{"product_id":"honey-badger-cross-bolt-d2-pvd-g10-grey","title":"HONEY BADGER CROSS-BOLT D2 PVD G10 GREY","description":"\u003ch4\u003eHoney Badger Cross-Bolt Drop-Point Med\/Large PVD D2 Grey Folding Knife\u003c\/h4\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThere is a point in most people's knife ownership where the question changes. It stops being how do I get a knife and becomes how do I stop sharpening this thing every fortnight. That is the question this version answers. Swapping the standard stainless for D2 tool steel is the single upgrade that most changes how a folder behaves across a working month, and the grey G10 handle and PVD coating are built around that decision.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eD2 tool steel, and what it changes\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eD2 is a high carbon, high chromium tool steel that came out of the industrial die and press world, where tooling has to keep cutting sheet metal for thousands of cycles without being pulled off the line to be reground. That heritage is exactly what makes it interesting in a pocket knife. It carries a high volume of hard chromium carbides through the steel, and those carbides are what resist abrasion at the cutting edge.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn use, the difference is not that the knife feels sharper on day one. It is that the edge you put on it is still doing useful work long after a softer stainless would have gone dull. Cutting cardboard, rope, sisal, plastic strapping or anything with grit in it, the abrasive jobs that flatten an ordinary edge, is where D2 pulls away from the alternatives.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eThe honest trade offs\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eGood copy should tell you what you are giving up. D2 asks for more from you at the sharpening stone. Those same carbides that resist wear also resist your abrasive, so a cheap pull through sharpener will struggle and you will want a diamond plate or a decent ceramic system. Set against that, you will reach for it far less often.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eD2 is also usually described as semi stainless rather than fully stainless. Its chromium content sits below the conventional stainless threshold, which means it tolerates ordinary damp far better than a carbon steel but is not indifferent to neglect. Leave it wet in a sheath for a week and it will let you know. Wipe it dry and it will never trouble you.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eWhich is where the PVD coating comes in\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePhysical vapour deposition is a vacuum process. Source material is vaporised inside a chamber and deposited onto the blade atom by atom, forming an extremely thin, extremely hard layer that is bonded to the steel rather than sitting on top of it like paint. It is the same family of process used on drill bits, machine tooling and watch cases.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFor this knife it does two jobs. It puts a hard barrier between the semi stainless steel and the moisture in the air, your hands and whatever you are cutting, which neatly offsets the one weakness of the alloy underneath. And it is non reflective, so the blade does not flash in sunlight or bounce a headtorch beam back at you.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eSharpening D2 properly\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSince this is the one area where the steel asks something of you, here is the short version. Use a diamond plate in a medium grit to reset the bevel, follow with a fine diamond or a hard ceramic rod, and keep the angle consistent rather than chasing a mirror polish. Light, even passes work better than pressure. Strop on plain leather at the end if you have one. Done once properly, the edge will then hold through weeks of work with nothing more than an occasional pass on the ceramic to bring it back. The mistake people make is treating D2 like soft stainless and grinding at it impatiently on worn abrasives, which produces a rounded edge and a poor opinion of a very good steel.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eGrey G10 in the hand\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eG10 is glass cloth laminated with epoxy resin under heat and pressure, then machined into scales. It does not absorb water, it does not move with temperature, and it is unaffected by solvents, oils and salt. Machined with texture, it grips reliably in wet or greasy hands without chewing up your palm.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eGrey is the choice for someone who wants the knife to look like equipment rather than a statement. It sits alongside the coated blade without shouting, it hides dust and workshop grime better than black does, and it does not read as tactical costume when you take it out at a table.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eDimensions\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe blade is a 83.9 mm drop point at 2.5 mm thick. Overall length is 196.9 mm open, 113 mm closed, at 85 grams. That mass is deliberate: the G10 scales add substance that steadies the knife during detailed work, and the knife still disappears into a pocket.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eCross-bolt locking\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe bolt passes through the frame into the blade tang, capturing the blade from both sides. There is no liner under spring tension to fatigue, no frame flexing sideways, and no need to put a thumb in the closing path of the edge. It is fully ambidextrous by design rather than by concession, and it engages with a click you can feel through the handle.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eWhere the extra cost goes\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eCompared with the moulded nylon models in the same line, you are paying for three specific upgrades and it is worth being clear about them. The steel changes how often you sharpen. The G10 changes how the handle feels and how it survives chemicals and weather. The coating changes how the blade handles moisture and light. None of those alter what the knife can cut, since the blade shape and dimensions are shared across the range. They alter how the knife holds up over years of being used hard, which is the difference between a tool you replace and one you keep.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eEveryday carry that leans tactical\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis is the version to choose if your cutting is heavier than average. Trades work, site work, farm work, hunting, anyone processing volumes of packaging, and anyone who simply resents sharpening. It gives you tool steel edge retention, a coating that manages the corrosion trade off, and a handle material that survives conditions which would destroy wood or plain nylon, in a folder light enough to carry every day without thinking about it.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eFeatures\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eD2 tool steel construction\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e83.9mm blade length\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eG10 handle\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e196.9mm overall length\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eDrop-point blade style\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ePVD (Physical Vapour Deposition) coating\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eGrey G10 handle ensures secure grip and control\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eReliable cross-bolt lock for enhanced safety\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ePerfect balance of tactical performance and everyday usability\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\n\u003ch3\u003eSpecifications\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\n\u003ctable\u003e  \n\u003ctbody\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eBrand\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eHoney Badger\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eColour\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eGrey\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eMaterial\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eD2 tool steel\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eDimensions\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eMetric \/ Imperial\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eOverall Length:\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e196.9 mm \/ 7.8 in\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eBlade Length:\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e83.9 mm \/ 3.3 in\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eClosed Length:\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e113 mm \/ 4.45 in\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eBlade Thickness\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e2.5 mm \/ 0.098 in\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eWeight:\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e85 g \/ 3.00 oz\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003c\/tbody\u003e\n\u003c\/table\u003e","brand":"HONEY BADGER","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50239245222128,"sku":"15751","price":1269.0,"currency_code":"ZAR","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0574\/2651\/0008\/files\/01_honey_badger_stone_washed_cross-bolt_drop-point_med_large_pvd_d2_grey_folding_knife.jpg?v=1787812818","url":"https:\/\/neonsales.co.za\/products\/honey-badger-cross-bolt-d2-pvd-g10-grey","provider":"NeonSales","version":"1.0","type":"link"}