A2 vs O1 steel - does it really matter

[John C Cox]

It's sort of true, but it also ignores that those same people basically kicked off the resurgence of high end chisels we currently enjoy... So while perhaps A2 has it's limitations, it also allowed several vendors to justify the additional expense of tooling to create tools which many woodworkers really wanted. So while folks may criticize the alloy, Blue Spruce's paring chisels are the best designed new production paring chisels you can currently buy. Sure, Narex makes some that they call "Paring" chisels, but they're more like the older "Millwright" chisels - long, but thick and heavy. They don't have the light, sensitive feel of the old, thin octagon bolster Sorby or Marples paring chisels like the Blue Spruce units do.

[Jim Matthews]

Sure, Narex makes some that they call "Paring" chisels, but they're more like the older "Millwright" chisels - long, but thick and heavy. They don't have the light, sensitive feel of the old, thin octagon bolster Sorby or Marples paring chisels like the Blue Spruce units do.

Narex should be applauded for making small batch products at their prices. For a "slight" additional charge, anything is possible.

Making something well, and cheap -that's an accomplishment.

[Tony Zaffuto]

For modern paring chisels, I like the Robert Sorby (mine are a bit more than a dozen years old). The steel seems to be O1, and while many complain that the Sorbys have a habit of chipping, I have found that to not be true, after honing back a 1/16" or so. Being paring chisels, and only used as a paring chisel, I hone at approximately 20* (remember, these are used only as paring chisels and my approximate degree is because after I first established my bevel by a jig, I've free-handed ever since.).

[steven c newman]

Ah yes...The Riddle of Steel......

[Tony Zaffuto]

Ah yes...The Riddle of Steel......

And sharp trumps all!

[Andrew Pitonyak]

Ah yes...The Riddle of Steel......

https://conan.fandom.com/wiki/The_Riddle_of_Steel

[John C Cox]

It says something that there are seemingly large performance differences between various plane irons and chisels, because the alloys used on volume production stuff (not boutique/experimental) seems to fall within a fairly narrow range, except for a few outliers, notably A2 and PMV11.

And ironically, the performance seems to vary considerably depending on who is doing the test.

What that tells me is that by and large, the notable performance differences are largely either caused by tool preparation/sharpening procedure, and by the manufacturer's heat treatment protocols and QC requirements.

It made a lot more sense when I saw some videos of industrial high volume chisel production on an automated carousel... They perform the *entire* heat treatment process including tempering done in about 2-minutes. Then I looked at some alloy diagrams and saw that certain steel phase conversions have a time element.. And it all made sense. There's simply not enough time in the price of the cheap stuff to do any better on average.

[Larry Frank]

Some of these new alloys such as A-2, have fairly complicated heat treating requirements. This includes cryogenic treatment. You can have A-2 with the same hardness and very different properties.