OCS is perfectly fine material for woodworking tools, if properly hardened and tempered. If you want more carbon, or other fancy alloys, the most cost effective method (if your time is worth anything) is to simply make the whole tool from the desired steel. I very much doubt that any modern production axes and hatchets are made by the old method
(when high carbon steel was rare and expensive) of laminating in a bit, and even if they are, that bit is likely to be less of a high-carbon than might be desired for woodwork - the axe is an impact tool which is tempered to be filed sharp, while chisels and plane irons tend to be as hard, or harder than files in the working condition, as they are (with the possible exception of pigsticker mortise chisels) not subject to the high shock and impact loads an axe will have to take. Some of that is done with tempering, but a steel best suited to chisels is likely not the same as one best suited to axes. Anyway, tool steel can be gotten from most steel or industrial suppliers in a wide range of shapes and formulations - drill rod is the round stock. MSC, McMaster and Enco are the big three general industrial supply outlets with web presence - there are many more local industrial suppliers, and also places that specialize more just in steel supply. Note - these are almost always not the cheapest possible source - they are often fastest and most convenient for smallish orders, though. www.mscdirect.com www.mcmaster.com www.use-enco.com Since I don't recognize you as having been here before, you should definitely go download files, especially the one with the very cryptic numeric name (7-5.pdf), from this web site, mentioned here not too long ago, but probably before you joined us. http://mse.iastate.edu/files/verhoeven/