Thank you John and Bob! Bob, you're getting down to the nitty gritty and that was what I was looking for. This will help me a lot with smart choices down the road. I think that Tony said my carving knife is D2 and it is excellent steel and though used every day, has no stains at all yet except on the spine of the tang. It is tough and sharpens well as you said with little effort. My other user is ATS-34 and the light use it gets probably doesn't require a super steel but it has proved very stain resistant and a pleasure to fondle .

Allan