Brian Holcombe
Thanks David! I have no trade secrets really, I show everyone as much as possible since I feel that encouraging people into plane finishing is better for the group as a whole. If I have any secret at all it's that I've gained a great deal of insight by going back and reading old posts over the years.

I'm not sure I'd even be capable of finish planing, if not for the collective knowledge shared here, SMC and through Chris Hall's blog. If I were still it would have taken me much much longer to get to the point I'm at currently.

For O1, I'm not sure my actual angle. I grind at like 22 degrees and then lift a certain amount and put a finished edge on. Trick is to constantly resharpen and to knock it apart and resharpen if you're having any trouble. People suffer through a dull edge much longer than necessary in my estimation where I sharpen often as possible. It just keeps your mind sharp and your skills sharp all around.