PM-V11 steel

[Robert Erickson]

My uncle is a woodworker and was asking me about PM-V11 steel. It's used in planer blades. He says it's comparable to, but better than, A2.
I googled it and found out that it's made by veritas and it's powder metallurgy steel but couldn't find the composition on line. Is it A11?
Anyone know anything about this steel?

 

[Bobbybirds]

I have PM-V11 blade for some of my hand planes and chisels. The stuff is fantastic. Sharpening ease is much like O1 or A2 yet the edge retention is fantastic compared to the A2. It is also much less chippy when sharpened at lower angles.

PM-V11 is Veritas' own recipe. That is what the number stands for from what I understand. Powdered Metal Version 11. They have been developing get it for quite a while before it went into production. I used to work for Lee Valley (parent company and retail store of Veritas) part time while PM-V1Q was first coming available. I always thought about making a blade from the stuff as an experiment.