A2 steel vs 01 steel?

cbach8tw

cbach8tw

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Can anyone give me a comparison between these two steels? Like edge retention, how hard to sharpen, which do you like better and why? I appreciate it.
 
They are both great steels, easy to sharpen and with a good grain that takes nice, high sharpness edges. A2 is probably a bit more corrosion resistant. Slightly tougher as well. O-1 just does good at making sharp edges easily, though it takes slightly more maintenance. Both will do well with V grinds, as well as convex.

I'd go for the knife I like better between the two rather than looking at which steel is better.

I have more O-1 knives but that has more to do with the type knives and designs than the steels themselves.

My favorite O-1 is BHK knives triple temper with cryo at around rc 60. It eats through wood in carving type situations and does great bushcraft knives.

For large choppers I'd take A2 between the two, but there are other steels I'd prefer to either in that application, like 3V for instance.

Joe
 
Thanks, I am planning on a Hudson Bay knife made for me and was looking at which would steel to choose. I have a lot of 01 knives, like you said just because of the use for. I may stay with 01.
 
Good luck! If the maker does their job it's almost a can't miss proposition. I had my Blind Horse Knife O-1 out earlier for sharpening. Man does it take an edge. Pretty easily too. This Cryo'ed HT seems to have a higher edge stability, less burring, and a bit more wear resistance than some I've had. I really like O-1 a lot despite having about every super steel that isn't too rare.

I don't blue, or oxidize mine. I keep it looking like regular satin finished steel. I don't find it a problem. I do wax it with Renn wax when storing it, and leave it out of the sheath.

W2 is another steel I really like for EDC use. It used to be more common but it's a bit rarer now. I like it even though it is a bit more shallow hardening than O-1. This used to be seen as a plus in larger type knives. It's not much of an issue with 1/8th inch stock though.

W2 is very expensive for ingot steel. I think that helps explain why it's not as common. :)

Joe
 
I don't have any knifes in O-1 yet, but have several in A2 which I like a lot. It is pretty easy to sharpen, and take care of, especially in the field. I have read that A2 is a bit tougher, and has more wear resistance than O-1, but I probably wouldn't be able to tell the difference.
 
The Mastiff said:
They are both great steels, easy to sharpen and with a good grain that takes nice, high sharpness edges. A2 is probably a bit more corrosion resistant. Slightly tougher as well. O-1 just does good at making sharp edges easily, though it takes slightly more maintenance. Both will do well with V grinds, as well as convex.

I'd go for the knife I like better between the two rather than looking at which steel is better.
Click to expand...



I think Joe has summed it up pretty good. :thumbup: :cool: :thumbup:




Big Mike
 
Thanks, I have decided to stay with 01. I will let you know how it turns out.
 
For some time now Lee Valley Tools has offered a choice of A-2 or O-1 at no difference in cost for some of their Veritas plane blades. Now they've added a powdered metal steel PM-V11 into the mix at a slight increase in price. You can look on their site for comments about the relative advantages and disadvantages of these steels as they see them. Here's one place to look, but there's more elsewhere: http://www.leevalley.com/US/shopping/TechInfo.aspx?type=a&p=57112
 
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