Cheshirechappie":19waf2i5 said:
On all the various tool steel types, I don't know first hand because I've never used tools with A2, D2, PM-V11 and whatever other alpha-numeric soup cutters. However, judging from forum comments, there seem to be two schools of thought; those who buy everlasting steels so they don't have to sharpen very often, and those who get used to sharpening in such a way that it becomes quick and easy, so that touching up an edge when it needs it is no real bother. Pay yer money and take yer pick!
Derek already responded and said much the same thing, so I'll be brief, but I think that the "binary perspective" that you outline is rather unfortunate, and that we can benefit by taking a more nuanced and balanced view of the tools at our disposal.
Continuing from where Derek left off and using PM-V11/CTS-XHP as an example, it's actually a very conservatively formulated steel by "modern" standards. Its wear resistance is provided by relatively soft Chromium carbides which makes it quick to hone on common media, and its grain structure is fine enough that it takes a keen edge without resorting to exotic sharpening solutions. We do ourselves a disservice by lumping it in with, say, CPM-10V or even D2 [*].
I personally prefer HCS or O1 for some uses, Hitachi white (basically a high-purity, ultra-low-alloy HCS) for others, and PM-V11 for still others. I don't have much use for A2 or D2 as my experience is that PM-V11 is better in every relevant respect except cost. The only tools I have made with either are cases where an otherwise ideal tool wasn't available in a different steel (a few LN planes, a set of Ray Iles pigstickers, a couple WoodJoy shaves). I have one set of chisels made out of Hitachi HAP40 (a PM version of M4 HSS) but they don't see all that much use because of their honing requirements. I think that more exotic alloys like CPM-3V and CPM-10V have their place, but woodworking isn't it for me. I haven't found a use case where their incremental wear resistance advantages are worth the hassle of using diamond sharpening media in my shop (though others have arrived at differing conclusions).
You and Billy are of course right that all of the options we're discussing are good enough that technique matters far more than incremental steel improvements.
[*] D2 and PM-V11 are similar in composition, but VERY different in grain structure and therefore edge-taking and honing behavior due to the use of powder metallurgy in the latter.
