Bill Tindall
I don't have any quibble with the sharpening data. It relates perfect to how I sharpen. What I care about is how quick the grinder scratches are removed, not how quick bulk metal is removed. I can see where these two factors could be different. The tribology book I studied implied that abrading with fine particles is fundamentally different than with coarse. (Of course I am using diamond so this ease of sharpening factor is irrelevant to my needs).

It is the dulling by planing that could easily not correlate to actual experience. A hugely thick shaving in MDF seems a long way from a reasonable shaving in typical wood. I would have hoped that LV would have confirmed the planing dulling ranking of this steel with a more real world experiment on their planing machine. 200 feet of maple, A2 vs the new steel. Eventually Steve will have a look at this steel and his data will simulate real world planing. Peoples' impressions for how long an edge lasts are unreliable. Knowing the composition of this stuff would help put the abrasion data in perspective. Is it alloyed with abrasion resistant carbides- V, W, CR?