Plane Irons.

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I'd never heard of O1, probably because I left metal manufacturing in 1985. So I looked it up as you suggested. It's a wrought alloy steel but I couldn't see a standard specification for it. My time in metal manufacture was in cast steels and nickel alloys, so most of the specifications I came across were for cast alloys - mainly ASTM series, British Standards and German Werkstoff series. 3% chromium, 0.5% moly, 0.3% carbon was a common steel for structural applications needing strength and toughness, with higher carbon for cutting tools.

This is wandering off the subject a bit, but most of the German low-alloy steels were very different, a legacy of WW2 when Germany had no access to certain alloying additions. From memory I think molybdenum was one of the ones they couldn't get, so a lot of German alloy steels substituted tungsten (or maybe it was the other way round)
If I'm not mistaken, o1 is the equivalent of Werkstoff 1.2510.
 
I don't know the original story for O1 steel, but suspect the array of German and other alloys labeled chrome vanadium were much more common and less expensive and probably still are. O1 has found some popularity with woodworking tool makers just in the last decade as well as some knife enthusiasts. The fact that McMaster Carr carries it in starred brand suggests that starrett and some others may use it to make measuring tools, and I'm sure it's used some elsewhere, but I've never seen it outside of knives, razors and tools given by spec (It doesn't make a very good razor, too much alloying in it). It's generally good for those of us whom are just amateurs because the average person can fully harden it with motor oil quench, or vegetable oil, temper it in any kitchen oven, and it won't air harden when you drill or cut it. It also doesn't turn out too bad if you just quench it quickly after a quick heat.

The various German alloys don't show up here at most metals places and they have a confusing numbering system whereas we're kind of used to a name and number combo.

The older razors are much better in a more plain alloy with just a little bit of nickel alloy, and the knife world seems to prefer 52100, which has better toughness at high hardness.
 
If I'm not mistaken, o1 is the equivalent of Werkstoff 1.2510.

Is there a list in English of the German numbered alloys? I'd like to try making a few chisels with the higher carbon chrome vanadium types, but they're not easily found in the us.
 
I don't know the original story for O1 steel, but suspect the array of German and other alloys labeled chrome vanadium were much more common and less expensive and probably still are. O1 has found some popularity with woodworking tool makers just in the last decade as well as some knife enthusiasts. The fact that McMaster Carr carries it in starred brand suggests that starrett and some others may use it to make measuring tools, and I'm sure it's used some elsewhere, but I've never seen it outside of knives, razors and tools given by spec (It doesn't make a very good razor, too much alloying in it). It's generally good for those of us whom are just amateurs because the average person can fully harden it with motor oil quench, or vegetable oil, temper it in any kitchen oven, and it won't air harden when you drill or cut it. It also doesn't turn out too bad if you just quench it quickly after a quick heat.

The various German alloys don't show up here at most metals places and they have a confusing numbering system whereas we're kind of used to a name and number combo.

The older razors are much better in a more plain alloy with just a little bit of nickel alloy, and the knife world seems to prefer 52100, which has better toughness at high hardness.
We had a lot of German customers who wanted castings made to Werkstoff Number specs, so I had no choice but to get used to the Werkstoff system. I agree it was confusing to begin with but I remember it being a good system when I got used to it. But that was for alloy steel castings so the good news is that woodworkers don't need to know anything about alloy specs to be competent woodworkers. I've had nothing to do with them for the last 35 years and haven't missed them one little bit!
 

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