Has anyone else been a little underwhelmed by A2 plane blades from LN? I have a 60 1/2 block plane that is just awesome in almost every aspect but one. It gets pretty sharp, but does not seem to hold up well at all. Mostly when paring end grain it seems like it never takes more than 5-10 cuts before the edge starts giving up. Nothing super serious, but there's visible deformation on the cutting edge and it'll start leaving little micro-lines behind.
I think Hock (and maybe Pinnacle) make replacements that will fit this plane. Any opinions on either of these two, or any other makers? Am I crazy or do I remember seeing laminated replacement block plane blades by a Japanese maker. Maybe Tsunesaburo...?