A2 versus O1 chisels


Tony Wilkins

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I have a credit at LN I was planning to use on bench chisels.  My original plan was to go with the O1 for easy sharpening.  But I'm rethinking the wisdom of it. So O1 or A2?  What would be your choice?

 

Also, I'm really liking the PM-V11 in my LV planes and I hear really good things about the chisels.  Makes the decision even more difficult.

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I am with Mel on the A2.  For me I have gotten better performance out of my A2 blades vs my O1 blades.   I also try to stay on top of my sharpening and not let the blade get overly dull.  Usually a few minutes on each over a my sharpening stones and I have a sharp ready to use blade.

 

I have also found this to be up to personal preference as well, for some A2 works better than O1, for other O1 is the better choice, and even others don't care just as long as they have a sharp edge.  :)

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I used to have a set of LN A2 chisels and they were good, but only good.  The problem is that at a bevel of 30deg, the edge will crumble due to the way the steel has been treated and one way of getting round this problem is to hone the edge at 33 or even 35deg as David Charlseworth does here in the UK.

I've been a user of PM-V11 steel in some of my Veritas planes and it's great material...I eventually intend to replace my O1 blades in the other planes.  Haven't use the chisels yet, but I suspect that they'd be equally as good as the plane blades, so given the choice, that's what I'd go for.

If you really want to go the whole 'nine yards' for extreme sharpness, then Japanese chisels are the way to go - Rob

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I've got 3 of the LN O1 chisels, beautiful to hold and use. Sharpening is easy, but then so is sharpening the A2 plane blades I've got. If I was buying again I'd probably go A2; I think LN do more widths in the A2; and for occasional chopping its probably better...

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After hardening and heat treat, there should not be a lot of difference in the performance of the two tools. A series steel is air hardening, you take it to the transformation point then let cool in still air. O series is oil hardening, you take it to the transformation point then quench in oil.

 

If you use a power grinder to sharpen, you may find that A is more forgiving because if it is over heated, it will tend to reharden while overheated oil quenched steel will get soft. If you never get the blue grinder colors for over heating the steel, the point is pretty much moot.

 

D2 makes some really nice tools to, D series is a die steel, it is very tough and can take a pounding.

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After hardening and heat treat, there should not be a lot of difference in the performance of the two tools. A series steel is air hardening, you take it to the transformation point then let cool in still air. O series is oil hardening, you take it to the transformation point then quench in oil.

 

If you use a power grinder to sharpen, you may find that A is more forgiving because if it is over heated, it will tend to reharden while overheated oil quenched steel will get soft. If you never get the blue grinder colors for over heating the steel, the point is pretty much moot.

 

D2 makes some really nice tools to, D series is a die steel, it is very tough and can take a pounding.

Ah.... hmm... wow, you smart.

I can lift heavy things.

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If you want to know how the steel types differ, read my review:

 

http://www.inthewoodshop.com/ToolReviews/FourChiselSteelsCompared.html

 

If you just want the conclusion ...

 

The PM-V11 and the White Steel really do deliver. The gap between them and the A2 and O1/HCS is very large. There is no appreciable extra effort to hone the steels when used with modern waterstones, such as Shaptons (used here) or Sigmas.

It must be emphasised that this was about the steel, not the chisels. What do I mean by that? A chisel is not simply a lump of steel with a handle. Edge-holding is sometimes less important than balance and control and comfort when in use. The Stanley here is one of my favourite users as I customised the handles for myself. The Blue Spruce is one of the nicest chisels around, with arguably the best handles made on this planet. The Veritas handles are really excellent as well, and the balance in use is surprisingly good, and they are lighter than they look, but not as light as the BS. The Koyamaichi are designed to be hit with a gennou rather than pushed, but do so OK. All good chisels. It is only when one works mongrel wood that good steel becomes a dominating factor.

 

 

Hi Tony

I needed to get back to you on the LN chisels. Since you need to use the refund, you should consider their A2 chisels if you plan on using them with a mallet, or O1 versions if you only plan to push them (so you can use a lower angle bevel). If you plan to use the refund for something else, such as a plane, consider the LA Jack - good for traversing and shooting.

Regards from Perth

Derek

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Hey tony, i was in their showroom yesterday and today. They just recently changed over to a new computer system so they lost a lot of their old information. No worries though, they are an outstanding company and will surely handle your situation as quickly as they possibly can. Its amazing, they rarely get locals in their showroom, its all travellers from across the country.

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Some excellent answers in this post. I am getting ready to buy a few premium chisels myself but am trying a different approach that goes against my OCD to match tools. I am thinking about starting out with a 1/2" PM-V11, the half inch chisel is the workhorse in my shop so the longer it holds an edge and the easier it is to sharpen the better. I want to use it and see how it feels before I buy any more. I had a set of LN's the O-Steel and was reasonably happy with them. The one gripe that had with them is that the handle would sometimes separate from the blade quite easily, which led to one of chisels landing on the floor of my garage  :(. I sold them last year with the intention of getting different ones but I have gotten by with my Irwin thus far. In a couple weeks I will have the opportunity to try out a Blue Spruce Chisel when they come to Port Townsend for the Wooden Boat Festival (if they come this year). I am curious to see how good the handles really are. They sound like they are very very well balanced and may be the way to go for smaller sized chisels that are used for more delicate work.

 

Good luck Tony and let us know what you decide! 

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Envious of the choice but I would go for easy sharpening. 

 

Truth.

 

The better you get at woodworking, the better you'll get at sharpening. And the better you get at sharpening, the less important edge retention becomes as a needed quality in a chisel. So of the two choices, I'd go with O-1.

 

If your O-1 chisel isn't holding up to chopping, resharpen the chisel, and lighten up on how hard you're hitting the chisel. There seems to be this idea that when chopping you have to whale away at a chisel with all of your strength, which is really just wasted energy. When I'm chopping mortises, I hit my chisel harder than driving a finish nail, but a lot less hard than hammering a framing nail. As a last resort you can increase the bevel angle of your chisel.

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