Comments on: A2 vs O1 Tool Steel

By: Howard

Howard — Sat, 01 Oct 2011 03:14:44 +0000

Any discussion of steel hardness and edge behavior is incomplete without consideration for the heat treatment given to the steel. Heat treatment can vary a finished steel’s hardness considerably! Who does the heat treatment and what their process is and whether or not they follow the recipe will all have influence on the final edge and its performance. Variables such as type of oil, brine or fresh water, temperature of the quench, how close the heat comes to the optimal temperature, how soon the hardened steel is tempered, etc. are all influencing variables. It’s as much an art as a science and even commercial heat treatment doesn’t always yield consistent results. Another variable is the steel as not all 01 steels are the same formulation. They can vary relative to carbon and alloying elements. My favorite is from Bohler-Uddeholm. Soooo, all of this is to say that you may end up with quite different edge performance from other folks who are using a tool made from a particular steel even by the same purveyor.

By: henry

henry — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 08:19:22 +0000

d2 is awesome if you can get it

By: Christian

Christian — Wed, 16 Feb 2011 15:21:54 +0000

I’m also 2 years late for this conversation…

By: Christian

Christian — Wed, 16 Feb 2011 15:21:15 +0000

I have two planes that I use about the same amount. One has a Hock A2 blade and one has a Hock O1 blade.

My experience: The A2 does hold an edge longer, but not so much longer as to make much difference to me – in fact I end up sharpening them pretty much at the same interval.

The O1 leaves a very fine finished surface. The A2 surface is noticeably rougher (but still fine, if that makes sense).

I’ll qualify here: “Rough” and “fine,” as I am using them, is visually measured by light reflection. I can barely feel a difference with my fingers.

Of note: I also have a Millers Falls blade and a Groz blade in two other planes. The MF blade compares well to my Hock blades (sorry Ron). The Groz blade is well suited for warm butter and not much else.

All this being said, I’m OCD anal and finish sand to 1000 or 2000 grit, depending on what coating I plan on applying (2000 for BLO, 1000 for shellac & copal varnish).

Also, I’m very possibly the worst woodworker ever, so my observations are probably be idiotic. Consume with many grains of salt.

By: Ben H

Ben H — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 11:49:44 +0000

I’m telling you guys, buy a worksharp and you won’t care about sharpening any longer. I can take a plane plade from, dull, chipped, and down right nasty, to leather honed RAZOR sharp in about 5 min. All without water. No mess, just ulrta fine sharpening at it’s best.

By: Tom

Tom — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 12:13:21 +0000

A little Wiki is a dangerous thing: The Wikipedia article on “Tool Steel” points to a table by Paxton & Vierling Steel (a supplier), which recommends M2 steel for woodworking chisels. It doesn’t state the case for M2 as clearly as Ron Hock did in this blog.

By: Tom

Tom — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 11:56:36 +0000

What a great answer from Ron Hock! He gives detail down to the near-molecular level :)

By: Vic

Vic — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 23:15:39 +0000

Great info Marc! Very cool going to a respected expert for a full explanation. I wonder what Tom Fidgen uses? He’s all handtool.

By: Chris

Chris — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 06:29:40 +0000

Does anyone have a good reference book/article on quenching techniques for various hardness/sharpness/brittleness/ductility results with ‘common’ available steels? (old files etc.)

Roy Underhill had a few examples on a Woodwright’s show where he used an old file for making a cutting tool for wooden threads (which I stupidly did not record) – but other than that – I can’t remember much from our Woodworker magazines ever.

Thanks!
Chris

By: Mark

Mark — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 19:24:26 +0000

I make all my shapper blades from worn out sugger beet cutters, they are made of a multy layer steel composite, I can make about a 3/4 mile of molding between sharpenings! I think it is to some extent self sharpening.

The ony problem is you need friends at the suger beet factory, and they dont wear out vey often (the blades not the friends).

Is their a trade name for this mls, also I assume It would come in many variations, what would be the best for shaper blades, would it be any good for hand planes? as currently I am all out of used beet blades and need to buy some.