A Few Bits of Magic Steel

I haven't encountered many pieces of steel that live up to their hype. Most marketing claptrap isn't worth the 1s and 0s beamed into your eyeballs.

For the most part, there's good steel and crap steel. There are a few ways to make good steel (careful alloying and skilled heat treating) and a slop bucket of ways to make crap steel.

Can you detect the differences among varieties of A2 that are put out by different toolmakers? If it's well-made A2, most non-toolmakers can't. The differences are subtle and not worth writing about.

So why are we here? To talk about the magical stuff. The best steel I've encountered isn't Japanese. And it isn't some high-tech powdered metal that is 1 percent militant Schmoo.

It's from Idaho.

Every tool from Barr Specialty Tools I have owned or used has been made of steel that is noticeably – and shockingly – better than all the other steel stuff in my tool chest. The steel takes a fine edge quickly on waterstones and oilstones. And it's an edge that has a wicked clinginess to flesh that makes my colon somersault a bit. The stuff would simply love to cut your ass.

But lots of steel can get sharp. What is truly amazing about the Barr stuff is how it outworks everything else I own. Right now I own only two Barr tools: a 2" bench chisel and a scorp. (Years ago I owned a set of the company's cabinetmaker's chisels, but they were too heavy for me, and I begrudgingly sold them.)

What's the secret? The tools are hand forged. And…? Follow the company on Instagram to see how much dirty work goes into their tools. I own some blacksmith-made tools that are hand forged and have superior working properties. But Barr's are still just head and shoulders above those tools as well.

The good news is that unless you are a timber framer, you won't be able to give Barr your entire paycheck. They have only a handful of tools for making furniture. Most of their stuff is for large-scale work. I bought the 2"-wide chisel because every furniture maker needs one wide chisel. Usually, we use it for paring or laying in the shoulder of a tenon. This chisel does all that and is also outstanding for mortising – that's how tough it is. I use it to split off tenon cheeks and honestly anything else I can come up with.

I have owned the Barr scorp since the early 2000s and still use it all the time. Its radius is tighter than I'd like, so it's aggressive. I need to really take it easy when saddling a seat with it. But just like the chisel, the scorp's steel is the best I've encountered.

Today I got to use my Barr chisel. I beat the daylights out of it making some deep mortises for the Cottage Table I’m working on for my next book, and touched the tool up at the end of the day. I figured it was time to write the love letter I've always meant to pen.

Note: Isn't this a tool review of sorts? And didn't I back away from reviewing tools when we started making them at Crucible? Yes and yes. As I've gotten older, I've decided that maybe all my mistakes and tools and tool reviews and years of making furniture might add up to something. Something that might help a beginner from making a mistake. Or shorten their learning curve. And somehow “The American Peasant” feels like the right place to put this stuff. Plus, if you want to troll me, you’ll have to pay for the privilege.

I have no desire to do tool shootouts. Or try to do pseudo-science to generate facts and data. Instead, what you'll get is the hard-earned. The stuff I know from 25 years at the bench.

So don't bother asking how the Barr steel compares to the powdered metal tools released last month. I don't know. Nobody knows. Anyone who claims otherwise is in marketing or is lying.