Todd,

how does O-1 compare to A2? Dave jeske of blue spruce toolworks has been talking about making his paring chisels in O-1 because of maunfacturing difficulties associated with long, thin, A2 blades.

Tony

Are there other makers using O-1, apart from Dave Jeske's paring prototypes and those funny handled Dovetail chisels by lee valley?

To be honest though, after buying my dovetail set (plus a few extra sizes) from Blue spruce...thats all I use for most applications on a guitar, except carving the bridge. Daves A2 chisels are world class.

Now all I need is a decent 1" carving chisel for those bridges. Any reccomendations there OLF??

Tony,

My first full production run of the longer paring chisels is nearly complete. I decided to offer them in sizes 1/8 to 3/4". The A2 and the specific heat treating process keeps the blades nice and straight and the Rc60 hardness is a good compromise for ease of sharpening and edge retention. O-1 is a also a great choice for blades. Some feel that it actually takes a keener edge. I'm not so sure that is accurate, but I find it can be "easier" to get a sharp edge with 0-1. What makes the A2 so good at edge retention and wear also makes it a little harden to sharpen. I use ceramic waterstones with excellent results, diamond is also a good choice. The biggest problem with 0-1 is that it is an oil-quenched steel and is more prone to warping when in thin sections. This can sometimes be minimized with proper fixturing but adds considerable cost.  For smaller tools, 0-1 works great and is what I recommend if you are making your own specific-purpose tools in the shop.

Hope you all have a great new year; this looks to be a fun forum.

Welcome to the forum, Dave. Glad you are with us!

My appologies if I was not 100% with the description of your paring chisels, as posted above. The last time I emailed you about them you were talking of making them only in O-1... I did not realise you were now offering them in A2. Im sure there will be many folks pleased to get such high quality steel and beautifully made chisels in paring length from Blue Spruce toolworks.        &n bsp;         &n bsp;         &n bsp;       

Personally, I could not be happier with my set!

If only there was the wide array of european style carving chisels available in the quality of the Lie Nielsen / Blue Spruce American made tools.