Most all of the ready made shaped gravers that used to be sold were HS steel,,at best. usually less than that as they were targeted at the jewelery engravers trade.
A few I have are marked HS in a tiny stamp but for the most part they are just some sort of tool steel. They just needed to be harder than the soft metals of the jewelry & watch trades after all. They will work OK on some gun work, especially the older stuff and M/Ldrs. but when you get into modern made parts, steels, investment castings, ect,,they break down.
The tiny 1/8 and 3/32 lathe tool bits make excellent engraving cutters. There are so many proprietary names for the steel types in them it's hard to keep track.
They do range from simple HSS to cobalt alloys and others and on up to carbide bits.
I use simple Mo-Max branded bits (don't even know what it's made of) and also the Linsay proprietary 'Carbalt' bit (I think that's what he sells them as).
I used a lot of Stellite rod to make gravers and undercut punches in the past. It works great too. 3/32d or sq material,,no heat treating is necessary. Just grind to shape. I still have some on the bench after 45yrs.
All of these sharpen on regular equipment (except for the carbide of course). I'm not too fussy about all this stuff and if it cuts well enough I use it.
I'd stay away from carbide unless there is some reason you need them. The only reason I started cutting with them some years back was the Winchester 21 frames demanded it. Any thing else made you into a professional tool sharpener and occasional engraver. Even the carbide took a beating on those original W made frames. Special grinding wheel to rough out the blank and diamond lap to finish the sharpening is needed.
I don't think I've used a single carbide bit since the last 21 I did and don't look forward to using any. If the steel is that hard, then it needs to be annealed or something else used to make it.
With HSS, a cobalt bit, ect,,sharpen with a template if you find that easiest to keep the angle(s) you want. Simple cheap diamond plate cuts fast and smooth and lasts a long time. I'm only on my second in the last 25 years of using them. The second one only because I lost the first one,,probably pushed it off the bench into the trash can I think.
No need to get into powerhones and fancy stuff unless you feel the need. I did for the carbide sharpening as I needed the high polish point w/ ceramic hones, diamond dust and all that .
But up till then I sharpened by free hand w/ oil stone minus the oil. Still do to touch up the point as I go.
If I didn't have the powerhone set up to quickly re-point a tool,,I'd be using one of the templates no doubt.
Keep it simple,,leaves more time to engrave.
