I'm going to hone my shoulder plane iron tonight or tomorrow. I'm not an expert sharpener, so I use a honing jig. I've got the LV MK II. Obviously it won't work on the side bevels. I'll try to hone them by hand and see how it goes.
Heres my question. I assume the majority of the cutting work is done by the leading edge of the iron, and the sides clean up the dado. Obviously, they're good for getting right up to the dado wall. However, do the sides need to be as sharp as the leading edge? I'm asking in case I don't do a stellar job on the sides.
Thanx.