solid reputation among custom and factory knifemakers and knife users. As with many high-performance steels, it experiences a range of highs and lows in popularity, and at the moment seems to be enjoying a high.

A favorite steel of such long-time knifemakers as BLADE Magazine Cutlery Hall-Of-Fame© member Wayne Goddard and Bob Dozier—the latter has been called “Dr. D2” on more than one occasion—D2 is considered a “borderline stainless steel” because it contains 11.5 percent chromium. To be classified as stainless, a steel must have at least 12 percent chromium. (Note: stainless simply means a steel resists corrosion. It does not mean it is stain proof.) According to Scott Devanna of SB Specialty Metals, D2 also has a very high carbon content—1.5 percent—which lowers corrosion resistance because the carbon “grabs” a lot of D2’s chromium to form chromium carbides. The chromium carbides are good for improving wear resistance—improved wear resistance enhances edge holding—but they tie up chromium so it is not as “free,” and thus reduce corrosion resistance. Free chromium forms a chromium oxide layer at the surface, and the layer makes a steel corrosion resistant. This helps explain why D2 is not stainless.

While D2 may not be stainless, it remains a top performer due in no small part to its high wear resistance/edge-holding ability. “It will hold an edge for a very long time before it will go dull,” says Paul Tsujimoto, director of engineering at Ontario Knife Co.  Combined with its relatively inexpensive price, this makes D2 a favorite of manufacturers and custom makers alike. “For us, it’s the perfect combination of performance and an affordable price,” notes Dietmar Pohl of Pohl Force Knives. Agrees Devanna, “It’s the best bang for the buck because it’s priced reasonably and works well.”

On the down side, D2’s ample wear resistance also means it is difficult to sharpen. However, a diamond abrasive sharpener should do the trick. Also, the steel’s impact toughness suffers in comparison to some other steels, so D2 is not the best choice for a blade used for chopping and other impact-type cutting chores. And, since it’s not a true stainless, you should wipe it down after use to help keep corrosion to a minimum.

Nonetheless, D2 is an outstanding choice for a hard-use knife and remains popular among custom knifemakers and manufacturers, and knife users as well.

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