# O1 Tool Steel Sources



## CartersWhittling (Jan 29, 2011)

Hello. I want to buy some O1 tool steel bars for making plane irons and other tools and am looking for a good source to buy some. I have found 2 places online but the shipping was just as much as the product and one did not tell me the shipping prices. I live in Ontario Canada, so if someone knows a Canadian source that would be helpful for shipping costs I'm sure, if not let me know anyways.
Thank you.


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## thiel (May 21, 2009)

McMaster-Carr has it… and I assume they ship to Canada.

http://www.mcmaster.com/#grade-o1-steel/=ekvjng

-Thiel


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## CartersWhittling (Jan 29, 2011)

Thanks, I looked at the site but it doesn't say the shipping prices when you make an order?


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## pierce85 (May 21, 2011)

You could try Speedy Metals - http://www.speedymetals.com/default.aspx


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## Loren (May 30, 2008)

Find a metal dealer. This kind of steel is used all the time in the metal-working
industry, so go to the gritty part of town and ask the metal guys where you
can get some O1.


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## CartersWhittling (Jan 29, 2011)

Thanks Loren, that sounds like a good idea.


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## dkirtley (Mar 11, 2010)

I usually buy from onlinemetals.com

Industrial suppliers will be using a couple special terms.

For ground flat stuff, ask for mill stock.

For round, ask for Drill rod (Unless they use the silver steel name in CA like they do in UK. Dunno)

The shipping will always be high. You are not buying marshmallows. The only way you will do well on the shipping is to buy enough to combine the shipping on other items.

Cheapest for plane irons is to buy them made. Lee Valley has them for under $15 for the replacement irons for the wooden planes. You couldn't make them for that price.


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## PurpLev (May 30, 2008)

I usually get metal stock from speedymetals.com which have good prices also on shipping.

I am also in agreement to David - unless you are planning on mass producing these or making some specialty custom cutters it will not be cost effective to try and make them when the alternatives out there are already pre made at a much higher quality than what you could produce (hardened and Cryogenically treated in some cases)


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## Bertha (Jan 10, 2011)

That speedymetals place is really impressive!


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## CartersWhittling (Jan 29, 2011)

thanks


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## Maxedge (Dec 9, 2011)

Check out www.simplytoolsteel.com I found some good source for O-1 tool steel there and it is a good reference for other grades too.


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## CartersWhittling (Jan 29, 2011)

Alright. Thanks.


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## Bill_Z (Dec 6, 2011)

I upgraded to the Ron Hock A2 cryo plane irons. A2 has a better heattreat profile and benefits allot from cryogenic cycling.


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## CartersWhittling (Jan 29, 2011)

I understand A2 tool steel is more durable, but the process of heat treating and hardening is not as easy to do, unlike O1 steel.


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## bravozulu (Aug 10, 2011)

Ron Hock welcomes folks to his shop in the seaside community of Fort Bragg, California. I visited him in 2006, and he explained a bit about the features and trade-offs of various steels. O1 can be sharpened to a finer edge. And is also easier to work than A2. The cryogenic process stabilizes and retains carbon molecules in the steel.

Just two months ago I checked out Ron's book, The Perfect Edge. What an education? We tend to forget that metals (and their use) defined civilizations. Ever heard of the Stone Age, or the Bronze Age. The ability to use metals was the horizon. Should be required reading for woodworkers and machinists.


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## CartersWhittling (Jan 29, 2011)

Interesting, I'll check out the book sometime.


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## barryvabeach (Jan 25, 2010)

Carters, I use Victornet from time to time. If you can use an odd dimension, they are often on sale http://www.victornet.com/subdepartments/Flat-Ground-Stock-up-to-1-8-thick-/970.html For example 7/64 by 6 inches by 18 inches would make at least 8 2 inch wide, 6 inch long blades, and the cost is under $30. Note that page is for stock 1/8 and thinner, their thicker steel is on another page.


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