Which blade material type?

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When buying new handplanes and the like, which blade material type should a person get? A2 or O1?

This might have been covered before I can't remember.

If it matters I use the scary sharp method for sharpening.
 
O-1 sharpens easier - particularly using sandpaper or stones (not diamonds)

A-2, being harder, will wear stones (and you! :D ) out faster, and responds well to diamonds.

A-2 will stay a little bit sharper a little bit longer.

My personal preference is for O-1.
 
I've been using A2 mostly and haven't had problems sharpening it on Shapton stones. The claim is that it holds an edge longer. I've never done a test to verify so I don't really know.

Mike
 
I use both - can't notice any practical difference either in use or sharpening. Maybe if i were working swirly grained exotic iron wood i could tell, but i'm pretty much a domestic hardwoods kind of guy.
Either one is a dramitic improvement over the thin stock blades on most iron bench planes.
 
Most of the blades on my planes are original Stanley issue and I don't know what those are, probably something like O1. I have a couple Hock O1 I like really well. Two planes, the Veritas snazzy little block plane and the Veritas medium shoulder plane, have A2 blades. They're a little more difficult to sharpen on my crappy King stones but they take a really good edge (as good as O1) and I think last a little longer.

I'm switching to diamonds and sharpening just won't be a factor anymore.

Both A2 and O1 respond well to regular stropping, as do my chisels (Berg, Hirsch and Matsumura white steel).
 
I use mostly A2, so not a lot of personal experience with O1. A2 is a little harder material, so it will last little longer/harder to sharpen. The selling point I've heard for O1 was that it really excelled at angles below 25 degrees because of the ease of sharpening. A2 might be a little brittle for that low of an angle? I only have bevel up planes and regular bench chisels, so don't have any tools I sharpen lower than 25, haven't got to test it out yet.
 
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