Alf":1bzw7udp said:
Instead of making good HCS blades and re-educating the masses, certain manufacturers have pandered to this perception, so we have folks believing that nothing less than A2 is fit to use. From a piece of Stanley processed cheese slice to A2 makes sense, I grant you. From a Sorby or Ibbotson or Victor to A2? I just don't see it. Looking at Chris' chart, I can only assume the major appeal of A2 to the manufacturers is the greater stability in heat treating, hence the keeness to promote it; wouldn't we be being offered the better wear resistance of M2 otherwise? I gather the same benefit to the manufacturer might be claimed for cryo treatment too. Sheesh, are we easily manipulated, or what? :lol:
Cheers, Alf
I grant you that a lot of the force behind A2's growth is marketing. It sounds kind of cool -- A2 sounds much better than O1 or HCS -- and once one manufacturer started carrying it, the rest had to carry it or be perceived as "behind."
How much different are A2 and O1? Not a whole lot. The A2 is about 1/3 more wear resistant than O1. Logically, it should take 1/3 longer to sharpen and stay sharp 1/3 longer. But, of course, people will have an opinion and a preference.
A2 has become one of those things that people (me included) just assume has to be better because we've been told it's better. Those of us that compare A2 to HCS and quantify their strengths and weaknesses are in the minority. Even though we are a vocal bunch, I imagine that we represent between 1% to 5% of the woodworking community. Maybe if someone began promoting proper HCS in the magazines, we'd see a shift but everytime that a tool comes out in A2 or D2 or some other exotic matrix, it catches readers eyes.
From the manfacturers perspective, they really have to pick one kind of steel and stick with it. I imagine it'd be tough for Veritas or LN to offer buyers the option of A2 or HCS on the majority of their products. Let's face it, I'm not sure how many planes Rob Lee sells in a year, but it's not a super high volume kind of business. I'm sure he has to weigh the pros and cons of all of this. It's not something to jump into lightly. It also becomes overwhelming for the salespeople taking the orders and the consumers making the orders. Give the average person too many choices and they become overwhelmed, their eyes glaze over and they just turn the page. From the sales perspective, when you have a blade for a plane made with three different bevels in two steel formulations the possibility for making a mistake when shipping increases. Everytime you make a mistake in shipping, you lose money on the postage and risk damaging your reputation and/or losing a customer.
So, all the way around, it seems like tool manufacturers have decided to go with A2 and it's going to be a tough course to change.
Just my .02
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