I have a number of Record planes gifted to me from a pal's late father's estate. Some of them are "modern" a few older Stanleys made in Canada.
I recently bought a 2" Lee Valley blade and iron (A2) and I noticed how thick the cap iron was in relation to the old one - the blade is a little thicker, but it's not my question.
What MORE contributes to the easy cutting of wood - the blade, or stiffness of the cap iron?
All the original setups have a bad habit of loading up with fine shavings as the cap iron distorts under the pressure of the screw being tightened. The new LV blade/iron combo doesn't - and believe me, I have worked on those old cap irons and they are dead flat and square.
I searched the site, but I can't see anything like this question on here. Please forgive me if I missed it, somehow.