david weaver
..I've read the discussion with some interest, because I can't otherwise explain why my HSS planes last so many multiples longer than an A2 or O1 plane in cocobolo, but in more pedestrian woods, the ratio is not as high.

Not that I guess it should really matter to me about why that is, but it's confused me.

My first guess would've been that in a wood where there is truly a lot of abrasive content (like cocobolo), the characteristics of a HSS plane iron are more valuable.

Who knows, though? I can only attest to the difference, not why it occurs.