I'm confused...

[Eli Akin]

I have been using a standard type 9 Bailey number 4 for a while. I LOVE it. I only paid $30 for it and I have restored it and I can take beautiful shavings with it. I have added a hock 01 blade and a new breaker to it and it is a beautiful tool that does a beautiful job and I believe it will last me another 100 years. A little over a year ago, I had some money saved up and bought a LN no 3. It is also a beautiful tool. Feels different in the hand but I can get used to that. I honestly haven't used it very much. Here is where I am confused... i can sharpen it with the same method as i do my hock iron. I'm using diamond stones and finishing with a strop. I am getting the same wire burr on both blades, they are both scary shaving sharp, just takes a little longer with the A2. I am sharpening a micro bevel of 35 degrees on the LN blade. Both have a small camber and I am getting light fluffy shavings that are identical from both planes. When I hold both surfaces up to the light, I get a clear beautiful finish on both. They both seem to have a matching reflection for the most part. With the LN finish, I have to look for them, but I am seeing these curvy scratches that are bothering me. I dont like sanding and I like to be able to have a finished surface off of the plane, which I have had no problem doing with the stanley. When i use the hock, they go away and it is just reflection. When looking at both surfaces, they look the same when you look at them, but when you hold them up to get a reflection, you can see the small (very small) scratches. Is this normal? I love my stanley so much, I am planning to keep using it because it works so well, but at the same time, I feel like I'm missing something with this beautiful premium tool. Eitherway, I think I'm going to stick to my trusty Stanley number 4 for smoothing. Just curious if anyone else has noticed this? Thanks!
Eli

[Curt Putnam]

Something is making those scratches. Check the sole and especially the mouth for imperfections. Drag a cotton ball lightly over the sole and mouth. Check it with a loupe. Hone your blade again and check it under a loupe.

Sorry, that is all I can think of.

[Jim Koepke]

Most likely your LN plane has an A2 blade. This metal is more prone to chipping than an O1 blade. The little chips are the likely culprit leaving what look like scratches or dull streaks on the surface.

The 'scratches' will likely show up even more if used on end grain. That would be one way to identify where they are on the blade.

What bevel angle do you have on the LN blade? Increasing the angle can help to avoid chipping.

jtk

[Jerome Andrieux]

O1 is said to achieve a keener edge, as in less serrated than A2, at a microscopic level, especially when wearing.

It’s very common to have small imperceptible imperfections at the edge that translates to very perceptible tracks on wood, as thin lines. Hitting a grain of sand stuck in a dead knot and ... back to the stones ...

[Eli Akin]

I've honed it at a 35 degree micro bevel.

[Andrew Pitonyak]

I figure that the scratches are most likely from the blade or from the sole. I will concede that there is an even smaller chance that a shaving gets caught between the plane and the wood, but that seems less likely to me.

If the scratch is not from the blade, it is possible that you can produce the scratches with the blade retracted while running the base on scratch free wood from your No 4 plane.

Looking at the blade with a magnifying loop is always a good idea if you want to see things that you did not expect. This has dramatically improved my ability to understand what is happening when I sharpen things; I do this most often with knife blades.

If the scratch pattern is easy to produce, you might be able to cause it with a single pass of the plane and then by inspection know roughly where on the plane (left / right, not front / back) the scratches occur (assuming you are not skewing the plane).

I have found that when I sharpen a knife blade and I test it against thing paper (such as news print) blade imperfections will catch on the paper. I found that knives from Imperial Schrade are usually pretty uniform so I was simply touching some up and the blade caught on one of the knives (I sharpened about 30 blades this morning and only 1 caught after some simply polishing). I grabbed a magnifying loop. Many people like to pull the blade over a finger nail, although I have done that, I will admit that it always makes me very nervous so I rarely every do it; but many swear by it.

I am partial to this Loupe, which is a 15x https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B009NVEM6U and as of October 2020, it is $26. I also have this style, a 10x https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00EXPWU8S

Sometimes I use a USB style microscope such as this https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07DRGR6LX (about $25) but then I dropped another $20+ on the base stand holder and I prefer to just use the first Loupe I mentioned above unless I want to take pictures. Sometimes the pictures are nice to have but it takes much longer than just grabbing a loupe.


The use of the cotton (as mentioned by Curt) seems really smart to see where it snags.

I think that you said that the Hock blade is O1 and the Lie Nielsen is A2. I have never spent time comparing these two steels, but, it is my understanding that a general summary would be:

O1 will take a "keener" edge and is easier to sharpen. A2 is more difficult to sharpen but has a more durable edge.

It is also possible that the problems that you are seeing is related to the sharpening angle, the bed angle, and Lord only knows what else.... Properly sharpened and angled, I would not expect to see a significant different in the results between the two.

I saw some of this referenced on the creek. In my mind, there was a big discussion this year, but I am old, the days merge together, and it might have been 10 years ago :rolleyes:


https://sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?251159-Plane-most-improved-with-a-premium-blade
https://sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?262283-LV-low-angle-jack-pmv-or-O1
https://sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?208418-About-Shooting-Planes-and-Their-Blades

[lowell holmes]

I have Hock Plane Irons and breakers on my Bedrock planes. I sharpen with diamond hones.
I can get translucent shavings.
Oh by the way, Johnson's floor wax keeps them from rusting.

[Eli Akin]

Yeah, I'm starting to think that there is something about the Hock blade with smoothing specifically. Honestly, I'm so used to my Stanley that I will probably use it more anyway. It feels better in my hands for some reason. It just stinks to pay that much for a plane and prefer the Stanley. I do love my Stanley! Maybe I'm crazy!

[Eli Akin]

Thank you for all the info! I will check out that Loupe!

[Jim Koepke]

It just stinks to pay that much for a plane and prefer the Stanley.

The nice thing about the LN plane is you can likely sell it for close to what you paid for it. If you are willing to ship overseas some areas will pay more for a used plane than a new in order to get around 'value added taxes" or other taxes applying to purchases of new tools.

For some without the time to rehabilitate an old plane it makes sense to purchase a new plane at a higher price. My old planes are mostly older than a century. They have backlash and some rattle when shook. They may not be as nice in hand as a shiny new plane, but the end result is every bit as good.

To me the least enjoyable part about my three LN planes is the A2 blades.

jtk

[ken hatch]

Yeah, I'm starting to think that there is something about the Hock blade with smoothing specifically. Honestly, I'm so used to my Stanley that I will probably use it more anyway. It feels better in my hands for some reason. It just stinks to pay that much for a plane and prefer the Stanley. I do love my Stanley! Maybe I'm crazy!

Eli,

Nope not crazy.

ken

[Jerry Olexa]

You can easily sell the LN for close to your orig purchase price..Then, stick with your proven STANLEY..

[Andrew Pitonyak]

Thank you for all the info! I will check out that Loupe!

Or any other magnifier you happen to have on hand. I originally bought that one to look at fountain pen nibs but I use it for a lot of things

[Winston Chang]

I think it's unlikely there's something wrong with the A2 blade -- however, it is possible that you aren't sharpening it as well as the Hock blade. I find A2 noticeably harder to sharpen than O1, and so if there are any imperfections in the edge, it is harder to remove them from an A2 blade.

There can be tiny little bits of edge damage that aren't visible to the naked eye, and barely visible with a loupe, but leave a noticeably imperfect surface. I say this from experience: I had used a 30x loupe for a long time, and I learned a lot from that, but when I started using a microscope to look at blades, it made even the tiniest amount of edge damage very and easy to see. Any time I saw or felt tracks left by a plane, I could see the edge damage in the microscope. I'm not saying that you need to get a microscope -- I'm just sharing what I've learned.


You've said that you sharpen with a microbevel, which is good, because it minimizes the amount of material that your fine stones need to remove. Even if you do a good job honing the bevel side, it's possible that you are not working the back of the blade enough, and there may be some residual burr left on it. Or you may not be removing the burr cleanly.

When you sharpen, I suggest that when you get to a fine stone and work the back of the blade on the stone, you do it with light pressure at first (to abrade the burr and not tear it off), and then increase the pressure right at the edge and keep going for longer than you normally would. Then work the bevel for a few strokes and then the back, with heavy pressure right at the edge.

Plane blades wear on both sides of the blade. On the back of the blade, very near the edge, the blade will be slightly convex, and it is very hard to completely get rid of this convexity. Here's a picture of the back of one of my blades. Notice the reflection at the edge, indicating that the blade has a bit of convexity there.

444165


Under the microscope, it looks like this. The dark area has worn from abrasion from wood -- it doesn't have the same scratches from the stone as the rest of the blade.

444166


An aside: For those that are familiar with the Kato and Kawai paper about chipbreakers, here's an electron microscope picture from it. The worn (upper) side of the blade corresponds to the upper side of a blade in a hand plane. With a bevel-down plane, the upper side is the back of the blade (the bevel faces down, the back faces up). The wear is from the wood shaving passing over it and abrading the metal.

444167


In and of itself, the worn area is not that much of a problem. What is a problem is that, when you work the back of the blade on the stone, a burr may not be removed cleanly because the edge of the blade isn't really contacting the stone. Then when you use the blade, the burr tears off and you have an edge that leaves tracks. Pushing hard near the edge can help abrade it right up to the edge.


Here's a picture after I sharpened the blade, with heavy pressure near the edge when working the back. I also went back and forth with the bevel, back, then bevel, then back again. This was after a Sigma Power 6000:

444168

Notice the little bit of burr still left on there. That was not visible to the naked eye, but after it tears off, it would leave tracks. The rest of the edge is also not as uniform as it could be. Without the heavy pressure near the edge when working the back, the burr would have been worse.

To get a better edge, I could have gone back and forth on the stone a couple more times, and/or moved to a finer stone. Stropping would probably also help, either with a plain or loaded strop.

What I did with this blade was to use a buffing wheel lightly on the bevel side. It removes the tiny burr cleanly and leaves a uniform edge. An edge like this leaves an extremely smooth surface.

444170

(As for the buffing wheel step, I'm not advocating you go and do it now, but if you're curious, you can search for "unicorn profile chisel". Note that for bevel-down planes, it takes more care than for chisels.)

[Eli Akin]

Wow, that's a lot of great information! Thank you!

[Jim Koepke]

You can easily sell the LN for close to your orig purchase price..Then, stick with your proven STANLEY..

The other option for the LN might be to purchase a Hock O1 blade for it.

jtk

[Jim Matthews]

This is a trap.

Pursuit of perfect surfaces can derail projects. Most of my projects get a wash coat of shellac before final finishing. This requires sanding to 220 grit.

A test sample using both planes will illustrate if this is a real problem to redress, or not.

Obsessions about flatness, air tight joinery and interior spaces will stop projects in their tracks.

https://i.imgur.com/YoQ9933.jpg

[Derek Cohen]

Eli, there can be just three possible causes. In order of least to most likely ...

3. Micro-chipping of the A2 blade. A2 has a reputation for being vulnerable owing to large carbide grain which can become dislodged. Possible, but I have used A2 for decades and it is quite capable of producing a glassy finish.

2. The sole or mouth of the plane may have a ragged edge somewhere. Could be the back or front of the mouth. Could be the toe or heel edge of the pane has a nick. This is easy to do if you bump the plane hard enough. Feel the edge surround. Run a little 600 grit sandpaper over the circumference.

3. My money is on a wire from sharpening. A2 is more tenacious of legging the wire go. It is important to abrade it progressively rather than all in one go. Generally this occurs as one moves through the grits. The danger is jumping grits and then the fine grit has a lot more work to do. A torn wire will leave marks. Winston raised the Unicorn profile, and he is correct - that would clean up the bevel wonderfully. But you do not need to go that far; you can just strop the blade.

Incidentally, if you want to swap out the blade, as I have done, get a PM-V11 from Lee Valley. They make a #3 replacement for Stanley planes. It is a tad thinner, but that is not an issue.
Regards from Perth

Derek

[Warren Mickley]

If you want a fine surface, I recommend dumping the A2 iron and the diamond stone. I have never seen a decent surface from either.

[Tom M King]

I agree with Warren. I've tried a couple of A2 irons, and I just don't like the feel of them slicing wood, without even any consideration of the surface. The only one I kept was a hinge mortising plane. It doesn't get used much, but is good enough for that job, of fine tuning the fit of old doors.

[Derek Cohen]

A2 is not my favourite steel, however it is not the bogeyman it is made out to be. It's been around a long, long time, and been used very successfully in LN and Veritas planes. Look at the videos made by Rob Cosman - he is taking very fine shavings, and these hold together very well. It is evident that he does a great job in sharpening, since there is no evidence of fractures ... just long, streaming shavings.

Regards from Perth

Derek

[Eli Akin]

Thank you all for your input! Honestly, the Stanley 4/Hock combo is working great with my existing way of sharpening for getting a glass surface. I will keep working on my sharpening skills with the A2 iron as time goes by but I will probably just grab the Stanley and quit worrying about it. If it works it works. I dont want the LN plane to put me down the rabbit hole :)

[Michael Fross]

Hello Eli,

I would take some fine sandpaper to the edges of the LN plan bottom just to make sure there is nothing sharp there. Probably run the bottom over the same sandpaper lightly to knock of anything that might be there.

For what it's worth, I use both Hock O1 blades in Stanley planes and the LN A2 irons. I find no difference in the finish on the wood. For both types of irons, I sharpen the "Rob Cosman" method of grinding a 25 degree bevel. The using a 1000 water stone for a micro-bevel. Then a 16,000 water stone for a tiny tertiary bevel. Knock the burr off with the Charlesworth ruler trick and I couldn't be happier with result.

Please note, I'm not saying this is better or worse than any other method. There are a lot of ways to sharpen an iron and this is just the method I use and have success with A2 and O1 blades.

Best of luck!

Michael

[Jim Matthews]

Do you have a final stropping (polishing) step?

Something like Autosol or Flitz metal polish on a slab of MDF might be worthwhile.

https://youtu.be/64sJAso7fu4

[Mike Brady]

I don't see this mentioned in woodworking forums, but the knife forums will caution you against using a power buffer (cotton wheel) on edge tools as a final step in sharpening. This is an operation that should only be done while wearing safety gear, head-to-toe. An injury from dropping a sharp tool from waist high can be serious. Imaging a blade propelled by a buffing wheel is troubling. Hopefully this has come up in the many sharpening posts that seem to be out there, especially in hand-tool forums.

[Jim Koepke]

I don't see this mentioned in woodworking forums, but the knife forums will caution you against using a power buffer (cotton wheel) on edge tools as a final step in sharpening. This is an operation that should only be done while wearing safety gear, head-to-toe. An injury from dropping a sharp tool from waist high can be serious. Imaging a blade propelled by a buffing wheel is troubling. Hopefully this has come up in the many sharpening posts that seem to be out there, especially in hand-tool forums.

Hi Mike, The method of using a buffer on edge tools has been mentioned in some woodworking forums. It has been introduced recently as the unicorn edge.

As one who avoids grinding an edge as much as possible this seems like a sharpening trick accompanied with an increased need to regrind an edge.

The dangers of working with and sharpening edges is one of my reasons for honing blades by hand as much as is reasonable.

The perils inherent in touching blade to a wheel or belt running at high speed need to be impressed on all who sharpen knives or tools.

jtk

[Winston Chang]

It's important to put the blade on the part of the wheel that's spinning away from you. That's the bottom side of the buffing wheel. I've never remotely felt that the buffer was going to pull the blade out of my hands, and if it did, it would pull it away from me and throw it onto the table that the buffing wheel is sitting on.

There's no need to wear head-to-toe safety gear if you do it this way.

[Mike Brady]

There's no need to wear head-to-toe safety gear if you do it this way.

Really? If you were right, SawStop would be out of business.

[Winston Chang]

Really? If you were right, SawStop would be out of business.

I have no idea what kind of connection you're trying to draw between a SawStop and a buffing wheel. And no one wears head-to-toe safety gear with a table saw either -- if you have trouble with a table saw, that stuff isn't going to help you.

As it happens, I recently took a photo of how to hold a chisel to the buffing wheel. The bottom side of the wheel is moving away from me in this picture.

444272

[ken hatch]

Really? If you were right, SawStop would be out of business.

Mike,

Look before you leap :p

ken

[Mike Brady]

Just meant to use the table saw as a a well-known source of woodworking injuries. Just trying to caution those who may not have your level of expertise to be careful with spinning wheels and pointy objects.

[Richard Hutchings]

Really, anyone that can't immediately see there's a right and a wrong way to buff a chisel, probably should stay away from all power tools.

[Tony Shea]

I don't think pointing out the safety issues on buffing a sharp edge really needs debating. I can absolutely be dangerous just like everything else we do in the shop. Catching a sharp edge on the buffing wheel moving at the speed it does happens in less than a second which can lead to serious injury or at the least serious damage to the tool. Debating whether this should be mentioned or not really is a waste of time.

As for the OP question, I personally think that you are getting those marks from the A2 blade. What I didn't see mentioned is that A2 can be a pain when dealing with a brand new blade. Something with the heat treat process creates an ultra brittle edge on the very leading edge of a new blade. I own 5 or 6 LN bench planes along with a set of their bench and mortise chisels. Almost all of these blades had similar issues that you're pointing out. It took a solid 5+ sharpenings to get through this ultra brittle portion of the blade. Some blades were worse than others and some needed me to grind slightly past this portion of the blade. Once past this super brittle section I personally think A2 beats out O1 in every situation with the right sharpening regimen.

I am also a Lie Nielsen fanboy. I can't imagine preferring a Stanley Bailey plane over the LN equivalent. The LN's just outperform the Stanley's in every way imaginable, IMO. Having said this you are not the only one to prefer Stanley planes over the more modern premium equivalents. I also agree with Derek, the Lee Valley PMV11 steel does out preform the A2 steel LN uses and you will not be disappointed by switching to that. I still had a similar issue with the brand new edge of PMV11 though and needed to get passed that ultra brittle section.

[Jim Koepke]

Really, anyone that can't immediately see there's a right and a wrong way to buff a chisel, probably should stay away from all power tools.

One problem Richard is there are many new viewers who may land on this site. Many of them may not have the experience some of us have gained over the years.

The other problem has to do with human nature being to think, "yeah, I can do that." It is often a person without any knowledge of what they are doing who steps right into the abyss only to wake up in the ER.

Psychologists even have a name for it:


The Dunning–Kruger effect is a cognitive bias in which people with low ability at a task overestimate their ability.

So, "anyone that can't immediately see there is a right and wrong way… " may not know what they are not seeing and think they have it nailed.

If people learn from their mistakes, my learning is legend! :eek:

jtk

[ken hatch]

I don't think pointing out the safety issues on buffing a sharp edge really needs debating. I can absolutely be dangerous just like everything else we do in the shop. Catching a sharp edge on the buffing wheel moving at the speed it does happens in less than a second which can lead to serious injury or at the least serious damage to the tool. Debating whether this should be mentioned or not really is a waste of time.

As for the OP question, I personally think that you are getting those marks from the A2 blade. What I didn't see mentioned is that A2 can be a pain when dealing with a brand new blade. Something with the heat treat process creates an ultra brittle edge on the very leading edge of a new blade. I own 5 or 6 LN bench planes along with a set of their bench and mortise chisels. Almost all of these blades had similar issues that you're pointing out. It took a solid 5+ sharpenings to get through this ultra brittle portion of the blade. Some blades were worse than others and some needed me to grind slightly past this portion of the blade. Once past this super brittle section I personally think A2 beats out O1 in every situation with the right sharpening regimen.

I am also a Lie Nielsen fanboy. I can't imagine preferring a Stanley Bailey plane over the LN equivalent. The LN's just outperform the Stanley's in every way imaginable, IMO. Having said this you are not the only one to prefer Stanley planes over the more modern premium equivalents. I also agree with Derek, the Lee Valley PMV11 steel does out preform the A2 steel LN uses and you will not be disappointed by switching to that. I still had a similar issue with the brand new edge of PMV11 though and needed to get passed that ultra brittle section.

Tony,

I can and not necessarily.:D

ken

[ken hatch]

One problem Richard is there are many new viewers who may land on this site. Many of them may not have the experience some of us have gained over the years.

The other problem has to do with human nature being to think, "yeah, I can do that." It is often a person without any knowledge of what they are doing who steps right into the abyss only to wake up in the ER.

Psychologists even have a name for it:



So, "anyone that can't immediately see there is a right and wrong way… " may not know what they are not seeing and think they have it nailed.

If people learn from their mistakes, my learning is legend! :eek:

jtk

Jim,

Some of us have to pee on the electric fence more than once.

ken

[Bill Carey]

Jim,

Some of us have to pee on the electric fence more than once.

ken

LOL - and we do it sometimes just to see if the fence is elec or not.

[Richard Hutchings]

I suppose I overestimate the mechanical abilities of newbies. I've been at this sharp tool thing for too long I guess. I grew up fixing things like most of you here and at my age have done most of the really dumb things already. I'm sure there's a few more coming. I don't like getting cut anymore.

[Jim Koepke]

I can't imagine preferring a Stanley Bailey plane over the LN equivalent. The LN's just outperform the Stanley's in every way imaginable, IMO.

It is doubtful one could determine which maker's plane was used to smooth the surface of a piece of wood. To me the ability to do the job is what really counts.

The LN's surely outperformed my wallet in all but a couple of cases. :D

Two of those cases are the reason for two of my LN planes.

If a person has the time, a lot can be learned in the pursuit and rehabilitation of older planes. If one doesn't have the time, paying a premium price for a quality product needs no other reason.

jtk

[Jason Buresh]

It is doubtful one could determine which maker's plane was used to smooth the surface of a piece of wood. To me the ability to do the job is what really counts.

The LN's surely outperformed my wallet in all but a couple of cases. :D

Two of those cases are the reason for two of my LN planes.

If a person has the time, a lot can be learned in the pursuit and rehabilitation of older planes. If one doesn't have the time, paying a premium price for a quality product needs no other reason.

jtk

I think a lot of this is open to interpretation. I do not own a Lie Nielsen product, but i also do not at this time have a reason to replace my vintage stanleys with one. My stanleys give me results I am satisfied with. For some people's work, maybe tight tolerances and precision ground soles are required.

This discussion reminds me of an episode of Parks and Recreation where Ron Swanson smashes a chair and his friend yells and asks what was wrong with it. Ron replied " It was too perfect, it looked machine made."

I also watched an entire series where Mike Dunbar makes a windsor chair, and I remember him at one point saying after shaping the seat that he was going to use sand paper to soften the tool marks, but not remove them, because he wants people to remember its a hand tooled surface and its a mark of his skill.

Now, this should not be used as an excuse for sloppy craftsmanship, and tracks and scratches from a smoothing plane need to be addressed. But I also find it very stress relieving that if a surface I planed isnt flat within thousandths of an inch, that its ok. We are working wood, not machining it.

Thats my two cents, and i doubt its even worth that.

[Andrew Pitonyak]

Jim,

Some of us have to pee on the electric fence more than once.

ken

Only took once and I was very young. Never occurred to me that electricity moved faster than urine exits your body! Did I mention that I was very young? Early Elementary school young.

That said, I thought that the warning to use a buffing wheel as it rotates away from you is a good one, especially if you have not done it previously.

[Eli Akin]

Thanks for your input! Thats interesting about the new blade because I haven't sharpened it that many times. I will keep sharpening and see if things get better. I may have some exceptional Stanley's but so far I haven't found that the LN is that much better especially since I upgraded the hock iron and chip breaker. Mechanically, the LN adjustment wheel is much smoother, and the bedrock frog is nice but in the end, they seem to accomplish the same task and right now, I seem to be getting a better finish with the Hock but that could change over time! One day, i would love to invest into 3 or 4 LN planes but I haven't convinced myself that it's the right decision for me when I have planes that seem to work so well. The LN tools sure are beautiful though!!! Thanks again for the input!

[Jim Koepke]

I seem to be getting a better finish with the Hock but that could change over time!

At a Tool Event in Oakland, CA, if my memory is working, Ron Hock told me, "people are not buying my blades for the blades, they are buying them for this," and pointed at the surface of a piece that was just planed. That led me to purchase three blades from him at the event. They are good blades, but so are the original Stanley blades if they haven't been stored in a rain storm.

jtk

[ken hatch]

At a Tool Event in Oakland, CA, if my memory is working, Ron Hock told me, "people are not buying my blades for the blades, they are buying them for this," and pointed at the surface of a piece that was just planed. That led me to purchase three blades from him at the event. They are good blades, but so are the original Stanley blades if they haven't been stored in a rain storm.

jtk

+1. I agree along with the OEM chip breaker.

ken

[Mike Allen1010]

It's important to put the blade on the part of the wheel that's spinning away from you. That's the bottom side of the buffing wheel. I've never remotely felt that the buffer was going to pull the blade out of my hands, and if it did, it would pull it away from me and throw it onto the table that the buffing wheel is sitting on.

There's no need to wear head-to-toe safety gear if you do it this way.

+1, very little risk here

[Bill Klapwyk]

Really, anyone that can't immediately see there's a right and a wrong way to buff a chisel, probably should stay away from all power tools.


Living in a society where two grown men cut their fingers off trying to lift a lawnmower up to use it as a hedge trimmer and kids are eating tide pods I honestly don't think there is ever enough mention about proper safety in any venue or place.

As far as the OP I have not used A2 so I do not know myself but have heard what others are saying that they had to get past the brittle tempered part of the irons before they stopped having similar issues. As far as the Stanley vs. LN plane goes that is matter of preference in my opinion I have two Stanley planes and one old Dunlop I turned into a scrub plane that total cost for the lot ws less than one new LN plane and I get fantastic and efficient results from them. I am a frugal person so for me I cannot see spending more money for something that will not give me any better results than what I currently have at a fraction of the cost. Again that is my opinion and a matter of personal preference that is left without judgment either way every person has to make their own decisions for what they feel is best for them.

[Tom Bender]

Winston
Thanks for the picture. I have never used a buffing wheel but doubt that I would have tried it the wrong way just because. Still, it's good to see the 1000 word warning. That I'll remember.

[Tom Levy]

Another vote for leaving the existing iron in vintage planes. I've got great performance from most of my original irons even compared to my few veritas planes. I haven't felt any need to switch to a hock iron.