From a knifemaker I can tell I love O-1. In my opion one of the best cutlery steels ever, next to L3 that is almost impossible to find anymore. Now there is a catch with O-1 as well. The maker has to be competent in working with O-1 or it loses much of it's potential. If forged at the wrong temps it can have devastating effects on the steel. If used in the stock removal method and proper heat treatment it will still outperform many of the more exotic cutlery steels that have recently been introduced. It really boils down to who's making it, and how good they are. As a steel O-1 is excellent for cutlery. It will be a little harder to sharpen because of the alloys involved over just plain carbon steel. Hope this helps.

Jiimmy