Originally Posted by
Warren Mickley
When I went to Woodworking in America a decade ago, A2 irons and Shapton stones, 15000 or 16000, were the rage. Unfortunately none of the A2 irons performed like what I was used to. Planes costing 10, 20 times what mine cost and more were just not leaving as fine a surface. One guy had planes 100 times what mine cost and later wrote that he sharpened everything Friday night in his hotel room. I was the first one to visit his stand the next morning, but his planes did not leave a slick surface. He subsequently abandoned A2.
One time when I went to a Lie Nielsen event I took a loupe and looked at the edges of chisels. Every last one had small chips in the edge.
I don't think A2 was even developed with chisels and plane irons in mind.
I started my powder metal parts making business in 1989 and at the time, A2 was a preferential material for cored (round) punch portions of tooling, known for its "toughness".
If the thunder don't get you, the lightning will.