Rafael from PA
This post reminds me of a personal observation, that hand tool makers stick to a limited range of steels and don't bother to offer other steels. If something new comes up, it seems the focus is on the finish of the tool or over engineered tolerances, not much variety on the actual business end of the tool (if it is a cutting tool).

The knife crowd seems a much more dynamic community. They're innovative and experiment with new steels. One only has to look at what is being offered by knife makers to get a sense of the many alternatives available.

Consider CPM Magnacut, a new steel developed in 2 or 3 years ago, a new PM steel, designed by Larrin Thomas here in Pittsburgh, which would probably work really well for woodworking tools.

Also, in development, a steel tailored to forgers called Apexultra (https://www.apexultrasteel.com/) (https://knifesteelnerds.com/2021/12/02/laboratory-development-of-apexultra-forging-knife-steel/), developed by Larrin and others.

It's interesting to note that the composition of these steels is not a mystery, no secret formula to dazzle you into thinking it is something really special.

Is this because there are more knife makers competing out there?

Is woodworking hand tool making stagnant?

David's posts revealed that it is not an insurmountable task to be able to make your own tools, like chisels, plane irons, or knives, with equipment that most of us have in the workshop. With his help I was able to make a bunch of plane irons that I'm very happy with.