I 'm confused...

[Elijah A.]

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

[iclark]

It would not take much of a burr anywhere on the bottom of the LN plane (around the mouth, along the edge, at the heel or tail) to produce such fine scratches.

If you cannot locate that(those) burr(s) by sight or touch, I would suggest getting a board to the type of surface that you want with the #4 (use a board wider than the #3. Then put the #3 down and put a light pencil mark on the board next to the plane. Then take a single full-length pass with the #3 down the middle. There should now be a very limited number of those scratches visible in the reflective surface and you should be able to identify the location of the source of the problem on the plane.

Once you locate the burr, then I would take a stone and lightly hone that spot. (not the right terminology, but I hope that the idea conveys).

[Elijah A.]

Thanks for the advice! I did check the bottom of the plane and it seems very clean. I cant find anything that seems to be causing an issue. I cleaned the surface of the board up with the number 4. I ran the LN plane one stroke down the board without the blade. Then I checked the reflection. It looked perfect. Then i put the blade back in and took a shaving, and there were the micro scratches again. I'm assuming this maybe what I've heard about being micro chipping but I thought that should go away at 35 degrees. I'm thinking as clean as the bottom of the plane is, it would have to be the blade. But again, I have sharpened and honed several times and this seems to be a consistent result. Maybe I'm just being too picky, it's possible

[barryvabeach]

Elijah,  are you looking at the plane blade with a loupe or magnifying glass?  I can't see anything just looking at it, but with a 10 power loupe, I often see microchipping, which tells me I need to sharpen at a higher angle.    Radio Shack used to sell one like this  https://www.cambridgeoptics.com/Triple-F...-30mm-Diam   or https://smile.amazon.com/Carson-TriView-...th=1&psc=1   it really makes a difference to use some magnification,  you only need a tiny chip to leave a mark.

[Elijah A.]

That's a great idea. I'll have to order one of those. Only problem is I'm already honed at 35 degrees. Not sure that I should go much higher. Honestly, I'm so used to my Stanley I'll probably use it most anyway. It just stinks to pay that much for a plane and end up using the Stanley more... but I do love my Stanley!

[Aram]

Just to ask the obvious, have you convinced yourself that the culprit is not the corners of the blade?

[Elijah A.]

Yes. The scratches are all close to each other. Just looks like barely noticable wiggly lines. May not be anything anyone would notice once the finish is on. You can only see them when you are looking into the reflection.

[CStan]

I had an A2 cutter once. I never could get rid of the same problem you're having unless I honed on 2,000 grit + sandpaper, and a little worn at that.

[AHill]

One of the hardest things to learn about sharpening A2 or any other exotic tool steel is that it really does take longer to get it as sharp as O1 (Hock uses O1 steel in his blades). While you may think you've gotten it as sharp as the O1, it probably isn't. You really kind of need a loupe to see the edge. You really also need the higher angle compared to O1, but it seems you've already achieved that. You might also try stropping using a stiff leather strop and the green honing compound. Aggressive stropping will get you to sharp compared to finishing on the stone.

[Timberwolf]

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

.............................
If for some reason "power stropping" is not feasible, why not try diamond paste on glass..Nothing is harder than diamond and will make short work of polishing the scratches out..One or two micron diamond paste or powder should be what you need...just polish the first 1/16" of the edge...The cheapest paste will not contain as much actual diamond so I would buy the next higher concentration.