I own a couple PM-V11 steel blades for my Veritas planes and I can never seem to get them as sharp as I expect.
Even after several sharpening cycles, my shooting plane's stock PM-V11 blade has trouble slicing paper and isn't all that good at cutting the end grain of even cherry or pine. Shooting with my LA jack equipped with a 25 deg A2 blade does a far better job.
I also just sharpened up a brand new 50 deg PM-V11 blade for my LA jack, but despite looking shiny it feels dull to the touch, can't slice paper, and just bounces across straight-grained walnut when testing the cut. Here is what the blade looks like after sharpening:
Pretty shiny right? Looks exactly the same as my A2 blades after sharpening. But it doesn't catch my fingernail or the skin of my finger, can't slice paper in any direction, and just bounces off / skids over anything I try to plane. Couldn't make any shavings off my test block of walnut.
I sharpened the 25 deg A2 blade the exact same way, popped it in the plane, and the same piece of walnut now cuts perfectly:
I use a variety of the Rob Cosman freehand sharpening technique, which starts on a 1000 grit diamond stone for the secondary bevel and then moves directly to a 15000 grit shapton pro waterstone for the tertiary bevel, followed by a couple strokes on the back to remove any burr and polish the flat. I also strop a few strokes on leather with white rouge, but it isn't necessary... my A2/O1 irons are sharp as hell after either way. When I sharpen PM-V11 this way, I can never feel a burr on the back after even the coarsest stone (unlike A2 and O1), and when done the edge just feels round to the touch... like I'd have to work hard to cut myself with it.
So what on earth is happening? This steel has been advertised as god's gift to hand planes, but it just feels like crud each time I use it. Is it a flaw in my sharpening technique? I'd really appreciate any advise on the subject.