Folks a tool is only as good as the person using it. No tool is going to make you a better turner on its own. For me the only difference in turning tools is how long they stay sharp. Now sharpening any tool can make a huge difference for a person using it. Knowing how to sharpen a tool can make a difference on any tool. (snipped) Take this from a person who started out by buying almost every turning tool on the face of this earth, always searching for that magical tool. It took quite a while to realize that I needed to learn how to sharpen and use any tool I bought. There is no magic tool, learning the basics and then continue learning is the key.
(I snipped Bill's product rec. from above to separate it from the perfect thoughts regarding sharpening.)
Bill, I could not agree any more, your words are a grand slam.
Any tool steel alloy created for use as an edge tool will produce, oh, let's call it "scalpel-like" results when sharpened properly (an entirely different topic of subjective and objective ideas). Where differences in steels come in to play is, as the manufacturer rep from my earlier post above stated, "the balance between hardness, toughness, sharpness and wear resistance." There is no singular right balance of these features, and for Bill, and most of us, "the only difference in turning tools is how long they stay sharp." And, of course, the money you are willing to trade for them. Bill, and myself, and you, you, and you, have settled on, or are still exploring, which tool makers meet the right balance for our purposes. Tool manufacturers sell us steel, at pricepoints we choose to accept, that they feel will excel in performance cutting our media and method of choice- wood, spinning on a motorized lathe. The spinning on a lathe is what makes the woodWORKING (deliberate emphasis) tools we use for this process advantageous to our processes. This is an abusive woodWORKING process, an entirely different animal than, say, woodWORKING a lump of wood held in the hand and carved into a figurine with small knives. Tool steels such as O1, A2, 52100, and a few others will excel in that realm, but would probably not be the first choices to a motor-powered wood lathe operator, because those steels don't provide the motorized woodturner the attribute balance they need. (But, they offer wonderful results to the tredle lathe operator, esp. those that may forge their own tools.)
Woodturning steels-
$ M2, M4, M42, A11/10V, 15V $$$$ Take your pick. All provide superb results, with trade-offs. It's a balancing act.
The long and short of it is this- you know your budget, and you know (or you're getting to know) your demands and desires. If you're a lathe operator churning through hundreds, or thousands of cubic feet of lumber a year, or if you are a hobbiest having fun for a few hours on Tuesday evenings after a day at work, you can be confident that the reputable tool manufacturers out there have gear to meet your needs and budget. Does the hobbiest need the most advanced steels available today? Can a full-time production turner be as efficient and economic as possible with good ol' M2 steel? The ouija board answer to both is no. Well, possible, but not probable. Make objective, evidence-based decisions that serve your purpose, and you'll likely get to save more money and spend more time turning wood.
