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I am a Journeyman TIG welder and I have welded plenty of high carbon steels and tool steels including D2. You need to heat the billet to 400 degrees or better to weld and it must cool down slowly like put it in an oven and turn it off after preheating it to max temperature of the oven before welding the handle on. I've had to pre-heat 2% carbon cast steel to 800 degrees with rosebud tips on my acetylene torch. It also helps if you use nickel rod instead of mild steel.
In my experience a MIG isn't the best option for welding handles onto billets. I had the luxury of access to a TIG and used the same material as the billet often times as I worked in a machine shop and l had hi-carbon filler rod as well. The difference in carbon content is what causes the cracking, hence why I said to use ni-rod if you have an arc stick welder.
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