Machinists didn't even have what we call "high speed steel" until about 1910. Prior to that, the best tool steels would slump or crumble if run fast enough to get hot. High Speed Steel was as much a revolution in the machine shop as carbide is today. A lot of machine tools that were OK for the old "Mushet" type cutting steels couldn't be run fast enough, and had to be scrapped and replaced.