Woodworkers

Guide to Steel
An understanding of the basics can help
when it comes time to buy cutting tools
B Y

teel is a logical choice for cutting

tools because it offers good strength
and resistance to fracture. Plus, its
durable, resists wear, and is relatively economical, as materials go.
However, not all steel is created equal. I
learned this 30 years ago as an apprentice
in a tool-hardening shop hoisting chunks
of hot steel in and out of furnaces. I shadowed a journeyman toolmaker who kept
notebooks full of recipes: Cook steel one
way to make a spring; use another recipe
to make a knife. At the time, it looked like
voodoo to me. Gradually, though, the experience grew into a working knowledge
of steel.
Woodworking cutting tools present a
special challenge. The blade is honed to a
razor-thin edge, then the edge is pushed
through a dense and stubborn material

G E O R G E

wood. The entire load of the cutting tool is

pressing on a very small area.
The strength of steel and its ability to retain a sharp edge are largely dependent on
its microstructure. An edge wont stay
sharp if the crystal structure is full of voids
or foreign materials that will weaken it and
break loose. Toolmakers strive to produce
better steel by creating a stronger and
more homogenous crystal structure. Steel
moves closer to its maximum strength
when the crystal grains are smaller, of
consistent size, and absent of foreign materials. Such steel is said to be fine grained
or clean.

W A L K E R
1,800F, the carbon dissolves into the iron
to create steel. All types of steel can be
grouped into two main classes: carbon
steel and alloy steel.
Carbon steelWhen steel is made almost
entirely of iron and carbontypically 98%
iron and less than 1.5% carbon, with trace
amounts of other materials showing up
only inadvertentlyit is called carbon steel.
Carbon steel is the least refined and lowest priced of the various steels. Steelmakers
classify carbon steels into several groups,
but only high-carbon steel is used in cutting tools. All high-carbon steel contains
between 0.45% and 1.5% carbon.

How carbon steel and alloy steel differ

Steel is a product of both iron and carbon.
Carbon allows the steel to be hardened.
When the ingredients are heated to about

Alloy steelWhen steel has one or more

alloying elements added specifically to
customize it, carbon excepted, it is called

Different steel for different tools

CHISELS, GOUGES,
AND PLANE IRONS
Bench chisels, gouges, plane
irons, and spokeshaves have
steel cutting edges that
move slowly through wood.
These tools need steel that
holds an edge well yet is
relatively easy to sharpen,
such as A2 or A2 cryo, O1,
O2, or W1 (see Grading
tool steel on the facing
page). The appropriate
hardness range is
Rc60 to Rc64.

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FINE WOODWORKING

HANDSAWS

CARD SCRAPERS
Card scrapers are made from
either carbon steel or tool steel.
The typical hardness range is
Rc48 to Rc52.

Tenon saws and

dovetail saws
typically are made
from an alloy steel
with a hardness
around Rc52.
Using a process
called induction
hardening, some
manufacturers
further harden the
teeth.

Photos, except where noted: Michael Pekovich; this page (top): Courtesy of Barr Specialty Tools

an alloy steel (see Common alloys in

steel at right). The addition of one or more
alloys can make steel better suited to
certain applications.
Compared with carbon steel, alloy steel
requires a more sophisticated refining
process. Alloy steel has a cleaner and finer
grain structure than carbon steel, so it often
is used in demanding applications.
When steelmakers refer to tool steel, they
usually are talking about a small group of
alloy steels with especially good properties
for making cutting tools. Tool steel also is
used to make many other tools, including
molds, dies, cams, and bushings. Because
tool steel so often is used to make dies, it
sometimes is called tool-and-die steel.
Although the ingredients may be similar
to carbon steel or another alloy steel, tool
steel is refined to a much higher degree. Indeed, tool steel is subjected to the most sophisticated refining process. As a result, it
has a cleaner microstructure.
Not all tool steel can handle the high
temperatures generated by tools or bits
that encounter wood at high speeds. However high-speed steel (HSS) is one that
doesnt lose its properties when it encounters high temperatures caused by friction.
Thats why its often used to make router
bits, drill bits, jointer and planer knives,
and lathe tools.

Grading tool steel

Tool steel is a group of highly refined alloy steels
C O M M O N A L LOYS
graded using a letter followed by one or two numbers.
IN STEEL
Depending on the grade, the letters can provide clues to
the steels ingredients, its hardening method, or its use.
Chromium increases strength,
wear resistance, and corrosion
Tool steels that start with the letter H are hotresistance.
worked, which means the hot steel is shaped while
Manganese
adds strength and
solid. Grades H1 through H19 have chromium as
hardness, and improves
the primary alloying element (right). In grades H20
response to heat treatment.
through H29, tungsten is the main element. And
Molybdenum helps maintain
H40 through H59 is molybdenum based.
strength at high temperatures.
Grades starting with A, D, or O are cold-worked,
Nickel improves toughness,
meaning the steel is shaped after it becomes solid,
strength, and hardness.
usually at room temperature. Grade A indicates it is
Silicon increases hardness.
hardened simply by cooling in the open air. Grade D
Titanium adds hardness and
has a high chromium content. And grade O steel is
helps produce a fine grain.
hardened by quenching it in an oil bath.
Tungsten improves strength at
Grades starting with the letter S offer good
normal and elevated
shock resistance. That means the steel is exceptiontemperatures.
ally tough.
Vanadium creates a finer grain
Any tool steel with a W at the start has been hardstructure and helps improve
strength of hardened and
ened by quenching it in water.
tempered steel.
Most HSS grades start with either an M or a T. An
M means the main ingredient is molybdenum; a T has
lots of tungsten. Powdered metal HSS, sometimes used in turning tools, represents
the most highly refined steel, with a wear resistance approaching that of carbide.

COLD-TREATING TOUGHENS S TEEL

Properties of steel can be adjusted

Steel used to make cutting tools has three
main physical properties: hardness, toughness, and wear resistance. Invariably, when
you increase one of the three properties,
the remaining two usually suffer. A good

Several planemakers now offer A2 blades that are

cryogenically treated, meaning the steel is exposed
to intense cold (about 300F). The cold changes the
grain structure of the steel, making it tougher while
maintaining hardness. As a result, it holds an edge
longer, although it takes some extra time to sharpen.

TURNING TOOLS
AND DRILL BITS

FILES
AND RASPS
Files and rasps
generally are
made from highcarbon steel. The
steel tends to run
higher on the
Rockwell scale
Rc66 to Rc67
which is not
surprising when
you consider that
files often are
used to cut steel.

BANDSAW BLADES

PLANER AND JOINTER KNIVES

Because planer and jointer knives
cut through wood at high speed, they
are made from high-speed steel
either M2 or T1in the hardness
range of Rc61 to Rc63.

M2 high-speed steel often is

used here. Look for hardness
in the range of Rc60 to Rc64.
Some turning tools use M4
powdered metal so that the
edge remains sharper for
longer periods.

Low-cost blades
commonly are carbon
steel of between Rc28
and Rc32. More expensive
blades are made of tool
steel (Rc40 to Rc50), with
induction-hardened teeth
of Rc60 to Rc64. Premium
blades have HSS teeth
(Rc66 to Rc68) welded to
an alloy-steel back (Rc46
to Rc52).
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45

Balancing the properties of steel

The hardening process. At Rhode Island Heat Treating in Providence, a glowing, red-hot O1 steel spokeshave blade is removed
from a furnace, then quickly quenched (cooled) by dipping the steel
in a bath of oil (inset).

cutting tool is made from steel that best

balances the properties based on the requirements of the tool and the material to
be cut.
HardnessThe ability of steel to resist deformation is known as hardness, which is a
primary indicator of steels strength. Steelmakers have various ways of controlling
hardness, including heating and cooling
techniques. Hardness is a plus, but it comes
at a price. When steel gets too hard, it becomes brittle, and brittle steel is more likely
to fracture or chip out the cutting edge.
Because hardness is such an important
property, toolmakers must be able to measure it. Most woodworking cutting tools
are measured on a special machine called a
Rockwell-hardness tester (see the photos
at left).
Written out, a Rockwell-hardness measurement looks like this: Rc60. The uppercase R means the test was done using the
Rockwell system. The lower-case c indicates the scale that was used (there are
several Rockwell scales). The number,
in this case 60, represents the reading on
the scale. (The higher the number, the
harder the steel.) Depending on the tool
and the application, the steel for most
woodworking cutting tools can vary from
Rc28 to Rc68.
ToughnessThe opposite of brittleness is
toughness. When a steel has good toughness properties, it wont break easily. Higher toughness, however, usually results in
lower hardness. Toughness can be improved by tempering, a process that involves reheating a hardened steel and
cooling it at a controlled rate.

Tempering improves toughness. After quenching,

the O1 steel is reheated to a temperature below the
red-hot stage, which decreases hardness and increases
toughness. The hardness of the blade, destined for a
spokeshave made by Woodjoy Tools, is checked on a
Rockwell-hardness tester (right).

HARDNESS VS. BRITTLENESS

When it comes to cutting-tool steel, hardness is good.
But as hardness increases, so does brittleness, and that
isnt so good. Traditional chisels (top) use steel thats
a compromise between the two. Some Japanese
chisels (bottom) attack the problem by laminating a hard steel to a softer-steel back.

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FINE WOODWORKING

Wear resistanceWhen another material

moves across the surface of steel, like
wood across a chisel blade, the steel is going to wear. A cutting tool made from steel
with good wear resistance will stay sharp
for a longer period of time.

Striking a balance between hardness,

toughness, and wear resistance
Steelmakers have four different ways to
control the properties of hardness, toughness, and wear resistance. They can
change the recipe or control the degree to
which the recipe is refined. They also can
change the way the steel is heated or
cooled when solid or change the way the

steel is physically shaped, or, in steelmaking terms, how its worked.

Adding ingredients, or changing the percentages of the ingredients, changes the
properties of steel. In particular, the amount
of carbon has a considerable effect. In addition to improving hardness, the carbon
also helps make the steel more wear resistant. Adding alloying elements to the mix
tweaks the properties even further.
The process of removing impurities from
the molten steel bath is called refining. The
amount a steel gets refined will have a direct effect on its final properties.
Another way to change the properties of
steel is to alter the way it is reheated and
cooled once solid. When a hot chunk of
steel is cooled rapidly in a liquid bath, a
process called quenching, the steel becomes harder than it would if slowly aircooled. When a piece of heat-treated A2
steel is tempered by raising its temperature
to 350F, it results in a hardness of Rc62.
Temper that same A2 steel by getting the
temperature up to 1,000F, and you end up
with a hardness of Rc56.
The properties of steel also can change
based on how steel is worked once solid. It
can be worked either hot or cold. Commonly used methods of working steel include rolling, drawing, drop-forging, and
hammer-forging.

Steel grade defines its

properties
There are several
thousand different

Shaping steel by hand and machine

Forging into shape. At Barr Specialty
Tools, a small toolmaking company in
McCall, Idaho, a red-hot-steel chisel
blade is forged into shape with a hammer. Large-scale toolmakers generally
shape hot steel in a drop-forger, a machine that speeds up the process. Some
woodworkers claim hammer-forged
steel can produce a tougher edge.

Machining the edge. A special machine cuts the bevel on a blade made by
Lie-Nielsen Toolworks, a toolmaking
company in Warren, Maine.

types of steel, all with different properties,

so manufacturers grade steel based on its
individual properties (see p. 45). In the
United States, most manufacturers use
grades established by the American Iron
and Steel Institute (AISI).
Its not uncommon to find steel touted in
such terms as Sheffield (England), German, Swedish, or Swiss. Without a doubt,

Europe has a long and impressive history

of producing fine steel. Unfortunately,
though, such romantic descriptions tell
you nothing about the type and quality of
the steel product.

George Walker lives in Canton, Ohio, where he

manages the steel supply for a factory. At home,
he reproduces period furniture.

Carbide, the alternative to steel

Carbide is a compound made up of tungsten and carbon, with
cobalt added as a binder. The material is refined into a powder,
pressed into a mold, and then cemented at high temperatures.
Because carbide is expensive and is needed only at the cutting
edge, it often is produced as small blanks that are brazed to an alloy steel. Then the blanks are ground to produce a sharp edge thats
exceptionally hard. The terms carbide, cemented carbide, sintered carbide, and tungsten carbide are interchangeable. The resulting
material is equivalent to Rc71 to Rc73 and is as much as 15 times
more wear resistant than steel. However, it lacks the toughness of
steel because carbide is much more brittle.
Carbide grades typically used for woodworking are C1
to C4, with C1 being tougher and C4 harder; they also can be
listed under the International Standards Organization (ISO)
grades of K01 through K40, with K01 being tougher and K40 harder.

Photos, this page: Courtesy of Barr Specialty Tools (top left), Lie-Nielsen (top right),
and CMT (photomicrographs)

The quality
and strength
of carbide is
governed by its
microstructure.
Smaller grains of
consistent size
(top) offer superior performance.
Recycled carbide
(bottom) tends to
fracture at the
cutting edge.

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