My only smoothing plane is one of the "old style" LV planes. I like the plane a lot and I've definitely benefited from all the work that has gone into cap iron placement. So now that I can get good results with a close set cap iron at a 45 deg. frog with almost any wood, is there any reason to go with a higher angle frog? I have been working some "mystery wood" that I picked up when a lumber wholesaler was going out of business. All I know is that it is probably african, the wood is pretty hard, it is brown, and it has these "ribbons" that run through it that make it look really cool, seem softer than the wood, and that are difficult to plane without tear out. Oh, and I have quite a reaction to the wood in dust form.
So I'm not sure I need something different than what I have, but the new LV smoothers where you can choose your frog angle is sure tempting. But I surely don't need a 45 deg. frog, and so that means either higher or lower (55 or 40 are the standard angles). Given that my only smoother is set at 45 and I haven't ever used a different angle on a smoother, is there a reason to have a smoother with a higher or lower angle?
jeff.