Hi guys,
I have a set of wood river chisels which work well enough. I would like to potentially buy one or two premium chisels though and then slowly build a set, the idea would be that these are lifetime heirloom quality tools I wont replace. Because of this I am not particularly price sensitive.
My question comes down to steel. In the knife world, which I am more experienced in than the tool world, I tended to like 1095. It does rust and does dull more quickly but I can easily get a really good edge on it compared to some of the modern steels that "take a bad edge and hold it forever." What I am wondering is how does this overall philosophy translate into chisels. I like the concept of Lie Nielsen socket chisels which can easily have a new handle made, but feel like their A2 steel may not be the best fit. LV 01 chisels sound more like my type of steel but I am less enthusiastic about the tang rather than socket. Blue spruce are beautiful tools but have both problems. LV PM V11 seems like another contender, but has the same issue of a tang as their 01, although if it really is as easy to sharpen as 01 and has edge holding properties of A2 maybe the trade off is worth it.
I guess the question comes down to the steel it's self mostly, what are the advantages and trade offs of 01, A2, and PM V11. Its not out of the question to buy one of each and test how they work for me, but thought it was worth looking for an informed opinion first.