sharp/dull blade drawing Lee Valley A2 small map
Finest abrasives.
Microbevels front and back.
Use a jig.
Copyright (c) 2002-15, Brent Beach

Test Summary

An A2 steel blade, sold by Lee Valley as an after market blade for Stanley type planes.

Good durability, poor edge quality with use.

The Test

April 8, 2002.

As with all my other tests, I honed three front and back bevels using 15, 5, and 0.5 micron 3M micro abrasive paper.

This iron came with a 30 degree primary bevel. I did one test with this bevel angle then reground the primary bevel to 25 degrees, so the results would be more comparable to the other irons.

The front bevel, 200 X magnification, after the 0.5 micron paper. sharp
The front bevel, 200 X magnification, after 50 passes along 4 foot douglas-fir board.

The wear bevel is about 4 pixels wide. There is some evidence of edge breakdown, almost as if the edge is bending back or breaking off.

50 passes
The front bevel, 200 X magnification, after 150 passes along 4 foot douglas-fir board.

The wear bevel is about 6 pixels wide, but the edge has defects.

150 passes

LINKS

Check out my jig page for a simple jig you can make in your shop, along with a sharpening set up using sheet abrasives, that reliably produces excellent edges, for all types of irons.

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