A2 or O1

[Peter Pedisich]

Hi, I'm looking to purchase the LV bevel up jack plane, and I'm not sure which blade to get (for a beginner sharpener) A2 or O1?

Is one better suited to a beginner?

Thanks!

Pete

[David Weaver]

Functionally it really doesn't make a difference.

A2 will last longer, and if you are not sharpening with clogged oilstones, it sharpens easily (any sandpaper or waterstone handles it easily).

The only reason I would be inclined to get the softer O1 irons (which IIRC, LV's O1 irons are softer than their A2) is if I were also doing all of the grinding by hand.

[James Scheffler]

Both are fairly easy to sharpen using water stones or sandpaper adhered to a flat surface. I don't see any advantage to using the O-1 in terms of sharpening.
Jim S.

[David Weaver]

Had a lapse there for a second - if you intend to try to hone the iron at really low angles, I would go with O1. There's no great reason to do that though, either at 30 degrees on the iron, the effective pitch is still 42 which is a slick cutting pitch and a lot shallower than most older miter planes were (and shallower than the 50 degrees that LN's #9 comes in at if you put a 30 degree bevel on the iron).

[Andrew Gibson]

I will say go with the A2 as well. I have a couple of LV A2 irons in my bench planes, and one of their O1 irons in my 60-1/2. both are great irons, but the A2 just lasts that much longer between sharpenings.

[Peter Pedisich]

Thanks very much guys, A2 it is.

[Richard Dooling]

OK I guess I’ll be the lone dissenter here. This is strictly personal preference but I’ve used A2s for about a year and a half and I find I prefer O1 steel.

Maybe it’s just a lack of skill but I personally find it easier to get sharper results on O1 steel. Since I don’t use a jig unless I have major work to do it’s very quick to hone back to sharp. With chisels it’s very fast. With BU planes it’s still pretty darn quick. Admittedly BD planes take a little longer just because you have to remove the breaker – still not a major investment in time.

I wonder what real world advantages there are in terms of time between touch-ups for someone who isn’t able to spend lots of hours in the shop. In other words, I don’t find myself sharpening for excessive amounts of time.

It’s interesting that the last blade I bought at Woodcraft was available in A2 and O1. When I expressed my preference the hand tool guru told me that he was seeing more customers going back to O1 because they felt that edge retention wasn’t that much better with A2, and that O1 is so much easier to maintain.

Maybe it’s more noticeable with difficult or abrasive woods.

[Johnny Kleso]

Finish Plane 0-1 Sharper
Jack Plane A-2 Duarable
Thats my opinion

[Jim Koepke]

My BU Jack has an A2 blade. When new it tended to chip a bit, but after a few sharpenings it has been holding up fine. Though it is used on edge and face grain at times, it is mostly used for shooting end grain. The blade toughness may be advantageous for such.

The blade is not really that much tougher to sharpen. Most of the hassle with freehand sharpening seems to be from its thickness and not the hardness.

jtk

[Richard Dooling]

Finish Plane 0-1 Sharper
Jack Plane A-2 Duarable
Thats my opinion


You make a really good point. It's not just a preference for a particular alloy. it's also a function of the work being done.

[Derek Cohen]

As David said, it depends on your sharpening regime. O1 is a "softer" steel and is more easily worked on less aggressive media, such as oil stones. Oil stones tend to find A2 steel more of a challenge (there are ways around this). On the modern waterstones A2 is as easy to sharpen as O1. A2 also is more durable than O1, that is, it holds its edge longer.

I do not find that one steel is "sharper" than another - it all comes down to how well you are able to polish the edge, which is a function of either the sharpening media, your sharpening skills, or both. With regard the bevel angles, frankly I have not experienced problems with chipping using A2 at 25 degrees shooting endgrain over several years.

For my circumstances - hard and abrasive local woods, and I use Shapton waterstones - A2 is preferred. Your circumstances may be different.

Regards from Perth

Derek (with some 3V, M4 and 10V in chisel steel to try out this weekend ... out comes the diamond paste)

[Niels Cosman]

Derek (with some 3V, M4 and 10V in chisel steel to try out this weekend ... out comes the diamond paste)

Derek,
Thank you in advance for what will undoubtedly be a thorough report to follow! :)
Cheers,
Niels

[Doug Mason]

I definately prefer 01--and I have replaced most of my A2 blades with them.

I use oilstones and grind by hand; accordingly, for me, O1 is much easier to work. And for moulding planes it is much quicker and easier for me to shape the blades. To each his own; for example, I have never used waterstones, sandpaper, etc--so for that meduim I suppose A2 is better? Nonetheless, for me oilstones and O1 are quick and gets the job done.

[Don Dorn]

I have both in various planes - chalk me up to A2. I use a 600 waterstone to get the secondary bevel which takes just a few seconds, then to the 8000 for a "tertiary(sp) bevel. I haven't found any difference in difficulty of sharpening, but my LV BU Jack has an A2 and it does stay sharp longer.

[Pam Niedermayer]

...I have never used waterstones, sandpaper, etc--so for that meduim I suppose A2 is better?

I use O1 and waterstones, a mixture of natural and synthetic. As far as I know, I only have one or two speciality planes of A2, tiny actually. The main reason is that I don't want to add to my sharpening regimen for a different tool steel. However, I think it's time to make a few blades, and it appears that CPM 3V is more manageable than most; so I'm starting to play around with diamond paste in preparation.

Pam